I believe I have mastered the situation with respect to Bates stamping documents and want to share the good, the bad, and the ugly.
First off, Bates Stamping in Acrobat does work. However, there are some things that users need to be aware of that I discovered by accident, trial and error, and just plain old sticking to the project.
First, Bates numbering DOES NOT WORK ON PDF PACKAGES! Do not try it. Adobe refers to PDF Packages when discussing Bates numbering where they really mean a PDF file. This created tremendous problems for me early on.
Second, Acrobat does not like huge files. Each time I tried to create a file that was over 1 gig, it chocked. My particular project was to convert outlook mail messages to PDFs which then needed to be Bates stamped. The oritinal PST file had approximately 18,500 messages in it which was approximatel 1.6GB. The first attempt I selected all messages to combine into a PDF file. Ultimately Acrobat chocked and I had to start over again. Next, I tried selecting half the messages. Unfortunately Acrobat will automatically create PDF packages on PST exports with more than about 1000 messages. So, I was left with the chore of breaking the messages down into groups of around 1000 messages each, but in order to do it sensibly I wanted to keep dates consistent. In the end, I created 31 separate PDF files. My next decision, probably a mistake on my part, was to combine these files into a single large PDF file. Bates numbering gives you the option of either selecting files on an individual basis, or, use the already open file check box (or a combination of both). I elected to combine 15 of the PDF files into one large file, which Acrobat calls a Binder (in the save option). So, I now had two large Binders, of approximately 500 MB and another approximately 650 MB. We should be good to go, right?
Before continuing I should warn you that Adobe is atrociously slow. It may be my machine, my memory, my disc, or a combination, but slow it is. Opening a half gig file in adobe takes time. Lots of it, which is why, should I have to do it again, I would probably opt to open and bates stamp individual smaller files.
Regardless, I open the file, go to advance, and check off the use the open files box in the Bates screen. The file name pops up, and all is good. NOT.
The screen gives you 6 options on where the Bates numbers will be positioned as well as options for Font, Font size, and Font color. No matter which selection I made, after I had indicated I wanted to use the open file for stamping, it appears that Acrobat runs through the entire file, for each selection. So, if you want the bates numbers on the lower right, it runs through the entire file making sure that can happen. Next, if you want to change the font, the entire file again. Change the size, one more time. You get the idea. On a more practical level, make your selections before you either load individual files or select the open file check box. I believe it will save you incredible abounts of time.
Finally, after you make the selection, a new box pops up and asks for starting Bates number, prefix, and suffix. You enter that, and one more time, Acrobat runs through the entire file, preparing to apply the number, but, until you say OK, the numbers are not applied. One more trip through the file and you get a message that the Bates numbers have been applied.
Then, finally, you need to save the file, and again, Acrobat does it's turtle thing (for hours) saving the file.
Again, the process does work, but the user should be prepared for some headaches which, to the best of my knowledge the adobe folks should warn of ahead of time. Thanks for reading.
LA
Were these documents that were scanned, or are the digital documents ?
If they are documents that are scanned -
Here is a tool I use;
http://www.elan-gmk.com/Products/Capture/
about the tool;
http://www.elan-gmk.com/Products/Capture/help/bates_stamping.htm/view?searchterm=Bates
Michael Jahn
Application Support Specialist
Compose Systems Inc, USA.
4740 Northgate Blvd. Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834
Tel: (916) 920-3838 ext 102
Fax: (916) 923-6776
Email: michaelejahn [at] composeusa [dot] com
Web: www.composeusa.com