Initial View and Advanced document properties reset after splitting file

I am using Adobe Pro to create certificates for trainings that people have taken and it is important to make these certificates accessible.  The accessibility requirements for my organization require that the 'Show' field in the 'Initial View' tab be set to "Document Title" and the 'Language' in the 'Advanced' tab be set to English.  However, when I change these settings, save the document, and then split the document, the newly created documents don't retain the modified settings in those two tabs.  Frustratingly, the 'Description' tab changes ARE retained, so it seems like it should be possible to make it so that the other two tab settings are also retained.

 

Does anyone have a workaround for this?  Otherwise, this leaves me with having to open each newly created certificate individually and change those settings for each one, which is a lot of extra work for no reason.  Thanks for any help people can provide!

By mycardstatement @focused_ease1045

You've hit a common and frustrating limitation in Adobe Acrobat Pro. While some document properties (like those in the 'Description' tab) are embedded in a way that they persist through operations like splitting, 'Initial View' and 'Language' settings are often treated differently by Acrobat and don't always carry over.

This is because "Initial View" settings primarily control how your Acrobat application displays the document upon opening, not necessarily a fundamental property of the PDF structure that would be retained consistently across all viewers or when splitting. Similarly, the "Language" setting in the Advanced tab is often about the document's inherent language for accessibility tools (like screen readers) but might not be prioritized by the splitting function as a setting to replicate.

Here's a breakdown of why this happens and potential workarounds:

Why it happens:

PDF Structure vs. Viewer Preferences: The PDF specification allows for various document-level metadata (like title, author, keywords - which are in the Description tab) that are intrinsic to the file. Initial View and Language, while important for accessibility, are often considered more akin to "viewer preferences" or settings for how the PDF is presented, rather than fundamental content properties that need to be duplicated with every split.

Splitting Process: When you split a PDF, Acrobat essentially creates new, independent PDF files from selected pages. It doesn't necessarily copy all the internal settings from the original document to each new document, especially those it deems as display preferences rather than essential document metadata.

Adobe's Design Choice: Unfortunately, based on Adobe community discussions (as seen in search results), this behavior for Initial View and Output Options not being retained when splitting is often described as a "design behavior of the application" and not modifiable through preferences.

Workarounds (unfortunately, none are perfectly automatic for both settings):

Action Wizard (Recommended for Batch Processing): This is likely your best bet for automating these changes after splitting.

Create an Action: In Adobe Acrobat Pro, go to Tools > Action Wizard > New Action.

Add Commands:

For "Initial View":

Add the "Set Document Properties" command.

Under "Initial View," set "Show" to "Document Title."

You might also want to set "Page Layout" to "Single Page" or "Single Page Continuous" if that's part of your accessibility requirements, and "Magnification" to "Fit Page" or "Fit Width."

For "Language":

Add the "Set Document Properties" command again.

Go to the "Advanced" tab and set the "Language" to "English."

Specify Target Files: In the Action Wizard, you can choose to run this action on a folder of files.

Save and Run: Save your action. After you split your main document into individual certificates, you can then run this Action Wizard on the folder containing all the newly split certificates. This will apply the desired settings to all of them in a batch.

Preflight (More Complex, but Powerful): Preflight in Acrobat Pro is a very powerful tool for analyzing and fixing PDFs. You might be able to create a Preflight fixup that enforces these settings, but it's generally more geared towards print production and complex PDF standards. The Action Wizard is more user-friendly for this specific task.

Third-Party Tools (Explore with Caution): There might be third-party PDF tools or scripts that offer more granular control over retaining document properties during splitting. However, be cautious and research any third-party tools thoroughly to ensure they are reputable and secure.

Consider a Template Approach (Less Ideal for Your Scenario): If you were creating certificates from scratch for each person, you could theoretically have a pre-configured template with these settings. However, since you're splitting a larger document that presumably contains merged data for all certificates, this isn't a direct solution.

Steps using Action Wizard:

Split your master document into individual certificates as you normally would. Save them all in a dedicated folder.

Open Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Go to Tools and find Action Wizard. Click on it.

Click on New Action.

In the "New Action" dialog box:

On the left, under "Choose tools to add:", scroll down and find Set Document Properties. Drag and drop it to the "Action Steps" on the right.

Click on the "Specify Settings" button for "Set Document Properties."

In the "Document Properties" dialog:

Go to the Initial View tab.

For "Show," select Document Title.

(Optional but recommended for accessibility): Consider setting "Page Layout" to "Single Page" or "Single Page Continuous" and "Magnification" to "Fit Page" or "Fit Width."

Click OK.

Now, drag and drop Set Document Properties again from the left to the "Action Steps" on the right.

Click on the "Specify Settings" button for this second "Set Document Properties."

Go to the Advanced tab.

For "Language," select English.

Click OK.

Under "Save & Export," you can choose how you want the files to be saved (e.g., "Save to Original Folder" or "Save to a New Folder").

Click Save. Give your action a meaningful name (e.g., "Set Certificate Accessibility").

Now, to run the action:

From the Action Wizard pane, select your newly created action.

Click on Start.

A dialog will appear asking you to add files. Click Add Folder and select the folder where your split certificates are saved.

Click OK or Start to run the action.

This process, while requiring a one-time setup of the Action Wizard, will save you a significant amount of manual work in the long run.