Embedded Files
A Guide to Prepare PDF
This document is originally prepared by Asif Khan, MASc in Electrical and Computer Engineering (McMaster University) and diagram by Ahmed Ishmum Rashique, MEng in Applied Computing (University of Windsor).
Year of Publication: 2020
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In this strange situation created by the pandemic, applying online (for Study Permit) is the only way. I prefer applying online because there is no waiting time to reach the application to IRCC and if somehow your application gets rejected, you won’t have to start from zero again! To apply online, you have to collect, scan, and organize lots of documents together. Then comes another hectic part where you must confine each document in 4 MB file size. I believe this document will help you prepare your documents in a very optimized way and you can do so in less than an hour.
Notes:
We will be using open-source/free software instead of online tools. Uploading documents to free online tools is not good if you care about privacy (my personal opinion).
It’s not a good idea to buy Premium software for this. Cracking it is also a hassle considering everyone is not comfortable doing that. This is also not ethical!
You need a machine with Windows operating system.
This software trio is the best combination found for this specific case after ~40 hours of work (read 80 hours of mental pressure!) towards perfection! It’s been Tested with 2 of my friends after me and they were superbly satisfied! Feeling like a marketing professional now!!!
Disclaimer: I found these software online when I prepared my docs. If the layout of any of these software gets updated then this document will need updates as well. I am not liable or responsible for any misuse or any issue (if arises) while following this process.
Now, I will explain the workflow. At this point, you should have all documents in softcopy (scanned image or pdf). Let’s start now! At first, the below diagram will give you a high-level idea about the steps.
Download and Install these software packages:
NAPS2: https://www.naps2.com/ (Used Version 6.1.2.25834)
IrfanView: https://www.irfanview.com/ (Used Version 4.54 64-bit)
PDF24: https://en.pdf24.org/ (Used Version 9.2.1)
Organize all required files and separate them into two folders (e.g., Financial_Support, Client_Information). Create two empty folders (e.g., converted, compressed) in each of the previous folders.
Convert to JPG/JPEG: If any scanned documents are previously converted to pdf, you have to convert them back to image format.
Open NAPS2
Click ‘Import’ from top left. Go to the desired folder and select the desired files
Click on ‘Save Images’, select destination (empty folder named ‘converted’ you created earlier). Give a name and click on ‘Save’. Now you have all the images in that folder!
Click the downward arrow beside the ‘Save Image’ icon. Select ‘Image Settings’ and increase/decrease image ‘jpeg quality’ if you want. There’s no need though.
Compress and resize images: Now it’s time to compress and resize! Most tricky part but it’s the easiest when you know it!
Open IrfanView
Click on ‘File’ (top left corner)
Select ‘Batch Conversion’ (in the middle portion) and check if the opened tab is the same as below and then you are all set to go!
Work as: Batch Conversion
Output Format: JPG-JPG/JPEG format
Used advanced options (for bulk resize…): Check the checkbox if not checked
Click on ‘Advanced’. Don’t panic! I got you!
In the left section: Check the checkbox of ‘Resize’. Set one or both size to: put 800 in ‘Width’ text box. Do not put anything in the ‘Height’ text box to preserve the aspect ratio. I found 800 to be optimum in my case but you might need something else. Start with 800! ‘pixels’ should be checked. Now, check ‘Preserve aspect ratio’ and ‘Don’t enlarge smaller files’. Put 96 in the ‘Set new DPI value’ text box.
In the right section: Check ‘Overwrite existing files’ and ‘Apply changes to all pages’. You can put a value e.g., 20 in the ‘Sharpen’ text box if the images are not sharp enough (this is optional).
Done! Click on ‘OK’! Great job!
Output folder for result files (select ‘Browse’ and go to the folder name ‘resized’ you created earlier, select that folder and press ‘OK’)
From the right section- browse to the ‘converted’ folder. Select all the images and click ‘Add’.
Now, select ‘Start Batch’ and tada! Click ‘Return to batch’ and then go to the ‘compressed’ folder and check the quality i.e., readability of the images.
If the images are fine then check the size of the ‘compressed’ folder (press Ctrl + A and you will see the total size of all the images there). If the total size is less than 4 MB then you are fine.
If the total size is over 4 MB then count the number of images in the folder. Divide 4096 by the number of images. Go to IrfanView again and click on options (beside the ‘Output Format’ section). Check ‘Set file size’ text box and put the result in it. Then press ‘OK’.
Click on ‘Start Batch’ again, visit the folder and check the image quality. Now all the images are of the same size as you put in the previous step.
If the images are not readable then you have to increase the width of the image from 800 (step 4.c) and do batch convert again.
Now all the images are compressed and resized. Open NAPS2 again.
Click on ‘Clear’ (top right) if any images are already there.
Click on ‘Import’. Go to the ‘compressed folder’ and load the images.
You can organize the images as you want using drag and drop!
Now, click on ‘Save PDF’. Select the destination folder, give a proper file name and save it!
Make the final PDF: If you need to add pdf/multiple pdf with the pdf you just created (offer letter, cover letter, explanation letter, etc.) you should do that now.
Open PDF24
Select ‘File Tools’
Click on the ‘+’ icon (top left) and select all the pdf files you want to add and press ‘open’
Click on ‘Join’ (top right) and wait for 1-2 seconds
Click on ‘Just Assemble’, give a file name and save it.
Final Check: You are almost done! Check if the pages are in the right order or not. If you need to reorder you can do that now.
Reorder:
Open PDF24
Select ‘File Tools’
Click on the ‘+’ icon (top left) and select the pdf file
Choose ‘Open in Creator’
Drag and organize
Click on the ‘Save’ icon (2nd icon in the top right corner)
Click on ‘Just Assemble’, give a file name and save it.
Check file size again.
If it’s under 4 MB then give it a meaningful name, proof check and it’s ready for submission. Congratulations!
If it’s a little above 4 MB don’t worry.
Open PDF24
Select ‘Compress PDF’
Click on ‘Add File’ and add the file
Tweak with the image quality value (DPI value should be 96, it’s the least requirement) and click on ‘Calc size’. It will show the size after compression beforehand in green color.
If you are satisfied with the file size then click on save and save it.
Check the file once again if everything is readable or not. If not then you should know where the issue is at this point. Resolve that. You know the process now!
I hope you can save days during a very crucial time following this process. However, I got a lot of help from this community and I will be forever grateful! And sorry for any mistakes in this document.
Best of luck to all the applicants!
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