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J
J van E
Inspiring
December 13, 2018
Answered

PDF separate pages with (3 digit) page number prefix...? (Like PDF Bee!)

  • December 13, 2018
  • 8 replies
  • 8574 views

I updated OS X to 10.13.6 and was quit shocked to discover I can't use PDF Bee anymore... I use PDF Bee to make separate PDF's of all the pages in my InDesign documents with the page number as a prefix in THREE numbers.

Now I know that InDesign can export pdf's as separate pages but it can only add the page number at the end... not good for my use. Another problem is that it adds the numbers like (for instance) 1, 43, 121 and not 001, 043 and 121 (so always with three digits).

I also know Acrobat can split pdf's and add a number in front of the PDF file but 1. it does not use the actual page number (it just numbers the PDF's chronologically) and 2. it also simply adds 1, 43, 121 and not 001, 034, 121.

So... I'm screwed! I have to create hundreds of PDF's every week with the EXACT page number in three digits in front of the file name but I can't find any way to get that done right now. HELP!

Anyone knows about a script that can do this? (PDF Bee is a fancy script, after all.)

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer willcampbell7

This script does what you're asking for.

https://www.marspremedia.com/software/indesign/pdf-export-single-pages

8 replies

ScooterD76
ScooterD76
Legend
December 21, 2018

Not familliar with PDF Bee, but I use PDFSAM Split and merge PDF files. Free and open source - PDFsam for my PDF splitting needs and it works great. I was having a problem with using acrobat to split up the files, each new PDF was increasing in filesize!

willcampbell7
willcampbell7Correct answer
Legend
December 19, 2018

This script does what you're asking for.

https://www.marspremedia.com/software/indesign/pdf-export-single-pages

William Campbell
J
J van EAuthor
Inspiring
December 20, 2018

We have a winner! Thanks for that link, williamc3112933! That's EXACTLY what I was looking for!!! Well, as long as the document doesn't have sections otherwise I need to rename files once more but that's no problem. But for my regular documents this works as a charm! It exports my doc and gives me seperate pdf's which filenames that start with the actual pagenumber in 3 digits, even when I export a few specific pages. TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Thanks again (and also everyone else who participated)!

willcampbell7
willcampbell7
Legend
December 21, 2018

I'm glad it works for you. If you have a document with sections it also works. It's just that if duplicate page numbers exist in multiple sections, a section label is required or pages might overwrite one another. For example, a front matter section page "i" then a main section label "1" need more than just the page label, because the script (as I designed it) uses Arabic numbers always, so that pages sort correctly in a prepress run list. In that case both are labeled" 001" and one would overwrite the other. So a section label is required. But if a document has sections with completely unique page labels (numbers), then it is possible to uncheck the "include section label" option, to produce the result you want (no section label, only page label). This also works for docs that use section numbering, but are really just a single section. Typical when a document is set up to begin at a higher page number rather than start at page 1. That's my main use for it, and the original reason I wrote the script. I do magazine work that arrives in sections but doesn't use a book document. The designers who work on each section manually assign the starting page number for the section they work on. I output the PDFs using the script but disable section label so I end up with the entire magazine numbered from 001_doc name.pdf to ... 128_doc name.pdf (for example). Of course the script will also do document numbering (absolute) though I rarely use it. I like having the PDF labeled with the number as it appears in the layout. Less confusion that way. If anything about the script isn't working how you need, let me know, I can always tweak it.

William Campbell
TᴀW
TᴀW
Legend
December 18, 2018

If I've understood correctly, https://www.id-extras.com/products/extract-pages/  should be able to do this.

Are the pages in your InDesign file already using the 3-digit numbering option (in the Numbering and Sections dialog, there's that 001, 002, 003... option).

If so, just use the <fp> code in the custom naming field, and it should work.

Ariel

E
Community Expert
Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 15, 2018

Bit late to the party - but why not do this?

Suffix _0^#

J
J van EAuthor
Inspiring
December 15, 2018

@Stephen_A_Marsh Thanks, I'll give it a try!

@Eugene Tyson I have no clue what those symbols exactly mean and do LOL but that seems to be the best way to add the page number in 3 digits to all files! I will give it a try coming monday when I am back at work! If it works then I only need to use the Bridge rename option to put the number in front!

Is there a site which explains the function of all those symbols like _0^# and things like (^0)(0\d{2}_.+)|(^0)(\d{3}_.+)...? It's nice they are working but I'd like to know what's happening.   If Eugene's tip works and all my files have page numbers in 3 digits the Bridge search and replace codes maybe need to be changed too once more.

    E
    Community Expert
    Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 15, 2018

    There's a small triangle beside the option, not very noticeable.

    This automatically adds these symbols. I just put a 0 behind it.

    Once you get to 100 it starts naming files _0100, _0101, _0102 etc.

    Not sure if this is an issue.

    But with batch rename you can remove the _0 in front of those selected files (be sure to just select files in their 100's)

    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 13, 2018

    If InDesign can export as separate pages with page number at the end... Then Bridge can batch rename, pad out the variable leading zeros and move from suffix to prefix. I’ll put together the string substitution regular expression later when I have time.

      Dave Creamer of IDEAS
      Community Expert
      Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 13, 2018

      After Extracting as separate pages in Acrobat Pro, you can rename/renumber in Bridge. If you save the preset (and have Bridge open), it should only add an extra minute to the process.

      David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
      J
      J van EAuthor
      Inspiring
      December 13, 2018

      I can't find any information on how to add the actual page number to the name of a pdf file with Bridge...? You can rename files indeed but I don't just want to rename them with a random or sequential number. It has to be the exact number of the page.

      And btw it's not necessary to use Acrobat to extract separate pages because InDesign can do that by itself already. The option to do that is GREAT but it's a shame it only let's you add a number at the end of the filename and that you can't set the amount of digits.

      Dave Creamer of IDEAS
      Community Expert
      Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 13, 2018

      The files will be sequentially numbered coming from Acrobat. View them by file name in order in Bridge and Bridge will follow the same numbering.

      David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
      jmlevy
      Community Expert
      jmlevyCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 13, 2018

      In complement with Laubender answer, you could have a look to this product: One-click manual export and print [axaio]

      J
      J van EAuthor
      Inspiring
      December 13, 2018

      Thanks for the script, rob! Might be a basic solution but it would need a few more steps to get the job done.

      And thanks for the tip, jmlevy, however that product looks a lot more simple and basic than Output Factory while it costs more than twice as much. I'll keep it in mind though.

      rob day
      Community Expert
      rob dayCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 13, 2018

      Thanks for the script, rob! Might be a basic solution but it would need a few more steps to get the job done.

      I was assuming you would run the script I posted after you scripted the single page PDFs with page numbers as the prefix, and all you needed was the leading zeros? What other steps do you need? A leading zero script could also target a folder of files rather than a selection of files. It is a Finder script, but could be run from the ID Scripts panel

      L
      Community Expert
      LaubenderCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 13, 2018

      Hi,

      I do know nothing about PDF Bee.

      I'd ask the developer of that script to make it compatible with OS X 10.13.6 if that is the real source of problems.

      Regards,
      Uwe

      J
      J van EAuthor
      Inspiring
      December 13, 2018

      Thanks, but obviously that's the first thing I tried. However, PDF Bee isn't being worked on anymore, the project has been abandoned, so it won't be made compatible with anything at all anymore.

      L
      Community Expert
      LaubenderCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 13, 2018

      What was the last system configuration of OS and InDesign PDF Bee ran successfully?

      Maybe you can do a second partition with your old OSX and make your machine a dual-boot system?

      Regards,
      Uwe

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