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Tips for Making PDF Files Conducive To Mobile Users

Some estimates say that there are more viewers of PDF files in mobile devices compared to desktop machines. Since Adobe Reader for Mobiles has come up in the market, it would be a good idea to create PDF files which will display correctly on mobile version of Adobe Reader. It is to be noticed that there is no need to make PDF files specifically for mobiles. However, the files should be created in a way so that they could be viewed on mobiles with limited features and do not even provide any problems on desktop systems. Here are the tips for making PDF files conducive to users of mobiles.

Reduce the size of the file

The first idea to make a PDF file conducive to mobile users is to reduce the size of the file. However, use the right way of reducing the size of the file. Do not use the method File – > Save As – > Reduced Size PDF available in Acrobat X, because this will remove 14 standard font types from the file. This application Acrobat X assumes that these font types are present on almost all desktop systems, but it is not good for mobiles. Use PDF Optimizer as an alternative to complete this task.

Embed fonts

Embed all fonts which are used in the file, even if these are present on desktop machines. It ensures that the file is viewed in the original font on desktop machines and on mobiles. One can embed entire font or only a part of the characters which are used in the file.

Create bookmarks

Adobe Reader for Mobiles does not implement links. Thus, it would be a good idea to add bookmarks to the interesting locations of very long PDF files. This ensures that you don’t miss anything in the absence of links.

Use meaningful names for the files

The iOS or Android devices do not index PDF files. Thus, use meaningful names for the PDF files when saving them. Otherwise also, meaningful file naming is a good practice; it improves SEO for the files.

Meaningful names for files are more important for attachments in PDF Portfolios. Here, the files are listed on the basis of their names and not ‘Display Name’ and are shown in alphabetical order. In Portfolios, if some serial order is important to have, then the user has to use numerical prefixes with the filename.

Add posters for multimedia objects

If a PDF file has any multimedia objects embedded into it, it will be a good idea to add a poster for each and every multimedia object. Poster is nothing but an image which will be displayed in case some sound or video is inactive. The mobile versions of Adobe Reader may not display multimedia objects. Thus, adding posters will make sure that the viewers see images in place of multimedia objects and not blank boxes.

Conclusion

Since mobile users for PDF files are increasing day by day, follow the above tips when creating PDF files with any PDF creator like PDF-File.com. This will make PDFs conducive to both mobile users as well as desktop users.

Written By

Ethan Ava is an marketing expert and consultant and is currently associated with PDF-File Conversion Software. He loves blogging around technology news, updates, security issues, various aspects of dealing with PDF documents etc.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Sudipto

    April 2, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    Hey Ethan,
    Thanks for sharing such useful tips for making pdf files for mobile users. After reading this post now I can easily pdf which can operate in both mobile or desktop.

  2. Ethan Ava

    April 2, 2013 at 1:25 pm

    Thanks for stopping by Sudipto. Glad that you liked the effort. Keep coming for more.

  3. Luis

    April 12, 2013 at 8:50 pm

    Ethan, thanks! This is exactly what I have been searching for. PDFs have always had their problems with mobile-compatibility and these tips are very useful.

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