PDF Slow or Latency in scrolling

[QSI_Tech]

Hello All:

I am working at resolving an AutoCAD DWG to PDF issue. I have been using this setting for ages. But recently particularly with large files (ie Building Architecture or Files containing 100+ sheets) I have been getting huge latency issues.

I have found a good working solution but I am looking for a "One Shoe Fits All" fix. For instance I can set up a document with the following PDF settings.

Page Setup:

AutoCAD PDF (Smallest File)

PDF Options:

Uncheck all items under Data.

Change Merge control to "Lines Merge"

These setting will fix the latency and scrolling issues.

Then there is the Mobile option of creating a PDF that is viewable on Android and Apple since my team uses both devices we have found issues with Apple not viewing PDF's that same as Android Causing me to have to Create an entirely separate PDF using the AutoCAD (Web & Mobile) PDF. Same setting as above. 

Both solutions seem to work but if I have to make 2 PDF's every single time I create a new document I'm not going to be happy AT ALL.

I'm looking for a fix that can be viewed well on MS and Apple PC's,  can be used in MS Teams as well as being able to be easily viewable on mobile devices and needs to be printed from those devices in the office or in the field.

Is there a better solution to this? 

I am also wondering if i am losing any integrity to the drawings by removing all the data settings?

Would i be able to extract a PDF later if i needed too? What if someone wants to view layers and the data was never enabled? 

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

[cheryl.buck · Accepted solution]

Hi @QSI_Tech,

Thank you for posting. PDF is a standard format, it should be readable in any PDF viewer. The only thing I can think of is that the size of the file is causing an issue on the Apple system, you mentioned them having 100+ pages. This is a pretty large file when you consider the contents of most AutoCAD drawings. It doesn't seem unreasonable for them to be slow to load an view. While I am not sure what viewer you are using, I have heard members mention some viewers perform better with AutoCAD files than others. 

On your secondary question, if you have removed layers and other AutoCAD specific data when creating the PDF, you would not be able to extract it from the PDF. You would be able to create a new PDF from the DWG with those elements included. 

Also, if you have a standardized viewer, it may be worth reaching out to their support to see if there are any settings in the viewer itself for filtering the data that is causing the slow down, without having to remove it altogether. 

To mark a solution that answered the question or resolved the issue, click the Accept Solution button.

Likes are always welcome.

All the best,

[QSI_Tech]

Thanks for the quick response.

So the viewer we use is Acrobat Reader DC. I've not had any issues with it before But as they files have more layers, require more memory, or many sheets we begin to run into latency issues. This is of course magnified using a mobile device.

Any idea what those other viewers might be?

Also would using the AutoCAD phone app alleviate the latency issues we are experiencing?

[pendean]

Seek out assistance at Adobe's user forums here for your PDF/Acrobat DC slowness issues and how to shrink PDF files to make them work faster https://community.adobe.com/

[QSI_Tech]

Yea, it seems I'm not the only one with issues with Acrobat, there are a few things that i have tried but the real time improvement come from within AutoCAD. I was just hoping for One and Done approach and not have to create a PDF for each type of application. 

Does the ACAD mobile app alleviate any of this?

[nrz13]

@QSI_Tech 

We use Xodo to view PDFs on our Android tablets and phones.  Xodo is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, but I haven't tried it on any other platform except Android.

We create PDFs using the AutoCAD PDF (High Quality Print) driver and do not have issues viewing them on our Windows 10 PCs (using Foxit Phantom PDF) or Android devices (using Xodo).  For instance, I'm able to load on my phone (Galaxy S9) a 172-page, 151 MB PDF file created that way in about 1 second.  Then, as I scroll to each individual page, it takes less than a second to load a pretty clear preview, which then refreshes with the full resolution in about a second.

We stepped away from Acrobat when they went to subscription only.