Processing PDFs automatically with watched folders

Some PDF jobs never end. Every scanned invoice needs shrinking. Every outgoing letter needs its hidden information removed. Every document for the website needs the same preparation. Watched folders in PDF by Zaweba take care of jobs like these without you opening each file.

Set it up from Tools, then Watched folders. While the app is open, each PDF put in a watched folder goes through its action. The result goes into a folder called Processed and the original goes into one called Originals.

From drop to done

A watched folder is paired with an action, the saved list of steps from Tools, then Actions. Drop a PDF into the folder and the app runs the action on it. When it's done, the processed file lands in Processed and the untouched original moves to Originals.

That last part is important. Nothing is lost. If an action does something you didn't expect, the original is still there to try again.

The one condition is that the app must be open. Watched folders work while PDF by Zaweba is running, so leave it open on the PC that does the processing.

Setting one up

First, make or choose the action. Build it in Tools, then Actions and test it on a single document. Then create a watched folder and link it to that action.

Give each watched folder a name that says what it does, such as "Shrink scans" or "Ready to send". Anyone dropping files in then knows what will happen to them. If you set up more than one, clear names matter even more, so nobody drops a letter into the folder meant for scans.

Jobs that suit a watched folder

Scans are the classic case. A scanner that saves into a shared folder can save straight into a watched folder whose action is Optimise scanned documents, so every scan is tidied as it arrives.

Outgoing documents are another. A folder whose action removes hidden information, sanitises and protects with a password means anything that needs sending can be dropped in and picked up clean from Processed.

Documents for publishing work well too, with an action based on Prepare for web publishing.

Keeping it tidy

Empty Processed and Originals from time to time, or move their contents to where they belong. Otherwise they grow without end, and it becomes hard to tell today's files from last month's.

Check a result now and then. Actions run the same steps every time, which is the point, but documents vary. A quick look at a processed file each week catches surprises early.

Be careful with actions that remove things. Redaction, sanitising and flattening are permanent in the processed copy. The original in Originals is your safety net, so don't delete that folder's contents in a hurry.

Where watched folders fit

Actions are for batches you run when you choose. Watched folders are for steady streams that never stop. Many people start with an action run by hand, and once it has proved itself over a few weeks, hand it to a watched folder so it runs by itself.

It's a small piece of automation, all of it offline, that lets PDF by Zaweba quietly look after the dull jobs while you get on with the rest.