Automator: render pdf to images

I am taking a folder of pdf files all named numerically in the order they should be in and rendering them to images using the automator "render pdf to images."
This outputs the images with completly random names. Even using the "Rename Finder Items" as suggested right after the Render pdf to images still does not produce images in the right order.
This is really frustrating as I can't even see how this function could be useful for anyone if it can't produce images with some kind of logical file names.
Does anyone have experience with this?
Message was edited by: Jessek

Not sure what the testers of some of these actions were thinking about, but you might try using the Dispense Item Incrementally action to step through your file list one at a time.

Similar Messages

How to preserve original filename in Automator 'render pdf as images'?

Using Automator's 'render pdf as images' will result in output of files in random names
What are the correct workflow if the desired output files would be the original filename? Ex: manual.pdf ---> manual.jpg, manual.pdf ---> 0001bU.jpg
PS: I have tried 'Rename Finder Items--->Make sequential' but it still doesnt produce the desired output, it only makes manual.pdf ---> 0001bU-01.jpg

You convert the CMYK document to RGB using standard color management. The rest is beside the point. We know nothing about your experience in 3D nor your actual artwork, settings, system and so on. Just slapping on a texture on a 3D model doesn't make it look "real" or even photo-realistic. You have to understand lighting, shading and how to prepare textures properly, stuff for which you can find any number of tutorials on the web (though not specifically for PS 3D).
Mylenium

Automator: Render PDF as Images changes the filename.

I have a PDF named "Bamboo Cutting Board Sales Sheet.pdf" that contains one image.
When I run the PDF through the Automator action Render PDF As Images, the filename is saved and changed to "002ddf334.jpg.
How do I keep the original file name?

I see.
This worked when I tested on 1 PDF:
The Run Shell Script Action is:
basename=${1##*/}
echo ${basename%.*}
If it's still out of order, add: Sort Finder Items [by creation date] after Render PDF Pages as Images

Automator - When using the Render PDF as Image action, the first file is out of order (naming). How can I fix this?

I am creating an Automator Action to render PDF files as Images. When the PDF is multiple pages, the first page has no numbers, so it ends up at the end of the list. Here's an example:
When it is a single page, the result is:
filename.png
When it is multiple pages, the result is:
filename 141.png
filename 142.png
filename 143.png
filename 144.png
filename.png
First, it always seems to start at 141...not sure why.
Second, I did try to add an action to rename and make sequential, however the resulting list was in the same order... except with additional numbers at the end.
Any suggestions?

I see.
This worked when I tested on 1 PDF:
The Run Shell Script Action is:
basename=${1##*/}
echo ${basename%.*}
If it's still out of order, add: Sort Finder Items [by creation date] after Render PDF Pages as Images

[Automator] Render PDF Pages as Images problem

Hi,
I'm using an Automator Action called "Render PDF Pages as Images". It is not working properly. I've also tried one called "Change Types if Images" with the same results. The problem is both of these actions will create an image, but they won't put it anywhere other than a temp directory. With the second action, if I do it on an image file like a jpg, it will convert the image and put it in the directory the file exist in. I have a bunch of PDFs that are really just scanned images that I need to convert to TIFF and I want to automate it. It is frustrating that the actions are not working as documented. Both are supposed to render the change on the existing file in the location it exists and neither is work that way when run against a PDF.
Any help would be appreciated.

Christopher Stumpf wrote:
It's really simple.
It's a service item and it contains just one of the actions I've already listed. They are supposed to change the existing file to the desired type, in place.
no, they are not supposed to do that. they don't say anything of the sort in their descriptions. moreover, this is completely impossible if a pdf file has several pages. I just tried it and it works just fine. I passed a multipage pdf to the action "render pdf pages as images" and it made a number of separate pdf files - one for each page, as it should according to the description. they are temp files, yes. so you just need to follow it by the action to copy (or move files) and then by "rename finder items".
my workflow:
1. get specified (or selected) finder items.
2. render pdf pages as images.
3. move finder items
3. rename finder items.
Message was edited by: V.K.

