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macOS Batch convert pages to PDF with automator or script?
- Thread starter TwoBytes
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Is there a quick way to batch convert pages files into PDFs using Automator? I couldn't see anything obvious... thanks
I don't think there are any helpful Pages actions, but you could use an AppleScript action to do the export.
Thanks for the reply Script is out of my comfort zone.
I found this droplet
https://iworkautomation.com/pages/document-export.html
but i'm getting "incompatible items" errors with the latest pages files. Anyone savvy around to troubleshoot?
on run
set theseItems to (choose fileof type {"com.apple.iwork.pages.pages"} with prompt "Choose the Pages documents to export to PDF:" with multiple selections allowed)
opentheseItems
end run
on opentheseItems
-- TRIGGERED WHEN USER DRAGS ITEMS ONTO THE DROPLET
set the filesToProcess to {}
-- filter the dragged-on items for presentation files
repeat with i from 1 to the count of theseItems
set thisItem to itemi of theseItems
if my checkForIdentifier(thisItem, {"com.apple.iwork.pages.pages"}) is true then
set the end of the filesToProcess to thisItem
end if
end repeat
if filesToProcess is {} then
activate
display alert "INCOMPATIBLE ITEMS" message "None of the items were Pages documents."
else
-- process the documents
my exportToPDF(filesToProcess)
end if
end open
on exportToPDF(theseFiles)
repeat with i from 1 to the count of theseFiles
set thisFile to itemi of theseFiles
set thisFilePOSIXPath to the POSIX path of thisFile
copy my deriveNewFilename(thisFilePOSIXPath, "pdf", "-", "") to {targetName, targetPOSIXpath}
set targetFileReference to targetPOSIXpath as POSIX file
tell application "Pages"
try
activate
with timeout of 1200 seconds
openthisFile
delay 1
-- EXPORT THE DOCUMENT
with timeout of 1200 seconds
export front documenttotargetFileReferenceasPDF
end timeout
close front documentsavingno
end timeout
on error errorMessagenumbererrorNumber
if errorNumber is not -128 then
display alerterrorNumbermessageerrorMessage
end if
error number -128
end try
end tell
end repeat
end exportToPDF
on checkForIdentifier(thisItem, theseTypeIdentifiers)
try
-- uses Spotlight to check for specified item type
set the queryResult to ¬
(do shell script "mdls -raw -name kMDItemContentType " & ¬
quoted form of the POSIX path of thisItem)
if the queryResult is in theseTypeIdentifiers then
return true
else
return false
end if
on error
return false
end try
end checkForIdentifier
on deriveNewFilename(sourceItemPOSIXPath, newNameExtension, incrementSeparator, targetFolderPOSIXPath)
-- A sub-routine used for deriving the name and path of a new file using the name of an existing file
-- Pass in file ref in POSIX format, the new name extension, an increment separator, and any target directory (in POSIX format)
-- Name and POSIX path for new file are returned. The name is incremented if a file exists in the target location.
-- Pass a null string for the target directory to use the item's parent directory
-- Pass a null string for the new name extension to use the item's current name extension
-- get item info
copy my itemInfoFor(sourceItemPOSIXPath) to {parentDirectoryPath, sourceItemName, sourceItemBaseName, sourceItemNameExtension}
if targetFolderPOSIXPath is "" then
-- get the path to parent folder of the source item
set targetFolderPOSIXPath to parentDirectoryPath
else if targetFolderPOSIXPath contains "~" then
set targetFolderPOSIXPath to (do shell script "echo " & targetFolderPOSIXPath)
end if
if targetFolderPOSIXPath does not end with "/" then set targetFolderPOSIXPath to targetFolderPOSIXPath & "/"
-- check file extension
if the sourceItemNameExtension is missing value then
set the sourceItemNameExtension to ""
if newNameExtension is "" then
set extensionSeparator to ""
else
set extensionSeparator to "."
