Question

Any way to improve PDF loading speed in the mobile client?

Mobile Version 10

Updated March 30, 2017

asked on March 29, 2017

Hi guys,

Our customer needs to be able to view complex network diagrams in PDF in the LF mobile client on iPads. The PDFs are 4-5Mb in size and when viewed online via the mobile client (i.e. still on the Laserfiche server) are blurry and unable to be zoomed in adequately, so have to be saved locally on the iPad. It takes around 35 seconds to save locally, but then it takes over 5 minutes to open! Once open I can get the clarity and zoom in sufficiently, but there's a lot of lag when zooming or moving the diagram around on the screen. Zooming out again results in another delay of several minutes as the PDF redraws.

Next test was to try to Share the PDF to a PDF reader on the iPad. Sharing doesn't work from the Local Document "From Laserfiche" screen when selecting the PDF via the selection box then selecting the menu option to share, well, it either doesn't work or takes so long to load the Share option that it times out. I then tap the PDF to initiate the open process and as it loads in the new window, tap the Share button. The PDF continues loading in the background and it took approx. 1.5 minutes for the "More options" window to load and then froze once I tapped the Share option. The PDF kept redrawing in the background - only partially, then clearing parts of it and redrawing them again - but the Share menu didn't open. In the end I gave up on that approach (plus the mobile client crashed) and opened the PDF fully (another 5 mins+) before trying to share it. This was a bit of a hit and miss effort, sometimes the App would crash, usually the Share option would just remain highlighted and nothing else happen (other than the redraw cycling permanently in the background without ever completing), but once after 5 or 6 attempts (and not again since then) I managed to export it to the GoodReader app on the iPad and was able to open it in there in a matter of seconds, zoom in and out with only minor lag for the redraw, and it worked well. The customer reported the same functionality if saving the PDF to OneDrive (instead of Laserfiche) and opening it on the iPad from there. Which kind of defeats the purpose.

So there's a major performance issue, to the extent that the LF App isn't feasible for them if wanting to view the diagrams on their iPads. This is a major issue for them as that's what they were wanting to use the LF App for!

The LF App Server version is 10.2.0.524. I deleted the iPad app and downloaded and installed the current version of the app, 10.2.2., and tested again but got the same results. The iPad I'm testing on is running iOS 10.2.1 (almost in sync with LF!) and there's over 40GB of available space. Just to check, I tried the above processes on the LF App on an iPhone 6 (iOS 10.2.1) and encountered the same issues.

Any suggestions on how to make this workable other than using OneDrive?

Thanks,

Mike

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Answer

SELECTED ANSWER

replied on March 30, 2017

Just an update on the outcome from the Support Team: SCR 156068 has been filed for the issue that it takes time to load PDF with a lot of vectors graphic/ drawing commands in iOS app. It is targeted to be fixed in 10.2.1.

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Replies

replied on March 29, 2017

Hi Mike,

We apologize for the performance issue that you have been experiencing for the iOS app. I would like to inquire if your pdf file contains any annotations or watermark? We suspect that the issue you are seeing is due to a PDF with a lot of annotations or watermarks which will result in a longer loading time, in which this issue we are aware of. Also as you mentioned, it will take a longer time to share as well. If this is what you're seeing, would you be able to open a support case with the Support Team so we can get a test sample to better address the issue.

Natalie

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replied on March 29, 2017

Thanks Natalie, I'll open a support case.

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replied on March 30, 2017 • Show version history

In addition to opening a support case, here are some ideas for working around the issue:

Have you tried generating images (pages) from the PDF and viewing the images instead of the PDF? What are the physical dimensions and resolutions of the PDF?

Have you tried importing the PDF as images using Laserfiche Snapshot? Note that you may have to experiment with different resolutions (overriding the resolutions of the PDF) in order to get legible result. You may also experiment with changing the color options (from 1-bit Black/White, to 24-bit Color) and compression options (Black/White TIFF G4, or Color JPEG) because these options affect the file size and loading speed significantly.

Have you tested with other PDF viewers in addition to the ones you have tested?

If this is a performance issue of the particular PDF viewer application, we will need a copy of the PDF file in order to analyze its contents and structural complexity. Please be ready to provide that as you open the support case.

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replied on March 30, 2017

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your response. I'd tried generating pages but the quality wasn't sufficient to make the diagrams readable. The one-page PDFs are generated by a design system at 7% of the readable size, so have to be magnified 14 times to get to a readable size.

Downloading the PDFs to the iPad outside of Laserfiche and opening them in a PDF reader application such as GoodReader, or even in the native PDF reader in OneDrive works much better, the PDFs can be zoomed with no problems and it's fast and responsive. But they are electrical diagrams so for safety requirements cannot be downloaded hence wanting to use Laserfiche to ensure the right version is being viewed.

Thanks,

Mike

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Any way to improve PDF loading speed in the mobile client?

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