EVERMAP [HOW TO MERGE PDF FILES WITH AUTOSPLIT]

How to Merge PDF files with AutoSplit™

An introduction to combining PDF and Microsoft Office documents

Table of Contents
What Software Do I Need? ........................................................................................................................... 2
What Is Document Merging? ........................................................................................................................ 2
What Merging Methods Are Available?........................................................................................................ 2
What Documents Can Be Merged?............................................................................................................... 2
Where Do I Start?.......................................................................................................................................... 3
What Merging Method to Choose? .............................................................................................................. 3
Merging Documents into Single PDF document ........................................................................................... 5
Merging Documents from Multiple Folders into Multiple PDF Files ............................................................ 8
Merging Documents with Similar Filenames .............................................................................................. 10
Merging Documents Using Control File ...................................................................................................... 12
Updating Documents By Inserting and/or Replacing Pages ....................................................................... 17
Using Batch Processing ............................................................................................................................... 18
Getting Help ................................................................................................................................................ 19
Legal Notice................................................................................................................................................. 20

©1999-2017 Copyright EverMap Company LLC

All rights reserved.

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What Software Do I Need?

The AutoSplit software requires a full version of Adobe Acrobat Standard or Professional for Microsoft
Windows. It will not work with a free Acrobat Reader software that does not allow document editing
and modification. The plug-in supports all versions of Adobe Acrobat starting from version 6. You can
download a free 30 days trial version of AutoSplit from http://www.evermap.com/autosplit.asp. If you
do not currently own a copy of Adobe® Acrobat® then you can download a trial version from
http://www.adobe.com/downloads. The AutoSplit software, once installed, adds several menus to the
“Plug-ins” menu in Adobe Acrobat. The AutoSplit is available in two versions: Standard and Professional.
It is recommended to download and evaluate a Professional version in order to get a complete overview
of the product capabilities.

What Is Document Merging?

Document merging is an operation that combines several documents into one or more composite PDF
document(s).

What Merging Methods Are Available?

The AutoSplit software supports the following document merging methods:

• Merging documents from one or more folders into a single PDF file
• Merging documents from multiple folders into multiple PDF files
• Merging documents based on filename similarity
• Document merging by using a custom control file
• Updating multiple documents by inserting and/or replacing pages

What Documents Can Be Merged?

The AutoSplit software can merge the following common types of documents:

• PDF documents
• Microsoft Office documents such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• All image files supported by Adobe Acrobat such as TIFF, JPG, BMP and etc.
• HTML files
• Text files (*.txt)
• AutoCAD drawing files (if Adobe Acrobat has appropriate file format convertor installed)
• Postscript files (*.ps, *.prn, *eps)

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• Microsoft XML Paper Specification files (*.xps)

• Other file formats supported by a specific version of Adobe Acrobat such as multimedia and 3D
formats.

The software accepts all document types supported by Adobe Acrobat. Please consult documentation
for your version of Adobe Acrobat for a complete list of supported file formats.

There are certain kinds of PDF documents that cannot be merged by Adobe Acrobat:

• Password-protected PDF documents (you need to remove passwords before merging)

• Password-protected or encrypted MS Office files
• PDF documents with security restrictions that prevent document merging
• MS Office files with access/editing restrictions
• Certain PDF forms created by Adobe LiveCycle Designer form editor

Where Do I Start?

Organize documents you want to merge in one or more folders on your computer according to the
specific merging operation you want to perform. Start Adobe Acrobat application and select one of the
document merging operations available from “Plug-ins > Merge Documents” menu:

What Merging Method to Choose?

① If you have multiple PDF, image or MS Office documents that need to be combined into a single
output PDF document, then select “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents into Single
Document” menu. This operation will combine all selected input documents from one or more folders
into a single PDF file.

② If you have documents from two or more folders that need to be combined into a multiple output
PDF documents, then select “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents from Multiple Folders”
menu. This operation produces multiple output PDF files by taking one file from each folder and merging

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them together. Files are merged based on user-defined filename similarity. Use this method if you need
to combine files that have the same or very similar filenames from multiple folders and use only one file
from each input folder in each output PDF file.

