Uploading PDF Pages

I didn't even realise this was an option until today, however, I am finding that even when I try to upload just a single page it is taking a long time and not actually completing (at this point it's been 20 minutes). So any hints or tips? Or am I just not doing it properly?

What is the content of the PDF page? While you can upload PDF pages, I would highly recommend converting the content to a handout in game. Roll20 just shows the PDF page as an image.

Brian C. said: What is the content of the PDF page? While you can upload PDF pages, I would highly recommend converting the content to a handout in game. Roll20 just shows the PDF page as an image. The content are maps, so are perfect as images.

Is this for the map layer or for a handout? It sounds like Roll20 is having troubles with a large PDF. I have used PDF as a quick and dirty import before, and I ultimately just tossed the results. My recommendation would be to extract the maps as .jpgs, and I can give a quick set of instructions on that if you have not done it before.

How large is the file?

B Simon Smith said: How large is the file? 7.18mb Brian C. said: Is this for the map layer or for a handout? It sounds like Roll20 is having troubles with a large PDF. I have used PDF as a quick and dirty import before, and I ultimately just tossed the results. My recommendation would be to extract the maps as .jpgs, and I can give a quick set of instructions on that if you have not done it before. Yup, for the map layer. And yes please, I'd love the instructions! :D

You should import your map pdf into your photo program ( I use gimp) and save it in a jpg format. Make sure it is under 10megs in size and it should upload easily. Remember there is some bandwidth overhead when uploading.

Pat S. said: You should import your map pdf into your photo program ( I use gimp) and save it in a jpg format. Make sure it is under 10megs in size and it should upload easily. Remember there is some bandwidth overhead when uploading. Can you open a pdf in either GIMP or PS? Admittedly have never tried...

I sent you a pm about how to do it.

Claire said: Pat S. said: You should import your map pdf into your photo program ( I use gimp) and save it in a jpg format. Make sure it is under 10megs in size and it should upload easily. Remember there is some bandwidth overhead when uploading. Can you open a pdf in either GIMP or PS? Admittedly have never tried... Because it will be useful to others in the same situation: 1. You can open a pdf directly in gimp and select which page you want to turn into an image. However, this usually means you have to crop out the parts that are not the map. So that takes us to... 2. You can copy and paste the map image out of many PDFs. Then open it in GIMP with File->Create->From Clipboard. Then scale the image to 72 dpi via Image->Scale Image. In the same screen you can scale down the map if it is too large. You want no more than 70 pixels per square. So a 20x20 map should be no bigger than 1400x1400 pixels. At this point you can export the image as a .jpg with 90% quality at File->Export As. At that point, you will likely have a high quality map that is no larger than it needs to be. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Just a quick note: try exporting the jpeg at a couple of different resolutions. Depending on the nature of the image, you can often crank that quality (and filesize) waaay down without appreciable loss of quality. On very large maps, this can make a real difference in performance.

keithcurtis said: Just a quick note: try exporting the jpeg at a couple of different resolutions. Depending on the nature of the image, you can crank that quality (and filesize) waaay down without appreciable loss of quality. On very large maps, this can make a real difference in performance. This is excellent advice. A 2-3 MB map will perform much better than one close to the 10MB limit.

I use Sumatra for viewing PDFs, and i can right-click on a pic and it will give me the option "Copy Image". Other pdf viewers can usually do the same, though the option might be in a menu (named something like Extract Image). This is the best way of getting images out of PDFs. You can then paste into a paint program like GIMP or Paint.net, and do what you want with it, and you get it at the full resolution it was in the pdf file.

This is all awesome advice, I am bookmarking this for future reference! Is the difference in quality much different between a 1400x1400 png and jpg?

Probably not a lot of difference in quality but likely a lot of difference in file size and therefore library space usage... the main feature of png is the ability to maintain transparancy in an image.

There's a lot more to visual quality of a graphic than the size.  All else being equal, iIf you have the choice, its best to save as PNG. Jpgs lose quality each time you edit or save them, PNGs dont. That said, JPGs can be dramatically smaller and still look good, so if you're only saving it once and not editing it before uploading, a jpg works just as well and wont take up as much space in your library. I generally keep pngs as archive copies, and save them as jpgs if I'm posting them online (like in roll20's library). 

Inkscape does a pretty good job of importing pdfs as well. Then it's a simple task to ungroup and remove the numbers and letters from the map.  Here's how it looks Thanks for that Sumatra tip! I'll try that.

G G said: There's a lot more to visual quality of a graphic than the size.  All else being equal, iIf you have the choice, its best to save as PNG. Jpgs lose quality each time you edit or save them, PNGs dont. That said, JPGs can be dramatically smaller and still look good, so if you're only saving it once and not editing it before uploading, a jpg works just as well and wont take up as much space in your library. I generally keep pngs as archive copies, and save them as jpgs if I'm posting them online (like in roll20's library).  For this reason, it's good to use jpegs for static maps, which don't generally require transparency. Modular tiles frequently have transparent edges; many people assemble tiled maps in an image editor, save an editable copy, but export a jpeg for uploading to Roll20. The fewer the pieces, the better the performance. I generally save in PSD format, but TIFF is fine for saving layered, editable graphics.

Thanks guys, this is all very useful advice. So... jpg for the static maps and PNGs for the tokens/tiles that need transparency, yes?

Correct. I save all my work in the default .xcf (gimp) format so I can do the various edits till I'm ready to export it into a jpg format (static) or png format (transperency).

That should give you the best performance. You can find more info  here.