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Ability to split a scanned book that has two pages per scan

New Here ,
May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009

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I want to be able to split a pdf page that I have scanned into pdf from a book that was open-faced when i scanned it (so it shows two pages). I want to somehow split each individual page from one page into two pages in acrobat. There is the crop utility, but it only crops the one page and deletes everything else. I need a split functionality on a per page level. Is this possible without have to scan each individual page and taking twice as long?

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009

You can crop the file twice, once keeping the left side and once keeping the right side.

Then you will have two PDF files: one with the odd numbered pages and the other with the even numbered pages.

Now you will need to combine the two. You can do this manually by dragging the pages from one file to the other, but if you have long files you might want to consider my Combine Even-Odd Pages script (http://try67.blogspot.com/2008/12/acrobat-combine-even-odd-pages.html).

If you're interested in it, con

...

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Community Expert ,
May 28, 2009 May 28, 2009

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You can crop the file twice, once keeping the left side and once keeping the right side.

Then you will have two PDF files: one with the odd numbered pages and the other with the even numbered pages.

Now you will need to combine the two. You can do this manually by dragging the pages from one file to the other, but if you have long files you might want to consider my Combine Even-Odd Pages script (http://try67.blogspot.com/2008/12/acrobat-combine-even-odd-pages.html).

If you're interested in it, contact me by email or a PM.

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New Here ,
Jun 11, 2009 Jun 11, 2009

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Hi dsmallz, I have the same problem. Were you able to find a bit more "automated" way than cropping each page manually? I have quite a big file scanned in this way - it would take ages to crop all the pages manually.

Thanks for the info.

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New Here ,
Jun 11, 2009 Jun 11, 2009

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I didn't find anything really except for smaller files I could just drag and drop, but bigger files I don't do that. Someone offered me a program, but I didn't think the cost was worth it.

 

Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:13:23 -0600

From: forums@adobe.com

To: [Moderator deleted private information. Please do not post private information like e-mails and phone numbers]

Subject: Ability to split a scanned book that has two pages per scan

 

Hi dsmallz, I have the same problem. Were you able to find a bit more "automated" way than cropping each page manually? I have quite a big file scanned in this way - it would take ages to crop all the pages manually.

Thanks for the info.

>

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New Here ,
Jun 11, 2009 Jun 11, 2009

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OK, thanks for your quick answer. Regards, Radek.

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LEGEND ,
Jun 11, 2009 Jun 11, 2009

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You can also do the crop and save for the 2 parts, then put them back together with odd in front of the even section. Then simply write a JavaScript to change the page order. I am pretty sure this can be done, but you might have to ask in the scripting forum about how to write such a script.

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New Here ,
Jun 11, 2009 Jun 11, 2009

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Thanks Bill@VT. I am doing it this way but it takes time... Thanks for advise. Regards, Radek.

Best regards,

Radek

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LEGEND ,
Sep 16, 2009 Sep 16, 2009

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Try the script that was posted in the second post. I didn't see most of these posts when I answered and do not know where the order of posts came from. Anyway, looks like you might have a solution. If it works, please post that information for the rest of us. It also helps to acknowledge the help from folks like try67 who provided the script posting.

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 20, 2009 Aug 20, 2009

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This method isn't completely automated but I think it's easy and quick.

1. With your original PDF opened use the export > images command to export all your pages to a new directory.

2. Go to that directory and copy all the files and paste in the same directory.  Vista will rename the copy to "??? - Copy" but the key is the files will be in order. If you have WinXP you may have to copy the files twice because I think XP will put "Copy" first in the file name.

3. Select all the files, right click on them and select "Combine supported files in Acrobat..".  Now you have one PDF with each page duplicated back to back.

4. Use the crop tool to crop the left side of all the odd pages.

5. Use the crop tool again to crop all the even pages.

Now you should have one PDF the way you want it!

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New Here ,
Aug 20, 2009 Aug 20, 2009

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Thanks SaintPablo for your advice.