③ If you have multiple documents that need to be combined based on filename similarity into a
multiple output PDF documents, then select “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents with
Similar Filenames” menu. This operation will combine all selected input documents from one or more
folders into multiples files based on user-defined filename similarity. Filename similarity is defined as a
minimal required number of common characters in filenames.

④ Sometimes, it is necessary to perform custom document merging operation(s) when files needs to
be combined according to specific requirements. Use “Plug-ins > Merge Documents >Merge Multiple
documents Using Control File…” menu to perform document merging by using instructions from a plain-
text file. This is an advanced method that requires a basic level of technical experience. The control file
can produce one or more output PDF files by listing document merging instructions. The control file
format is easy to learn and use. Control files can be created by using any plain text editors (such as
Notepad) or generated by third-party custom applications. Use this method when it is necessary to
integrate document splitting into other applications or document processing workflows.

⑤ If you have multiple PDF documents that need to be updated by replacing or inserting pages from
other PDF documents, then select “Plug-ins > Merge Documents >Update Documents By Inserting and
Replacing Pages” menu.

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Merging Documents into Single PDF document

Use “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents into Single Document” menu to combine
multiple documents from one or more folders into a single output PDF document.

1. Use “Merge operation” menu to select how to combine pages. There are two choices available:
“Append Pages” and “Interleave Pages”.
2. Press “Add Document(s)…” if you want to add one or more input documents.

3. Once you have selected a single input document, the “Input Document Settings” dialog will
appear on the screen. You can specify a page subset and bookmarking options. If you have

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selected more than one document as input, then this dialog will be skipped. Specify document
processing settings by double-clicking on corresponding document entry in the input file list.

4. Press “Add Folder…” if you want to add all files from a specific folder. The “Input Folder
Settings” dialog appers on the screen once a folder is selected:

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Select processing options and press OK button. The list of files will be read at the time the merge
operation is going to be executed, not at the time you are selecting the folder. This is useful
when the same merge operation needs to be applied frequently to different files that change
from time to time. The software will automatically retrieve a list of files from a specified folder
at the time of the execution and perform the merge. There is no need to know the names of the
files to be merged.

5. Press OK button to start merging documents. The resulting document is automatically open in
Adobe Acrobat at the end of the processing.

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Merging Documents from Multiple Folders into Multiple PDF Files

Use “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents from Multiple Folders” menu to combine
multiple documents from two or more folders into a multiple output PDF document. Unlike regular
document merging, there are multiple output files from this operation. Each output file is created by
taking one file from each input folder and merging them together. Files are merged based on filename
similarity. For each file in the first input folder, there is one output file (with the same name) created in
the output folder. Documents are combined by searching for the most similar file names in each input
folder and appending them to the output file. Each file name is compared to the name of the current
output file and the filename with the minimal difference is used.

For example, if the input consists of 3 folders "A", "B" and "C":
Folder "A" contains file1.pdf, file2.pdf and file3.pdf.
Folder "B" contains file10.pdf, file20.pdf and file30.pdf.
Folder "C" contains file100.pdf, file200.pdf and file300.pdf.

Three output files will be created in the output folder:

File1.pdf by merging file1.pdf, file10.pdf, file100.pdf.

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File2.pdf by merging file2.pdf, file20.pdf, file200.pdf.

File3.pdf by merging file3.pdf, file30.pdf, file300.pdf.

The accuracy of the filename matching is controlled by a “maximum allowed difference between two
filenames” parameter (measured in characters). For example, the difference between file1.pdf and
file10.pdf is one character, the difference between file1.pdf and file100.pdf is two characters, the
difference between file1.pdf and file20.pdf is two characters and etc. If this parameter is set to 2, then
the closest match for the file1.pdf from folder “B” is file10.pdf, and from folder “C” file100.pdf.
It is also possible to insert the same file in each output document without performing a name match.
Simply add a file to the list of input files/folders and it will be automatically inserted into every output
document.

