I have a +20 Gig, collection of PDF files in our companies technical library. These files are sorted into groups by the type of information. For example Manufacturers Manuals are kept in a given directory and then further subdirectories using the name of the manufacturers as the subdirectory name. Another directory is for Building Codes, Performance Standards and the like, and it's in another directory which is further divided up based on the organization who wrote the standard.
The PDF Files are saved with a file name structure (i.e. "Siemens - XYZ Model Oper & Maint Manual - Rev X.PDF". I use names such as this to make searching them in Windows Explorer easier for our users.
To insure the fine name doesn't exceed the Windows file name length I export the directory structure to a CSV file, use MS Excel to test the file name length, make some minor changes to the name in the Excel file, and then change the name of the file accordingly. I do this so when I copy the files to a CD ROM the file name doesn't get modified and then corrupt the bookmarks that link the documents to each other.
Eventually I create a Word document with more descriptive information, create the hyper links to the various files, and then convert it using PDFMaker. This way I have a navigation method for the users of the library.
This is a very time consuming task and I was wondering if there isn't anything that would make my life easier (i.e. plug-ins, etc.). My thoughts were:
Create a macro in Word that automatically creates the Hyperlink since i've already got the file name, with extension, in a CSV file. But then how do I change the appearance of the link to something meaningful? (I know this is more of a Microsoft question, but I thought by knowing my thought process others may know of another solution).
If you can identify descrete, well defined, tasks, like the hyperlink example you gave above, then you aught to be able to create automation scripts for both Acrobat and Word that will make things go much faster.
I'm not sure about what is possible in a Word Macro, but creating a hyperlink should automatically change the color and style of the text to look like a link. This appearance will transfer over into PDF.
On the PDF side you can use JavaScript to search for words and create links. There is an example of this in the Acrobat JavaScript Reference. But you can't change the appearance of the text to make it look like a link. It's probably better to do as much on the Word side before conversion.
Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
www.pdfscripting.com
Very Important - How to Debug Your Script