end if
else
set extensionSeparator to "."
end if
-- generate the target file name
if the newNameExtension is "" then
set targetName to sourceItemName
set targetExtension to sourceItemNameExtension
else
set targetExtension to newNameExtension
set targetName to (the sourceItemBaseName & extensionSeparator & targetExtension) as Unicode text
end if
-- check to see if a file named the same as the source file exists in the target folder
set targetItemPOSIXPath to targetFolderPOSIXPath & targetName
set the fileExistenceStatus to ¬
(do shell script "[ -a " & (quoted form of targetItemPOSIXPath) & " ] && echo 'true' || echo 'false'") as boolean
if fileExistenceStatus is true then
set the nameIncrement to 1
repeat
-- create a new target path with the target item name incremented
set the newName to ¬
(the sourceItemBaseName & incrementSeparator & (nameIncrement as Unicode text) & extensionSeparator & targetExtension) as Unicode text
set targetItemPOSIXPath to targetFolderPOSIXPath & newName
set the fileExistenceStatus to ¬
(do shell script "[ -a " & (quoted form of targetItemPOSIXPath) & " ] && echo 'true' || echo 'false'") as boolean
if fileExistenceStatus is true then
set the nameIncrement to the nameIncrement + 1
else
set the targetPOSIXpath to (targetFolderPOSIXPath & newName)
return {newName, targetPOSIXpath}
end if
end repeat
else
set the targetPOSIXpath to (targetFolderPOSIXPath & targetName)
return {targetName, targetPOSIXpath}
end if
end deriveNewFilename
on itemInfoFor(sourceItemPOSIXPath)
-- get the parent directory of the item
set the parentDirectoryPath to (do shell script "dirname " & (the quoted form of sourceItemPOSIXPath))
--> "/Users/sal/Pictures"
if parentDirectoryPath does not end with "/" then set parentDirectoryPath to parentDirectoryPath & "/"
-- get the name of the item
set the itemFileName to (do shell script "basename " & (quoted form of sourceItemPOSIXPath))
--> "automator101.png"
-- get the item name without extension
set the itemNameWithoutExtension to (do shell script "file=" & (quoted form of itemFileName) & ";echo ${file%.*}")
-- get the item extension
if itemFileName contains "." then
set the itemFileExtension to do shell script "file=" & (quoted form of itemFileName) & ";echo ${file##*.}"
--> "png"
else
set the itemFileExtension to missing value
end if
return {parentDirectoryPath, itemFileName, itemNameWithoutExtension, itemFileExtension}
end itemInfoFor
I found this droplet
https://iworkautomation.com/pages/document-export.html
but i'm getting "incompatible items" errors with the latest pages files. Anyone savvy around to troubleshoot?
on run
set theseItems to (choose fileof type {"com.apple.iwork.pages.pages"} with prompt "Choose the Pages documents to export to PDF:" with multiple selections allowed)
opentheseItems
end run
on opentheseItems
-- TRIGGERED WHEN USER DRAGS ITEMS ONTO THE DROPLET
set the filesToProcess to {}
-- filter the dragged-on items for presentation files
repeat with i from 1 to the count of theseItems
set thisItem to itemi of theseItems
if my checkForIdentifier(thisItem, {"com.apple.iwork.pages.pages"}) is true then
set the end of the filesToProcess to thisItem
end if
end repeat
if filesToProcess is {} then
activate
display alert "INCOMPATIBLE ITEMS" message "None of the items were Pages documents."
