Batch Pipeline
Chain PDF operations into one repeatable workflow
Multi-step pipelines that combine find/replace, redact, optimize, sign, encrypt, PDF/A, and more. Drag to reorder, configure each step, save the config, run the whole workflow against hundreds of files in one click.
Download Complimentary TrialThe workflow problem
Why running operations one at a time doesn't scale past the first week
A real document workflow is rarely one operation. Compliance production is redact → Bates → watermark → encrypt. Client deliverable preparation is find/replace → form-fill → sign. Archive ingestion is split → redact → optimize → PDF/A. Each of these is three or four operations against the same file set, and running them one at a time means: configure operation 1, choose an output folder, execute, point operation 2 at the operation-1 output, configure, execute, repeat. Three iterations of the same setup overhead. Three opportunities to point at the wrong folder.
The Batch Pipeline collapses this into one configuration. You define the steps once, save the config, and every time the workflow has to run, it's load files → execute. Each step's output flows automatically into the next step's input. The intermediate state is invisible. The operation log captures the entire chain in one place. The next time the same workflow runs, the saved config loads with one click.
Pipeline mechanics
Sequential steps, output-feeds-input, fail-isolated
Sequential execution
Each step runs in turn against every file, then hands its output to the next step. The intermediate output of step 1 is the input of step 2; step 2's output is the input of step 3. No manual "now move the files to the next operation's input folder" — the engine handles intermediate state through temp files internally.
Drag to reorder
The step list is a vertical drag-and-drop column. Add steps from the operation menu, drag them up or down to set the order, configure each step's settings independently. The config is editable until you commit to a run; once committed, the run uses the configuration in effect at execute time.
Save and load configs
Each pipeline configuration is a saved file containing the ordered step list and every step's settings. Load it later, copy it to another machine, send it to a teammate. Once a workflow is dialed in for a recurring task, the config is a reusable asset.
Fail-isolated steps
A file that fails one step doesn't block the rest of the batch. The error is logged, the file is dropped from the pipeline, and the remaining files continue through. After the run, the operation log surfaces exactly which files failed at which step — useful for retrying with adjusted parameters or accepting the failures as known issues.
Step ordering
Why the sequence is part of the design
Some operation pairs are commutative — the order doesn't matter. Most aren't. The pipeline doesn't enforce ordering rules; it makes the ordering explicit so you can think about it. A few examples:
WRONG: Sign → Watermark
Adding a watermark modifies the page content,
which invalidates the signature you just added.
RIGHT: Watermark → Sign
Watermark first; the signature signs the watermarked output.
Verifies cleanly downstream.
WRONG: Encrypt → Optimize
Optimization rewrites the file structurally and
may not work cleanly through the encryption layer.
RIGHT: Optimize → Encrypt
Optimize the plaintext, encrypt the optimized result.
Encryption is typically the last step in production pipelines.
WRONG: PDF/A convert → Optimize
Optimization can introduce features that break PDF/A conformance.
The output is no longer PDF/A-compliant.
RIGHT: Optimize → PDF/A convert
Optimize first to reduce size; then convert to PDF/A
with conformance-aware optimizations.The general rule of thumb: content-altering operations (find/replace, redact, image replace, watermark, Bates) come earlier; output-finalizing operations (sign, encrypt, PDF/A convert) come later. Rename is always last because it operates on the final output filenames.
Common pipeline shapes
Workflows that recur often enough to be worth saving
Compliance production
Redact → Bates Numbering → Watermark → Encrypt. Removes sensitive content, identifies every page, marks the protective-order designation, locks downstream permissions. The end-to-end discovery production workflow.
Client deliverable
Find/Replace → Form Fill → Optimize → Sign. Customizes a template per recipient, fills any standard fields, optimizes for email distribution, signs as the final step. The standard service-firm output flow.
Archive ingestion
Split → Redact → Optimize → PDF/A. Breaks oversize multi-doc scans into individual records, removes PII before long-term retention, optimizes for storage cost, converts to archival format. The records-management default.
Marketing rebrand
Image Replace → Find/Replace (text) → Optimize → Rename. Swaps logos across the library, updates company-name strings, optimizes for web, renames to the new naming convention. One pipeline replaces what used to be a three-week rebrand project.
Use Cases
Automate your entire PDF workflow
Weekly Compliance Run
A compliance team runs the same 4-step pipeline every Friday: redact personal data, optimize file sizes, digitally sign with the compliance certificate, convert to PDF/A. Saved config, one click, every week. The 4-hour Friday job becomes a 5-minute Friday job.
Client Deliverable Preparation
A consulting firm prepares 50 client reports per engagement: customize each report with client-specific find/replace, optimize for email, then sign. The pipeline handles all three steps for every file in the engagement folder automatically.
Records Department Intake
A records department processes incoming documents through a standard pipeline: split multi-page scans, redact sensitive headers, optimize for storage, convert to PDF/A for the archive. The pipeline runs unattended overnight against the day's incoming queue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use a pipeline instead of running operations one at a time?
A pipeline runs every step against every file as part of one job, with the output of each step automatically feeding into the next. Running operations one at a time means three or four passes over the same file set, three or four manual configurations of the output folder, three or four separate operation logs, and three or four chances to forget a step. The pipeline collapses that into one configuration, one execute, one log.
Why does step ordering matter?
Some operations invalidate the output of others. Adding a watermark or Bates number after a digital signature breaks the signature. Encrypting a document before signing it makes signing harder for the signer's tool to handle. Optimizing after PDF/A conversion can break PDF/A conformance. The pipeline doesn't enforce ordering rules but makes it explicit: you arrange the steps in the correct order, save the config, and run.
Can I save and share pipeline configurations?
Yes. Each pipeline is a saved configuration on disk — name, description, ordered list of steps, full config for each step. Load it on another machine, send it to a teammate, version it in source control. Once a pipeline is dialed in for a recurring workflow (compliance run, monthly invoice processing, weekly archive sync), it becomes a reusable asset.
What happens if one step fails for one file?
The failed file is logged with the specific error, and the rest of the batch continues normally. You don't lose 199 successful files because one file had a corrupted page. After the run, the operation log shows exactly which files failed and at which step — useful for retrying just the failures with adjusted parameters or skipping them entirely.
Which operations can chain in a pipeline?
All nine operation types: Find & Replace (text), Image Replace, Merge, Split, Form Fill, Redact, Digital Sign, Optimize, and PDF/A Conversion. Plus Rename as a final step that operates on the output filenames. Any combination, any order — the pipeline doesn't constrain which combinations make sense, that's a workflow-design decision.
Build it once. Run it every time.
Chain any operations into a repeatable, one-click pipeline. Complimentary 14-day trial.
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