Select “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents from Multiple Folders” from the menu to open
application dialog. Press “Add Folder…” button multiple times to add folders that contain files that need
to be merged. Specify processing options and press OK button to start merging.

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Merging Documents with Similar Filenames

Use “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents with Similar Filenames” menu to combine
documents based on filename similarity. Each output file is created by taking one input document and
finding all other documents that have at least X common first characters in the filename. The similarity
between two filenames is controlled by a user-specified number of common characters between two
filenames. For example, use this merging method to combine documents based on first 16 characters of
the filename:

Files are sorted alphabetically prior to merging. The order of the files in the merged document(s)
depends on the document names. The names of the output documents depend on what filename
appears first in the sorted list of input files. Here is an example of merging 8 files into 2 output PDF
documents:

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Select “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Documents with Similar Filenames” from the menu to
open application dialog. Press “Add Folder…” and/or “Add File…” button multiple times to add folders
/files that contain files that need to be merged. Specify processing options and press OK button to start
merging. The order of the files/folders is not important since files are sorted based on filenames prior to
merging.

Use “Save Settings…” button to save current input document list and processing settings for the future
reuse. Use “Load Settings…” button to load previously saved settings back.

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Merging Documents Using Control File

Use “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Merge Multiple Documents Using Control File…” menu to merge
one or more files into one or more PDF documents using a special control file. The merge control file is a
plain text document that contains instructions on what document to merge and what options to use.
Use any plain text editor (such as Notepad) to create this file. The minimal control file should contain
instructions for the input folder(s), output folder and define a list of document to merge at least one
output PDF file. There is no limit for number of output files that can be merged using this method.
The control file is a collection of keywords (used to define processing options) and file names. For
example, the following control file produces 3 output documents (First.pdf, Second.pdf, Third.pdf) by
merging 9 different files from c:\data\input folder:

inputfolder=c:\data2\input
outputfolder=c:\data2\output
File1.pdf,File2.pdf, File3.pdf,>First.pdf
File4.pdf,File5.pdf,File6.pdf,>Second.pdf
File7.pdf,File8.pdf,File9.pdf,>Third.pdf

Each control file should contain at least one inputfolder= and one outputfolder= instruction at the
beginning of the file. You can use more than one inputfolder/outputfolder keyword in the control file to
set a required input/output folders for different parts of the job. For example, you can put a separate
inputfolder= keyword before each merging line to designate a different input/output folder(s).
inputfolder=c:\data2\input
outputfolder=c:\data2\output
File1.pdf,File2.pdf, File3.pdf,>First.pdf
inputfolder=c:\data2\input2
File4.pdf,File5.pdf,File6.pdf,>Second.pdf

Each output file that needs to be merged is defined on a single text line and consists of comma-
separated list of filenames. The following example defines an output file Output.pdf that should be
created by merging 3 input file: File1.pdf, File2.pdf, File3.pdf files. If file extension is omitted, the .pdf
file extension is assumed and automatically added.

File1.pdf,File2.pdf,File3.pdf>Output.pdf

The output file name is designated by > symbol that should occur in front of the file name. If an output
file name definition is omitted, then output file is created by using a name of the first file in the input file
list. The following instructions will produce File1.pdf in the output folder by merging File1.pd, File2.pdf,
File3.pdf from input folder:

File1.pdf,File2.pdf,File3.pdf

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List of supported keywords:

Keyword Definition Examples

Defines a page range to use from the

next input pdf document. Format:
pagerange=StartingPageNumber-
EndingPageNumber. Page numbering
pagerange=1-2,File1.pdf
pagerange starts from 1. Specify 0 to indicate the
pagerange=10-0,File1.pdf
last page of the document. This
instruction should appear before an
input document entry and affects only
the next input file.

Specifies that only Nth pages from the

next input document need to be
extracted. For example, setting this
value to 2 will extract pages 1, 3, 5, 7,
9and so on. Setting this value to 3 will
extractnth extractnth=2,File1.pdf
extract pages 1, 4, 7, 10 and so on. This
value cannot be less than 1. This
instruction should appear before an
input document entry and affects only
the next input file.

