In this chapter, you will learn more about the PDF Editor regarding the available
- analysis options,
- information at a glance concerning the currently displayed page,
- options for showing and hiding objects and
- in-depth options for analyzing the PDF structure across the entire document.
1. Introduction
Print data can be single-page or multi-page. Each page of the PDF file is a self-contained document, which can consist of different objects that are drawn in different Color Spaces, on different layers and on a defined document size. The individual pages of the print file can vary in complexity and consist of a large number of objects.
Before editing print data, you should get a good overview of the structure of the respective page and the objects on it. This analysis activity can be performed most quickly by the user in the View and Analyze tab with the additional information in the document information - cmd + D (macOS) and Ctrl + D (Windows). More in-depth analyses can be carried out in the "Object Inspector" tab or via the Pipette Tool combined with the display of information in the Edit tab.
Analysis of the currently displayed page
Please note that the analysis in the "View and Analyze" tab and in the "Object Inspector" tab always refers to the currently displayed page. This means that all options and values can change from page to page.
2. "View and Analyze" tab
After opening a print file, the first page of the document is displayed by default with and the View and Analyze tab is opened.
Most analysis activities can be mapped in the View and Analyze tab, as you can quickly visualize the content of the entire page. The most important information on the content is clearly displayed to the user in seven settings areas.
Figure 1: The View and Analyze tab with all setting areas
The following setting areas are available in the View and Analyze tab:
- Options [1] - includes functions to highlight special constructs on the page.
- Layers [2] - all layers of the current page are displayed here.
- Process Colors [3] - displays all four process colors of the print file as well as the color values of the Process Colors of the current cursor position.
- Spot Colors [4] - displays the Spot Colors of the current page of the print file as well as the tone values of the Spot Color(s) of the current cursor position.
- Color Spaces [5] - displays all the color spaces used on the current page.
- Page Objects [6] - displays all types of page objects on the current page.
- Page Boxes [7] - displays all existing Page Boxes of the current page with the corresponding size.
2.1. Setting areas
Current information is displayed or information can be shown or hidden in several settings areas. The individual setting areas and the options they offer are described in more detail below.
2.1.1. Options
Special options for analyzing objects are available in the Options settings area. By switching individual options on and off, these objects or areas where these objects are located are highlighted accordingly on the page or taken into account when rendering the document for viewing.
Figure 2: The settings area Options of the View and Analyze tab
Number of affected objects
The number of objects affected by the option is shown in round brackets [14]. If no objects can be found for an option, the option is displayed dimmed [10] in the user interface.
Simulate Overprint
The Simulate Overprint [8] option should always be activated, as this displays the print file on the monitor as it will be printed in a professional environment in the print shop.
When analyzing a print file, we recommend switching the option on or off to check whether clear visual differences are visible. If a clear difference - as shown in the following figure - is recognizable, the output in the print shop must be rendered taking into account the overprinting objects. Thereby, the appearance is retained in print.
Figure 3: Left: Overprinting objects without activated option; Right: Overprinting objects with activated option
Flatten overprinting objects
If the print file needs to be output on a printing system that cannot process overprinting objects correctly during rendering, the PDF Editor offers the option of flattening overprinting objects. Read more about this topic in the article Optimizing print data.
Highlight overprinting Objects
By activating the option Highlight overprinting objects [15] (Figure 2), overprinting objects are highlighted with a red hatching. This allows you to quickly recognize where overprinting objects are located and where there may be slight or obvious visual differences.
When analyzing a print file, we recommend activating this option, which means you have to deal with the following questions:
- Are overprinting black lines on a white background [21] a problem? This should never actually be a problem.
- Are overprinting black areas, texts or vectors [22] on colored areas, texts, vectors or images a problem? Depending on the printing system and size of the objects, such constellations should be avoided in order not to make objects appear "transparent".
- Do overprinting colored areas, texts or vectors on other colored areas, texts, vectors or images pose a problem? Such constellations are usually a desired effect of the graphic designer for the design.
