Action list help, please

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

Happy Friday!

I have a 1500 page document that consists of account statements of varying page counts. I need to select just the first page of each and then select the logo and addresses at the top and move them up 5/8". The catch is, for some reason there is a mask just above the current position that I also need to remove.

My strategy has been to select the line of text containing "Page 1 of 1", select page with content selected, select region defined by a square, and remove that selection. Then select by a different region defined by a square, and change position 0.625".

I just can't for the life of me figure out how to pull it off.

As it stands in it's all jacked form:
Select All
Select Text containing Page 1 of 1
Select page if content is selected
AND
Select objects inside region
Remove selection
Select All
Select Text containing Page 1 of 1
Select page if content is selected
Select objects inside region
AND
Move by (0in, 0.625)

Second best would be to just select these pages and move all of the content up, but they would prefer just the header.

Thanks!

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

I think I just got it to move all the page content correctly, but that more complex selection is drivin' me crazier than I already was.

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

All I need to do now is stretch this mask up by about 0.0625. I can't delete it. It's needed on some of the front pages where the bottom of the mask is, but it's covering part of the content that is slid up.

[David]

just curious, from what application was the pdf made from?

can you select the mask first and change the size then do all the moves after?


sorry not much help, maybe you can post 1 page as a sample to test?

[Tracy]

I was going to suggest 2 separate actions too
Good job on figuring it out! Out of desperation we can get pitstop to help!!

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

I ended up cheating. For now. I'm working from the file from last year to get this worked out ahead of time, and I just moved the text about 1/16th less than we did last year so that it stays inside of the mask. When I get the actual files for the current job, and find out the envelope window hopefully this will work.

Document properties shows it was made by "PDFsharp 1.50", has www.pdfsharp.com next to it. Whatever that is. It's a nonprofit, so it could be any cheesy free program. Came premerged.

[Tracy]

 Thanks for helping us merge your data!
said no prepress op ever

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

"But, but, if we brought that in house we wouldn't have to pay you to do it. And you'll modify our file to fit the envelope for free because it's just a push of a button, right?"

Either that or "Boss, Boss, lookie what I can do!"

[Tracy]

doing data to fit in a window env is so specific to the env
it should never be done by the customer.
unless you give them a template but then they will do it in Word anyway and it will be off

[David]

"...because it's just a push of a button, right?"

yeah, but which button?

whatever you do, do not push the red button...

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

I don't believe everything I read, so here goes!

....uh oh....

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

Just to round off the OG question with what looks to be a solution, though I'd like to be able to select and resize clipping masks with an action list. I've continued working on this and found another way.

I never figured out how to resize the mask, cut and paste to clipboard didn't remove that line from the mask, but if before moving the header I select that line and place it in a form, then select the region and move it, it works. For some reason, putting it in the form after moving did not work, it was still clipped.

Per the attributes for Put Selection In Form, "this action moves all selected objects from their current parent to a new form. This new form will be inserted in front of existing graphics."

Copy/paste manually worked, but copy/paste to/from clipboard with an action list didn't seem to work. It'd cut the text, but wouldn't paste it. Tried to copy and paste on top, but wouldn't paste it, sill just the one copy of the text.

This PC may have gremlins and other stuff shoulda worked, but I digress...

[David]

I would suspect that the file has more clipping paths than you can imagine. I've had trouble selecting some of those as well, mostly because they are on top of each other, so using x/y coordinates to make the selection in most cases picks the wrong mask.

[(Pre)PressingMyLuck]

If I click on the mask and delete it, I only have to do it once. According to object browser there are three clipping masks on the page. The biggest one, almost the full page size is the one I've been dealing with. The other two involve shading boxes over single lines of text in a ledger type format.  I just really thought copy to/paste from clipboard should have worked just like doing it manually, no form shenanigans needed.

[Tracy]

good job tho! Forms are a bit confusing to me
I ask Enfocus to elaborate on Forms and I think the last webinar was on Forms
and I kind of missed it 
I have to go back and watch it