Turns On automatic padding of each

input file with a blank page if a number
of pages in the document is odd. Use
padtoeven=yes to turn ON padding,
padtoeven=yes
padtoeven padtoeven=no to turn it OFF. This
padtoeven=no
instruction can be used anywhere in
the control file.Please note that there is
no space neither before or after =
symbol.

Defines an input folder where input

files are located. This keyword is
required. There should be at least one
inputfolder inputfolder=C:\Data\Input
keyword in the begining of the control
file. This instruction can be used
multiple times anywhere in the file.

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Keyword Definition Examples

Defines an output folder where to

place merged documents. There should
be at least one keyword in the
outputfolder outputfolder=C:\Data\Output
beginning of the control file. This
instruction can be used multiple times
anywhere in the control file.

Use this keyword to include files from

subfolder=yes
subfolder subfolders, when using file name
subfolder=no
templates such as *.pdf.

Defines a file name filter. Use wildcards

and ? symbol to specify multiple files
filter=Invoices*.pdf
that match a specific file naming
filter filter=*.pdf
pattern. Can be used to search for a file
filter=CoverPage1.pdf (search in subfolders)
inside subfolders (if subfolder=yes
keyword is set).

Password protects output file. This

instruction should occur on the same
password line with the list of the input files and File1.pdf,File2.pdf,password=3kf8f81$!
defines a password to use to secure
output document.

Defines a bookmark to use for

bookmarking of a specific input file in
the output document. This instruction Bookmark=First
bookmark needs to be specified before the name Document,File1.pdf,Bookmark=Second
of the input file. By default, all sub- Document,File2.pdf
documents are bookmarked using
input file name.

This keyword is used to define if output

files needs to be overwritten if a file
overwrite=yes
overwrite with the same name already exists in
overwrite=no
the output folder. This option is global
and should be specified once per file.

author Sets "Author" metadata record for the author=Acme Consulting Inc.

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Keyword Definition Examples

output document. This keyword can be

used multiple times. It affects all
merged documents that follows the
keyword. It needs to be specified on a
separate line only. Do not use commas
in the text of this field.

Sets "Title" metadata record for the

output document. This keyword can be
used multiple times. It affects all
title merged documents that follows the title=Account Terms And Conditions
keyword. It needs to be specified on a
separate line only. Do not use commas
in the text of this field.

Specifies a full path with filename for

the report document. Report contains
all details about input and output files,
reportfile as well as any errors encountered reportfile=C:\Project\Reports\ProcessingLog.htm
during the processing. Report file is
produced in HTML format and should
have *.htm file extension.

Sets "Subject" metadata record for the

output document. This keyword can be
used multiple times. It affects all
subject merged documents that follows the subject=Account Statement
keyword. It needs to be specified on a
separate line only. Do not use commas
in the text of this field.

Sets "Keywords" metadata record for

the output document. This keyword
can be used multiple times. It affects all
keywords merged documents that follows the keywords=Keyword1
keyword. It needs to be specified on a
separate line only. Do not use commas
in the text of this field.

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Keyword Definition Examples

Inserts multiple copies of the same

duplicate document. Default value is 1. duplicate=5,File1.pdf
Maximum value is 100.

This keyword is used to select between

creating a regular output PDF file or
PDF portfolio. It affects all merged
portfolio=yes
portfolio documents that follows the keyword. It
portfolio=no
needs to be specified on a separate line
only. The default value is portfolio=no
and creates regular PDF files as output.

