Creating Batch Sequences in Acrobat 9 (and below)
- The Adobe® Acrobat® provides batch processing functionality to automate many routine document handling tasks. You can apply sequence/action to a single document, to several documents, or to an entire folder of documents. Use the instructions below to create a custom batch processing sequence. The batch processing is now called "Action Wizard" in Acrobat X and above.
- Start Adobe® Acrobat Professional® and select "Advanced > Document Processing > Batch Processing..." (Acrobat 8, 9) or "Advanced > Batch Processing..." (Acrobat 6 and 7) from the menu. The details on how to setup a batch sequence can vary depending on the Acrobat version. It is recomended to consult Acrobat help for details.
- Perform the following steps, once the "Batch Sequences" dialog appears on the screen:
- 1. Click "New Sequence..." button to create a new batch sequence that you want to execute. Give this sequence a name, for example "AUTOBATCH".
- 2. Specify what will be an input for this sequence using "Run commands on" menu. Please note that by default, a batch sequence is using "Ask when sequence is run" option. This option will pop up a file selection dialog during the execution. Most likely, you do not want this type of behavior. Select either "Selected Files" or "Selected Folder" option. Please also note that if you intend to pass a file name as a parameter to a batch file, then you have to choose a "Selected Files" option. If you want to pass a folder name, then choose a "Selected Folder" option.
- 3. Specify output folder and filenaming settings using "Select output location" menu. Please note that AutoBatch plug-in does not support "PDF Optimizer" options in Acrobat versions prior to version 8.
- 4. Push "Select Commands" button to start building your processing sequence from individual "commands" using "Edit Sequence" dialog.
- 5. Locate a desired command in the command list and click "Add>>" button.
- 6. Click "Edit..." button to specify all required command parameters. Make sure not to turn interactive mode on to avoid being prompted for command settings every time a command is executed.
- 7. Save your sequence after adding all desired commands. Now your batch sequence is completed and is ready for execution.
- Consult Acrobat's online help and user's manual for more details on how to create and edit batch sequences. Exit "Batch Sequences" dialog once you have completed and saved a batch sequence.