Breaking a big pdf into separate pdfs

Key tips and advice the working tax pro can use.
#1
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I have some clients who insist on sending me 50 page or longer pdf's which jumble together multiple rentals, personal, and S corp docs, out of sequence. Doesn't matter what I tell them or how I set up ShareFile.

Typically I print them to paper, sort them into separate piles, and rescan them.

Isn't there a way to open the big pdf and drag related pages onto a desktop to create multi page pdfs for each property, llc etc

Alternatively, if I write down the page numbers I want to group into new separate pdfs, will the extract or "page separate" functions do that?
 

#2
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We have a version of Acrobat that allows us to reorganize files to get the pages in the correct order. I gave our admin person a list of the order in which most paperwork should be ordered and it works.

You can then sort into separate files by extracting what you need. You can either extract the pages and leave them in the original or, with an extra mouse-click you can delete the extracted pages from the original file.
 

#3
CathysTaxes  
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If you have a PDF printer, you can print selected pages to a new PDF file.
Cathy
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#4
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lenraphael wrote:Isn't there a way to open the big pdf and drag related pages onto a desktop to create multi page pdfs for each property, llc etc


If you have a paid version of Adobe Acrobat, you can edit pdf files. There are other PDF programs out there as well which might do the same thing.
 

#5
makbo  
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With Acrobat (paid version), you can even do this using drag and drop of page thumbnails. Just make the thumbnails large enough to identify what is on the page, and you can drag them within one doc, or to another doc.
 

#6
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I use PDFill PDF Tools to split PDFs from clients.
http://www.pdfill.com/
 

#7
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As the others have said, you have to have purchased Acrobat to have full editing abilities, but you should have no hesitation in doing so if you're using pdfs as WPs.
I usually open a big file and save a copy as whatever I want the first "new" file to be...For example, the first new file would be named 'Sch E WPs' and save it in the client's file area. I'll then open that pdf, delete those pages that don't apply to Sch E and drag & drop in the "pages" sidebar to arrange in the order desired. I'll repeat this process until I've confirmed I have all the original pages saved in new files and delete the original.
~Captcook
 

#8
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Years ago, I discovered a useful little program call Scan2pdf by Burrotech. He may be Eenglish! It cost like $50 and was the first software I found that could take scanned docs and convert them for a reasonable price. I've discovered other uses tho', since it will let you drop a pdf onto it's screen and move the pages around!!! As I've changed printers over the years, I keep using this and discarding all the bloated crap that comes with most printers/scanners and the dude keeps letting me use my license.

Take a look. Looks like he sold it. But it's also free for now! https://scan2pdf.en.softonic.com/download
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#9
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Yes, I'll reinforce the paid version of Abobe Acrobat DC is the way to go if you run your practice with electronic working papers.

Additionally, I've used an Acrobat add-in called Tic-Tie-Calculate which has templates for which you can label each page, and then re-order the pages to fit your needs.

Among other benefits I've experienced using the both programs, the time savings alone is worth the money......especially over what the OP describes.
 

#10
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Thanks all for the suggestions.
And thought I'd ask Adobe tech support for their suggestions too.

This is using Adobe Acrobat DC Pro

As was pointed out here, if you choose Organize, you'll get the "thumnails" which you'll have to enlarge by moving the slider found in lower right of screen. All these years of using Adobe and I avoided thumnails because they were too small :lol:

Go back to Organize if you've clicked on a thumnail and you need to close the full page view. (i kept trying view for that)


Despite what online documentation implies, the only way to use drag/drop to append pages to other pdfs is to have the other pdf(s) open in other Adobe windows. (drag an Adobe window off to the side) You can't drag and drop pages to existing pdfs that are say just sitting closed on your desktop or in a folder.

And the weaknesss in the drag/drop pages to other open pdfs is that you can only copy not move. so you have to manually delete each page or selection after copying.

Still, I'll try that method for a while to see how confusing it is on big file to be broken into many.

---------------

The problem with the Extract, unless I'm reading the documentation wrong, is that you can only extract to one file per Extraction. So I'd have to go thru the entire document, either select or note the page numbers, then Extract w deletion. Then repeat the process for each additional new pdf because the page numbers will change each time I do an Extract. That's a waste of time. I think Capt C's method is similar but doesn't require writing down page numbers.

