Save 2D drawing as pdf automatically

Question

I need to save about 200 2D drawings as pdf's for people who don't have the drawing program. I can open each one separately and print to PDF but that takes a long time. How do I create an automator that will do this automatically?

Answer 1

Here's an example of the kind of workflow which might work. It worked for me with image files that can be opened in Preview:
1) *Ask for Finder Items* (Finder Library) -- Type: Files and Folders. Select "Allow Multiple Selection."
2) *Get Folder Contents* (Finder Library)
3) *Open Finder Items* (Finder Library) -- choose Preview.
4) *Run Applescript* (Automator Library) -- a GUI script is used; make sure that in System Preferences > Universal Access, "Enable access for assistive devices" is checked. The script:
*on run {input, parameters}*
*tell application "Preview" to activate*
*tell application "System Events"*
*tell process "Preview"*
repeat
*if exists window 1 then*
*set fileName to name of window 1*
*keystroke "p" using command down*
*click at position of first UI element of (first UI element of sheet 1 of window 1 whose buttons is not {}) whose UI elements is not {}*
*delay 0.1*
*keystroke (ASCII character 31) & return*
*delay 0.1*
*set value of text field 1 of window 1 to fileName & ".pdf"*
*delay 0.1*
*click button "Save" of window "Save"*
*delay 1.75 -- adjust lower to suit or higher as necessary*
*keystroke "w" using command down*
else
*exit repeat*
*end if*
*end repeat*
*end tell*
*end tell*
*return input*
*end run*
Notes:
If the vc6 files cannot be opened in Preview, then you might try changing the open-with application in step 3, and in the AppleScript replace each instance of the word "Preview" with "Graphite." There's no guarantee that Graphite's File > Print dialog can be scripted exactly the same way as Preview's, however.
The GUI script will cause every selected file to open onscreen before any one of them is converted. For this reason, trying to convert a folder containing 200 files all at once would likely not be a good idea. Instead, you might try selecting groups of 10 or 20 at a time and see how it goes.
The *delay 1.75* command was set to accommodate a particularly recalcitrant folder of 20+ animated gifs. I found that 1.75 seconds was shortest delay time I could get away with without seeing an error stating that an item named such-and-such already exists in thus-and-such location -- the error which will result if the current window (window 1) isn't afforded enough time to close (keystroke "w" using command down) after the Save window's Save button is pressed. By contrast, I had no trouble converting a folder full of 30+ ordinary jpegs at a delay setting of 0.5 seconds, or less. You can adjust any of the delays as you see fit.
Before running the workflow, it might be a good idea to create a new destination folder for the converted PDFs so that they're kept separate from the original files. You can do this by opening a test file manually. Choose File > Print > Save as PDF, and select the newly-created folder to save it to. Doing this will establish the new folder as default, ensuring that when the workflow runs, the PDFs will end up there. Be sure to remove the converted test PDF from the new folder so it isn't seen as a duplicate of one that might appear in a workflow later on.
If nothing else, I hope the workflow and the AppleScript it uses provides an idea for you... Good luck.