Using Automator to batch transform EPS files to PDF or JPG?

I am in the same boat wanting to batch convert .eps files into .pdf using the Quartz Filter in Preview.

I tried this in Tiger, but it appears that Preview is still not scriptable and .eps and .pdfs are still not listed in the Automator image formats, which I find very strange.

Preview in Leopard has several bugs which make this very awkward to do manually, not that that is a very effective use of my time, seeing I have 1000's of images I want to convert.

Please is there anyone who has tackled something similar or is more technically capable than me (not saying much) and would know how to go about this?

Thanks

Peter

Try this AppleScript

Thanks but these scripts require Classic/PPC and I am in Leopard on an Intel iMac.

Also they use the pstopdf routine which produces files at least twice as big as the Quartz filters used in Preview.

AppleScript is, for the most part, independant of the processor. It should run fine. I can't help you with the size issue however. Sorry.

I tried running them from the ScriptEditor but it requires MacGS PPC which obviously will not run on my machine.

I looked for alternative GhostScript clones but none seem suitable for Leopard.

O. OK. Let me try to come up with one.

Thanks,

I have been trying to get this to work within Automator:

I tried several methods of feeding files into the workflow with Finder selections:

1. *Get Selected Finder Items*

or

2. *Dispense Items Incrementally* (something I picked up from the Automator site, that is supposed to feed items one at a time).

Then I used Automator's *Watch Me Do*. With an opened .eps file in Preview I recorded:

+Press cmd s / Click the "Save" button / Press cmd w+

Finally used Loop to +Loop automatically+ 1000 times.

There are several problems:

a. It opens 2 copies of each file all at once

b. It interrupts some of the open files with incompleted saves

In the end all the files are opened twice and none are saved.

Try bringing this over the the AppleScript forum under Mac OS X Technologies. Someone there may have an idea of how to do it.

Thanks, I'll meet you over there. 🙂

Someone (not me) has created an automator workflow that does this, using a shell script that runs the "pstopdf" unix command. I just downloaded it and tested it on 10 .eps files. You will need to edit the first automator action in the workflow to find the eps files you want (by default it looks for all eps files on your computer), but once you do that, it works like a charm! Converted my eps files to pdf's. Of course, once they are pdf files, you can use automator to convert them to whatever format you want.

http://mad-sci.blogspot.com/2007/12/why-i-hate-computers.html

(link to the actual zip file containing the workflow below)
http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/~burkes/code/PDFworkflows.zip

Thanks dgalvan123,

I've DLed the link. 🙂

I also have a previous Automator workflow where I used an Applescript to convert the files using the Unix pstopdf.

As I explained I prefer the Quartz PDFContext for several reasons and that is still the way I'd like to convert. So I've got several pieces of homework to study now.

Peter

I stumbled on this thread while searching for a solution to the same problem (batch convert EPS to JPG).

Luckily, there is now a fantastic little freeware program called Dragoman that does this exact job perfectly. You can convert from a number of formats (including EPS, PSD, PDF, etc) to a whole bunch of formats. It can do batch conversions just fine.

You can download it here: http://creativebe.com/dragoman/

It does require Leopard or Snow Leopard.

Thanks Jamie - that program was just what I was looking for.