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File Name. By default, the converted file will have the same name as the original, but with a
PDF extension. So My Document.doc will become My Document.pdf. If there’s already a My
Document.pdf, the new document will be called My Document_2.pdf.
To use choose a different file name for the converted file, just type it in the File Name field or
select a naming option.
Tip: If the original file is already a PDF, FileCenter assumes you just want to modify the file’s
PDF options. If you provide a different file name, FileCenter will make a copy of the file with the
new options. If you leave it set to <Original Name>, it will modify the existing file instead.
Password Protection. You can give the converted file a password. This does two things. First, it
requires the user to enter the password to be able to open the PDF. Second, it encrypts the PDF
file so that the contents can’t be extracted.
To give the converted file a password, select the Password tab, select Require a Password to
Open the Document, and enter the password in the Open Password field.
Remove a Password. If the original file is already a password-protected PDF, you can remove
the password. Just enter the current password, then select Remove Password and Permissions.
Delete Original File. By default, FileCenter creates a PDF copy of the file and leaves the original
untouched. If you want the original file deleted, select Delete Original File.
Note that if the original file is a PDF and you’re not changing the name, FileCenter won’t delete
the original, even if you set this option. Instead, FileCenter just modifies the original.
Important: Be wary about automatically deleting the original! If you need to make changes to
the file in the future, you’re out of luck. PDF files can’t be edited and can’t be converted back to
the original format. Converting a file to PDF is a one-way street!
Keywords. You can add searchable keywords to the PDF file. These keywords will not be visible
in the document, but they will make it easier to find the document using full-text search. You
have four different fields to use: Keywords, Title, Author, and Subject.
If the original file is already a PDF, you can either replace its existing keywords or add to them.
Use the Append To and Replace options to choose whether or not to keep the existing
keywords.
Advanced Options. The Advanced tab has some advanced conversion options. Note that not all
of these options will apply to all file types. For example, the page size options only come into
play if you’re converting an image, like a JPEG or TIFF file, to PDF. Other kinds of documents,
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like Word documents, already have a defined page size that you can’t overwrite. Compression
and black/white options fall into the same category – they only apply to image files.
For a full description of the advanced options, see p. 80, Conversion Options.
Perform the Conversion
When you’ve set all of the conversion options you want, click Convert in the advanced
conversion window. FileCenter will convert every document in the list, one-by-one, using the
options you chose.
Note that some documents will pop open briefly in their native application while FileCenter
converts them. So don’t use other programs while the conversion proceeds.
When conversion is done, the list will show the converted files. You can double-click the files in
the list to open them and make sure they converted properly. The actual converted files are in
the same folders with the originals.
To start a new conversion run, click Reset All.
11.3
Email Files as PDFs
One of the most common reasons to convert a file to PDF is to email it to someone. Emailing
PDFs is a good practice, especially if the original shouldn’t be changed. For example, suppose
you email someone a contract to sign. If you send a Word document, they could alter the terms
of the contract without you knowing it, and then sign. On the other hand, if you send the
contract as a PDF, you have much greater assurances that it won’t get changed (for the very
best assurances, see p. 97, Password Protection).
Because emailing PDFs is such a common task, FileCenter gives you a shortcut conversion
method that condenses it into just one step:
1.
Select the non-PDF file you want to send (like a Word document)
2.
Click the drop-arrow under the Email button
3.
Select Send as PDF
FileCenter will make a PDF copy of the file and attach the copy to a new email message. The
original remains unaffected.
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For even more security, select Email as Secure PDF. This will encrypt the file and password-
protect it (you’ll be prompted to assign it a password). No-one will be able to open the file
without the password.
For more information on emailing files, see p. 68, Email a File.
Pro Only: This feature is only available in FileCenter Professional.
11.4
Combine PDF Files through Drag-and-Drop
Some businesses deal with ever-growing PDF files. For example, a law firm might add signed
addenda to a contract. A warehouse might add shipping or delivery information to a purchase
order. A doctor’s office might add x-rays to the doctor’s notes.
One way to add pages to a PDF is to just scan them in, which we’ll cover on p. 107, Insert New
Pages into an Existing Document. But if you receive the new pages as PDF or image files, just go
into the Manage tab and drag/drop the files onto each other:
1.
Select as many files as you want (PDF, TIFF, or JPEG)
2.
Drop them onto the file you want to add them to
3.
Choose whether to Append or Prepend
4.
Confirm the document order
5.
Click OK
FileCenter will combine them on the spot.
People often refer to this as “stacking” or “merging” PDFs. Regardless of what you call it, it’s a
fast, easy way to join two PDFs.
Pro Only: This feature is only available in FileCenter Professional.
