Inserting pages from other PDF files

In a PDF file, you can insert pages from other PDF files before each document that matches the placement conditions, after each document that matches the placement conditions, or both. The inserted pages increase the number of pages in each document, and you can apply markup to them.

To insert pages from other PDF files:

  1. Open a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Professional and either load a control file that contains page groups or define page groups.
  2. Click Ricoh ⇒ Manage Inserts.
  3. Click the Add content icon icon.
  4. Specify the first PDF file with pages that you want to insert:
    • If you can access the file, click Browse in the File to Insert section. Navigate to the file. Select it, and click Open.
    • If you cannot access the file, type the full directory path to the file on the RICOH ProcessDirector primary server.

      For example, type /aiw/aiw1/insertpages/insert1.pdf on a Unix-based system or C:\aiw\aiw1\insertpages\insert1.pdf on Windows.

      Make sure that RICOH ProcessDirector can access the file when the BuildPDFFromDocuments step runs.

  5. To insert all pages in the file, click the All pages radio button.

    To specify the pages for insertion, click the Specific pages radio button, and type the page selection.

    • Use a hyphen to separate the first and last pages in a page range.
    • Use a comma to separate page selections.
    • Type n to specify the last page.

      For example, type 8-n,5,2 to insert the pages from 8 to the end of the insert file, followed by pages 5 and 2.

  6. In the Insert Location section, choose whether to insert the pages before or after the pages in the documents that match the specified placement conditions.
  7. In the Placement Conditions section, specify the documents that receive inserted pages:
    • To insert pages before or after each document in the open PDF file, click the All documents radio button.
    • To insert pages before or after some documents but not others, click the Documents based on a rule radio button.

      From the list, choose the rule that defines the placement conditions.

      You also can do these actions:

      • To define a new rule, click the Add content icon icon. See Defining a rule for more information.

      • To go to the Rules Manager, click the Rules Manager icon icon.

      Important:

      • Custom rules for page inserts can include conditions based on the values of job properties, document properties, and document statistics (such as Stat.TotalPagesInDocument and Stat.TotalSheetsInDocument).

      • Conditions based on the values of conditional triggers or page statistics (such as Stat.CurrentPageInJob and Stat.CurrentSheetInJob) do not work with custom rules for page inserts. RICOH ProcessDirector evaluates whether a rule for page insertions applies to a document before evaluating the information on the individual pages in a document.

      • Pre-defined rules, such as All Front Pages or Last Back Only, add page inserts to all documents or no documents. Because those rules do not restrict page inserts to specific documents, do not use them for page inserts.

  8. In the Sides section, specify whether you want to print the insert one-sided or two-sided.
    Simplex
    The insert prints on a single side of the paper.
    Duplex
    The insert prints on both sides of the paper, with the long side of the paper as the bound edge.
    Tumble
    The insert prints on both sides of the paper, with the short edge of the paper as the bound edge. The bottom of the front side of the sheet is the top of the back side of the sheet.
    From print job
    The insert prints on the sides specified in the print job.
  9. Click OK.
  10. To select another PDF file and specify how to insert pages, click the Add content icon icon. Repeat the steps for the first PDF file.

    RICOH ProcessDirector inserts the pages from the PDF files in the order that the files appear on the Inserts Manager list, from top to bottom.

    For example, an Inserts Manager list has 4 rows. The PDF files provide the following inserts:

    • Page 1 in the first PDF file is inserted before each document in the open PDF file.

    • Pages 4–6 in the second PDF file are inserted before each document.

    • Pages 2–4 in the third PDF file are inserted after each document.

    • Page 3 in the fourth PDF file is inserted after each document.

    The first document in the open PDF file has 6 pages. After RICOH ProcessDirector adds the inserts, the first document has 14 pages, in this order:

    • Page 1 from the first PDF file

    • Pages 4–6 from the second PDF file

    • Pages 1–6 from the original document

    • Pages 2–4 from the third PDF file

    • Page 3 from the fourth PDF file

  11. To change the order that RICOH ProcessDirector uses to insert pages into documents, select a row on the Inserts Manager list. To move the row up or down the list, click the Up arrow icon icon or the Down arrow icon icon.
  12. When you finish adding PDF files to the list, click OK.
  13. Optional: To verify that the pages have been inserted as you intended, click Ricoh ⇒ Preview.

    When you preview a PDF file with inserts, RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat checks whether the PDF files are at the directory paths you specified on the Inserts Manager list.

    • If they are, the pages are inserted from the PDF files at those directory paths.

    • If they are not, the pages are inserted from the PDF files that are embedded in the control file.

    If RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat cannot find an embedded PDF file, the preview function displays a warning message and continues without inserting the pages.

  14. When you are ready to save all your enhancements to the open PDF file, including the new inserts, click Ricoh ⇒ Save Control File.

    In the control file, RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat embeds the PDF files that it can access.

    If the PDF files are embedded, you need not copy them to a directory accessible to a RICOH ProcessDirector server.

    Whenever you save the control file, RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat tries to replace each embedded PDF file with the file at the directory path shown on the Inserts Manager list.

  15. In the RICOH ProcessDirector BuildPDFFromDocuments step, specify the name and location of the control file that contains the pages to insert.

    When a job with inserts from other PDF files enters the BuildPDFFromDocuments step, RICOH ProcessDirector checks whether the PDF files are at the specified directory paths.

    • If they are, the pages are inserted from the PDF files at those directory paths.

    • If they are not, the pages are inserted from the PDF files that are embedded in the control file.

    If RICOH ProcessDirector cannot find an embedded PDF file, the job moves to error state. The job cannot complete the BuildPDFFromDocuments step until RICOH ProcessDirector can access all the PDF files that provide inserts or until you remove the page insertion instructions from the control file.

Example

Each document in a PDF file has from 1 to 3 pages. You want to insert page A at the end of documents with 2 pages. You want to insert page A and page B at the end of documents with 1 page.

  1. Define a rule named TotalPagesLessThan3 with 1 condition:

    Stat.TotalPagesInDocument < 3

  2. Define a page insert for page A and another page insert for page B.

  3. For each page insert:

    • Click the After documents radio button.

    • Click the Documents based on a rule radio button and select TotalPagesLessThan3.

  4. Make sure that the insert for page A is above the insert for page B on the Inserts Manager list.

If a document has 1 or 2 pages, RICOH ProcessDirector adds page A. If the document now has 2 pages, RICOH ProcessDirector adds page B after page A.

Related information:

Defining a rule
Parent topic: Working with page inserts