Why Adobe Acrobat Creates Large PDFs from Microsoft Publisher and How to Fix It
Question details
The user needs to understand why converting Microsoft Publisher documents to PDF results in unusually large files and how to effectively compress them.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Standard / Microsoft Publisher
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting or printing 50–100 MB Microsoft Publisher documents into PDF format for sharing, distribution, or printing.
- Observed behavior
- Older versions of Adobe Acrobat successfully compressed the Publisher files into smaller PDFs, but newer conversions generate significantly larger files depending on the Acrobat version and conversion method used.
Verify your current version of Adobe Acrobat Standard and check whether you are using Microsoft's native 'Save As PDF' option or an Adobe PDF printer driver to create your documents.
Print Using the Adobe PDF PostScript Printer Driver
Use Adobe's dedicated printer driver instead of Microsoft's native PDF export to gain better control over file compression and output size.
Recent versions of Adobe Acrobat do not provide direct PDF creation support for Microsoft Publisher. Native options like Publisher's 'Save As PDF' and 'Microsoft Print to PDF' are Microsoft features that often bypass advanced file compression, resulting in massive file sizes.
Open your large document in Microsoft Publisher, navigate to the 'File' menu in the top-left corner, and select 'Print'.
In the Printer dropdown menu, select 'Adobe PDF' instead of your default printer or 'Microsoft Print to PDF'.
Click on 'Printer Properties' right below the printer selection. Under the 'Adobe PDF Settings' tab, change the 'Default Settings' to 'Smallest File Size' or 'Standard' to ensure the output is compressed.
Click 'OK' to save the properties, then click the 'Print' button. You will be prompted to choose a location to save your newly compressed PDF file.
Optimize the PDF File Post-Creation
If you have already generated a large PDF using Microsoft Publisher, you can reduce its size using Acrobat's built-in optimization feature.
Compress Oversized PDFs Easily with WPS Office
If your PDFs generated from Microsoft Publisher are still too large to email or share, WPS Office offers a powerful, intuitive PDF toolset. You can instantly compress, edit, and manage oversized PDF files without relying on heavy, expensive software.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Download and install WPS Office Free on your computer.
- 2. Open the Large PDF: Launch WPS PDF and open the large PDF file you created from Microsoft Publisher.
- 3. Access the Compress Tool: Navigate to the 'Home' or 'Tools' tab on the top ribbon and click on 'Compress'.
- 4. Select Compression Level: Choose your preferred compression level based on your quality requirements (HD, Normal, or Common).
- 5. Compress and Save: Click the 'Compress' button. WPS Office will process the document and prompt you to save the significantly smaller PDF file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'Microsoft Print to PDF' create such large files from Publisher?
'Microsoft Print to PDF' and the native 'Save As PDF' features in Microsoft Publisher often flatten transparent images and text without applying advanced compression algorithms. This results in significantly larger file sizes compared to using a dedicated PDF processor like Adobe PostScript.
Will reducing the PDF size lower the image quality of my document?
Yes, PDF compression usually works by downsampling images and removing invisible background data. If your Publisher document contains high-resolution images meant for professional printing, aggressive compression will cause a noticeable loss in visual quality. Choose a 'Standard' or 'High Quality Print' setting if preserving image clarity is necessary.
Can I open Microsoft Publisher (.pub) files directly in WPS Office?
WPS Office does not natively support the opening or editing of .pub files. You must first export or print the Publisher document to a PDF format. Once saved as a PDF, you can seamlessly open, compress, edit, and annotate the file using WPS Office's built-in PDF tools.