Radek

Best regards,

Radek

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New Here ,
Sep 16, 2009 Sep 16, 2009

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Can you explain in more detail how this might work in Windows XP?  I tried it but the files are renamed copy of ***  and copy (2) of ***.

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New Here ,
Sep 10, 2010 Sep 10, 2010

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A much easier way is to print the PDF to a PDF, and select to split large pages in the page handling part of the print options.

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New Here ,
Oct 19, 2010 Oct 19, 2010

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Hi -  I tried Chrystal's suggestion, ie., print the pdf as a pdf, and select "split large pages".  The problem: there was no option to "split large pages"...  These were the options under page handling:

None

Fit to printable

Shrink to printable

Tile large pages

Tile all pages

Multiple pages per sheet

Booklet Printing

It seemed like "tile all pages" or "tile large pages" might be the solution, but I couldn't figure out any settings that would work.  Ideas?

Thanks

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New Here ,
Dec 19, 2010 Dec 19, 2010

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I have a 600 page book scanned in the two page manner you described. (It was an old book that is no longer in print and can't be purchased, so I borrowed my friend's copy to scan.) Following is what worked for me. I will try to give step by step instructions for a novice, so please understand that if you are an advanced user, it is not my intention to insult your intelligence. There are probably better ways to do this. This is the kind of instructions that I appreciate for myself.

Now, let's try it:

1. First, copy your original scanned book file to another folder on your computer and use this copy to experiment with. Then if there is a problem or if something goes awry, you will still have your original scan.

2. Open your scanned book in Adobe (I am using Adobe 9.0 on a 64 bit Win 7 machine) and click on the "Pages" icon on the upper left of the black screen.

3. Click on the first page of your scanned book, then press and hold the "Shift" key on your keyboard and scroll to the last page of your book in the left pane and click it. This will select all the pages.

4. Now that all the pages are selected, click on the little "gear" icon that is located at the top of the pane above the selected pages and then select "Crop Pages" from the menu. From the dialog box that appears, experiment with entering measurements in the top, bottom left and right boxes until the image is centered and will split evenly at the center of the page break on the scanned book. (When I scanned my book, I aligned the left page with edge of the scanner with each scan, and the result was that the center of the scanned book was not the same as with the center of the scanned image since the scanner bed was a little larger than the book layed face down, thus resulting in the necessity to crop the image to make the center of the book even with the center of the image to be split.) As you enter different measurements in the boxes, you can see a preview of the results on the image. It might be necessary to "grab" the "Crop Pages" dialog box and move it to another area of your computer screen so you can see the scanned image. When you have the image cropped to your satisfaction, click "Ok".

5. Now we must set up the printer dialog to correctly print your book to an Adobe file. (Not on paper) (Note: When you are finished printing your book to the new Adobe file, it might be necessary to go back and change all your print settings to their original status.)

6. On the very top of your screen on the left side, click "File" and from the resulting menu, choose "Print Setup". From this dialog, click on the little downward pointing triangle to the right of the printer name that is highlighted. Click on "Adobe PDF"

7. Before closing the "Printer Setup" dialog box, click on the small downward pointing triangle in the highlighted box next to the "Size" setting. About halfway down the list of various paper sizes, click on "Half-sheet Letter", then to the right in the Orientation area, click the radio button for "Landscape" and then click "Ok".

8. We are now ready to print to an Adobe PDF file which will literally split your two pages per sheet book into a one page per sheet book. From the same "File" menu as before, click on "Print".

9. About 2/3 down the"Print" dialog box, click on the highlighted bar next to "Page Scaling" and then click on "Tile all pages" from the displayed menu. Note: The preview image shown on the right side of the "Print " dialog box should now show you an image of just where the pages will be split. (Reminder: When you are finished printing your book to the new Adobe file, it might be necessary to go back and change all your print settings to their original status.)