Figure 4: Left: Highlighted overprinting objects; Right: Black overprinting object, allowing objects in the background to show through
Remove overprinting or convert 100% Black to Rich Black
Overprinting objects can be set to Knockout depending on the situation or black areas can be converted to Rich Black to prevent objects in the background from appearing translucent. You can find out how to do this with the PDF Editor in the article Select and Arrange.
Highlight Overprinted White Objects
By activating the option Highlight Overprinted White Objects [9] (Figure 2), overprinting objects are highlighted with a blue hatching. This allows you to quickly recognize where white overprinting objects are located and where there may be visual differences.
When analyzing a print file, we recommend activating this option, which means you have to deal with the following questions:
- Do overprinting white areas, lines or text on a white background [23] pose a problem? This should not actually be a problem. The only question that arises is why such constructs were created in the layout?
- Do overprinting white areas, texts or vectors [24] on colored areas, texts, vectors or images pose a problem? In practice, this constellation usually represents a problem that needs to be solved. The quickest way to find out whether this constellation is a problem in printing is to switch the Simulate Overprint option on and off.
Figure 5: Left: Highlighted overprinting white objects; Right: Result of the design with deacitvated option Simulate Overprint
Set white overprinting objects to Knockout
Overprinting white objects can be set to Knockout depending on the situation so that objects do not disappear in the print. You can find out how to do this with the PDF Editor in the article Select and Arrange.
Show Annotations
As soon as an annotation is in the print file, the option Show annotations [10] (Figure 2) is activated and the result is displayed with the annotation shown in the PDF Editor.
Figure 6: Left: Print file with the Show Annotations option activated; Right: Print file with the Show Annotations option deactivated
Use note for printing
If the content of a note is to be used for printing, you can save the content with the Show Annotations option activated via File > Save as Image in a defined Resolution, Color Space and selected file format. You can find more information on this in the article Open Files.
The corresponding Fixup Render Comments is available for Durst Workflow users.
Show Clipping Paths
Clipping paths are a very popular tool in the creation of print data. On the one hand, they are used to mask objects with an irregular shape and, on the other hand, superfluous objects can be made invisible. In both cases, objects in the print file are hidden, which can increase the complexity of a print file and slow down further processing steps, as invisible objects also have to be interpreted.
You can quickly visualize whether a graphic object in the print file has the existing shape or whether the shape was created by a clipping path by activating the Show Clipping Paths option [17] (Figure 2). Clipping paths are displayed in pink dashed lines.
Figure 7: Display of clipping paths in the PDF-Editor
Show Image Frames
Images represent a rectangular collection of pixels. Images that have an irregular shape in the print file are usually masked by a clipping path. Depending on the PDF creator application, images can be cropped to the enclosing rectangle of the clipping path and to a selected Page Box during PDF export. If images have been cropped neither to the clipping path nor to the Page Box, the original image is still within the clipping path in its original size.
By activating the Show Image Frames option [17] (Figure 2), users can inspect whether or not images have been cropped to the cropping path as well as to a Page Box. Picture frames are displayed as a blue dashed line. The figure below shows that images are still available here in their original size, which is why large amounts of data have to be processed in this case which can affect the rendering speed.
Figure 8: Display of Image Frames in the PDF-Editor
Remove superfluous image information
There is currently no additional option in the PDF Editor to crop image information to the surrounding rectangle. A corresponding option will be added in the next versions.
For Durst Workflow users, the option to crop image information to the surrounding rectangle is available via the Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images. This Fixup can either be activated in the Check-in Template or mapped subsequently via a Fixup.
Show Transparency Grid
By activating the option Show Transparency Grid [17] (Figure 2), the PDF Editor can display whether the background is "transparent" or "white". This is particularly important if the PDF is placed over other objects in another application. Transparent areas would display objects behind them and not cover them.
Transparent areas are indicated by a gray checkerboard pattern in the background.
Figure 9: Display in the PDF Editor with activated option Show Transparency Grid
Show Object Frames
By activating the Show Object Frames option [12] (Figure 2), a gray dashed frame is displayed for each object in the PDF Editor.
