Control files

A control file saves your page group definition, document properties, conditional triggers, and markup independently of a PDF source file. Control files are templates that RICOH ProcessDirector uses to apply the same markup rules to the PDF files it processes.
    Note:
  • Saving your PDF source file by clicking File ⇒ Save or File ⇒ Save As does not save your RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat page groups, document properties, or markup.

To use the RICOH ProcessDirector IdentifyPDFDocuments step in a PDF workflow, you must add the RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat control file that defines page groups or document properties for that step. Any markup definition must be saved to one or more control files that are used by the RICOH ProcessDirector BuildPDFFromDocuments step.

You do not need to create separate control files for the page group, document properties, and markup definitions: all definitions can be saved in one control file if that control file is added to both the IdentifyPDFDocuments and the BuildPDFFromDocuments steps. However, you might choose to create multiple control files if you can apply one or more control files to different PDF workflows. For example each workflow might require its own document properties, but some workflows might require the same area to be hidden to cover OMR marks. For each workflow you would save a separate control file that defines document properties, but save only one control file to hide OMR marks. In each workflow, you would specify the workflow-specific control file that defines document properties. But in the step in each workflow that is based on the BuildPDFFromDocuments step template, you would specify the same control file that contains the hidden-area definition.

    Note:
  • The IdentifyPDFDocuments step uses one control file to create page groups and extract document properties. The BuildPDFFromDocuments step optionally uses one or more control files to apply markup and restructure a PDF file. ( BuildPDFFromDocuments does not require a control file.) In order to preview markup, you must define a page group and the document property definitions whose values you use in markup content. If you save a page group or property definition to a control file that you add to the BuildPDFFromDocuments step, RICOH ProcessDirector ignores those definitions. The BuildPDFFromDocuments step receives page grouping and document properties definitions from a workflow that includes the IdentifyPDFDocuments step.

See the help topics on RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat control files and previewing markup for more information.

Parent topic: Using RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat