FPDF error: This document (testcopy.pdf) probably uses a compression technique which is not supported by the free parser shipped with FPDI

Question

I am running the following code and giving me this error : FPDF error: This document (testcopy.pdf) probably uses a compression technique which is not supported by the

Answer 1

I had the same issue that PDFMerger does not work with certain PDF. It seems that Adobe keep updating compression way of pdf extension.

I found solution with Chrome.

1. Open the PDF file(which does not work with PDFMerger) with Chrome
2. Right Click and Print
3. Change destination as [Save as PDF]
4. This exported PDF file is compatible with PDFMerger

Answer 2

Looking through the answers so far, I wasn't able to resolve the issue. Here's why and you may have the same issue so this answer would be invaluable to you too.

I did not have access to acrobat, so I couldn't downgrade the version of the original PDF. I wasn't in a position to purchase the newer version of the library which has upgraded encryption.

In the end I used an online PDF converter to downgrade to version 5 (1.4)

If you are not able to find one, here's a link for completeness.

https://docupub.com/pdfconvert/

(bear in mind that the contents of a link may change)

Answer 3

In the case of Mac, you can open the PDF file in Preview and "export as PDF". The exported one can then be used.

Answer 4

The file needs to be PDF 1.4 (Acrobat 5) or lower. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro you can change this with Document->Decrease File Size.

Answer 5

For those that don't have any of the pro versions of Acrobat:

I was having this problem with new versions of Word when trying to use the Office functionality to save to a PDF. It seems the PDF conversion tool supplied in Office is using the newer formats. Here's how I fixed it.

• Install NitroPDF free version (May work with another free PDF creator that can be downloaded)
• Go to the Word document and select 'Print'.
• In the print options, instead of your printer, select 'Nitro PDF Creator (Reader 3)' or whatever the current version is.
• A dialog box will open and allow you to select where to save the PDF.

The version saved was able to be opened by FPDF.

Hope it helps

Answer 6

I had a very similar error like you. My solution was to convert the pdf to a lower pdf version. Than everything worked like expected.

I hope that simple trick will help you!