By activating this function, the user can quickly recognize whether the PDF in question is a file that is either equipped with countless vector elements or consists of countless atomic image segments. These segements could be the result of transparency flattening. Gain a quick overview about,
- whether editing the PDF file would be generally efficient
- which objects overlap
- which objects protrude beyond the displayed area
- which objects are outside the displayed area
Figure 10: Display in the PDF-Editor with activated option Show Image Frames
Select all objects
If you want to get a quick overview of the complexity of the PDF file, simply select all objects by pressing Ctrl + A (Windows) or cmd + A (macOS). Cancel the selection again by pressing Ctrl + Shift + A (Windows) or cmd + Shift +A (macOS).
Show Objects outside CropBox
In the Preferences for the PDF Editor, you have selected the Page Box whose content should be displayed via the Visible Page Content option. The Crop Box (CropBox) is preset by default. All objects outside the selected Page Box are therefore not displayed.
By activating the option Show Objects outside CropBox [19] (Figure 2), all objects outside the Crop Box are displayed as a gray image in the PDF Editor.
Figure 11: Display in the PDF Editor with activated option Show Objects outside CropBox
Highlight XObjects Reference(s)
XObjects are essentially a container of PDF elements that can be saved once in the PDF but referenced multiple times. When opening a PDF file, the user is informed via a dialog how many XObjects are on the first page of the PDF. It is only possible to use the option Highlight XObject Reference(s) when confirming the dialog with No . If the dialog is confirmed with Yes, all XObjects are released!
By activating the Highlight XObject Reference(s) option [13] (Figure 2), XObjects are highlighted with a yellow hatched area. You can use the selection tool in the PDF Editor to grab the individual XObjects, reposition them or remove them individually.
Figure 12: The display in the PDF Editor with the option Highlight XObjects Reference(s) activated
Dealing with XObjects
How you want to handle XObjects by default can be selected in the PDF Editor Preferences in the drop-down menu Process Form XObjects. You can find out how to reposition or remove individual XObjects in the article Select and Arrange.
Expand XObject References
By activating the Expand XObject References [20] option, the containers are expanded and the content is entered as individual objects in the PDF structure. Expanding XObjects can be time-consuming and increase the file size of the PDF file many times over.
2.1.2. Layers
Layers in PDF should not actually be referred to as layers, as they are structured and behave completely differently to layers in graphics applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. Layers are referred to as Optional Content Groups (OCGs) in PDF. As the name suggests, OCGs in PDF were initially designed to make content optionally visible or invisible. The following statements should help to understand OCGs in PDF:
- While graphic applications have at least one layer, OCGs can be completely dispensed with in PDF files. This means that the entire content of a page can still be displayed, even though all layers have been hidden, for example.
- While layers defined in graphics applications are accessible for all pages of the multi-page document, OCGs must be defined separately for each individual page of a multi-page PDF. This means that the list of displayed layers in the Layers settings area can change from page to page.
- While objects are placed on layers in graphics applications, PDF objects can be assigned to one or more OCGs. This means that PDF objects that are assigned to two OCGs remain visible, even if one of the two OCGs (layers) has been hidden.
- While layers in graphics applications are structured hierarchically - objects in the layer above cover objects in the layer below - PDF objects are assigned to a layer, whereby the hierarchy in an OCG is handled separately and the entire OCG container is not arranged hierarchically. This means that PDF objects that are arranged in the foreground but also in the background in the PDF can no longer be visible when a layer is hidden.
From this little disgression, you can guess that layers in a PDF file are much more powerful than hierarchically arranged layers in graphics applications. This power is of great importance for PDF and is sometimes not easy for the user to understand when dealing with layers. With the PDF Editor, the handling of PDF layers is reduced to the most important functions required for PDF editing and will be expanded accordingly in future versions.
If there are layers on the currently displayed page of the PDF file, these are displayed in the Layers settings area with the number of objects on the layer.
Figure 13: The settings area Layers in the View and Analyze tab
The following functions are available to the user in this settings area:
- Number of Layers [27] - The number in brackets in the heading of the settings area indicates how many layers (OCGs) are on the current page.
- Show or hide all Layers [25] - Click on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area to show or hide all layers. If there is a "-" as shown in the figure, this means that at least one layer has a different visibility status.
