PDF cropping software: BRISS - Page 13

laborg · 01-10-2011, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hort_wort

Is there a way that I can get Briss to do its thing anyway? As is, it produces a blank pdf file after I enter the output filename.

Does BRISS render your DRM pdf correctly? I must confess I've never thought about supporting DRM and therefore can't say how much effort it would be to include.

best regards,

frabjous · 01-10-2011, 09:54 AM

It might have got stuck in BullZip because of the DRM. (Or are we talking merely password protection, here? I'd be very surprised of PDFLRF could handle DRMed PDFs.)

Are you doing nothing but cropping whitespace? If so, then with all due respect to BRISS, which I love, it's not the right tool for the job if you have a lot of files to process, and you're only removing whitespace. Assuming the DRM isn't a hindrance (which it might be), you could use SoPDF or a combination of Calibre and Ghostscript inside a batch file to auto-crop all the PDFs in a folder with a single command. (Let me know if you need details.)

(Keep in mind also that calibre can batch convert LRF to ePub.)

Do you know exactly what kind of DRM this is? Is it just password protection?

hort_wort · 01-10-2011, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laborg

Does BRISS render your DRM pdf correctly? I must confess I've never thought about supporting DRM and therefore can't say how much effort it would be to include.

Well, I click "crop pdf", then I give it a filename. When I push "save", it immediately switches to trying to open the pdf file to show me the result... which is a totally blank file aside from the same. The size is 0 bytes. I repeat the same steps on a more friendly pdf, and the result looks great, truly a great program....

Quote:

Originally Posted by frabjous

It might have got stuck in BullZip because of the DRM. (Or are we talking merely password protection, here? I'd be very surprised of PDFLRF could handle DRMed PDFs.)

Are you doing nothing but cropping whitespace? If so, then with all due respect to BRISS, which I love, it's not the right tool for the job if you have a lot of files to process, and you're only removing whitespace. Assuming the DRM isn't a hindrance (which it might be), you could use SoPDF or a combination of Calibre and Ghostscript inside a batch file to auto-crop all the PDFs in a folder with a single command. (Let me know if you need details.)

(Keep in mind also that calibre can batch convert LRF to ePub.)

Do you know exactly what kind of DRM this is? Is it just password protection?

I attached the readout on the security. It says it allows printing, so I figured sending it to a printer driver would be okay -- no such luck. I might try another, cutepdf perhaps.

These comics need more work than just getting out white space. Primarily, I have to split the columns apart so I stand a chance of actually reading them. PDFLRF was the only column splitter I found that could pull it off at all. Some of the pages are different sizes though and the results were not so good.

Hmmm I might try SoPDF again though. I was trying several programs and ignored that one because it required me to actually think.

<--- is GUI lazy
edit: Looks like SoPDF doesn't split columns, not for me, anyway.

frabjous · 01-10-2011, 11:48 AM

If you want to try another virtual printer, I'd go for an open source option like PDFCreator. Nagware and adware is annoying.

Yeah, if you need to split columns, it gets more complicated, and BRISS is usually what I would use. If the dividing line is right in the middle, maybe there would be other possibilities. I'd have to think about it. But you can't really batch-process if you need to enter passwords anyway.

hort_wort · 01-10-2011, 01:34 PM

Hmmm after further experimenting with different pdf viewers and printers, I've decided that these files are *very* unfriendly. I'm feeling lucky I can open the things at all.

I have a feeling the pdflrf is gonna be the best thing I can do, hopefully I can knock down the conversion time with tweaking.

So to laborg, don't worry about this issue. These files are doomed to screw everything up until I march to adobe with a pitchfork and get them to stop borking their files with drm.

Thanks for the attention, guys.

hort_wort · 01-10-2011, 08:43 PM

Whew! Okay, I found a solution for what I can do!

The trick is to convert from PDF to CBZ first! Once it's in cbz format, then calibre can convert it! I end up with a watermark, but I don't mind that. There is a comic converter for that here:
http://www.jontylovell.net

It isn't a perfect solution, the converter produces a 100MB CBZ from a 10MB PDF, so it's slow and takes a lot of room. But the resulting EPUBs for my nook in the end are only 3MB. Even better, these programs both handle batch operations, so I can throw a hundred in at a time and let it run overnight.

