PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

This forum is for all Flare issues related to PDF, eBook, Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker, XPS, and XHTML book targets.
Post Reply
Tobias
Propeller Head
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:07 am
Location: Southern Bavaria, five lake district

PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

Post by Tobias »

Hi,
I`m using Flare for PDF exclusively and have a problem with the PDF files that flare creates.
When trying to compare two PDF files, Acrobat stops with an error message that would translate to somewhat like "array was expected".
This only happes with PDF files created by flare and not with other pdf files.
A workaround is to "print"' the PDF files als PDF with Acrobat PDF printer driver. After this treatment, the comparison works. But this is not feasible all the time, as it`s quite time consuming :?
Regards
Tobias
These are my PDF options in the targets:
Screenshot 2023-11-03 112052.png
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
trent the thief
Propellus Maximus
Posts: 613
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:21 am
Location: Off in the dark....

Re: PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

Post by trent the thief »

Hi Tobias,

That's annoying, but there is nothing to be done about it. There are many PDF tools and libraries available. Their outputs might look identical, but internally, they'll vary widely. The only compatibility guarantee is visually appearance, and even that's not always the case.

Flare uses the Apose PDF library. I have a suspicion that any app that isn't based on the Adobe PDF library may fail with Adobe's tools.

If you only need to once-in-awhile comparisons, Draftable.com and PDFCreator both handle Flare's PDFs. At least for text changes. They might flag images , but I haven't used them in that manner.
Trent.

Certifiable.

Image

umm...
I meant MAD Certified.

Official Propeller Beanie Owner :-)

:flare: Are you on Flare's Slack channels? PM me for an invitation! :flare:
Tobias
Propeller Head
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:07 am
Location: Southern Bavaria, five lake district

Re: PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

Post by Tobias »

Hi Trent, thanks for your reply, I`ll try the tools you mentioned
sarrants
Propeller Head
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:04 am
Location: South Burlington, VT

Re: PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

Post by sarrants »

We've never seen that error. We use the Compare files tool in Acrobat without any issues. Here are our settings:
Image
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
The things that we plan and measure are the things that get done.
trent the thief
Propellus Maximus
Posts: 613
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:21 am
Location: Off in the dark....

Re: PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

Post by trent the thief »

@Steve, Me, either, but I've only just started using Flare's PDFs. If the PDF is readable, it's definitely an incompatibility with the Apose library or possibly a setting. But that's only one of many, given our lack of control over the tables that Apose uses to mimic Divs in PDFs.

@Tobias, I'm betting that Apose's comparison tool will read and process that PDF file without issue: https://products.aspose.app/pdf/comparison
Trent.

Certifiable.

Image

umm...
I meant MAD Certified.

Official Propeller Beanie Owner :-)

:flare: Are you on Flare's Slack channels? PM me for an invitation! :flare:
IFU
Propeller Head
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:28 pm
Location: Vancouver BC

Re: PDF comparison in Acrobat stops with error message

Post by IFU »

Thanks for the link to Apose.
I have been using the desktop version of Draftable to compare PDF files generated by Flare and I love it.
https://www.draftable.com/

Isabelle
Post Reply