- Hide or show individual Layers [26] - Click on the round checkbox in front of the respective layer to hide or show the individual layer.
- Number of currently visible PDF objects on the Layer [28] - The number in brackets indicates how many visible PDF objects are on the layer. Please note that this number always refers to the PDF objects currently displayed. This is why (0) appears after the Polygon layer, as this layer is currently hidden although there are two images on this layer.
Further information on Layers
OCGs can have different statuses in PDF. The most common statuses include the following:
- Locked / Freely accessible - OCG objects can thus be protected from access
- Visible / Not visible - OCG objects can therefore be hidden or shown.
-
Visible - The visibility of an OCG can have the following properties:
- is only visible when the layer is activated
- is always visible, even if the layer is hidden
- is never visible, even though the layer is shown
-
Printable - The printability of an OCG can have the following properties:
- can only be printed if it is visible
- can always be printed, even if the layer is not visible
- can never be printed even though the layer is visible
-
Exportable - The exportability of an OCG can have the following properties:
- can only be exported if it is visible
- can always be exported, even if the layer is not visible
- can never be exported even though the layer is visible
2.1.3. Process Colors
In the Process Colors settings area, the four process colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black are displayed with the corresponding percentage values of the current cursor position. Which percentage values are displayed depends primarily on which selection you have made in the Preferences for the Show simulated values of the CMYK Working Color Space option. If the option is deactivated, the effective color values of the CMYK object are generally displayed in the PDF file.
When analyzing a print file, you can answer the following questions in this settings area:
- What color value does the CMYK color object have? The percentage values for the individual process color channel are displayed on the right-hand side.
- Which calculated color values do RGB objects have? The percentage values for CMYK are displayed that would result from converting the RGB object into the CMYK Working Color Space.
-
Are there different black definitions on the current page? By hiding the black channel, you can quickly recognize whether there are other black objects on the page. If this is the case, these black objects may be based on the following color definitions:
- RGB Black – Low RGB values - if they are all less than 20 - would result in a very dark black even without the black extract.
- Rich Black – When black objects suddenly turn dark purple or dark gray, it is usually an object in Rich Black.
- Registration Color - When black objects are still visible, it may be because these objects have been colored with the Registration Color. Note whether the Color Space Registration Marks / All is displayed in the Color Space settings area.
- Black as Spot Color – When black objects are still visible, this may be due to a black Spot Color. Note whether the Color Space Spot Color is displayed in the Color Spaces settings area and whether a black Spot Color is displayed in the Spot Color settings area.
- How do the individual process color channels look separated? - By activating the individual color channel, the corresponding percentages of the selected process color channel are displayed.
- Where are the Spot Colors located? - By hiding all process colors, only all objects that are colored with Spot Colors are displayed.
Figure 14: The settings area Process Colors of the View and Analyze tab
The following functions are available to the user in this settings area:
- Show or hide all Process Colors [29] - By clicking on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area, it is possible to show or hide all process colors. If there is a "-" symbol, this means that at least one process color is hidden.
- Hide or show individual Process Color [30] - Clicking on the round checkbox in front of the respective process color allows you to hide or show the objects of the individual process color.
- Show color values [31] - By moving the cursor to the desired object, the current color values for the currently visible objects are displayed.
Always display all Process Color Channels
Please note that in the current version, all Process Color Channels are always displayed, even if there are only pure black objects in the PDF file. The presence of all Process Color Channels is therefore currently not an indication that there are objects for all color channels on the current page.
2.1.4. Spot Colors
In the Spot Colors settings area, all spot colors available on the current page of the print file are displayed with the corresponding percentage values [37] of the current cursor position. Spot Colors can be edited via the Edit Spot Colors menu item in the settings area menu [36].
When analyzing a print file, you will find answers to the following questions in this settings area:
- What color value or tone value does the Spot Color object have? The percentage values for the individual Spot Color are displayed in the right-hand margin.
- How many Spot Colors are on the current page? The number of Spot Colors is displayed in brackets in the settings area heading [35].
- Which alternative color space with which color values does the Spot Color have? By moving the cursor over the spot color name, this information is displayed in the tooltip [34].
