Save filename to data in file

Question

I want to use Automator (or some equivalent) to file save either a pages or PDF doc with a unique name derived from text in the document itself.
I am mail merging and then saving each record as a separate file. The trick is saving each doc with a file name so that i can associate each file with a unique id in that document
Any thoughts?

Answer 1

I don't have Pages either, so I'm still not sure how you are getting the file name from the document text. If you have a method of getting the desired text into an Automator variable, then the next step would be to pass that to a rename action.
There is a hackish method described in this Mac OSX Hint that describes how to make an action use variables when it normally doesn't accept variables, although I'm not sure if it will work with the *Rename Finder Items* action. I have a *Change Name of Finder Items* action that can use variables when renaming - if you want to give that a try it is available here.
To handle multiple items, you would need to run through your workflow for each individual item, so the *Dispense Items Incrementally* action at http://automator.us/leopard/downloads/ can be used to loop through your workflow, processing your input items one at a time.