In This Chapter…

…we describe how to work with Stamp Files.

• Working with Stamp Files is an introduction to using stamp files to expand the capabilities of StampPDF.
• Example: Edit Stamp File describes using the edit feature for working with stamp files.
• Example: New Stamp File details how to start a stamp file from scratch.
• Stamp Using File outlines how to stamp documents without needing to open a stamp file.
• Removing Stamped Text from a Document explains how to remove a stamp item immediately after you’ve stamped a document.

Working with Stamp Files

Because you can use a stamp file over and over again, it’s an easy way to achieve a consistent look for all the documents you stamp. Now that you have seen how a single stamp works you can move on to using stamp files.

A stamp file is simply a text file that contains commands that place stamps on your document. Stamp files offer more flexibility and control in stamping in the following ways:

• Share and re-use stamps. If there is a particular stamp that you will need to apply over and over to documents as they come in, you will not want to have to re-enter the stamp by typing it each time.
• One stamp file can be used to apply an unlimited number of stamps. If you need to create a header, a footer, and a watermark, all of those stamps can be contained in one file.
• Stamp files allow changes to the margin of the stamping area. You may change the margins so that the stamping area is smaller than the page.

Before going further into stamp files, be sure that you are acquainted with the process for applying a single stamp.

Example: Edit Stamp File

The StampPDF installation comes with a sample stamp file for you to use. The default installation directory on Windows for samples is C:\Appligent\StampPDF\samples and the sample stamp file is called items.txt.

To begin work with items.txt and editing a stamp file, make sure you have a PDF document open in Adobe Acrobat (use the sample provided, sample.pdf, or another test file), go to the StampPDF menu and select Edit Stamp File…. This will bring up the Select a File dialog box:

When you select your file, in this case items.txt, the Edit Stamp File window appears:

All of the data from the stamp file is loaded into the Edit Stamp File window. On the left side of the window is shown the name of the file, items.txt, and the eight different stamps contained in the stamp file. They are named as follows:

• Date & Time
• Watermark
• File Name
• Title & Author
• Odd Page Number
• Even Page Number
• Second Page Stamp
• Bottom Center

Editing stamps

You may go through the list of stamps to see how each is constructed. When a stamp name is highlighted, the details on that stamp appear on the right side of the Edit Stamp File window in the Stamp Information area.

If you’d like to make changes to any of the stamps, select the stamp to be changed in the list at the left of the window and make changes on the right. The Stamp Information area is nearly identical to the Single Stamp window except for the addition of the Word Wrap check box.

Pages to stamp

The default for StampPDF is for a stamp to be placed on every page. To select a different option, click on the Page Range radio button and choose a start page and an end page. A page number of -1 in the Start field will stamp only the last page of the file. Use the Increment text box to set an incremental number of pages to be stamped. Setting the value to 1 stamps every page, 2 stamps every second page, 5 stamps every fifth page, and so on.

Adding and/or removing stamps

When a stamp is selected (you see its title in the Name field) you may remove it from the list of stamps, and therefore the stamp file, by clicking the Delete button. You may also add new stamps. If you click the Add button, the Stamp Information area will revert to the defaults and the name will be New Item. To make your new stamp, first change the name to something more descriptive, then change the settings for text, position, etc. as you would like them for your new stamp.

Setting margins

Each stamp file has top, bottom, left and right margins defined for the entire page, and used by all stamps. The margin is the amount of space between the edge of the page and the stamping area.

Margins are measured in points, where 72 points is equal in length to one inch. See Doing the points-to-inches conversion. Therefore, if you would like a half-inch margin all around the page, set each margin for 36 points. Look for the margins in the Page Margins area of the Edit Stamp File window, under the listing of the names of stamps.

In the illustration, the top and bottom margins are 36 points (one half inch) and the left and right margins are 12 points (0.167 inches). The centered, diagonal stamp is centered between all four margins. The top stamp begins at the left margin and the bottom stamp ends at the right margin.

The margins for items.txt are the same as the ones used in the illustration. The top and bottom margins are set to 36 points, the left and right margins are set to 12 points.

Completing your work

When you are done making changes, you have four choices:

1. Stamp the edited file. This option saves the changes you made and stamps the document.
2. Save the file. If you choose the Save option, the changes made to the file will be saved and the Edit Stamp File window will close. No stamp will be applied.
3. Cancel the operation. If you don’t like the changes you made or you want to start over from the beginning, click the Cancel button.
4. Save As. When you choose the Save As option the changes made to the file can be saved in a new stamp file. The Edit Stamp File window stays open for you to use the stamp file.

Example: New Stamp File

Creating a new stamp file is nearly the same as editing an existing stamp file except that you are starting from scratch. When you select the New Stamp File… option from the StampPDF menu the New Stamp File dialog appears.

From this window you may enter new stamp items in the same way that you would make a new stamp item while editing a stamp file: give the stamp a name, enter the stamp text, including codes if desired, then choose font and position formatting and other options to complete the stamp.

When you are finished designing one stamp, click the Add button. After adding a stamp, the New Stamp File window settings revert to their defaults and you may begin building another stamp. If you decide you do not want a stamp you may select the stamp and click the Delete button to remove it from the stamp file.

When you are ready to apply your new stamp file to the document, click the Stamp button. You will first be asked to save the file. The default file name is StmpItms.txt. You may keep this name or choose another. If you don’t want to use the stamp file right away, choose the Save option to save the file but not apply stamps.

Stamp Using File

If you know which stamp file you want to use and there are no changes that need to be made to it, the Stamp Using File option is the quickest way to apply stamps.

When you select the Stamp Using File option from the StampPDF menu, you are requested to select a stamp file. Once this file is selected, no window will come up to confirm your choice. The file will be read by StampPDF and applied directly to your document. If you choose the wrong file and apply it you may Undo Last Stamp or close the document without saving and start over.

Removing Stamped Text from a Document

Once a stamp is applied to a document and the document is saved, the stamp is part of the PDF document.

Before the document is saved you can remove stamps by either:

• Choosing Undo Last Stamp from the StampPDF menu — this will remove only the last stamp made (or last stamp file applied).
• Closing the document in Adobe Acrobat without saving changes — if you need to start over completely this is your best option.