blurred pdf image when copy/paste into pages

Question

Level 1

8 points

blurred pdf image when copy/paste into pages

Hi there, my situation is that I am laying out a guitar instruction book in Pages. I have created my musical examples using the app Guitar Pro, which I have then saved as PDF files. I then copy from the PDF file into my Pages document but the paste into Pages comes out in low-res and is unacceptably blurred.

Does anyone know where the solution to this issue might lie? I have checked Resolution settings in Adobe, no luck there. I have heard the word 'rastorization' but i can't find a setting to en-/disable the rastorization of images in export or import.

This problem is (obviously) holding up my production and I'd love to know that this otherwise great application is capable of creating stellar documents in all situations.

thanks in advance,
lane

imac G5 (non dual), Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Jul 4, 2007 12:02 PM

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Answer 1

Tulse

Level 5

5,812 points

Jul 4, 2007 12:20 PM in response to specialest

Welcome to the forums!

How are you copying a section of the file? When you say you "copy" from the PDFs, does that mean that you are not inserting the entire original PDF file? If you insert the entire file (or simply drag it onto the page), the quality will be preserved. However, most ways of copying a portion of a PDF involve making a low-resolution (rasterized) version of the copied portion.

If you only want a small section of the PDF, one way around this problem is to open the original PDF in Preview, then use the Select tool to select the area you want, and then choose Crop from the Tools menu, and do a Save As of the resulting file. This procedure will preserve the quality of the PDF, and just create a new PDF file. You should be able to drag this new file into Pages without a loss of quality.

The better way, however, may be to simply use Pages' Mask with Shape functionality. Insert (or drag) the original PDF into Pages. Then create a new shape on top of the PDF image, sizing and placing it where you want the visible section to be. Then, select both the shape and the PDF, and from the Format menu choose Mask with Shape. The part of the PDF outside of the shape will be "masked" or hidden, and the quality should be preserved. Also, an advantage of this method is that you can go back and edit the mask to show more or less of the PDF (and even have non-rectangular masks, if you like).

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Answer 2

specialest Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 11, 2007 11:42 AM in response to specialest

Thanks for the help. I have my workaround, laborious though it is where I am using Preview, selecting my image, calling up the new clipboard and saving that as a pdf. It is now hi resolution and sizable beyond what it was before so thanks.

The only problem now is that the application is getting very very very slow as i add the pdfs to it. by the eighth page (I have 24 sections of 8 pages each) it is SBOD ****. every little adjustment sends the little coloured wheel spinning and I have had to force quit a number of times. My computer is certainly strong enough to handle a word processor as I do Pro Audio on it. any thoughts what could be the problem?
thanks, lane

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Answer 3

Tulse

Level 5

5,812 points

Jul 11, 2007 11:50 AM in response to specialest

Typically, setting an object to wrap text can really slow down Pages. If you can put the object as fixed to page, that may help. Also, you might want to search here on "slow" or "performance" to find general advice on overcoming Pages' pokey performance.

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