Split PDF by Specified Page

Split PDF by Specified Page

Splitting PDF files into two uneven parts is a typical request, as they often contain two different types of information, such as an order summary and a receipt. Robomotion can automate these scenarios, allowing users to create flows that split PDF files at any possible point.

What Split PDF by Specified Page can do

• Core.Flow.SubFlow Download Fixtures preps sample data, then Core.Programming.Function builds msg.default_pdf = global.get('$Home$') + '/templates/pdf-automation/split-pdf-by-specified-page/fixtures/sample.pdf'.
• Input Dialog titled Split a PDF into two parts, message Select a PDF file to split:, default msg.default_pdf -> msg.pdf_path.
• Input Dialog titled Split a PDF into two parts, message Split at page number:, default 3 -> msg.split_at_text.
• Validate (Core.Programming.Function, outputs: 2) — requires a .pdf path and integer n >= 1; extracts msg.directory, msg.stem, msg.split_at_page, and derives msg.pages_dir = <dir>/_pages_<stamp> and msg.split_output_dir = <dir>/split_parts_<stamp>; failure goes to Core.Flow.Stop.
• Core.FileSystem.Create (directory, continueOnError) on msg.pages_dir, then Robomotion.PDFBox.Split (optPerPage: 1, prefix p) bursts the source into msg.pages_dir.
• Core.FileSystem.List (optAbsolutePath: true, optSort: 'ascend') -> msg.page_files; plan halves (Core.Programming.Function, outputs: 2) requires >=2 pages and 1 <= n < count, slices into msg.first_paths / msg.second_paths, and computes msg.first_out = <split_dir>\<stem>-1.pdf and msg.second_out = <split_dir>\<stem>-2.pdf.
• Core.FileSystem.Create on msg.split_output_dir, then two Robomotion.PDFBox.Merge calls write msg.first_out and msg.second_out.
• Core.FileSystem.Delete cleans msg.pages_dir, then a Function builds msg.dialog_text and Core.Dialog.MessageBox titled Flow has been completed! shows the output directory.

Behind the scenes

• Splitting is done in two passes: burst to one file per page with Robomotion.PDFBox.Split, then merge the two halves with Robomotion.PDFBox.Merge. This keeps the split point a simple list.slice(0, n) / list.slice(n) decision driven by sorted filenames.
• Output filenames are <stem>-1.pdf / <stem>-2.pdf (with a hyphen, not an underscore) placed alongside the source in the timestamped split_parts_<stamp> directory so repeated runs never overwrite earlier output.
• If the chosen split page is at or past the last page, the Plan Halves validator routes to Core.Flow.Stop rather than producing an empty second half.