Render PDF to Image and Mail

I have been trying save the following workflow as a Folder Action Plug-in:
1. Render PDF Pages as Images (To produce a jpeg of a PDF)
2. New Mail Message (To create an e-mail with the jpeg attached)
3. Send Outgoing Messages (To send the e-mail)
When I test the folder, the system appears to skip the Render PDF step and goes straight to creating and sending the e-mail without an attachment. If I save the workflow as an Application it will work, but not as a Folder Action Plug-in. Any idea why not?

I once posted a VI to create PNG files from LaTeX commands where I used Ghostscript to convert from eps to png. It turns out, with only a very minor modification the subVI will also convert PDF to PNG. Try this out. You can install Ghostcript and then add the path to gswin32c.exe to the path control (if you install to the default location you shouldn't have to change anything other than drive letter).
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/
Attachments:
EPStoPNG.vi ‏38 KB

Automator, PDF to images... where'd they go?

I think I'm missing something... (I am in Lion, maybe its been fixed in MtL)
I want to use the Render PDF to Images action, make it into a service, then be able right click on a PDF to convert to PNG.
I see a few threads talking about a gap in the action: that it doesn't specify where the output file will go.
The threads talk about workarounds, but ...
isn't that odd, that Apple would leave the action unfinished like that?
They offer the option with other PDF actions, image actions.
Why not this one?

Hahahah. Thanks.
Well, it's good that it works now.
If you have any other projects with automator, there are some good sites you should check out too:
http://automatorworld.com
http://www.completedigitalphotography.com
http://www.macworld.com
http://www.automatedworkflows.com
The last link, I have found very helpful, they have a lot of 3rd party actions that do the most unbelievable things with Automator.
Good luck man.

Render PDF Pages As Images - File names are gibberish

I have a workflow that takes a folder of PDF's and converts them to JPG's.
The problem is that Automator is giving the converted files random gibberish filenames such as Kft56Fvg.jpeg and not the names of the original files.
Anyone know what's going on?

At the bottom of the list of actions in Automator is an area with the description of the selected action in the listing (but not the workflow). If this description isn't visible, there is a button at the bottom of the window near the bottom left corner of the window for revealing the description.
If you need to see the description of an action that is in the workflow on the right side of the window, there is a button on the action itself at its bottom left that will reveal the description of the action. This is so you won't have to find it again in the listing just to review its description.
For you're immediate convenience and peace of mind, this is the description you'll find for "Render PDF Pages as Images":
---- Begin description ----
This action will render each page of the passed PDF files as images.
Note: As the names of the resulting images are randomly generated, this action is often followed by the Rename Finder Items > Make Sequential action.
Input: PDF files
Options: Image format, color model, resolution, and compression
Result: (Image files) References to the rendered image files.
---- End description ----
Since a PDF can contain many pages, this action could produce many images from the same PDF. So, that could further complicate naming the new images when multiple PDFs are involved if you need special names.

Automator PDF to Images

I have a bunch of pdfs they need to be splitted. So far the action PDF to Images works but it is saving all PDFs to the Desktop instead of the chosen folder. I saved this as an application but when I run it again it defaults back save output to: Desktop.
Any suggestions?

Hahahah. Thanks.
Well, it's good that it works now.
If you have any other projects with automator, there are some good sites you should check out too:
http://automatorworld.com
http://www.completedigitalphotography.com
http://www.macworld.com
http://www.automatedworkflows.com
The last link, I have found very helpful, they have a lot of 3rd party actions that do the most unbelievable things with Automator.
Good luck man.

