I have 5,000 PDF documents that each contain a line of text. I need
to remove this line of text from each document, and doing it manually
is out of the question.
I am looking for a windows or dos utility that will allow me to
specify an action to perform on multiple files. For example, search
and replace text on multiple files, or generate a list of the authors
of several documents. It must be simple to use, but offer advanced
features. I am willing to pay up to $39.99US for this software, but
free is preferable. If this "search-and-replace-on-multiple-files" is
possible with Adobe Acrobat Writer 4.0, your detailed instructions on
how to achieve my objective with Adobe Acrobat will also qualify for
payment of my question. Thanks and good luck. Harry, Vancouver, BC. |
Request for Question Clarification by
mathtalk-ga
on
03 Apr 2003 14:29 PST
Hi, hiatus-ga:
What would a search string for these lines look like?
Thanks in advance,
mathtalk-ga
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Clarification of Question by
hiatus-ga
on
03 Apr 2003 18:13 PST
Thanks for your question Mathtalk...
To clarify, the line of text reads:
Copyright 2001 John Doe
The client has bought the rights to the documents, and wants that line changed to :
Copyright 2003 Post Productions
If you are using Perl that is great.
Harry
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Request for Question Clarification by
mathtalk-ga
on
05 Apr 2003 20:28 PST
Hi, hiatus-ga:
Commercial software that is intended for this purpose (bulk editing of
existing PDF files) can be quite expensive ($2,000 to $5000).
Apparently you own a copy of Adobe Acrobat 4.0 (not the latest
version, 5.0) and would be willing to invest in a free or inexpensive
plug-in.
While such things are available, often with a free trial period, I
would be skeptical of the robustness of these low-end implementations.
If your company has made a significant investment in the thousands of
PDF documents described, then I think a corresponding investment needs
to be made in preserving the integrity of those documents. An error
in manipulating the PDF document toward the beginning of such files
can render the entire document useless.
I wonder if, in the vein of avoiding investment in high-end software
tools needed to do an excellent job with your files, you have
considered using a service bureau to perform the conversion/editing of
these documents? Even if the freeware tools that I might point you to
were adequate to the job, you would still have a certain amount of
programming to do. Possibly just light programming, aka scripting,
but intellectual effort nonetheless.
So I'm just wondering if you've explored that alternative. I found
several such services on the Web.
regards, mathtalk-ga
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Clarification of Question by
hiatus-ga
on
06 Apr 2003 15:12 PDT
I can load up any text editor and perform search-and-replace on
multiple files with ease. Why is it so hard to do the same with PDF?
There must be a tool/script/utility/program to do this that doesn't
cost thousands of dollars. I don't want to use a service. Can you
research the PDF modules for Perl and find out how to do this with a
script?....
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