10. You are now ready to print your book to a PDF file with individual pages. Click on "Ok" to print your file. From that you can print a hard copy or whatever.

11. Hope this works as well for you as it did for me.

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New Here ,
Dec 19, 2010 Dec 19, 2010

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Thanks IBFamily for taking the time to share this.

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LEGEND ,
Dec 19, 2010 Dec 19, 2010

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I tried the tile printing in AA9 and it worked like a charm.I had to select cut marks. When I printed, the pages were smaller. So I cropped all odd pages and then all even pages to fit the page. I then printed to a new PDF with Fit to Printable Area Selected and paper selected to be letter paper. You may have to play with this a bit for it to work correctly, but seems to do the job relatively quickly. I would suggest saving a few pages of what you are working on to a new file and playing with that until you get what you want. Neat idea. There are probably other ways to do the job also, but this one works with the TILING! Thanks for the hint.

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New Here ,
Dec 20, 2010 Dec 20, 2010

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Great, Bill@VT, I am so pleased that you found a way to make it work for you!

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New Here ,
Dec 20, 2010 Dec 20, 2010

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RadekU, you are welcome. This was the first post I've ever made to a forum, and I was hoping that it might be helpful to someone. Actually, I want to give credit to all the other posts before mine, because I picked up clues from their suggestions and then figured out what would work for me. So thanks to each of you who posted previously. This is a group effort.

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LEGEND ,
Dec 20, 2010 Dec 20, 2010

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That is why the forum works. Folks like us hang out (sometimes too much) and glean ideas from what others post, enabling us to provide useful suggestions when needed. Yours worked like a charm. I have needed it in the past, but never noted the tiling aspect. It takes some playing with, but does the job. I could not find any equivalent for processing in preflight. Thanks again. Bill

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New Here ,
Apr 21, 2021 Apr 21, 2021

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Your awesome answer is still helping people 11 years later!

 

Thank you! 

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Guest
Dec 20, 2010 Dec 20, 2010

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How do I send all the replies of this thread (such as the one below) by email  from this forum after the fact ?

---------

3 posts since
Dec 19, 2010

Currently Being Moderated
13. Dec 19, 2010 2:56 PM in response to: dsmallz
Re: Ability to split a scanned book that has two  pages per scan

I have a 600 page book  scanned in the two page manner you described. (It was an old book that is no  longer in print and can't be purchased, so I borrowed my friend's copy to scan.)  Following is what worked for me. I will try to give step by step instructions  for a novice, so please understand that if you are an advanced user, it is not  my intention to insult your intelligence. There are probably better ways to do  this. This is the kind of instructions that I appreciate for myself.

Now, let's try it:

1. First, copy your  original scanned book file to another folder on your computer and use this copy  to experiment with. Then if there is a problem or if something goes awry, you  will still have your original scan.

2. Open your scanned book  in Adobe (I am using Adobe 9.0 on a 64 bit Win 7 machine) and click on the  "Pages" icon on the upper left of the black screen.

3. Click on the first page  of your scanned book, then press and hold the "Shift" key on your keyboard and  scroll to the last page of your book in the left pane and click it. This will  select all the pages.

4. Now that all the pages  are selected, click on the little "gear" icon that is located at the top of the  pane above the selected pages and then select "Crop Pages" from the menu. From  the dialog box that appears, experiment with entering measurements in the top,  bottom left and right boxes until the image is centered and will split evenly at  the center of the page break on the scanned book. (When I scanned my book, I  aligned the left page with edge of the scanner with each scan, and the result  was that the center of the scanned book was not the same as with the center of  the scanned image since the scanner bed was a little larger than the book layed  face down, thus resulting in the necessity to crop the image to make the center  of the book even with the center of the image to be split.) As you enter  different measurements in the boxes, you can see a preview of the results on the  image. It might be necessary to "grab" the "Crop Pages" dialog box and move it  to another area of your computer screen so you can see the scanned image. When  you have the image cropped to your satisfaction, click "Ok".