Automator Watermark PDF Document

WIth Lion I'm unable to add a .png file (or any image file) as a Watermark in the Automator action: PDF->Watermark PDF Document.
This Worked for me in Snow Leopard.
Can someone see if they get this to work?
Tony

Thanks.
I already filed a bug report.
If you would like to also: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Using PDF as image format

Hi, Frame users
What is your opinion on using Graphics with PDF-format when authoring DITA content, as I'm not sure that PDFs are supported as Graphics-format in DITA?
Reason for this is that I'm trying to switch from using grapics with WMF-format (exported from cad) to SVG-format, but I have experienced some problems when importing Graphics with SVG-format to FrameMaker.
Sómetimes it works, but not always, for example "the filter encountered a problem and could not complete the translation".
I have also tried checking if the files are valid with the W3C online validator.
Best regards
Ronny

Hi Ronny...
DITA doesn't care about the format, it's just a referenced file. How well this works will depend on your publishing stream. The best thing to do it to try it and see what happens. If you only produce PDFs through FM, then it's likely to be fine. If you produce HTML-based output through RoboHelp (or through the FM Publish command), it'll probably work fine there as well. If you use the OT, it may not work .. the OT doesn't do any image conversions and will just pass the file through to the output format as it is.
SVG can work if you've got "clean" files. The SVG format is very flexible and can render the "same" image in many different ways. FM's SVG rendering seems to only be set up to understand a subset of what the format can really handle. If you get SVGs from different tools they will likely be created by different means. Open them up in a text editor and take a look. If you find a tool that produces SVG that FM likes, you can probably continue to use that tool and it'll work in FM. (maybe)
SVG can have similar problems as PDF though, it may or may not be properly supported by your publishing stream. Most modern browsers will support SVG, but older browsers may not. The best thing to do is to give it a try, and test it in all of the deliverable formats that you're likely to use.
Cheers,
…scott

PDF to images...

Hi,
I am running OS X 10.5.6, and am having issues with automator, specifically the PDF to images plugin. I cannot get it to save where I want it to. I can choose any folder I wish in the "Save output to:" pull down menu, and successfully output exactly as I wish while within automator. I can also use a custom name, and check the replace existing files radio button, while in automator, and all working.
However, When I save it and run it in the finder, it saves to the desktop, and does not replace existing files.
If I open the workflow in automator after I have run it in the finder, the pdf to images plugin in my workflow is reset to its default setting. I can save it again with settings as I wish, and all works great while within automator. But if I save it and run it outside all is reset.
I have renamed the workflow, deleted it and started from scratch, tried other locations, and saved as a plugin rather than an application and there doesn't seem to be any hope.
Is there someway, short of reinstalling my OS, to get this plugin to work correctly?
So far this is the only plugin I have noticed to behave incorrectly.
thanks,
-Me

Why didn't you use save as jpg?

Automator - Watermark PDF Documents

Since Lion, I'm unable to use the Auromator Action "Watermark PDF Documents"
I can select a .png file for the watermark, but it does not list in the action (see below)
Can someone confirm that they are also unable to get this action to work, as I would like to isolate this as a Lion issue and not a system issue on my end.

The answer to your problem is also on this page:
http://superuser.com/questions/384967/add-a-header-to-every-page-in-a-pdf
You can use the Watermark PDF documents action in Automator to add an image on every page of a PDF file. You can specify location, scale, rotation, and opacity.
Manually fixing the workflow for Mac OS X Lion
Set up the entire automator workflow as you would, but skip adding the watermark image (you can't). Save the workflow to a file. Right-click the workflow in Finder and select Show Package Contents and navigate into Contents. Opendocument.wflow in a text editor, e.g. TextMate.
The actual parameters and their values are stored in the ActionParameters dictionary. The relevant key isfilenames. By default, it looks like this:
<key>ActionParameters</key> <dict> <key>angle</key> <integer>0</integer> <key>fileNames</key> <array/> <key>onePDF</key> <false/>
Just edit the <array/> declaration and add all files as <string>s, like so:
<key>fileNames</key> <array> <string>/Users/danielbeck/Desktop/test.png</string> </array>
Save the file, and reopen the workflow in Automator. The image will be correctly listed, and you can fix its position and other properties, before you apply it.
Remember that the workflow does not replace the input file as many others do, the output is written to a temporary file. Use the Move Finder Items action afterwards.

