NewbieQuestion...can ShellTools split + rename/add internal page number to filen

[roger]

Hi, will your PDF-ShellTools split pdf files and rename the single page pdf's by adding the internal page number's value onto the filename? as in:

original                          output
text.pdf (has 24 pages)   text.0001.pdf, text.0002.pdf, text0003.pdf, ect...

and then tomorrow there's a revision pdf from same document contains just 2 corrections pages of 12 and 15 so that resulting 2 page pdf has same original name but gets proper output naming as this:

original                                          output
text.pdf (has 2 correction pages)      text.0012.pdf, text0015.pdf

Any chance this functionality exists in your tool?

regards,
Roger <at> jsmccarthy.com

[RTT]

I suppose by "internal page number's" you are referring to the document page index, not to a text number stamped on the document pages.
If first option, in next version there will be the possibility to customize the file names, with access to variables as page index. The second one is not easy to achieve because of the complexity involved in the determination of that number.

[roger]

Yes, I meant the first option. When is the next version's anticipated ETA? Would it be possible for me to send you some multipage PDF's for testing before release? Just to let you know, this functionality would be very beneficial to many, many commercial printing companies besides the one I work for. Regards, Roger

[RTT]

I start to think I'm not understanding the full idea here.
Are you also talking about the possibility to set to split only the revised pages, automatically defining the split expression, without user intervention to define what pages changed since last split operation?
If yes, how do you think this can be done? This would involve some kind of database to save previous state, or not?

[roger]

Hi RTT,

I work at an offset printing company and our prepress workflow is pdf based. This just means that our digital master files from which we print on paper are refined, normalized, trapped pdf files. Input files into this system are either postscript or pdf files in either multipage or single page format. We prefer producing input files in multipage format (faster for desktop operators and clients to produce) but prefer that our workflow receive single page input files as it makes the processing of revision pages much simpler and accurate. It’s this creation of single page input files (and all importantly with proper naming of internal page number) that I’m hoping your software can achieve.

So my goal is to split and rename all input files ahead of our prepress workflow no matter if they’re the initial input files or revisions. (Because even revised pdf’s files of just a few selected pages would end up with the exact same names as those input files processed earlier.)

Clearer?

Roger

[RTT]

Ok, thanks,  now it's clear. 
Your offer to send some PDFs put me wondering if I was missing something. I suppose if your files already split OK with current version will continue to split well with this new custom defined filename functionality.
Even so, and if you want to be sure, you can send me a sample. I like to test the tools with as many PDFs I can get.

Regarding release date, I really don't know, this split tool with this new feature will go out first with a new PDF Explorer version. Only after, I will start to work in a new PDF-ShellTools release.

[roger]

Hi RTT,

This project has now come back up and I would like to know if you are still interested in testing some of our specific multipage pdfs? If so, do you have an ftp site to which I can upload these files? Send me an email with connecting info (to roger at jsmccarthy dot com) or send me an email with your email address and I send you an url to our ftp site. (I just don't want to post ftp info into the forum.) thanks, Roger

[RTT]

Hi Roger,
You can get my contact email addresses from some of the rttsoftware site pages, program about box, and user's guide. Even so, I've just now send you an email. I'm looking forward to test the split tool new file name composition feature with your files.