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Uploading your content as PDF

What you need to know when you want to upload your PDF files

Okka avatar
Written by Okka
Updated over a week ago

Want to use MagLoft to create a digital magazine but you already have your own PDF files with your content? No worries! We do support PDF files and you can easily upload them in our portal.

Now let's cover the basics so you won't be left confused later!

How do I upload my PDF files?
It's easy! You can simply log in to our portal and go to Content > Issues on the left side of the page. After that, you can click the green Upload button on the right side of the page:

Can my content still be interactive even though I uploaded it using PDF?
Of course! Once the PDF file has finished uploading/converting, you can access the editor for the issue and drag in video and audio widgets on top. 

Please note though that if you uploaded your content using PDF, it won't be responsive. Meaning, the view of your content won't adjust to your readers' screens and orientations. It will still scale and the PDF will fit the width of your device, but it may leave gray gaps at the top and bottom of the page. It simply won't stretch the content to fill the screen. Watch our one minute video showing how different it looks between PDF and TypeLoft editor here!

Is there a size limit for the PDF upload?
Yes, there is! The current size limit is 200MB per issue.

What about the dimensions? Are there any dimensions limit for the PDF files?
Well, there is no dimensions *limit* per se, but we do recommend our clients to design their PDF files certain dimensions so their readers can have the best reading experience. If you'd prefer to cater to your readers using iPad, the best dimensions for your PDF file would be 1536 x 2048 pixels (width x height). This will look perfect on the tablets, however when your readers are using smartphones, this will leave gray gaps at the top and bottom of their smartphone screens due to the smartphones being taller and slimmer.

If you don’t want the gray top and bottom gaps on pages, then you could design your PDF pages for the iPhone 8 Plus screen which is 1242 x 2208 pixels. This will look perfect on smartphones and on tablets readers will be able to vertically scroll juuuust slightly to see top and bottom of pages. Better than having gray gaps though, right? ;)

Some images don't show up in the uploaded PDF. How can I fix this?

You'll need to re-export the PDF and use the RGB color conversion option.

In Adobe InDesign, there are a couple of different color conversion options, and you should choose the setting that has the best results (i.e. the RGB image colors best resemble the CMYK original). Here's a more detailed guide from Adobe's forum on how you can do it https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/export-indesign-print-pdf-in-rgb-color-mode/td-p/12650348.

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