Render pdf

Hi
today I tried to render PDF Blob , using render:satelliteblob .I am able to render image file without any issue using render:satelliteblob
but I'm not sure which table and what service using render for PDF in render:satelliteblob tag.
thanks
bala

Hi jiri
Thanks for your response , I tried as per your response like my code is
<render:satelliteblob
               blobtable='MungoBlobs'
               blobkey='id'
               blobwhere='1337377925212'
               blobcol='urldata'
               cachecontrol="never"
               blobnocache="true"
               container="servlet"
               blobheader="application/pdf">
               <render:argument name="blobheadername1" value="Custom-Header-1"/>
               <render:argument name="blobheadervalue1" value="Custom value for header 1"/>
               <render:argument name="blobheadername2" value="Custom-Header-2"/>
               <render:argument name="blobheadervalue2" value="Custom value for header 2"/>
</render:satelliteblob>
But requested PDF is not rendering , only showing unavailable image icon .
just for your reference , view-source of this page is :
Click here
               <img src="/cs/BlobServer?blobkey=id&blobnocache=true&blobwhere=1337377925212&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername2=Custom-Header-2&blobheadername1=Custom-Header-1&blobheadervalue2=Custom+value+for+header+2&blobheadervalue1=Custom+value+for+header+1&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs" rendermode="live" />
I am not sure , when i'm rendering PDF , showing img src in view-source page .
Thanks
bala
Edited by: bala6 on May 17, 2013 11:59 AM

Automator Watermark PDF Workflow

Seems with every major upgrade, Apple breaks the Automator Watermark PDF Workflow.
Can someone test this workflow in Yosemite so I know if the problem I'm having is with OS X 10.10.

