Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions and answers for AppendPDF Pro.
Appending Files Questions
Stamping Questions
Parameter File Questions
Table of Contents (TOC) Questions
Other AppendPDF Pro Questions
What is the difference in stamping capabilities between AppendPDF Pro and StampPDF Batch?
The stamping engine within AppendPDF Pro places stamps of text and/or images anywhere on any page of the assembled document. There is only one feature which is in StampPDF Batch and not available in AppendPDF Pro: UndoStamps. This is the ability to set a flag on a stamp item so it can be removed at a later time by running the application again with the Undo switch. The functionality of AppendPDF Pro doesn't lend itself to removing stamped items once a new document has been assembled, so that feature is not included.
Updated: 2007
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Why are the letters in my stamp overlapped?
Missing or overlapped characters usually indicates a problem with the fonts in your PDF file such as embedded subsetted fonts, TrueType fonts or fonts which have been manipulated in some way. To resolve this issue you can run the original file through Distiller or try stamping with a different font.
Updated: 2007
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Does AppendPDF Pro support PDF Forms?
No. AppendPDF Pro does not work properly with any PDF file that contains Form fields. The form fields must be removed before the append and replaced in the output file after the append. You would first need to use the form-flattening feature in another one of our products, FDFMerge. Form flattening is a process whereby FDF data is stamped directly into the document, and the form fields are effectively removed. You can then successfully append your files with AppendPDF Pro. You may also want to look at our other product, FormAssembler http://www.appligent.com/products/form_assembler/form_assembler.php
Updated: 2007
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Does AppendPDF Pro support encrypted / secure files?
No - AppendPDF Pro will not work with encrypted or write-protected input PDF files. Full permissions on all files and paths are required for AppendPDF Pro to work properly. AppendPDF Pro version 3.0 and later does have the ability to apply standard Acrobat security to the appended output PDF file. If you have an earlier version that does not have the ability to apply security and you would like to upgrade, please contact our Sales Department .
Updated: 2007
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What options are available for setting the Open Mode of a PDF document?
The options are: Open_Mode (ShowBookmarks, ShowThumbnails, ShowNone). Users may choose to show the bookmark pane, show the page thumbnails, or choose none and open the document without bookmarks or thumbnails.
Updated: 2007
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What options are available for setting the View Mode of a PDF document?
The options are: View_Mode (FitPage, FitWidth, FitHeight, FitVisible, ActualSize). AppendPDF Pro can save a document with the user’s choice for View Mode. These options reflect those that appear as buttons in Acrobat for choosing how a document appears on the screen. The default for View Mode is FitPage.
Updated: 2007
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I'm having trouble accurately defining the page numbers I want stamped into my output PDF. What should I check first?
Users need to keep in mind that page numbers specified in stamp files (i.e. StartPage) need to be Acrobat page numbers and not the page numbers as defined by AppendPDF Pro. Acrobat page numbers are the page numbers as they appear in your Adobe Acrobat window (i.e. 3 of 20). If -f is used page counting will begin on the cover page and AppendPDF Pro numbers will be the same as Acrobat numbers. If -f is not used, number counting is reset to 1 at the start of the body of the appended document (this will not correspond to the 3 of 20 in your Acrobat window). Therefore, be sure to refer to the page numbers as they appear in Acrobat when specifying pages in stamp files.
Updated: 2007
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Does AppendPDF Pro work with portrait AND landscape pages?
Yes. AppendPDF Pro functions properly on portrait and landscape pages in documents to be appended.
Updated: 2007
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Can I extract page ranges from just one file?
Yes. You may extract page ranges from only one file if you choose. You do not have to append additional pages or files to it for the append to be successful.
Updated: 2007
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What flexibility does the Table of Contents option offer?
The Table of Contents page has many features. Among them are:
- The user is able to specify how information is printed on the page: in what font, size, position and color.
- Entries in the Tables of Contents support line-wraping.
- All text entered by AppendPDF Pro on the Table of Contents page is hyperlinked to the respective pages in the new PDF document.
- Entries in the Table of Contents can use leaders between the entry text and the page number for that entry.
- If the Table of Contents needs to run on to a second (or third, etc.) page a copy will be made of the first page to accommodate the additional listings.
- AppendPDF Pro applies its own bookmark for Table of Contents pages.
- The TOC block in the parameter file also supports a stamp file, enabling stamps such as page numbers, headers, etc. to be placed anywhere on the page.
Updated: 2007
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Do you support multi-line TOC entries?
Yes. Multi-line TOC entries are supported well as multi-line text stamping throughout the entire appended document.
Updated: 2007
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What do I need to keep in mind when setting LineSpace for use with multi-line TOC entries?
The LineSpace parameter available in the TOC (Table of Contents) block does not account for multi-line TOC entries. If LineSpace is set to 3 and there is a TOC entry that wraps a line, the space between that entry and the next will only be the equivalent of one blank line. If your document has long TOC entries make the appropriate adjustments to LineSpace to (a) achieve the desired spacing and (b) prevent lines from overlapping (a LineSpace of 2 and a TOC entry that wraps to 3 lines will overwrite the first line of the following TOC entry).
