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• • January 27, 2010 at 6:04 pm #54681
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    Hey Gang :)

    I know there is software out there that can (or claims) to compare InDesign native files and the PDFs. The company I work for is interested. But–they think it can compare page breaks, and I don't think that software can do that. What they are looking for is a way to alleviate us printing out the PDF file and comparing it to the printed out InDesign file (the latest pass we have). We do such comparisons because you never know when one person in the shop made corrections which caused a different page break and he/she didn't back it up.

    Does this comparison software check page breaks? I was/am under the impression that it will check that the type is the same (i..e, words, punctuation, etc. [not the font–I'm talking just words and punctuation and stuff]. Similar to comparing two Word documents. Is there software out there that actually checks the pagination and page breaks and compares that?

    Sorry for asking, but I'm been asked to check into it, as someone they know in the publishing field says there's such a program.

    Thanks again.

    doc

  • January 27, 2010 at 6:11 pm #54684
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    Acrobat can compare two documents.

    And there is a script out there for comparing two indesign files – but I can't find it – I have it bookmarked on another computer that I don't have access to.

  • January 27, 2010 at 6:19 pm #54688
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    Thanks, Eugeue. I'm aware of Acrobat comparing two documents, and I did read somewhere about the script you talked about (I can't find it either).

    But to re-emphasize–they want to compare the actual line breaks or page breaks and make sure that the InDesign File and PDF match exactly (particularly when it comes to page breaks (i.e., first and last words on pages).

    doc

  • January 27, 2010 at 6:33 pm #54691
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    That's the oddest request I've ever heard.

    If you do the compare in Acrobat, you can do consolidated results, going through each page will show you where text doesn't match and you can hover over the text to see the comparison.

    And you can check that each page ends the same this way too.

    Does that work or am I completely misunderstanding what you're looking for?

  • January 27, 2010 at 6:44 pm #54693
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    Eugene–you do understand what I'm talking about. :)

    Is that faster and easier than just printing out the PDF and comparing to the printed copy of the InDesign file (i.e. flipping through it and checking page breaks)? To me, it seems it would take more time to compare the files and hover over stuff.

    It seems that what is wanted is software that will compare the ID file and the PDF and tell us within seconds the difference (mainly page breaks).

    It's an odd request–I know. And actually they're not requesting, but were told by someone about how they use it (although their PDFs and native files don't match half the time).

    doc

  • January 27, 2010 at 6:50 pm #54694
    Anonymous

    Inactive

    As far as I know, the compared document will only show pages that have differences, not all the pages.

    So you just need to check teh pages in the resulting pdf, which shouldn't be too many pages.

  • January 27, 2010 at 7:26 pm #54695
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    Thanks, Eugene. I'll chleck it out. Thanks for your help

    {edit: actually–I don't even know what program I'm supposed to use to compare it with. It's not Acrobat comparing PDFs. It's gotta be Acrobat comparing to ID}

  • January 27, 2010 at 7:29 pm #54696
    Colin Flashman

    Member

    the link for kasyan's indesign comparing script is https://creativepro.com/scr…..encing.php

    so far as comparing a pdf to an indesign file which may have created it, could make a new indesign file and run the multipageimporter2.2.1.jsx to import the pdf into that file; and then compare the two using kasyan's script. read the link to see how the differences between the two files appear.

    my workplace has an SOP that ANY artwork with hard copy supplied MUST BE overlaid to our proof to ensure that linebreaks are consistent, amongst other things. however, that falls in a heap when the hard copy:

    * isn't to scale;

    * isn't the latest version (i.e. type alts have been done);

    * is double sided (can't see through the hard copy properly).

    mind you, the customers that DO supply proofs normally supply pdfs of their art anyway (no native files) and rarely have problems.

    i might add that supplying hard copy is still a good idea, it gives the prepress people like myself some comparison to the artwork the RIP produced, and given that we haven't seen the artwork before, won't be aware if images have dropped off, etc.

  • January 27, 2010 at 7:36 pm #54697
    Dwayne Harris

    Member

    Thanks colin. It does seem like a lot of work to use multipager and run the scripts and compare. It may be just plain old easier to print ou the PDFs and compare to the last ID printed file and flip through the pages.

    I guess the powers-that-be (no offense to them) want some sort of “easy button.”

    And I totally agree with you about supplying hard copy being so important.

    I'll check out your method and do some testing.

    doc

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