Acrobat forms

[MacTwidget]

No typing required. Get all the PDFs in a folder, select all, copy. Open Excel and paste. It will paste the file names.

Well DAMN! I did not know you could copy and paste directory items like that.
THank you for the tip!

[Joe]

Weird. I've literally done it hundreds of times. Maybe I glossed over a step - have to have an open Excel doc and your cursor in a cell. 

You can also paste into a text editor like BBEdit. Don't try with TextEdit, though, because it will paste the actual files instead of the names.

Works in TextEdit too if you have the document format set to "Make Plain Text" instead of "Make Rich Text".

[Joe]

I'm in SDP training all week, but I did spend a second and tried this. No dice.

Are you on a PC using Windows or on a Mac? Doesn't work on Windows.

[DigiCorn]

Windblows

[Joe]

Windblows

Windblows does work if you put it in List view and "copy path"...then search and replace out the path and just keep the filename.

[DCurry]

One of my favorite uses for this trick is on a VDP job I used to do that had hundreds of headshot photos. Not every sales rep had a photo and the design was different for those without so I needed an easy way to compare my photo list to the data to see who didn't have a photo. 

Copied the file listing of the photos from the Finer into an Excel column, and in a second column was the list of reps from the data. There's a way you can tell Excel to highlight entries that don't exist in both columns and it doesn't care what order they are in. Makes it easy to see what reps are missing photos. 

[DigiCorn]

I don't have a copy path option

[Joe]

I don't have a copy path option

What version of Windows are you using? I was on Window 11 when I tried it.

Does it do anything if you select "Copy" and then paste into notepad? On Win 11 "copy" didn't give me the option to paste into Notepad.

[DigiCorn]

Windows 10 Enterprise

Attempting to past to Notepad (ctrl-V) yields zero results (nothing... right-click paste it's greyed out)

Dragging and dropping to notepad is garbage.

[David]

found this:

Hold down control, shift, and right click the selected documents. Choose copy as path and then paste the data.

there was a mention about win 7 or above for this to work

[DigiCorn]

found this:
there was a mention about win 7 or above for this to work

OK. That worked... but it copied the file name and not the field contents of the pdf, which is what I really need.
This would be great if the customer had named the file with the name of the recipient, and not some random initials (which don't even match the name).

[David]

... if the customer had named the file with the name of the recipient, and not some random initials (which don't even match the name).

I think that is standard procedure for all file names, use something that has nothing to do with what it is.



filesonmyharddrivetoprint.pdf

[DCurry]

Quote from: DigiCorn on 7/9/2024, 3:57:51 PMOK. That worked... but it copied the file name and not the field contents of the pdf, which is what I really need.This would be great if the customer had named the file with the name of the recipient, and not some random initials (which don't even match the name).

Correct - this is just a way to use Data Merge to place all the PDFs into an InDesign document so you wouldn't have to manually place them like you did.

[DigiCorn]

Yeah - I get what the end result was. I was a little distracted because I'm on this webex all day, every day this week and still trying to work. 

I don't know what kind of voodoo magic I thought was gonna extract the names out of the field in the individual files. I should just chant and swing a dead cat over my head while facing east.

[Tracy]

I'm sure this isn't allowed, but If I worked at a place that didn't have pitstop 
I would buy it myself. I have a small company mindset now tho.
I actually like working in bigger companies tho!!