New Features

StampPDF Batch 7.0

Barcode fonts are now supported for command line and built-in variables

New stamp file parameters:
New options for StartPage and EndPage
-1 represents the last page of the PDF file to be stamped.  You can now use -2 for the    second to the last page to be stamped, -3 for the third to the last page to be stamped and so on.

BarText – This parameter allows you to show or hide the text for barcode stamps.  The default is to Show text.  Options for this parameter are Show or Hide.

New command line options:
-vardelimiter – Delimiter character for variables in the stamp file (default is %)

-varfile: Text file that contains user defined variables and their value.  This file is read instead of having to enter the variables and their value directly on the command line.

Example of how the varfile text file is setup:
Variable1, John Doe

Variables are setup in the stamp file using the Text parameter.  Example:
Text   (%Variable1%)

Command line:  stamppdfapp -p -o outfile.pdf -varfile VariableText.txt StampFile.txt InputFile.pdf

StampPDF Batch 6.5

-vardelimiter:  Delimiter character for variables in the stamp file (Default is %).

If you are using built-in variables and command line variables in the same stamp file, you need to use a different character other than the percent sign % to represent the command line variable in the stamp item.  For example, stamp item should appear as:

Text    (#First_Name# #Last_Name# %B %d %Y)

stamppdfapp -p -o out.pdf -vars “First_Name,Jane,Last_Name,Smith” -vardelimiter # StampFIle.txt Input.pdf

Support for 2D Barcodes
New parameters for stamp file:

Type   (2DBarcode)
Code   (DataMatrix)

The Scale parameter can be used to resize the stamped barcode.

PageTransform – New stamp item parameter that can scale and transform the page.  This is used to reduce the size of the page and create white space at the top and right side of the page.  This is useful for stamping text along the top and right edge of the page and ensuring the stamped text is not obscuring any of the page content.

PageTransform parameters are listed below:

Type           (PageTransform)
PageScale  (93)  * This will scale the page to 93 percent of the original size

NOTE:  The PageTransform stamp item must appear in after the Options block and before any other stamp items in the stamp file

Example:

Begin_Options
Version	(2.5)
TopMargin	( 30 )
BottomMargin	( 30 )
LeftMargin	( 30 )
RightMargin	( 30 )
End_Options
# — Stamp Item
Begin_Message
Name	(Page Scale Sample)
Type	(PageTransform)
PageScale	(93)
End_Message

 

New values for the Position parameter in the stamp file:

(BottomUp-Left) – Draw text up from the bottom, on the left edge of the page
(BottomUp-Right) – Draw text up from the bottom, on the right edge of the page
(TopDown-Left) – Draw text down from the top, on the left edge of the page
(TopDown-Right) – Draw text down from the top, on the right edge of the page

StampPDF Batch 6.0

Please see the StampPDF Batch Options for the full documentation of the new features.

–sameversion — The output PDF file version will be the same as the input PDF file version.

–arabicfixedlength — The output Arabic text will have the same length as the input text

–vars — List of variables to be substituted in the Stamp File ( “name,value,name,value” )

StampPDF Batch now has the ability to dynamically replace variables found within the stamp file, and thus substitute the text that it stamps based on parameters set on the command line.

-watch:  Path to watched folder directory

Activates the watch directory and executes the specified processing options when a document is dropped into the directory.  All of the options can be used with the –watch option except –h, -help and -v

StampPDF Batch 5.3

AutoScale – This parameter will automatically scale your stamp to fit on the page without having to set any other options such as Page Margins.   The value for AutoScale specifies the font size as a percentage of the larger dimension of the page size (ex. if your document is 8 1/2 x 11, with AutoScale  set to (3), the stamp would be set at 3% of  11 inches. By using the AutoScale parameter in your stamp items, you will be able to apply the same stamp across multiple files regardless of their page size.  You will not have to make any adjustments to margin settings.

StampPDF Batch 5.2

New Command Line Options:
-listfonts – display a list of the fonts available to StampPDF Batch
-listundo – list the undo labels present in a pdf file to stdout
-overwrite – New flag for overwriting the input file. The -overwrite flag is now required when overwriting an input file
-pdfa – Preserve PDF/A compatibility in a PDF/A compliant input file

New Parameters for stamp file
LinkURL (optional)

The LinkURL parameter specifies a URL link to be associated with a stamp.  Example below:
LinkURL   (/docs-stampbatch-stampfiles)

Encoding (required for Unicode fonts)
Unicode fonts require an encoding parameter. The encoding parameter should be set to the following  values depending on the type of text used.

