PDF not optimized to Acrobat1.4x

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Level 1

8 points

PDF not optimized to Acrobat1.4x

I exported a Pages book file as a PDF to that it could be uploaded to Kindle Create to produce their kpf file so that my book could be published on Amazon. The kpf file uploaded fine, but Kindle Direct Publishing could not process it. After weeks of back and forth their help desk found and fixed the issue, which they identified as "PDF not optimized to Acrobat1.4x." I have not idea how to correct that on my end. Has anyone else ran into this, and if so, what did you do?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.7

Posted on Nov 23, 2024 12:04 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

VikingOSX

Level 10

122,136 points

Nov 24, 2024 04:54 AM in response to VikingOSX

It turns out that on macOS Ventura 13.7.1 with Pages v14.1, it exports PDF v1.3 documents, while Pages v14.2 on macOS Sequoia v15.1.1 exports PDF v1.4 documents. One has no control over PDF versions when exporting from Pages.

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

122,136 points

Nov 24, 2024 03:55 AM in response to Monty673

Pages exports PDFs as PDF v1.4. You can single-click that exported PDF in the Finder and then press opt+cmd+i to obtain a get info panel that shows you the PDF version number. This does not mean however that the contents of that PDF are what KDP expects though… and you have absolutely zero control over the translation process from Pages document to the exported PDF.

Amazon's KDP might be more forgiving if you submitted a Word .docx generated from MS Word, or even LibreOffice Writer 14.2.3 rather than exported from Pages or a Pages-generated PDF.

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Answer 3

Monty673 Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 24, 2024 11:23 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you for the info. Very helpful.

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Answer 4

VikingOSX

Level 10

122,136 points

Nov 24, 2024 12:22 PM in response to VikingOSX

Errata: LibreOffice 24.8.3.

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