- How do the individual Spot Color channels look separated? - By activating the individual color channel, the corresponding percentages of the selected spot color channel are displayed.
- Where are Process Colors located? - By hiding all Spot Colors, only all objects that are created in process colors are displayed.
Figure 15: The settings area Spot Colors of the View and Analyze tab
The following functions are available to the user in this settings area:
- Show or hide all Spot Colors [32] - By clicking on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area, it is possible to show or hide all Spot Colors. When there is a "-" symbol, this means that at least one Spot Color is hidden.
- Hide or show individual Process Color [33] - Clicking on the round checkbox in front of the respective Process Color allows you to hide or show the objects of the individual Process Color.
- Show color values [37] - By moving the cursor to the desired object, the current color values for the currently visible object are displayed.
Show DeviceN Spot Colors
DeviceN Spot Color definitions usually consist of several individual Spot Colors. This means that you cannot see which object uses a DeviceN definition, but all Spot Colors that are in a DeviceN Spot Color definition are displayed in this settings area.
DeviceN Spot Color Definitions are called Mixed Inks in Adobe applications.
2.1.5. Color Spaces
In the Color Spaces settings area, all Color Spaces used on the current page of the print file are displayed with the corresponding total number and currently displayed objects. The Color Spaces that can be encountered in everyday life can be found in the glossary in Color Spaces.
When analyzing a print file, find answers to the following questions in this settings area:
- How many Color Spaces in total are on the current page? The number of Color Spaces is displayed in brackets in the settings area heading [40].
- How many objects per Color Space are there in total on the displayed page? The number on the right-hand side indicates the sum of all objects [42] in this Color Space.
- How many objects per Color Space are currently displayed on the page? The left-hand number on the right-hand side indicates the current number of objects [41] in this Color Space.
- Which objects have a selected Color Space? By hiding all other Color Spaces, only all objects that are created in the selected Color Space are displayed.
Figure 16: The settings area Color Spaces of the View and Analyze tab
The following functions are available to the user in this settings area:
- Hide or show all Color Spaces [38] - By clicking on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area, it is possible to show or hide all Color Spaces. If there is a "-" symbol, this means that at least one Color Space is hidden.
- Hide or show individual Color Spaces [39] - Clicking on the round checkbox in front of the respective Process Color allows you to hide or show the objects of the individual Process Color.
2.1.6. Page Objects
In the Page Objects settings area, all object types used on the current page of the print file are displayed with the corresponding total number and currently displayed objects. The number of page objects is currently limited to Text, Vector and Images.
When analyzing a print file, you can answer the following questions in this settings area:
- How many object types are located on the current page? The number of object types is displayed in brackets in the settings area heading [45].
- How many objects per object type are there in total on the displayed page? The number on the right side indicates the total of all objects [47] of the object type.
- How many objects per object type are currently displayed on the page? The left number on the right side indicates the current number of objects [46] of the object type.
- Is it a complex file? When thousands to millions of objects are displayed for vectors, it is a very complex file that should be optimized before ripping. Find out more about this topic in the article Optimizing Print Data.
- Can the print file still be edited well? When hundreds of images are displayed on a page, this is usually an indication that the PDF file has already been reduced in transparency in an upstream step. Transparency flattening converts complex areas with vectors or areas with effects into atomic areas in image elements. Meaningful editing is therefore not really possible.
- Has the text in the print file been converted to outlines? If texts are visible in the layout and no text object is displayed in the Page objects settings area, then texts have already been converted to outlines in a previous step.
Figure 17: The settings area Page Objects in the View and Analyze tab
The following functions are available to the user in this settings area:
- Hide or show all page objects [43] - By clicking on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area, it is possible to show or hide all Color Spaces. If there is a "-" symbol, this means that at least one Color Space is hidden.
- Hide or show individual page objects [44] - Clicking on the round checkbox in front of the respective Process Color allows you to hide or show the objects of the individual Process Color.
