Switchboard: Pages - Scale and enlarge

pdfaPilot’s Pages Group offers a range of options for scaling page content and enlarging page regions.

This article will provide a brief overview of these Actions.

Numerous scaling Actions can be found under the Pages group.

“Scale to format” Action

The Scale to format Action offers the following options:

  1. The Fit to menu provides an extensive list of international standard formats to choose from.
  2. The Adjustment menu provides a range of ways to compare the page content against the page, in case the original document’s height-width ratio is different from that of the document to be created.

Click the Execute button to begin processing.

Effect of the “Scale to format” Action

Example: DIN A4 to DIN A5:

  1. The input document measures 21 x 29.7 cm = DIN A4 format. The dimensions are shown at the bottom left of pdfaPilot's document window.
  2. In this case, the target size under Fit to is DIN A5.
  3. We have set the Adjustment to Fit from inside (which in this case is irrelevant for an A4 to A5 conversion, since the ratio remains the same.)
  4. The converted PDF document measures 14.8 x 21 cm = DIN A5.

“Scale by percent” Action

The Scale by percent Action is intended for use when working with target page sizes which do not correspond to standard formats such as A4 or Letter. The following options are available:

  1. The Scale to field lets you enter the desired percentage.
  2. Click the Execute button to begin processing.

Effect of the “Scale by percent” Action

Example: Scaling by 75 percent:

  1. The input document measures 21 x 29.7 cm = DIN A4 format. The dimensions are shown at the bottom left of pdfaPilot's document window.
  2. Here, the Scale to value is set to 75%.
  3. The converted PDF document measures 15.75 x 22.27 cm = 75 percent.

“Scale page format only” Action

The Scale page format only Action adjusts the page dimensions without changing the page’s content. The following options are available:

  1. The Scale to field lets you enter the desired percentage.
  2. Under Relative to, you can specify which point will be used as a reference for scaling (each corner, each edge or the center.)
  3. Click the Execute button to begin processing.

Effect of the “Scale page format only” Action

Example: Scaling by 150 percent:

  1. The input document is in DIN A4 format.
  2. Here, the Scale to value is set to 150%.
  3. Relative to has been set to Bottom.
  4. The converted PDF document measures 31.50 x 44.55 cm = 150 percent. The original page content has not been scaled; instead, white space has been added relative to the reference point.

“Scale page content only” Action

The Scale page content only Action adjusts the page content without changing the page’s dimensions. The following options are available:

  1. The Scale to field lets you enter the desired percentage.
  2. Under Relative to, you can specify which point will be used as a reference for scaling (each corner, each edge or the center.)
  3. Click the Execute button to begin processing.

Effect of the “Scale page content only” Action

Example: Scaling by 75 percent:

  1. The input document is in DIN A4 format.
  2. Here, the Scale to value is set to 75%.
  3. Relative to is set to Center of page.
  4. The converted PDF document remains in DIN A5 format. The page content has been scaled by 75 percent relative to the center of the page.

“Enlarge” Action

The Enlarge Action individually add white space to each edge of the page:

  1. The Enlarge the page area by field lets you enter the desired value in mm, inches or pt.
  2. Under Relative to, you can specify which point will be used as a reference for scaling (left, top, right or bottom.)
  3. Click the Execute button to begin processing.

Effect of the “Enlarge” Action

Example: Adding 50 mm to the left edge:

  1. The input document is in DIN A4 format.
  2. The value under Enlarge the page area by has been set to 50 mm.
  3. It is being added on the left side.
  4. The converted PDF document now has an extra 50 mm of space on the left side.