Run a predefined batch sequence

Acrobat includes a number of simple, predefined batch sequences that you can use to streamline your work. These batch sequences represent common tasks that you routinely need to perform to prepare files for distribution. You do not have to open any of the PDF files before you begin to run these batch sequences.

You can avoid password prompts when you run a sequence on PDFs that require passwords by automating password entry, or by specifying a security method for these files in the Batch Processing preferences. If you select Do Not Ask For Password, PDFs that require passwords won’t be processed. To open the Batch Processing preferences, choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Acrobat > Preferences (Mac OS).
  1. Choose Advanced > Document Processing > Batch Processing.
  2. In the Batch Sequences dialog box, select a batch sequence, and then click the Run Sequence button.
  3. In the Run Sequence Confirmation dialog box, verify that the sequence you selected is the one you want, and click OK.
    To prevent this dialog box from appearing in the future, deselect the Show The Run Sequence Confirmation Dialog option in the Batch Processing preferences after you complete this procedure.
  4. In the Select Files To Process dialog box, select the files that you want, and then click Select. (In Windows, these files must be in the same folder.)
  5. If a message asks for additional input for a specific command in the sequence, select the options you want and click OK.
  6. When the progress bar disappears, click Close.

    You can click Stop in the Progress dialog box to stop processing. The Progress dialog box expands automatically to show the percentage of completion and any error or warning messages. Any files already processed are saved as defined in the batch sequence. When the Progress dialog box closes, errors are automatically written to the batch-processing error log, depending on the selections in the Batch Preferences dialog box.

Predefined batch sequences

Embed Page Thumbnails

Embeds miniature images of each page for display on the Pages panel.



Fast Web View

Enables users to download long documents incrementally.



Open All

Opens all the specified files. This batch sequence creates PDFs for any input files if they are a supported file type.



Print 1st Page Of All

Prints only the first page of each of the PDFs in the batch sequence. The pages print on your default printer, using your current default print settings.



Print All

Prints all pages of the files included in the batch sequence. The files print on your default printer, using your current default print settings.



Remove File Attachments

Removes files that have been attached to the PDF files in the batch sequence.



Save All As RTF

Saves the files in Rich Text Format (RTF).



Set Security To No Changes

Limits access to a PDF by setting up passwords and restricting certain features, such as printing and editing.