5. Now we must set up the  printer dialog to correctly print your book to an Adobe file. (Not on  paper) (Note: When you are finished printing your book to the new Adobe  file, it might be necessary to go back and change all your print settings to  their original status.)

6. On the very top of your  screen on the left side, click "File" and from the resulting menu, choose "Print  Setup". From this dialog, click on the little downward pointing triangle to the  right of the printer name that is highlighted. Click on "Adobe PDF"

7. Before closing the  "Printer Setup" dialog box, click on the small downward pointing triangle in the  highlighted box next to the "Size" setting. About halfway down the list of  various paper sizes, click on "Half-sheet Letter", then to the right in the  Orientation area, click the radio button for "Landscape" and then click  "Ok".

8. We are now ready to  print to an Adobe PDF file which will literally split your two pages per sheet  book into a one page per sheet book. From the same "File" menu as before, click  on "Print".

9. About 2/3 down  the"Print" dialog box, click on the highlighted bar next to "Page Scaling" and  then click on "Tile all pages" from the displayed menu. Note: The preview image  shown on the right side of the "Print " dialog box should now show you an image  of just where the pages will be split. (Reminder: When you are finished printing  your book to the new Adobe file, it might be necessary to go back and change all  your print settings to their original status.)

10. You are now ready to  print your book to a PDF file with individual pages. Click on "Ok" to print your  file. From that you can print a hard copy or whatever.

11. Hope this works as well  for you as it did for me.

Contributor 6,903 posts since
Aug 11,  2002
Currently Being Moderated
15. Dec 19,  2010 6:42 PM in response to: RadekU
Re: Ability to split a scanned book that has two  pages per scan

I tried the tile printing in AA9 and it worked like a charm.I had to select  cut marks. When I printed, the pages were smaller. So I cropped all odd pages  and then all even pages to fit the page. I then printed to a new PDF with Fit to  Printable Area Selected and paper selected to be letter paper. You may have to  play with this a bit for it to work correctly, but seems to do the job  relatively quickly. I would suggest saving a few pages of what you are working  on to a new file and playing with that until you get what you want. Neat idea.  There are probably other ways to do the job also, but this one works with the  TILING! Thanks for the hint.

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2011 Jan 18, 2011

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I'm afraid this did not work for me. While I have a similar setup - Windows 7, 64-bit and Acrobat Pro 9, your instructions fell apart at step 7 -

7. Before closing the "Printer Setup" dialog box, click on the small downward pointing triangle in the highlighted box next to the "Size" setting. About halfway down the list of various paper sizes, click on "Half-sheet Letter", then to the right in the Orientation area, click the radio button for "Landscape" and then click "Ok".

I don't have "Half-sheet Letter" listed. Any ideas?

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2011 Jan 18, 2011

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I just found a solution (I used to have a script that would do this on an older version of Acrobat). Here's the link:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Web_Development/Document_Imaging/Adobe_Acrobat/Q_24272796.html?sfQue...

It's best if you download (not copy a paste) the SplitPages.js.txt file that is listed and make sure you follow the instructions about the JavaScript settings under Preferences. Hope this helps others!

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2011 Jan 18, 2011

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Sounds great.  Only, the link takes us to an experts' exchange website that is behind a pay wall.  We'd be grateful to know what the solution is.  Thanks1

Jon

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2011 Jan 18, 2011

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Hello Jon and Clueless,

My name is Paul. I think I might have a second way to do this: In step 7, instead of selecting "Half-sheet Letter" choose "Letter". Then when you move to step 9, in the "Tile scale" box, change the number from 100% to a higher number. 130% works in my case, but a number higher or lower might work better for you. It will depend upon the actual size of your cropped PDF document. The object is to watch the preview to show you where it will split the page. In my case it shows an 11" x 17" page, but you must consider that this will be split into two 8.5" x 11" sheets.

Try it and let me know how it works.

Paul

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