Hello
Under 10.6.8, Watermark PDF Documents.action/Contents/Resources/tool.py works happily without any errors when invoked as follows with a.pdf and watermark.png in ~/desktop/test/ :
#!/bin/bash
py='/System/Library/Automator/Watermark PDF Documents.action/Contents/Resources/tool.py'
cd ~/desktop/test || exit
args=(
    --input     a.pdf
    --output    a_wm.pdf
    --verbose
    --over
    --xOffset   0.0
    --yOffset   -150.0
    --angle     300.0
    --scale     0.3
    --opacity   0.1
    watermark.png
"$py" "${args[@]}"
If the said error – ValueError: depythonifying 'pointer', got 'str' – is raised at the line:
provider = CGDataProviderCreateWithFilename(imagePath)
I'd think it is because imagePath is not a C string pointer which the function expects but a CFStringRef or something which is implicitly converted from python string. Since I don't get this error with pyobjc 2.2b3 & python 2.6 under 10.6.8, it is caused by something introduced in later versions.
Anyway, the statement in question may be replaced with the following statements if it helps:
url = CFURLCreateFromFileSystemRepresentation(kCFAllocatorDefault, imagePath, len(imagePath), False)
provider = CGDataProviderCreateWithURL(url)
I modified the tool.py with these changes along with other minor fixes and run it successfully under 10.6.8. I'm not sure at all whether it works under later OSes as well. And even if it does, editing tool.py will require the Automator action to be re-codesigned.
Here's the revised tool.py.
#!/usr/bin/python
# Watermark each page in a PDF document
import sys #, os
import getopt
import math
from Quartz.CoreGraphics import *
from Quartz.ImageIO import *
def drawWatermark(ctx, image, xOffset, yOffset, angle, scale, opacity):
    if image:
        imageWidth = CGImageGetWidth(image)
        imageHeight = CGImageGetHeight(image)
        imageBox = CGRectMake(0, 0, imageWidth, imageHeight)
        CGContextSaveGState(ctx)
        CGContextSetAlpha(ctx, opacity)
        CGContextTranslateCTM(ctx, xOffset, yOffset)
        CGContextScaleCTM(ctx, scale, scale)
        CGContextTranslateCTM(ctx, imageWidth / 2, imageHeight / 2)
        CGContextRotateCTM(ctx, angle * math.pi / 180)
        CGContextTranslateCTM(ctx, -imageWidth / 2, -imageHeight / 2)
        CGContextDrawImage(ctx, imageBox, image)
        CGContextRestoreGState(ctx)
def createImage(imagePath):
    image = None
    # provider = CGDataProviderCreateWithFilename(imagePath)    # FIXED: replaced by the following CGDataProviderCreateWithURL()
    url = CFURLCreateFromFileSystemRepresentation(kCFAllocatorDefault, imagePath, len(imagePath), False)
    provider = CGDataProviderCreateWithURL(url)
    if provider:
        imageSrc = CGImageSourceCreateWithDataProvider(provider, None)
        if imageSrc:
            image = CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex(imageSrc, 0, None)
    if not image:
        print "Cannot import the image from file %s" % imagePath
    return image
def watermark(inputFile, watermarkFiles, outputFile, under, xOffset, yOffset, angle, scale, opacity, verbose):
    images = map(createImage, watermarkFiles)
    ctx = CGPDFContextCreateWithURL(CFURLCreateFromFileSystemRepresentation(kCFAllocatorDefault, outputFile, len(outputFile), False), None, None)
    if ctx:
        pdf = CGPDFDocumentCreateWithURL(CFURLCreateFromFileSystemRepresentation(kCFAllocatorDefault, inputFile, len(inputFile), False))
        if pdf:
            for i in range(1, CGPDFDocumentGetNumberOfPages(pdf) + 1):
                image = images[i % len(images) - 1]
                page = CGPDFDocumentGetPage(pdf, i)
                if page:
                    mediaBox = CGPDFPageGetBoxRect(page, kCGPDFMediaBox)
                    if CGRectIsEmpty(mediaBox):
                        mediaBox = None
                    CGContextBeginPage(ctx, mediaBox)
                    if under:
                        drawWatermark(ctx, image, xOffset, yOffset, angle, scale, opacity)
                    CGContextDrawPDFPage(ctx, page)
                    if not under:
                        drawWatermark(ctx, image, xOffset, yOffset, angle, scale, opacity)
                    CGContextEndPage(ctx)
            del pdf
        CGPDFContextClose(ctx)
        del ctx
def main(argv):
    verbose = False
    readFilename = None
    writeFilename = None
    under = False
    xOffset = 0.0   # FIXED: changed to float value
    yOffset = 0.0   # FIXED: changed to float value
    angle = 0.0     # FIXED: changed to float value
    scale = 1.0     # FIXED: added
    opacity = 1.0
    # Parse the command line options
    try:
        options, args = getopt.getopt(argv, "vutx:y:a:p:s:i:o:", ["verbose", "under", "over", "xOffset=", "yOffset=", "angle=", "opacity=", "scale=", "input=", "output=", ])
    except getopt.GetoptError:
        usage()
        sys.exit(2)
    for option, arg in options:
        print option, arg
        if option in ("-i", "--input") :
            if verbose:
                print "Reading pages from %s." % (arg)
            readFilename = arg
        elif option in ("-o", "--output") :
            if verbose:
                print "Setting %s as the output." % (arg)
            writeFilename = arg
        elif option in ("-v", "--verbose") :
            print "Verbose mode enabled."
            verbose = True
        elif option in ("-u", "--under"):
            print "watermark under PDF"
            under = True
        elif option in ("-t", "--over"):    # FIXED: changed to "-t" from "t"
            print "watermark over PDF"
            under = False
        elif option in ("-x", "--xOffset"):
            xOffset = float(arg)
        elif option in ("-y", "--yOffset"):
            yOffset = float(arg)
        elif option in ("-a", "--angle"):
            angle = -float(arg)
        elif option in ("-s", "--scale"):
            scale = float(arg)
        elif option in ("-p", "--opacity"):
            opacity = float(arg)
        else:
            print "Unknown argument: %s" % (option)
    if (len(args) > 0):
        watermark(readFilename, args, writeFilename, under, xOffset, yOffset, angle, scale, opacity, verbose);
    else:
        shutil.copyfile(readFilename, writeFilename);
def usage():
    print "Usage: watermark --input <file> --output <file> <watermark files>..."
if __name__ == "__main__":
    print sys.argv
    main(sys.argv[1:])
All the best,
H

Automator: render pdf to images

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