Introduction

This chapter describes the fdfmergelite command syntax and summarizes the options you can use with the fdfmergelite command. Command-line syntax in the tables below refer to a path to any input or output file. In the Windows environment directory paths use a back slash “\” character. In the UNIX environment directory paths use a forward slash “/” character. Examples in the tables below show a Windows type path.

The following is an example of paths to the default installation directory for FDFMerge Lite:

Windows

> C:\Appligent\FDFMergeLite\

UNIX/Mac OS X

$ /Appligent/FDFMergeLite/

Command Syntax

$fdfmergeliteapp [options] -o outputFile.pdf inputFile.pdf inputFile.fdf

Product Information Options

The following table describes options you can use to obtain information about the FDFMerge Lite product. For more detailed information about these options, see General Options.

Option Function Description Example
-v Show version information Displays the version of FDFMerge Lite you are running. fdfmergelite -v
-h or
-help		 Show help Displays all available command-line options, plus version information. fdfmergelite -h
fdfmergelite -help

Input and Output Options

The following table describes the options for managing file input and output. For more detailed information about these options, see General Options.

Option Function Description Example
-o <outFilename> Output filename Specifies an output file. The PDF file name, including the path, must immediately follow the -o option. Directories in paths must exist, FDFMerge Lite will not create a new directory. fdfmergelite [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-i Save using incremental save An incremental save appends changed information to the end of the file. This is faster than a full save, but may result in a larger file. fdfmergelite -i [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-w Linearize the PDF file upon save Save the output file as a linearized document. Linearization reorganizes the file to make it more efficient for web delivery. fdfmergelite -w [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-optimize Optimize output file This option will try to reduce the file size of the output PDF. fdfmergelite -optimize [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-iso32000 Set file for ISO 32000 compliance Creates an output PDF file that is version 1.7 fdfmergelite -iso32000 [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf

Reporting Options

The following table describes the options for reporting progress and error messages. These options are helpful for debugging and understanding how FDFMerge Lite works. For more detailed information about these options, see General Options.

Option Function Description Example
-p Show progress Write progress messages to the screen (STDOUT—the standard output of your system). This option is helpful for debugging and for understanding how the software works. fdfmergelite -p [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-l <logfile> Write progress and error messages to the given log file name Saves the progress and error messages to a user-specified text file instead of the default log file, fdfmergelite.log. fdfmergelite -l
path\mylogfile.txt [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-p and -l combined Write progress and error messages to the given log file name If the -p and -l options are both specified, progress and error messages will be written to the file that you specify. fdfmergelite -p -l
path\mylogfile.txt [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf

Registration Number

The following table describes how to supply the registration number to FDFMerge Lite. For more detailed information about this, see General Options.

Note: Do not call the fdfmergelite script from another script or application. Call fdfmergeliteapp directly with the registration number option flag, as shown in the examples below. 

Option Function Description Example
-r <RegNum> FDFMerge Lite registration number Use this option to supply your registration number when you call FDFMerge Lite from a script or another application. fdfmergeliteapp -r
XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
[options] -o
path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf

Merging Options

The following table describes the merging options available for FDFMerge Lite, for more detailed information see FDFMerge Lite Options.

Option Function Description Example
-x Input is an XFDF file Specifies that the input data file is an XFDF file, which is an XML version of an FDF file. Required if using an XFDF input file instead of an FDF file. fdfmergelite -x [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.xfdf
-s Replace fields with stamps Flattens a form, changing active form fields into static text or images. fdfmergelite -s [options]
-o path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-reverse Make FDF file come first followed by multiple PDF files Processes multiple PDF forms with a single FDF file. An output directory must be used with -reverse.

The FDF file should appear before the PDF files on the command line.

 fdfmergelite -s [options] -o
path\outdirectoryname
-reverse path\inputFile.fdf
path\inputFile1.pdf
path\inputFile2.pdf…
-norebuild Don’t rebuild appearances Specifies that Acrobat, rather than FDFMerge Lite builds the form appearances for an output PDF form. fdfmergelite -norebuild
[options] -o
path\outputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.pdf
path\inputFile.fdf
-cmds <CmdFile.txt> Allow user to run multiple commands and process multiple files at one time Process a collection of files. Allows user to process multiple command and files at one time.

Note: Compatible with -l, -p, -r, -h or -help, and -n.

 fdfmergelite -p -l
path\logfile.txt
-cmds path\CommandFile.txt