Encoding   (UTF8)
The possible values for encoding are:

	Encoding
Non-CJK Text	UTF8
Japanese Text	UniJIS-UTF16-H
Korean Text	UniKS-UTF16-H
Simplified Chinese Text	UniGB-UTF16-H
Traditional Chinese Text	UniCNS-UTF16-H

Font Support

Using Fonts:

Base14, OpenType, TrueType, Type1 and Unicode (see Encoding) fonts are all supported in StampPDF Batch. In previous versions, Type1 fonts were used in StampPDF Batch by including the FontFile parameter. In StampPDF Batch 5.2.2  and higher, you should only specify the font name.

In order to use a non-Base14 font, the font must be stored in one of the Appligent font directories  (See Font Directories below). You can run the command
$ stamppdf –listfonts
to see a list of all font names available for stamping. The font name should be used exactly as it is shown in the font list.
Some of the classic Base14 fonts are no longer included with the application resources.  In particular Times and Helvetica.  Both of these fonts are automatically substituted; but, may not appear identical to the classic fonts.  If the new font appearance are not accept-able; simply use the versions of Times and Helvetica available on your system.  This can be done by setting the Font Directories; please see below.

Font Directories:
There are two font directories.

The default font directory is found under the AppligentHome directory in APDFLX.X.X/Resource/Font. On Windows, the AppligentHome directory is in the AllUsers Application data directory.
Windows 7 and later: C:\ProgramData\Appligent
Unix: /usr/local/appligent
You can also specify an additional font directory, the AP font directory. The path to the AP font directory is saved in an environment variable called AP_FONT_DIR. You will be prompted to enter a font directory during installation.

On Windows: Environment variables can be set on Windows under the System Properties. To display the System Properties, right click on “My Computer” and select properties. On the bottom of the Advanced tab, click the button labeled “Environment Variables”. Under system variables, you will see an entry for AP_FONT_DIR. Select this entry, and click edit. You can then change the
variable’s value to the path of the current font directory. Multiple directories can be added by placing a semicolon in between each directory path.

On Unix: As the other environment variables for StampPDF Batch, AP_FONT_DIR is set in the stamppdf script. The directory set in an environment variable in the script, or be set for the shell. See ManualInstall.pdf for more information on setting the AP_FONT_DIR and other environment variables on Unix.

FontFile (deprecated)
The FontFile parameter has been deprecated. To use a non-base14 font with StampPDF Batch, add the font to one of the font directories and specify the font name in the Stamp Item FontName ( ) parameter as specified in Using Fonts. Any FontFile parameter entries will be ignored. If you are currently using the FontFile parameter in any of your stamp files, check that the font name being used in the stamp item is correct. Previous versions of StampPDF Batch would allow the specified font file to override the FontName; currently the FontName has priority and FontFile is ignored.

StampPDF Batch 5.1

Version 5.1 adds the following new command line options:

–cmds — Command Collections allow you to process a collection of files at one time

To process multiple commands quickly and efficiently, use the -cmds option. The file specified by -cmds, the commands file, should contain one or more single line commands. Each command is just like an ordinary StampPDF Batch command-line without the executable name. The commands file does not support wildcards in filenames.

When you use the -cmds option, many of the StampPDF Batch options should be set in the -cmds file instead of on the command line. The following options are supported on the command line when using the -cmds option:

-r, -l, -n, -p

If the same option is set on the command line and in the a record of the -cmds file, the option value from the -cmds file record will be used.

For more information on the -cmds option, see Command Collections.

StampPDF Batch 5.0

For document optimization, use -optimize.

This flag reduces file size in most instances, and performs a variety of functions.

• encode any non-encoded streams using Flate compression
• remove ASCII85 filters from all streams
• replace LZW encoded streams with Flate encoding
• merge identical XObjects and images
• optimize common sequences in page content
• merge identical font descriptors and encodings

To maximize compression, use -comp.