11.5
The “PDF Actions” Button
You will find a wealth of PDF features in the PDF Actions button. Most of these work in both the
Manage and Edit view. If you’re using the Edit view, these actions apply to the files you have
open in the PDF editor. If you’re using the Manage view, they apply to the files you have
selected.
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In the descriptions below, we’ll mostly just refer to the Manage view, since this is usually where
you’ll use these features.
Important: These PDF actions are also available in FileCenter Standard, but only in the Edit tab.
Combine Documents
The Combine Documents option has the same effect as dragging and dropping PDFs onto each
other, which we just covered, but with a few more options. To use this feature:
1.
Select one or more PDFs (or open them in the Edit tab)
2.
Click PDF Actions > Combine Documents
This will open the tool with the list of files you want to combine. If you’re working in the
Manage tab and you want to add more files to the list (e.g. they’re in a different directory than
the others), use the Add Files button.
Choose the Order. Once you have your list of files to combine, the next step is to put them in
the order you want. Select files in the list and use the Up/Down buttons to move them around.
Choose a Destination. Now you need to choose a Destination. This is the resulting file – the one
that will have the whole stack of files in it. You have two options: create a new file, or overwrite
a file in the list. If you’re in the Manage tab and you choose to overwrite, you’ll then see a drop-
list where you can pick which file to overwrite. If you’re in the Edit tab, it will overwrite the first
file in the list.
Optionally Create Bookmarks. FileCenter can automatically bookmark the location of each
document in the resulting file. It will use the document’s original filename, minus the “PDF”
extension.
Optionally Delete/Close Files. Finally, you can choose to delete (or close) the files after
combining them. If you’re overwriting one of the files in the list, it obviously won’t get deleted.
Combine the Documents. When you click OK, FileCenter will create one unified file from every
file in the list, in the order you selected.
To insert one file in the middle of another one, see Insert, below.
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Unstack Document
If “stacking” means combining PDFs, then “unstacking” means pulling them apart. And that’s
exactly what the Unstack option does: break up a file at regular intervals. In a nutshell, Unstack
separates one file into many files. All you need to do is specify how many pages you want in
each file. Here are the steps:
1.
Select a file (or open it in the Edit tab)
2.
Click PDF Actions > Unstack
3.
If you’re in the Manage tab, specify the filename that FileCenter should give the new
documents; they’ll all use the same name with a counter (e.g. Document [1].pdf,
Document [2].pdf, etc.)
4.
Indicate how many pages each document should receive
5.
Optionally delete/close the original document after unstacking
To simply split a file, see Split, below. To pull out specific pages into a separate file, see Extract
Pages, below.
Insert Document
We already saw that Combine will join two files, one on top of the other. To insert a file in the
middle of another file, use Insert. To use this feature:
1.
Select (or open) the target file; in other words, the file that will receive the pages
2.
Click PDF Actions > Insert
3.
Browse to the file you want to insert or, if you’re in Edit view, optionally choose from
other files that are already open
4.
Choose where the pages should go
5.
If you’re in Manage view, optionally delete the file you’re inserting
Split Document
The Split tool works exactly like it sounds: it splits one document into two. You simply choose
the page where the split should happen and provide a name for the new file (if you’re in
Manage view).
The first half of the document will keep the original name. The part that gets split off will
receive the new name or, if you’re in Edit view, it will be opened in a new document tab.
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Transfer Pages
When you need to move pages between files (but keep the files separate), you’ll use the
Transfer Pages tool. While you can use this tool in either the Manage or Edit view, we
recommend doing it in the Edit view. This lets you see the pages you’re dealing with.
Choose/Open the File. The Transfer Pages tool “pushes” pages from one document to another.
So in Edit view, open the document that has the pages you want to move (or select it in
Manage view).
Choose the Pages. Next you need to choose the pages you want to transfer. You have three
ways you can do this. (Note that if you’re in Manage view, you’ll have to use the third.)
If you just want to transfer the page you’re currently looking at, go to the PDF Actions button >
Transfer Pages and select Current Page. In the thumbnail view, this is the page with a gold
border around it.
For multiple pages, it’s easiest to select the thumbnails. Hold down the Ctrl button while you
click the thumbnail of each page you want to transfer. Note that they will receive a blue
background, showing that they are selected. Now go to the PDF Actions button > Transfer
Pages and choose the Selected Pages option.
Alternatively, go straight to PDF Actions > Transfer Pages, then choose Custom Range. Here
you’ll enter page numbers for the pages you want to transfer. You can specify individual pages,
page ranges, or both. A few examples:
5, 7, 9
1-3
1-3, 5, 7, 9, 13-21
Choose the Target Document. Next you need to choose the file where you want to put the
pages. Either choose Existing File (or File in the Current Directory) and browse to the file, or if
you have it open, select Already Opened Document and select it in the list.