2.1.7. Page Boxes
Im Einstellungsbereich Seitengeometrierahmen werden die vorhandenen Seitengeometrierahmen der aktuell angezeigten Seite mit entsprechender Breite x Höhe [51] angezeigt. Das Bearbeiten der Seitengeometrierahmen kann über den Menüpunkt Seitengeometrierahmen setzen im Einstellungsbereichmenü [52] erfolgen. Darin befindet sich auch der Menüpunkt Medienrahmen auf Ursprung setzen.
When analyzing a print file, you can answer the following questions in this settings area:
- How many Page Boxes are available for the current page? The number of Page Boxes is displayed in brackets in the settings area heading [50].
- Which Page Box is missing on the current page? If a Page Box is not set for the page, it will not be displayed in the list of Page Boxes.
- How large are the individual Page Boxes? If all Page Boxes have the same width x height [51], it is very likely that all Page Boxes are in the same position. In addition, the size of the Trim Box can be used to read the cropped size of the print document and the size of the Bleed Box can be used to determine whether at least one bleed has been set for the page.
- Is the Media Box in the origin? If the Media Box is not in the origin, a warning triangle [53] is displayed. You can rectify this with the Set Media Box to origin command from the Settings menu [52].
Figure 18: The settings area Page Boxes of the View and Analyze tab
The following functions are available to the user in this settings area:
- Hide or show all Page Boxes [48] - Show or hide all Page Boxes by clicking on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area. When there is a "-" symbol, this means that at least one Page Box is hidden.
- Hide or show individual Page Boxes [49] - Click on the round checkbox in front of the respective Page Box to hide or show the individual Page Boxes.
- Set Media Box to origin... - Set the Media Box to the origin 0/0 in the coordinate system of the PDF file. You will find the command in the settings area menu [52].
- Set Page Box... - Change or delete the individual Page Boxes in a dialog. You will find the command in the settings area menu [52].
Display Page Box
Page Boxes are displayed on the page in the form of colored lines of different lengths, which can also be used to identify Page Boxes that are in the same position. The following color codes are used for display based on Adobe Acrobat:
- Trim Box – green
- Bleed Box – blue
- Art Box – red
- Crop Box – black
- Media Box – pink
Figure 19: Display of the Page Boxes in corresponding dashed lines
Further information
Further information on Page Boxes can be found in the Glossary in Page Boxes and more information about editing in the article Pages and Page Boxes.
The order of the Page Boxes in the settings area indicates the correct nesting order for Page Boxes from inside to outside. If the order of the Page Boxes does not correspond to this order, they must be corrected accordingly for a PDF/X file.
The only Page Box that every page of a PDF file must have is the Media Box. All other Page Boxes are optional. Within the PDF/X standard, at least the Trim Box or the Art Box (but never both) are mandatory.
2.2. Application Notes
To help you navigate through the View and Analyze tab as quickly as possible when analyzing print data, we would like to give you a few tips on how to use the tab. The following options are available to the user:
2.2.1. Adapt the Tab
You can change the width of the displayed area for all tabs and the size of each settings area. To do this, proceed as follows:
Adjust Width
Place the cursor on the left edge of a settings area, which will cause the cursor [54] to change accordingly. Adjust the width of the settings areas to your requirements by simply moving them.
Figure 20: Adjusting the total width for the displayed area of the settings area in the PDF Editor
Adapth Height
Place the cursor on the heading of a settings area, causing the cursor [55] to change accordingly. Adjust the size of the settings area to your requirements by moving the height.
Figure 21: Adjust the Height of a settings area in the PDF Editor
2.2.2. Show and Hide
Showing and hiding content is a central tool in the PDF Editor, as it is handy to quickly select objects that should be changed or deleted. There are three options for showing and hiding content in the View and Analyze tab:
- Show or hide all content [56] - Click on the round checkbox in the heading of the settings area to show or hide all content.
- Show or hide individual content [57] - By clicking on the round checkbox in front of the respective entry in the settings area, only the individual entry can be shown or hidden.
- Show individual content [58] - By double-clicking on the name of the entry in the settings area, all other entries in the settings area are hidden, meaning that only the content of the clicked entry remains visible.
Figure 22: The settings area Color Spaces with the possibility to quickly select individual contents of a file
Artikel update: PDF Editor 1.7.8 – 01/2024