Updated: 2007
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Why are the bookmarks in my TOC inconsistent with the documents I used?
If a TOC (Table of Contents) page is used, a TOC entry should be made for each source file. If not, bookmarks will not be consistent with the documents used.
Updated: 2007
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What will happen if I use an input PDF that displays the message "There was an Error processing a page." prior to AppendPDF Pro use?
The PDF may be damaged, and may not process properly. If optimizing the PDF does not eliminate the message, try redistilling it. If it no longer displays error messages when viewed it should be fine to use with AppendPDF Pro.
Updated: 2007
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How important is the construction of the parameter file I use?
Misspelled keywords (i.e. BeginSource instead of begin_source) or keywords left out will cause AppendPDF Pro to fail. Also, it is best to use full paths to each input PDF file.
Updated: 2007
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Can more than one source files block be used in a parameter file?
Only one source files block per parameter file. If you try to add more than one source files block to your parameter file AppendPDF Pro will ignore it. Add all files to be appended together into
one block; use multiple parameter files to generate multiple output PDF files.
Updated: 2007
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What is the proper way to use comments in the parameter file?
All comments must be at the beginning of a line and must start with the # symbol. If you are using comments in your parameter file make sure they are entered properly.
Updated: 2007
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Do I have to use spaces between parameters in the parameter file?
Make sure there is (at least) one space between parameters and the parentheses that hold the value for the parameter, like this: parameter1 (value), parameter2 (value).
Updated: 2007
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Why am I having trouble using files whose names contain commas?
File name should not contain commas. AppendPDF Pro tries to interpret the commas as part of a page range for the document.
Updated: 2007
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Why am I having trouble running AppendPDF Pro using files located in a different directory or drive?
Make sure all file and pathnames are correct. If you are working in one directory and AppendPDF Pro lives in another (or vice versa) you must account for that in your parameter file and command line. Note: Be aware that if even one path or file name is wrong in your parameter file the entire append will fail.
Updated: 2007
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Why does AppendPDF Pro run noticably slower when I use PDFs containing 100+ bookmarks per page?
Try to avoid using large amounts of bookmarks or extremely large files. More than 100 bookmarks per page for an appended document will cause AppendPDF Pro to run measurably slower. Similarly, AppendPDF Pro’s efficiency will be compromised when working with files larger than 5,000 pages. To cut down on the number of bookmarks leave out the -b command-line option and use the bookmarks generated by the table of contents block.
Updated: 2007
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An error message has been written to the bottom of my parameter file. Why?
When using the log file option, -l, be sure to give a log file name. If this is not done AppendPDF Pro will not process and an error message will be appended to the bottom of your parameter file.
Updated: 2007
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Can AppendPDF Pro stamp my output documents during the appending process?
Yes - AppendPDF Pro can place stamps on documents. This feature is used in the Cover, TOC, and Extras blocks of the parameter file. Stamps can be made in color. Base 14 and Adobe PostScript Type 1 fonts are supported. Margins can be modified for individual stamps as well as for full pages. JPEG Image stamping is supported. See the documentation for details and instructions.
Updated: 2007
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What PDF versions does AppendPDF Pro suppor?
AppendPDF Pro supports PDF file versions 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7.
Updated: 2007
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24. Do I have to include a Cover or TOC page with my appended file?
No. You may choose to include or not to include a cover and TOC pages with the new appended file. You may also choose to include one and not the other. You may have an output file with just a cover and no TOC pages, or just TOC pages and no cover.
Updated: 2007
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Can I copy my bookmarks over to the new document?
Yes. The -b option will copy the bookmarks from the individual PDF files into the output PDF file. Example: appendpro -b paramerFile.txt
Updated: 2007
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What kind of fonts can I use?
You can use: All Adobe Type 1 fonts, OCR fonts, any Barcode Type fonts, and all the Base 14 fonts except Symbol and Zapf Dingbats, which do not always stamp properly.
Updated: 2007
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Does AppendPDF Pro support Acobat Articles?
No. Not at this time. If a file with articles is used, Acrobat will generate errors when viewing the output file.
Updated: April 27, 2001
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Does AppendPDF Pro support Acrobat Threads?
No, AppendPDF Pro does not support Acrobat threads at this time. Acrobat Threads are not the same as server threads. AppendPDF Pro and our SPDF library is completely thread safe.
Updated: 2007
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There are extra bookmarks ahead of the cover page listed, why?
If your cover page document contains bookmarks, they will be listed ahead of the auto generated ”Cover Page” bookmark. If you do not wish to have the bookmarks listed before the cover bookmark, open the cover page file in Acrobat, click on the bookmark, choose delete bookmark from the bookmark dropdown menu located on the top right of the bookmark pane.
Updated: 2007
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We are unable to search any of the extracted pages. What are we doing wrong?
Regular searches should work fine. To do an index search, first the appended file(s) must be added to the index. Though appended PDFs are made up of pre-existing ones, they are actually entirely new files.
Updated: 2007
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