So anyway, I know this has nothing to do with Briss, but I figured someone else might have the same issue later and would want to know a solution.

heychadwick · 01-11-2011, 11:32 AM

Hi All. I've been recommended this program for what I want to do (cropping .pdf's for a smaller e-reader). I'm a Windows Vista user. I'm not a programmer. I don't know java. I'm good with OS and functions, but not with the few instructions I have seen on the web.

How do I launch the app?

Thanks!

jackie_w · 01-11-2011, 12:35 PM

@heychadwick,

I use Windows XP, I don't know whether this is the best way but it works for me. Create a one-line .bat file containing

Code:

java -jar briss-0.0.11.jar

which you can double-click to run.

heychadwick · 01-11-2011, 12:47 PM

Thanks!

Hmmm.....I created it via notepad and saved it .bat. The icon looks right (meaning Windows associates it appropriately). I double click on it. I get a quick command line screen flash. Nothing.

I don't need to put it anywhere special, right?

laborg · 01-11-2011, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heychadwick

I don't need to put it anywhere special, right?

Your .bat must reside in the same directory as briss. Did you unzip it? Btw. Do you have java installed (type "java -version" into the command line and paste the output into this thread)?

regards,

heychadwick · 01-11-2011, 01:33 PM

Putting the .bat in the folder with the rest of Briss doesn't change anything.

I type in "java -version" from the cmd line, but it doesn't know it.

I google "java install windows" and get to the java page to install it. I click on the auto install button. It says I already have java installed:

"You have the recommended Java installed (Version 6 Update 23)."

laborg · 01-11-2011, 01:47 PM

Could you try version 0.0.12? I've added a briss.exe for the windows users.

regards,

heychadwick · 01-24-2011, 02:07 PM

The new version with the .exe did the trick! I thank you for adding that.

I have a question, though. How can I delete pages? I have a .pdf that is 60 pages or so. I really only want to crop some of it up to fit in my small screen e-reader. As far as I can see, I can't see a way to get rid of pages that I don't want. Is there?

laborg · 01-24-2011, 02:17 PM

Deleting pages is not possible with Briss. Therefore other tools can be used, i guess...

jackie_w · 01-24-2011, 08:26 PM

@laborg,
I only just noticed your new 0.0.12 release. I've just tried using briss.exe on my Windows XP PC. I really like the new interface. Now I can see odds and evens side-by-side with no problem. I also love the Preview option.

Keep up the good work, it's much appreciated.

A couple of things for your consideration, which I think would be nice to have are:

When you have a box selected, the ability to "nudge" it slightly in a single direction (up, down, right, left), using the arrow keys. I find fine tuning with a mouse quite difficult.
Similarly, the ability to zoom in on a box, again so you can fine tune better.

01-11-2011, 12:35 PM	#188
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	@heychadwick, I use Windows XP, I don't know whether this is the best way but it works for me. Create a one-line .bat file containing Code: java -jar briss-0.0.11.jar which you can double-click to run.

01-11-2011, 01:47 PM	#192
laborg Zealot Posts: 105 Karma: 94000 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Vienna Device: Cybook Gen3	Could you try version 0.0.12? I've added a briss.exe for the windows users. regards, Last edited by laborg; 01-11-2011 at 06:47 PM.

01-24-2011, 08:26 PM	#195
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	@laborg, I only just noticed your new 0.0.12 release. I've just tried using briss.exe on my Windows XP PC. I really like the new interface. Now I can see odds and evens side-by-side with no problem. I also love the Preview option. Keep up the good work, it's much appreciated. A couple of things for your consideration, which I think would be nice to have are: When you have a box selected, the ability to "nudge" it slightly in a single direction (up, down, right, left), using the arrow keys. I find fine tuning with a mouse quite difficult. Similarly, the ability to zoom in on a box, again so you can fine tune better.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Cropping .pdfs with Briss and converting with Calibre	mrslecavalier	Amazon Kindle	6	07-13-2010 07:53 PM
PDF to EPUP conversion after page cropping	Naismith	Calibre	6	03-09-2010 08:37 AM
cropping pdf with preview	wang960	Sony Reader	2	05-05-2009 09:28 AM
Yet another PDF cropping tool	sjvr767	iRex	7	02-14-2009 07:04 AM
Nice Mac OS X .pdf Cropping Tool	jmdor	Sony Reader	0	04-04-2007 10:41 PM