This flag will apply object level compression, typically reducing file size by 2%.

To not use object level compression, use -nocomp.

This flag will not add object level compression and will remove object level compression, if found, resulting in a document that is compatible with all versions of Acrobat.

To create an ISO 32000 compliant PDF, use -iso32000.

This flag sets the output file version for ISO 32000 compliance (Adobe PDF version 1.7).

StampPDF Batch 4.5

OffsetX and OffsetY parameters for text and image stamping. This parameter allows you to place text and images at very precise locations. The X and Y positions are defined in positive and negative points from the top left position of the stamp item.

StampPDF Batch 4.1.1

PageNumber parameter for PDF image stamping. This parameter specifies which page in the PDF file to use as the PDF stamp. Enter a page number or -1 to indicate the last page. If the page number entered is less than 1 but not -1, the first page is used. If the page number entered is greater than the last page number, the last page is used. The default is the first page of the PDF file.

CharSpace, WordSpace, and LineSpace parameters for Text Stamp Items. CharSpace adjusts character spacing, WordSpace adjusts word spacing, and LineSpace adjusts line spacing. Enter a positive real number with up to three digits following the decimal point. Numbers greater than 1 increase the spacing, and numbers less than 1 decrease the spacing.

Enhanced barcode support. StampPDF Batch includes built-in support for Code 128 character set B barcodes. StampPDF Batch automatically calculates the check character and places the start, check, and stop characters in the appropriate place. You only need to specify the data.

StampPDF Batch 4.0.8

BatesDigits parameter for Bates numbers. This parameter sets the number of digits in a Bates number. It overwrites the application default and value set on a command line with the -j option.
Ordinal suffix for dates. Code %D adds an ordinal number suffix (for example, “st” for first) to the day of the month: “1st”.

Known Issues

Unicode

Automatic word wrapping is not available for Unicode characters. You must manually insert line breaks and set the MultiLine parameter to Yes.

Variables (%x) are not supported.

General

If you are using the %i variable, be sure not to include any white space after Title, Author, and Subject. For example, use (%i(Title)) instead of (%i(Title )).

If an input PDF file has a user password set, this password will be copied over into the Stamp document, even if -userpass is not specified on the command line with -encrypt.

If a PDF file you are stamping is cropped, it may not stamp in the right location. You will need to remove the crop before stamping the pdf.

If you are stamping with the Symbol or Zapf Dingbats fonts, your stamps may not appear in the correct location.

There are some instances where the combination of the PDF source creation application and the printer driver draw a white rectangle behind the text of the page. This causes underlaid stamps to be obscured by the body of the document and underlaid stamped text to be obscured by images. The work-around is to use an overlaid stamp that is semi-transparent, uses an outline font, or both.

The %p variable, local equivalent of AM or PM, may not behave properly in all locales. When Regional Settings are changed to dd/mm/yy – dd MMMM yyyy (English, United Kingdom), nothing stamps where AM or PM should appear. However, this does work fine with the mm/dd/yy – dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy setting.

When diagonally stamping large text in the right or left position, the corners of letters may be cut off. To correct the problem, add a space at the beginning of the text, use the center position, or decrease the size of the text.

ASCII characters greater then 128 may not always stamp properly. Stamp files need to be generated on the same platform on which the StampPDF Batch application will run, because StampPDF Batch uses platform specific character encodings. For example, producing a stamp file on a Windows machine, then transferring that file to a UNIX computer to use with StampPDF Batch would result in the wrong character encoding being used and the wrong characters showing up in the output PDF file.

UNIX only

When the %P variable is used in the stamp file to stamp the “full directory path” of the document being stamped, the variable works correctly only when the full path or the input PDF document is given on the command line. If a relative path is given, only the relative path will be stamped.

There can be a problem with stamping high ASCII characters (accents, ®, ß, etc.) in a PDF document that includes a font that is not encoded (we saw the problem with Times). Make sure that all fonts are encoded in a document to ensure proper stamping.

To Get Help

Documentation for StampPDF Batch can be found at /stamppdf-batch/.

Contact technical support by:

emailing support@appligent.com, or calling 610-284-4006

Please provide the following:

Product name and version number
Operating system
Your name, company name, email address, and phone number
Description of your question or problem

Responses are typically emailed within one business day.