How to reduce a doc size?

[John Kogel]

My association's latest inspection contract is four pages long, all requiring to be initialed, and it is 2.8 MB in size! OK, so the legal beagles have been working on it. []

It is just a Microsoft text file.

I have compressed the goofy thing to one page by tweaking and coaxing borders and fonts, good, and I can print pages for clients to sign.

But the file size is still 2.8 MB and I can't figure out why. Attaching this huge file to an email strikes me as kind of rude and unnecessary.

I downloaded a Sobolsoft doc compressor utility, but it did nothing to this goofy doc. Any suggestions or ideas?

Here is a link:

www.allsafehome.ca/HIagreement.htm

[Marc]

I'm not following. I copied/pasted it into Word and it came out to 20 KB.

Marc

[kurt]

4 pages. wow.

I just did a .pdf in my Mac and it came out at 183kb.

I did a job yesterday for the head of the real estate department of one of the largest law firms in the world. He signed it without reading it. I asked why, laughing, although I already knew the answer. He said..."you're not doing the job unless I sign it, and there isn't any contract in the world that we can't eviscerate and make you look like a fool." He's a really cool guy, knows his stuff.

We know they win, so why 4 pages?

Different .pdf engines create vastly different sized documents. I don't know why.

[John Kogel]

Yes, good one, Kurt. Lawyers hanging out bait for other lawyers to sample.

4 pages we are supposed to lay in front of a client and say "Don't worry, everything will be taken care of, just initial here, here here here and sign there and then do this copy for your self, initialing here here here and signing there". I think it all reeks of paranoia, not a good thing for client confidence.

Then to expect us to work with a file that's almost 3 Mb is rather inconsiderate, IMO. End of rant.

I have a one page version with the font size down to a 9, still readable.

OK, now I've run a printed page thru my scanner and saved it as a .pdf, just over 1 Megabyte. 300 dpi, I'll try 150.

One of my clients sent me a completed and signed pdf of the file which he scanned, and it is only 264 kb. Kurt, your pdf is even smaller.

Marc, the file does come out smaller if I copy the webfile and paste it into a doc, but I'd have to format the goofy thing again to fit on one page and be complete.

Anyway, I have a solution - scan and save as a pdf.

The 1 Mb file is clear and usable, 150 dpi is just under 500Kb, but too fuzzy to use.

[Mike Lamb]

It seems lawyers are the only ones who don't read my contract. I tell them I now own your car.