else
-- process the documents
my exportToPDF(filesToProcess)
end if
end open
on exportToPDF(theseFiles)
repeat with i from 1 to the count of theseFiles
set thisFile to itemi of theseFiles
set thisFilePOSIXPath to the POSIX path of thisFile
copy my deriveNewFilename(thisFilePOSIXPath, "pdf", "-", "") to {targetName, targetPOSIXpath}
set targetFileReference to targetPOSIXpath as POSIX file
tell application "Pages"
try
activate
with timeout of 1200 seconds
openthisFile
delay 1
-- EXPORT THE DOCUMENT
with timeout of 1200 seconds
export front documenttotargetFileReferenceasPDF
end timeout
close front documentsavingno
end timeout
on error errorMessagenumbererrorNumber
if errorNumber is not -128 then
display alerterrorNumbermessageerrorMessage
end if
error number -128
end try
end tell
end repeat
end exportToPDF
on checkForIdentifier(thisItem, theseTypeIdentifiers)
try
-- uses Spotlight to check for specified item type
set the queryResult to ¬
(do shell script "mdls -raw -name kMDItemContentType " & ¬
quoted form of the POSIX path of thisItem)
if the queryResult is in theseTypeIdentifiers then
return true
else
return false
end if
on error
return false
end try
end checkForIdentifier
on deriveNewFilename(sourceItemPOSIXPath, newNameExtension, incrementSeparator, targetFolderPOSIXPath)
-- A sub-routine used for deriving the name and path of a new file using the name of an existing file
-- Pass in file ref in POSIX format, the new name extension, an increment separator, and any target directory (in POSIX format)
-- Name and POSIX path for new file are returned. The name is incremented if a file exists in the target location.
-- Pass a null string for the target directory to use the item's parent directory
-- Pass a null string for the new name extension to use the item's current name extension
-- get item info
copy my itemInfoFor(sourceItemPOSIXPath) to {parentDirectoryPath, sourceItemName, sourceItemBaseName, sourceItemNameExtension}
if targetFolderPOSIXPath is "" then
-- get the path to parent folder of the source item
set targetFolderPOSIXPath to parentDirectoryPath
else if targetFolderPOSIXPath contains "~" then
set targetFolderPOSIXPath to (do shell script "echo " & targetFolderPOSIXPath)
end if
if targetFolderPOSIXPath does not end with "/" then set targetFolderPOSIXPath to targetFolderPOSIXPath & "/"
-- check file extension
if the sourceItemNameExtension is missing value then
set the sourceItemNameExtension to ""
if newNameExtension is "" then
set extensionSeparator to ""
else
set extensionSeparator to "."
end if
else
set extensionSeparator to "."
end if
-- generate the target file name
if the newNameExtension is "" then
set targetName to sourceItemName
set targetExtension to sourceItemNameExtension
else
set targetExtension to newNameExtension
set targetName to (the sourceItemBaseName & extensionSeparator & targetExtension) as Unicode text
end if
-- check to see if a file named the same as the source file exists in the target folder
set targetItemPOSIXPath to targetFolderPOSIXPath & targetName
set the fileExistenceStatus to ¬
(do shell script "[ -a " & (quoted form of targetItemPOSIXPath) & " ] && echo 'true' || echo 'false'") as boolean
if fileExistenceStatus is true then
set the nameIncrement to 1
repeat
-- create a new target path with the target item name incremented
set the newName to ¬
(the sourceItemBaseName & incrementSeparator & (nameIncrement as Unicode text) & extensionSeparator & targetExtension) as Unicode text
set targetItemPOSIXPath to targetFolderPOSIXPath & newName
set the fileExistenceStatus to ¬
(do shell script "[ -a " & (quoted form of targetItemPOSIXPath) & " ] && echo 'true' || echo 'false'") as boolean
if fileExistenceStatus is true then
set the nameIncrement to the nameIncrement + 1
else
set the targetPOSIXpath to (targetFolderPOSIXPath & newName)
return {newName, targetPOSIXpath}
end if
end repeat
else
set the targetPOSIXpath to (targetFolderPOSIXPath & targetName)
return {targetName, targetPOSIXpath}
end if
end deriveNewFilename
on itemInfoFor(sourceItemPOSIXPath)
-- get the parent directory of the item
set the parentDirectoryPath to (do shell script "dirname " & (the quoted form of sourceItemPOSIXPath))
--> "/Users/sal/Pictures"
if parentDirectoryPath does not end with "/" then set parentDirectoryPath to parentDirectoryPath & "/"
-- get the name of the item
set the itemFileName to (do shell script "basename " & (quoted form of sourceItemPOSIXPath))
--> "automator101.png"
-- get the item name without extension
set the itemNameWithoutExtension to (do shell script "file=" & (quoted form of itemFileName) & ";echo ${file%.*}")
-- get the item extension
if itemFileName contains "." then
set the itemFileExtension to do shell script "file=" & (quoted form of itemFileName) & ";echo ${file##*.}"
--> "png"
else
set the itemFileExtension to missing value
end if
return {parentDirectoryPath, itemFileName, itemNameWithoutExtension, itemFileExtension}
end itemInfoFor
Last edited:
Holy overkill, Batman!