Choose the Page Position. Next you need to indicate a page position for the files.
Optionally Delete Pages. Finally, you can choose to delete the pages from the original file. In
essence, you’re deciding whether to copy the pages between files or move them.
Transfer the Pages. When you click OK, FileCenter will either copy or move the pages from the
selected file into the file you chose and insert them at the specified position.
This is probably the most complicated of the PDF tools, but it’s a powerful feature that can save
you extra work.
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Extract Pages
The Extract tool is similar to the Transfer tool, except instead of inserting pages into an existing
file, you’re making them into their own file. You might also think of it as a Split tool for grabbing
pages out of the middle of a file. Again, we recommend using this tool from the Edit view.
Here’s how it works:
1.
Open the file in Edit view (or select it in Manage view)
2.
Select PDF Tools > Extract Pages
3.
Select the pages you want to extract, as described in Transfer Pages, above
4.
Provide a filename for the new file, or if you’re in Edit view, optionally choose to just
open it in a new tab
5.
Optionally choose to delete the original pages
FileCenter will pull the pages into a new file. If you saved the pages to file, you’ll find the file in
the same directory as the original.
Extract and Save. If you’re in Edit view, you have another option in PDF Tools called Extract &
Save. This works just like Extract, except that it doesn’t show you any options. Instead, it
immediately prompts you to save the new file. It’s a fast way to extract straight to file,
especially when you need to save it somewhere other than the original directory.
Delete Pages
The Delete Pages tool simply deletes pages from your PDF.
If you have a PDF open in the Edit view, select the page(s) you want to delete, then go to PDF
Tools > Delete Pages. To select multiple pages, hold down Ctrl while you click on the
thumbnails.
If you’re in the Manage view, you need to have Enhanced Thumbnails on. Use the page selector
above the list of files to browse to the page you want to delete. Then go to PDF Actions > Delete
Pages. To learn about enhanced thumbnails, see p. 66, Enhanced Thumbnails.
Print Documents
If you’re in the Manage view, you’ll find an option called Print Documents. Use this tool to print
a PDF or multiple PDFs without having to open them:
1.
Select the PDF or PDFs you want to print
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2.
Go to PDF Tools > Print Documents
3.
If you chose multiple documents, select the print order
4.
Click OK
You’ll have a chance to choose a printer and any print options.
Send Document Text to Word
Sometimes you need just the text from a PDF file. FileCenter can pull the text out of a PDF and
send it to Word, where you can edit it, incorporate it into another document, etc. To use this
feature:
1.
Select the PDF in the Manage view
2.
Go to PDF Actions > Send Document Text to Word
3.
The text will open in your word processor
Important: If the PDF is a scan, it will only have text if you performed OCR on the file. If this
feature isn’t finding any text in the PDF, see p. 102, Send the Text from a Scanned Document to
Word.
Note: FileCenter won’t preserve the formatting. We’ve found from experience that users spend
more time fixing formatting problems than they would applying fresh formatting.
Tip: FileCenter will send the text to whatever program opens RTF files on your system. To
change it, see Task 11: Use a Different Word Processor with Scanning/OCR.
Pro Only: This feature is only available in FileCenter Professional.
Password Protect the File
We’ll discuss PDF security on p. 97, Password Protection. For now, we’ll just note that if you’re
in Manage view, you can quickly give a PDF a password using PDF Actions > Password Protect
PDF. A user will have to enter this password in order to open or view the PDF.
If the PDF already has a password and you want to remove it, enter the existing password, then
select Remove Password and Permissions.
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Show the PDF Document’s Properties
One of the best ways to make your PDFs easy to find is to give them keywords. We’ll cover this
on p. 96, Add Searchable Metadata.
If you’re in the Manage view, you have a convenient option for adding keywords without
having to open the PDF first. Just select the PDF, then go to PDF Actions > PDF Document
Properties. Here you can add keywords to the PDF.
You can also adjust other properties for the PDF, like security settings and the default display
style when the PDF opens.
Convert a PDF File to TIFF
Most users are concerned with converting files into the PDF format. A few, however, prefer the
time-honored TIFF format, which is an image-only format. In other words, it’s simply a “picture”
of a document.
If you want to convert a PDF file to TIFF, use PDF Actions > Convert PDF to TIFF.
Tip: If you have a lot of files you need to convert to TIFF, look at FileCenter’s sister product,
FileConvert.
Pro Only: This feature is only available in FileCenter Professional.
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