User Manual / Analyze PDF / Open, Save and Export

Save and Export

Updated on Feb 09, 2024

In this chapter you will learn

how to save PDF files and
how to export individual pages of the PDF file.

1. Introduction

Various file formats can be opened or imported in the PDF Editor and saved as a PDF file. The user can also render individual pages of the PDF file as an image and export them to the desired file format.

2. Export/Save files

Documents can be saved or exported in different forms in the PDF Editor. The following options are available:

Save PDF file: To do this, use the menu commands
- File > Save - quickly save the current version of the PDF file (incremental saving)
- File > Save As... - Save the current version of the PDF file under a different name (optimized saving)
- File > Save Optimized - Save the current version of the PDF file (optimized saving)
Export PDF file: To do this, use the menu command File > Export Image File...

2.1. Save Document

In the PDF Editor, you can save the currently open PDF file - as you are used to from other graphical applications. To do this, proceed as follows:

Call up the menu command File > Save or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + S (Windows) or cmd + S (macOS) and save your document. The original file will be overwritten - you can no longer undo changes!
Call up the menu command File > Save as... menu command or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + S (Windows) or cmd + Shift + S (macOS). This will take you to the document explorer, where you can select the storage location of your file. The document will not be overwritten if you enter a new file name. The original file is retained.

Every change made in a document is appended incrementally when it is saved. This makes the PDF file larger and larger. The advantage is that saving is quick, especially for large and complex files. However, if you save your file in optimized form, all increments are merged again. The changes you have made are retained, but the document becomes smaller again.

To save optimized, proceed as follows:

Execute the menu command File > Save Optimized and thereby save your document. This overwrites the original document and you can no longer undo changes.

2.2. Export single pages

A PDF file can be exported to an image file using the PDF Editor. The following image formats are available for export:

TIFF - stands for Tag Image File Format. TIFF is a flexible raster image format that saves high-quality image data for post-processing without any loss of quality. The compression and decompression of a TIFF file is usually lossless.
JPEG - stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. Since the introduction of digital cameras, JPEG is probably one of the most popular file formats for images. This file type supports the Color Spaces Grayscale, RGB or CMYK. JPEG files are always compressed with lossy compression, which can drastically reduce the file size in some cases.
PNG - stands for Portable Network Graphic. PNG is often used to display high-quality images on websites. This format offers lossless compression. PNG also supports graphics with transparent or semi-transparent backgrounds.

2.2.1. Export as TIFF

To export the current page of the open document to a TIFF file, proceed as follows:

Select the menu command File > Export Image File... menu command. This opens the Save as dialog.
Enter a file name [1] for the document.
In Format [2], select TIFF (*.tif *.tiff) from the drop-down menu.
Enter the desired Resolution [3] in which the page is to be rendered. The resolution is specified in dpi.
Select the desired Color Space [4] in the selection menu. You can choose between Gray(scale), RGB and CMYK.
Select the Simulate Overprint [5] option if you want to reproduce the result in the image that you would get when rendering for print output.
Click Save [6] to start the rendering process for the selected page.

Figure 1: The dialog Save As for the file type Tiff

Render time

Please note that the rendering time for exporting an image essentially depends on the selected resolution.

2.2.2. Export as PNG

To export the current page of the open document to a PNG file, proceed as follows:

Select the menu command Datei File > Export Image File... menu command. This opens the Save as dialog.
Enter a File Name [7] for the document.
In Format [8], select PNG (*.tif *.tiff) from the drop-down menu.
Enter the desired Resolution [9] in which the page is to be rendered. The resolution is specified in dpi.
Select the desired Color Space [10] in the selection menu. You can choose between Grayscale and RGB.
Select the Alpha Channel option [11] if you want to save transparencies as an alpha channel in the PNG file. Please note that this option is only available if there are transparencies on the currently displayed page.
Select the Simulate Overprint [12] option if you want to reproduce the result in the image that you would get when rendering for print output.
Press Save [13] to start the rendering process for the selected page.

Figure 2: The dialog Save As for the file format PNG

2.2.3. Export as JPEG

To export the current page of the open document to a JPEG file (JFIF), proceed as follows:

Select the menu command File > Export Image File... This opens the Save As dialog.
Enter a File Name [14] for the document.
In Format [15], select JPEG (*.jpeg *.jpg) from the drop-down menu.
Enter the desired Resolution [16] in which the page is to be rendered. The resolution is specified in dpi.
Select the desired Color Space [17] in the selection menu. You can choose between Gray(scale), RGB and CMYK.
Select the Simulate Overprint [18] option if you want to reproduce the result in the image that you would get when rendering for print output.
Select the desired compression level in the Quality option [19]. Low means low quality combined with high compression (small file size). High means high quality with low compression (larger file size).
Press Save [20] to start the rendering process for the selected page.