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Reorganizing the PDF file

Started by metlife, September 05, 2019, 01:07:40 PM

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metlife

Welcome Girls and Guys
I need your help because I don't even know how to bite this topic myself. Soon, I will receive a large number of pdf files from the client. In each of them there will be numerous groups of objects, consisting of a photo, vector object and text (the text can be converted into curves in advance). The placement of these objects in the client's file is random. Due to the fact that I can't send the client file here because they would fire me, I made a test file based on the client file. The file is called "BEFORE.pdf". What I need to do is reorganize these groups in one copy to stuff them into A3 format (without scaling, the only thing you can scale is the pink table with the word LEGEND on top of the document). Groups of objects cannot touch each other. If the objects are too big, I have SRA3 format (450mm x 320mm). Also I can't change color profile of this file. To put it simply, I need to reorganize the "Before.pdf" file to the state shown in the "After.pdf" file. Can any of you Girls and Guys help me with automate this operation? Can this be done in Enfocus Pitstop or Adobe Acrobat DC? Maybe some other application can do this?

Tracy

That's a tough one, It's a bummer that all the boxes are not the same size
other wise you might be able to copy paste into position using pitstop.
I don't see an automated way of doing this.

David

OMG

This is a disaster waiting to happen.
Looks like somebody is trying to save their job.

There is no way, without a ton, I mean a ton, of scripting.
Why would they put stuff like that into a file in such a random way and then want you to sort it out?
Wouldn't it be easier if they sent you the individual files and then let you put them together?


Sorry, no help here.
Good luck.
Prepress guy - Retired - Working from home
Livin' la Vida Loca

Joe

If all the objects will always be in the same position and the same size you could setup a preflight profile to copy the page 9 times (there were 9 pages in the AFTER PDF). Then figure out the coordinates for what each page would be from the BEFORE PDF and change the media box in the PDF using those coordinates via that preflight profile and then change the other page boxes to match the media box. It would be some work getting it setup but after that it would just be a matter of applying that profile to your BEFORE PDF.

If they change in either size or position then I got nothing...and the fact you said "The placement of these objects in the client's file is random." makes be believe the above probably won't work.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

Joe

Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

metlife

Quote from: Joe on September 05, 2019, 06:17:08 PM
If all the objects will always be in the same position and the same size you could setup a preflight profile to copy the page 9 times (there were 9 pages in the AFTER PDF). Then figure out the coordinates for what each page would be from the BEFORE PDF and change the media box in the PDF using those coordinates via that preflight profile and then change the other page boxes to match the media box. It would be some work getting it setup but after that it would just be a matter of applying that profile to your BEFORE PDF.

If they change in either size or position then I got nothing...and the fact you said "The placement of these objects in the client's file is random." makes be believe the above probably won't work.

Joe, unfortunately you're right. Files from this client will have different sizes of artboards and those groups of objects. This means that unfortunately I can't apply your solution, and I was thinking about it at the beginning. All the fun with the files remains on my side because the client has no intention of improving anything on his side, and manual placement of all these objects seems to me a shot in the foot. I will probably have to do it, because I have to print all of these objects on a transparent film, which I have in this size A3 (or SRA3) because larger ones will not come to the printer.

abc

Wow!
"The placement of these objects in the client's file is random." That's the killer!
I can't see anyway to accurately automate this.

In PitStop I think you are looking at manually grouping objects and then cut and pasting into a new document and resizing to fit. The PitStop alignment tools might be helpful in this case.

I hope you are charging accordingly!

metlife

Quote from: abc on September 06, 2019, 02:18:33 AM
Wow!
"The placement of these objects in the client's file is random." That's the killer!
I can't see anyway to accurately automate this.

In PitStop I think you are looking at manually grouping objects and then cut and pasting into a new document and resizing to fit. The PitStop alignment tools might be helpful in this case.

I hope you are charging accordingly!

Abc, unfortunately, only one element I can scale and that is the frame with the table at the top of the "Before.pdf" file. Other objects must remain on a 1: 1 scale. At the beginning I wanted to do it as Joe suggested, but as I found out that the size of the artboards will be random, as well as the size of the objects, my hands dropped because I realized that it would be a path through torment.

Joe

I would be sure to charge them enough to where they would have some incentive to make it easier.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

Mikie

Oh...GOD lol

I can usually figure something out but this one is just too dumb.

I agree with everyone, all you can do is charge them into supplying it as something you can work with, or make a fortune. If it were one file coming in I'd just suck it up and do it, but you said "a large number".

my condolences  :shoots_self:

Grimace

My work around would still be tedious, but would save some time.
Create multiple page Illustrator file with the appropriately sized art boards, stacked orientation, copy the BEFORE file and paste into Illustrator while zoomed out, the art will land across the multiple art boards. Center the art as needed using Illustrators align tools, resize the the art boards if needed in Acrobat.

Good luck.

delooch

can i ask why the client is submitting it all this way? all in one loooong pdf?

if he took 5 freaking minutes to drop that into A3 sheets youd be halfway there already. looks like laziness on the clients part. a little effort on their side would facilitate may things, especially the graphics charges they are going to get.

:deadhorse:

:strangle:

Joe

Quote from: delooch on September 06, 2019, 12:02:37 PM
can i ask why the client is submitting it all this way? all in one loooong pdf?

if he took 5 freaking minutes to drop that into A3 sheets youd be halfway there already. looks like laziness on the clients part. a little effort on their side would facilitate may things, especially the graphics charges they are going to get.

:deadhorse:

:strangle:

Except the salesman bid it out as "camera ready" so all prepress should have to do is hit the print button.

:facepalm:
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

David

Quote from: Joe on September 06, 2019, 12:18:35 PM


...so all prepress should have to do is hit the print button.

that's all I ever do...
press a button...


damn, now my button is broke...

time to go home


:drunk3:
Prepress guy - Retired - Working from home
Livin' la Vida Loca

Tracy

I agree with Grimace, Illustrator, I would copy paste and use the transform palette to get into position
write down the positions for each area, after awhile you will memorize the positions.
Just camp out on the job, let them know it will take a long time.
hopefully they aren't charging like 20 bucks or something. but even if they do that is on them!