A

Anonymous

Question

Combining Files / Inserting Pages using only source folder

Forum|Forum|6 months ago
January 21, 2026
2 replies
55 views

I want to be able to alway use three (3) standard folders to attach one file to multiple files and then output them to a new folder. My folders are:

Source CoT
Source Files
Output Files

I have sucessfully created an action that

try67

Community Expert

As mentioned, the file name has to be known in advance, or you need to use a separate Action that runs on that folder first to read it, or the user needs to manually select it. Alternatively, you can use a stand-alone process to do it, running independently of Acrobat.

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A

Anonymous

Hmm. It cut off my posting. Here it is in full:

I want to be able to alway use three (3) standard folders to attach one file to multiple files and then output them to a new folder. My folders are:

Source CoT
Source Files
Output Files

I have sucessfully created an Action that will alway combine a file with all the batch of files in the Source Files folder and save the resulting bacth of files to the Output Files folder.

The solution I'm seeking is to not have to edit the Action to identify the specific file (there is always just one) in the source CoT folder. I'd like to just be able to run the Action to batch append the file one file in that folder (whatever it may be) after the last page in the files in the Source Files folder.

Thank you.

A

Anonymous

How can it be that you cannot edit or delete a posting that you create? This is madness for a terrible communicator like me. Here's a cleaner version, hopefully providing some clarity and with fewer typos.

I want to be able to always use three (3) standard folders to attach one file in one folder to multiple files in another folder and then output them to a third folder. My folders are:

Source CoT
Source Files
Output Files

I have successfully created an Action that will always append a file to the batch of files in the Source Files folder and save the resulting batch of files to the Output Files folder. The issue is that the Action can only point to a specific file as the one being appended to the batch of files, and must be manually edited every time I plan to run that Action.

The solution I'm seeking is to not have to edit the Action to identify the specific file (there is always just one) in the source CoT folder. I'd like to just be able to run the Action to batch append the one file in that folder (whatever it may be) after the last page in the files in the Source Files folder.

Thank you.

T

Tariq Dar

Legend

Hi @47508145,

Thank you for explaining your workflow so clearly — this is a very valid use case, and you’re right to question the current limitation.

At this time, Acrobat Actions require the append source file to be explicitly defined when the Action is created. Unfortunately, Actions do not natively support dynamically selecting “whatever file exists in a specific folder” at runtime. Because of this, there isn’t a fully automated or guaranteed way to achieve this behavior within Acrobat alone.

One possible workaround (suggested, not a confirmed solution) is to use a fixed filename in your Source CoT folder. For example, if the Action always appends a file named CoT.pdf, you could overwrite or rename the single file in that folder to match this name before running the Action. Since the file path remains unchanged, the Action may continue to work without needing edits.

That said, this approach may or may not fit every workflow, and it relies on manual file management outside the Action itself. Results can also vary depending on how the files are prepared or replaced.

If you require true dynamic folder-based selection, that capability is currently outside the scope of Acrobat Actions and would require external scripting or third-party automation.

We appreciate you raising this—it’s a great example of where more flexibility in Actions would be helpful. We recommend sharing it as a feature request via the Acrobat UserVoice: https://adobe.ly/49Aw3AN

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

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