Since I'm in a generous mood, here's some AppleScript to get you going:
You should be able to run that from Script Editor. Note that I'm assuming you're just going to pass it Pages files, with a ".pages" file extension.
If I have time, I'll write up how to add it to an Automator workflow to batch process later, although I've probably given you enough to work that out for yourself.
Hope that's some help.
Since I'm in a generous mood, here's some AppleScript to get you going:
Code:
set theFile to choose file with prompt "Please choose a Pages file"
tell application "Finder"
set theFilesFolder to (folder of theFile) as text
end tell
tell application "Pages"
set theDoc to open theFile
set theDocName to name of theDoc
--I'm assuming that the file name always ends with ".pages"
set theName to (characters 1 thru -7 of theDocName) as text
export theDoc as PDF to file ((theFilesFolder & theName & ".pdf") as text)
close theDoc
end tellYou should be able to run that from Script Editor. Note that I'm assuming you're just going to pass it Pages files, with a ".pages" file extension.
If I have time, I'll write up how to add it to an Automator workflow to batch process later, although I've probably given you enough to work that out for yourself.
Hope that's some help.
Last edited:
Thanks! Could the sun in Yorkshire is sunny as London today? I also see your a dab hand at programming on your website
I ran it on a pages file called test and I got this
error "Can’t make characters 1 thru -7 of \"test\" into type text." number -1700 fromcharacters 1 thru -7 of "test" totext
I also see your a dab hand at programming on your website I ran it on a pages file called test and I got this
error "Can’t make characters 1 thru -7 of \"test\" into type text." number -1700 fromcharacters 1 thru -7 of "test" totext
Hmmm. That's odd. It's working fine here.
I've used a slightly shoddy way of getting the file name minus the extension - I'm just lopping off the last 7 characters. There are better ways of doing it - I was just knocking something together quickly as a proof of concept. Still, as long as you have a .pages file extension, I don't see why it wouldn't work.
If it's not confidential, send me a copy of the file and I'll try it here.
Last edited:
Thanks for troubleshooting. I tried brand new pages doc and it worked! Didn't work on my other docs which are CVs. It's strange this...maybe a formatting issue but I would have thought export to PDF would do it. Thanks though, the script works!!
Just for the record, I am indeed available for children's parties, bar mitzvahs and bespoke AppleScripting/custom development*. See https://www.ghostotter.com/custom-development/ for details.
* I may have lied about the first two.
Last edited:
I'm a teacher and need to batch convert .pages to PDF for numerous reasons (why can't the world run on OSX?!?!) and this worked brilliantly. Have been searching for this for a loooong time. Works like a charm. Two thumbs up. Cheers mate!
When I use the script above, I got always the error message number 6: "Pages got an error. The document 'xxx.pages' can not be exported to 'xxx'. You don not have permission. (My mac is a dutch one, so excuse me for the bad translation)
I even got this error when I select a document from the folder 'Documents'.
I have written a similar applescript of my own, and it worked. But I think it stopped working when I upgraded to sierra. When I found a solution for the above script, I think/believe that I have found the solution for my wn script.