==============

Never realized it, but a 3rd party app I have, EverMap' PageSplit apparently will allow me to Extract different pages to different new pdfs all at once. So I'd only have to go thru the big pdf one time and note down the pages to extract to which new pdfs.

Len
 

#11
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Correction: someone else suggested that Adobe will move instead of copying if I hold down the Control key when dragging the page to another open Adobe window. Haven't tried that.

Just tried: control key doesn't move, but the shift key will.

Now, Is there a way to create a blank new Adobe pdf doc window to move pages to, or do i have to start with one maybe by using the extract/new file command?
Last edited by lenraphael on 24-Jul-2018 2:46pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

#12
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lenraphael wrote:And the weaknesss in the drag/drop pages to other open pdfs is that you can only copy not move. so you have to manually delete each page or selection after copying.


You'll see this as a weakness until you close a 'new' pdf and don't properly save OR your workstation crashes in the middle of splitting pdfs.

This is difficult to express in text, but this really isn't a big issue. Takes me all of ~10-15min to do with a ~200pg pdf.
~Captcook
 

#13
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Capt, I can see the elegance of your method. I just hate rereading the same pages multiple times. If Adobe gave a way to tag pages and then sort by tags...
 

#14
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lenraphael wrote:Capt, I can see the elegance of your method. I just hate rereading the same pages multiple times. If Adobe gave a way to tag pages and then sort by tags...


Use bookmarks...many of the programs out there 'auto-bookmark', but I've not been impressed with them.
I've heard others in my office voice frustration with the management of pdfs similar to yours. However, at some point, you have to remember that going to paperless WPs is not, necessarily, an achievement of decreased time in the organization and prep process. It IS an achievement of decreased time in the retrieval process.
You would spend no more (or less) time organizing a set of physical documents on your desk. Take it for what it is.
~Captcook
 

#15
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another call to Adobe. To create a blank Adobe file window on which you can Shift-drag pages you want to move, just select Create Pdf and sure enough last item is "blank page."

Tech didn't see how bookmarks could be used as selection criteria for Extracting. But I could see that if one could bookmark pages you could then sort by bookmark, then select the groups you want to Extract. But since I've gone this many years without doing anything to bookmarks besides deleting them after I deleted connected pages, I probably won't change now.
 

#16
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I don't use bookmarks either.
I just organize the wps in a logical fashion and move on.
~Captcook
 

#17
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In case anyone wants a command line solution for large numbers of PDFs or pages, there is a cross-platform solution called CPDF. It lets you split, merge, copy, Bates stamp, encrypt, and many other things with PDFs. I personally use it on Linux for working with large numbers of PDFs in legal matters. It's free for personal use. https://community.coherentpdf.com/
 

#18
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Command line big sister to the Windows File Explorer PDF-Shell Tools ?

1. Hope never to have to do again, but have you come across an app that convert large numbers of emails to pdfs AND keep the original email date? I thought I could do that with Message Export for Outlook, but it was too slow for several hundred emails

2. Know of a util or registry tweak that will allow one to use File Explorer to edit (is this the right term) metadata fields of pdf's without opening the pdf? e.g. I'd like to be able to put a comment in a pdf that it's been input to a tax return or reviewed.
 

#19
Raellic  
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lenraphael wrote:Command line big sister to the Windows File Explorer PDF-Shell Tools ?

1. Hope never to have to do again, but have you come across an app that convert large numbers of emails to pdfs AND keep the original email date? I thought I could do that with Message Export for Outlook, but it was too slow for several hundred emails

2. Know of a util or registry tweak that will allow one to use File Explorer to edit (is this the right term) metadata fields of pdf's without opening the pdf? e.g. I'd like to be able to put a comment in a pdf that it's been input to a tax return or reviewed.


1. Download the raw IMAP data as EML files or a MBOX file from your email provider. Google, for example, offers this service with Google Takeout. With EML, you will have a collection of files that can easily be converted to PDF with all metadata intact by running Ghostscript or other free tools. With MBOX, you will have a file readable by any number of desktop email programs and you can pick which messages to save. If you want to save them all, there are also command line tools to extract individual messages from MBOX files.

2. You can use CPDF, Ghostscript, or ImageMagick to do this.
 

#20
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thank you.

Hope not to need to do that again. Will be using phone/video conference more and emails less often. Goes against the grain not to document conversations with clients.
 

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