Here is a control files that uses most keywords:

inputfolder=c:\data2\input
outputfolder=c:\data2\output
overwrite=no
padtoeven=yes
author=Acme Consulting LLC
title=Customer Account Statement
subject=Second Quarter 2013
keywords=Account Second Quarter
pagerange=1-5,File1.pdf,File2.pdf,duplicate=5,File3.pdf,>First.pdf
bookmark=First Document,File4.pdf,bookmark=Second
Document,File5.pdf,bookmark=Third Document,File6.pdf,>Second.pdf
pagerange=2-3,File7.pdf,pagerange=1-1,File8.pdf,pagerange=2-
2,File9.pdf,>Third.pdf,password=ab1492t%

Here is an example of using wildcards with “filter” keyword. The following control file will merge all files
that start with Invoice in the file name from a specific folder and all its subfolders into a single file
AllInvoices.pdf:

inputfolder=c:\invoices\input
outputfolder=c:\accounting\output
subfolders=yes
filter=Invoice*.pdf,>AllInvoices.pdf

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Updating Documents by Inserting and/or Replacing Pages

Use “Plug-ins > Merge Documents > Update Documents by Inserting and Replacing Pages” menu to
update one or more PDF documents by inserting and/or replacing pages from one or more other PDF
documents. This operation uses a set of “instructions” to perform update operations. Each update
instruction describes either “Replace Pages” or “Insert Pages” operation to be performed on a PDF
document. Each instruction specifies the destination document where to insert/replace pages and a
source document where the pages are coming from. The single instruction describes a one-step
operation where one or more pages (continuous page rage) in a destination document is replaced (or
inserted) by one or more pages from a source PDF document. The number of pages in the source and
destination documents can be different. For example, it is possible to replace 2 pages starting at page
“ii” in document “A” with 3 pages starting from page 75 in document “B”. All updates for the same
document are applied simultaneously as a single transaction. This means that the order of the replace
operations for the same document does not matter as well as destination page number (label). If
updates were applied sequentially, then a first operation may change the page count and causing the
second operation to be applied incorrectly.

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Using Batch Processing

The Adobe Acrobat Professional comes with batch processing functionality (called Action Wizard in
Acrobat X and above) that provides a way to combine various document processing steps into multi-step
workflows or “actions”.

You can find visual step-by-step instructions on how to create batch sequences ("actions") online at:

For Acrobat Pro X: http://evermap.com/ActionWizardX.asp

For Acrobat Pro XI: http://evermap.com/ActionWizardXI.asp
For Acrobat Pro DC: http://www.evermap.com/ActionWizardDC.asp

How to merge files using Action Wizard: http://evermap.com/Tutorial_ASP_MergeViaActionWizard.asp

Check product page for more step-by-step tutorials: http://evermap.com/AutoSplit.asp

AutoSplit Professional™ plug-in installs a number batch processing commands that can be accessed and
executed via "Batch Sequences" dialog (Acrobat 9 and before) and via "Action Wizard" in Acrobat X, XI,
Acrobat DC:

• "Split Document"
• "Merge Documents"
• "Merge Files From Folders"
• "Merge Files With Similar Names"
• "Merge With Control File"
• "Extract Embedded Files"
• “Auto-Rename File”

These commands may be used alone or inside another batch sequences allowing you to incorporate a
splitting and merging operations into your existing workflow. You need Adobe® Acrobat Professional®
(versions 6, 7, 8, 9, X, XI, DC) in order to have a batch processing available on your system.

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Getting Help

Contact technical support (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Technical Support Request) for help

with configuring AutoSplit for your particular document or project. It is always helpful to include a
sample PDF document.

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Legal Notice

©2005-2013 EverMap Company LLC. All rights reserved.

How to Merge PDF files with AutoSplit ™

If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end-user agreement, this guide, as well as the
software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with
the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of EverMap Company LLC.
Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed
with software that includes an end-user license agreement. The content of this guide is furnished for
informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a
commitment by EverMap Company LLC. EverMap Company LLC assumes no responsibility or liability for
any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained in this guide.

Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be
protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work
could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any permission
required from the copyright owner.

Notice to U.S. Government End Users. The Software and Documentation are "Commercial Items," as
that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. §2.101, consisting of "Commercial Computer Software" and
"Commercial Computer Software Documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48
C.F.R. §227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §§227.7202-1 through
227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software
Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial Items and (b)
with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein.
Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.

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