Does anyone have encountered the same problem and knop the solution for my problem?
Hmm... I can't reproduce the problem here (I'm on El Capitan and Pages 5.6.2) so I can't shed much light on that, I'm afraid. The above script works fine for me. Can you do the export manually?
Sorry for het late answer.
When I do manually, I have no problem. The problem arises when I did an upgrade to OS Sierra, so I think it's linked with Sierra.
But, I found an workaround. When I copy first an pdf to the folder with the same name, the script overwrites the pdf without error.
When I do manually, I have no problem. The problem arises when I did an upgrade to OS Sierra, so I think it's linked with Sierra.
But, I found an workaround. When I copy first an pdf to the folder with the same name, the script overwrites the pdf without error.
I am still getting the same error. I am using Pages 6.0.5 on Sierra. Any help would be appreciated.
I'm afraid I'm stuck on El Capitan for the foreseeable future. I'll take a look at this when I have Sierra.
OK. Veeeeery tentatively, I think I may have a solution. It seems to be a permissions related bug (or "undocumented feature"... ahem). I've documented a possible fix here:
https://www.ghostotter.com/using-automator-convert-pages-pdf/
Scroll down to the bit about "Update for macOS Sierra" towards the bottom for sample code.
AppleScript only version here (no Automator):
https://www.ghostotter.com/macos-sierra-export-pdf-pages-using-applescript/
Interested to hear if that solves it for any of you!
https://www.ghostotter.com/using-automator-convert-pages-pdf/
Scroll down to the bit about "Update for macOS Sierra" towards the bottom for sample code.
AppleScript only version here (no Automator):
https://www.ghostotter.com/macos-sierra-export-pdf-pages-using-applescript/
Interested to hear if that solves it for any of you!
Last edited:
Hi all,
Has anyone else found that this has mysteriously been fixed? (not sure whether a Page or a macOS update did it). Either way, the original method seems to be working for me on macOS 10.12.5 and Pages 6.1.1
Anyone else?
Has anyone else found that this has mysteriously been fixed? (not sure whether a Page or a macOS update did it). Either way, the original method seems to be working for me on macOS 10.12.5 and Pages 6.1.1
Anyone else?
Yup! Just tried both of them on macOS 10.12.5 and Pages 6.1.1, and the old one works, while the new one returns an error.
Although, it seems to be cutting off some of the name for each document (they are slightly longer than average here). Any way to adjust that?
EDIT: I see what's happening. My documents were .pages but the file names didn't have the extension.
Changed the line
to
Thanks for the script!
Although, it seems to be cutting off some of the name for each document (they are slightly longer than average here). Any way to adjust that?
EDIT: I see what's happening. My documents were .pages but the file names didn't have the extension.
Changed the line
Code:
set theName to (characters 1 thru -7 of theDocName) as text
Code:
set theName to (characters 1 thru -1 of theDocName) as textThanks for the script!
Last edited:
Hi,
It seems the annoying bug we had in Pages re the permissions thing has been solved for a little while now.
However, I notice that files created by previous versions of Pages need opening and resaving in the latest version before they'll work properly. That can be a bit annoying if you have a lot of files, so here's a handy AppleScript droplet for anyone who finds it useful.
Usual disclaimer: I'm pretty sure it's safe to use, but use at your own risk...
It seems the annoying bug we had in Pages re the permissions thing has been solved for a little while now.
However, I notice that files created by previous versions of Pages need opening and resaving in the latest version before they'll work properly. That can be a bit annoying if you have a lot of files, so here's a handy AppleScript droplet for anyone who finds it useful.
Usual disclaimer: I'm pretty sure it's safe to use, but use at your own risk...
I've removed the Sierra specific fix from the above URL. If you still have the permissions issue described above, update to the latest Pages version (and ideally macOS) and you'll be fine. Apple fixed it. "Woo!", and also, "Yay!"