01-10-2011, 09:54 AM	#182
frabjous Wizard Posts: 1,213 Karma: 12890 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	It might have got stuck in BullZip because of the DRM. (Or are we talking merely password protection, here? I'd be very surprised of PDFLRF could handle DRMed PDFs.) Are you doing nothing but cropping whitespace? If so, then with all due respect to BRISS, which I love, it's not the right tool for the job if you have a lot of files to process, and you're only removing whitespace. Assuming the DRM isn't a hindrance (which it might be), you could use SoPDF or a combination of Calibre and Ghostscript inside a batch file to auto-crop all the PDFs in a folder with a single command. (Let me know if you need details.) (Keep in mind also that calibre can batch convert LRF to ePub.) Do you know exactly what kind of DRM this is? Is it just password protection?

01-10-2011, 11:48 AM	#184
frabjous Wizard Posts: 1,213 Karma: 12890 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	If you want to try another virtual printer, I'd go for an open source option like PDFCreator. Nagware and adware is annoying. Yeah, if you need to split columns, it gets more complicated, and BRISS is usually what I would use. If the dividing line is right in the middle, maybe there would be other possibilities. I'd have to think about it. But you can't really batch-process if you need to enter passwords anyway.

01-10-2011, 01:34 PM	#185
hort_wort Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 116 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: nook	Hmmm after further experimenting with different pdf viewers and printers, I've decided that these files are very unfriendly. I'm feeling lucky I can open the things at all. I have a feeling the pdflrf is gonna be the best thing I can do, hopefully I can knock down the conversion time with tweaking. So to laborg, don't worry about this issue. These files are doomed to screw everything up until I march to adobe with a pitchfork and get them to stop borking their files with drm. Thanks for the attention, guys.

01-10-2011, 08:43 PM	#186
hort_wort Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 116 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: nook	Whew! Okay, I found a solution for what I can do! The trick is to convert from PDF to CBZ first! Once it's in cbz format, then calibre can convert it! I end up with a watermark, but I don't mind that. There is a comic converter for that here: http://www.jontylovell.net It isn't a perfect solution, the converter produces a 100MB CBZ from a 10MB PDF, so it's slow and takes a lot of room. But the resulting EPUBs for my nook in the end are only 3MB. Even better, these programs both handle batch operations, so I can throw a hundred in at a time and let it run overnight. So anyway, I know this has nothing to do with Briss, but I figured someone else might have the same issue later and would want to know a solution.

01-11-2011, 11:32 AM	#187
heychadwick Member Posts: 20 Karma: 386 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: PRS-300	Hi All. I've been recommended this program for what I want to do (cropping .pdf's for a smaller e-reader). I'm a Windows Vista user. I'm not a programmer. I don't know java. I'm good with OS and functions, but not with the few instructions I have seen on the web. How do I launch the app? Thanks!

01-11-2011, 12:47 PM	#189
heychadwick Member Posts: 20 Karma: 386 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: PRS-300	Thanks! Hmmm.....I created it via notepad and saved it .bat. The icon looks right (meaning Windows associates it appropriately). I double click on it. I get a quick command line screen flash. Nothing. I don't need to put it anywhere special, right?

01-11-2011, 01:33 PM	#191
heychadwick Member Posts: 20 Karma: 386 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: PRS-300	Putting the .bat in the folder with the rest of Briss doesn't change anything. I type in "java -version" from the cmd line, but it doesn't know it. I google "java install windows" and get to the java page to install it. I click on the auto install button. It says I already have java installed: "You have the recommended Java installed (Version 6 Update 23)."

01-24-2011, 02:07 PM	#193
heychadwick Member Posts: 20 Karma: 386 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: PRS-300	The new version with the .exe did the trick! I thank you for adding that. I have a question, though. How can I delete pages? I have a .pdf that is 60 pages or so. I really only want to crop some of it up to fit in my small screen e-reader. As far as I can see, I can't see a way to get rid of pages that I don't want. Is there?

01-24-2011, 02:17 PM	#194
laborg Zealot Posts: 105 Karma: 94000 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Vienna Device: Cybook Gen3	Deleting pages is not possible with Briss. Therefore other tools can be used, i guess...

Advert

Advert