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NavySparky
Participant
July 17, 2018
Answered

Is there a way to extractPages() as a different format? i.e. .docx.

  • July 17, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 986 views

I took a packet that's broken up in 7 different files and combined them all as one .pdf.

Problem is, I'm in the Navy and doing that is technically "altering an official document" (even though all I did was essentially copy/paste), which is a big no-no. The way it exists now, it takes longer to open/save/print each file than it does to do the work. So, I combined them and automated where I could, now it takes about 15 seconds vice 15 minutes+. But, I need to get the 4 .docx and 1 .xlsx back to their native format after they've been filled out in the master file, then knock the other 2 ranges out as .pdf.

I'm not sure how, but this worked perfectly once using:

this.extractPages(start,end,'/C/myPath/myFilename.docx', 'com.adobe.acrobat.docx');

In a button action. Which (as I understand it) shouldn't be possible. The file saved where I wanted, with the name I wanted, in the right format, and looked flawless. Then I made the huge mistake of leaving my work PC on overnight and came back to a frozen machine and lost the progress. The converted test file is still there though, so I know I'm not crazy.

In a perfect world, it would prompt the user to pick a save path and have the filename filled and ready to go, or use an alert to prompt for text input for the filename. I'd like to make it as easy as possible for my coworkers and future sailors assigned to this station. Wrapping it up in a button or even a folder level .js that can be executed from one would be perfect. Even if I need to have the filenames and paths static, it would be better than the current system. I also doubt most folks at my office will know how to open the converted files in Acrobat Pro, let alone convert them to the right format, so I need a way to do it for them or there's no point in creating the document at all. I got the okay to add .js files to other machines from the cybersecurity folks, so that's one battle I don't have to worry about if that's the only way to make this happen.

Honestly, any way at all to get those 5 ranges back into their intended format would make everything a lot easier on myself and my coworkers. Any suggestions, help, or general finger pointing in the right direction to learn for myself would be greatly appreciated. I've been all over these forums, stack overflow, any documentation I can get my hands on, Reddit, google in general, and Thom Parker's stuff (which is the only reason I know even the little bit I do! Thanks man!). I'm an Electrician's Mate with exactly one class in OOP, I have no idea what I'm doing (but would gladly trade JS advice for light bulb fixing advice!) and no direction from our IT folks. Seriously, anything at all to put me on the right path would be incredibly helpful and appreciated.

-OneConfusedSparky

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer try67

Nice to hear it!

Either you've stumbled upon an undocumented feature of this method (which would be very nice!) or what happened was that you exported the file as a PDF and then the Action picked it up and converted it to DOCX, or something like that. Hard to say for sure... I'll try to run some tests and see if it works for me.

Yes, the basic code would be:

var newDoc = this.extractPages(start, end);
newDoc.saveAs('/C/myPath/myFilename.docx', 'com.adobe.acrobat.docx');
newDoc.closeDoc(true);

If you do it like that it won't even save the extracted pages as a PDF and you'll only get the final docx file.

Of course, this has to be executed from a privileged context, like an Action or a trusted function in a folder-level script.

1 reply

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
July 18, 2018

Did the file save as docx file or as a PDF file? As far as I know, it's not possible to convert the file while extracting it.
The solution is to extract the pages, even as a temporary file, then use the saveAs method to convert the new Doc object returned by the extractPages command to the other format.

    N
    NavySparkyAuthor
    Participant
    July 18, 2018

    Hey I know you! You and Thom are like 60% of the reason I even know how to open the command prompt!

    It did save as .docx, which apparently shouldn’t be possible. It was my Frankensteining of extractPages() and saveAs() by just adding the conversion in. It hasn’t worked since so it must have just been dumb luck.

    I’m going to give your guidance a try when I get to work today. Just to make sure I understand, I need to:

    declare a newDoc object = extractPages() then saveAs() that object in the format I need. I’m assuming I’ll need to close and delete the object as well to make it less clunky too.

    I’ll make sure to swing back and update when it works.

    Thank you for the help here and the insane amount you’ve taught me through forum diving.

    try67
    Community Expert
    try67Community ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 18, 2018

    Nice to hear it!

    Either you've stumbled upon an undocumented feature of this method (which would be very nice!) or what happened was that you exported the file as a PDF and then the Action picked it up and converted it to DOCX, or something like that. Hard to say for sure... I'll try to run some tests and see if it works for me.

    Yes, the basic code would be:

    var newDoc = this.extractPages(start, end);
    newDoc.saveAs('/C/myPath/myFilename.docx', 'com.adobe.acrobat.docx');
    newDoc.closeDoc(true);

    If you do it like that it won't even save the extracted pages as a PDF and you'll only get the final docx file.

    Of course, this has to be executed from a privileged context, like an Action or a trusted function in a folder-level script.

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