[xep-support] Rendering DocBook sets as multiple documents

[Bob Stayton]

On Tue, Sep 09, 2003 at 10:37:09AM +1000, Kevin Yank wrote:
> Thanks to both Ken and Bob for their insights. I should have mentioned that
> I don't need a fully automated solution. This is an occasional, fully
> monitored process that must result in standard PostScript files destined for
> press.
> 
> Not having an intimate knowledge of the PostScript format (I generally
> convert them to PDF with Acrobat Distiller for viewing), I didn't know how
> easy it would be to split two documents out of a single file. Although I'm
> not opposed in principle to hand editing the PostScript files, I'll probably
> go in search of a tool that I can use to perform the document splitting in a
> less error-prone manner.

It is *really* easy.  You'll spend more time looking for
and testing a tool than just editing it by hand.
You don't have to understand all the Postscript, just
the key document structure comments that Adobe established
by convention to indicate page boundaries.

1.  Open the file in your favorite plain text editor.

2.  Copy the prolog to each new file.  The prolog is all
the lines from the first line to the PostScript comment
%%EndSetup.


%!PS-Adobe-3.0
...

%%EndSetup

3.  Each physical page begins with a comment like this:

%%Page: 1 1
...

%%Page: 2 2
...

%%Page: 3 3

etc.

Figure out which physical page starts your second volume, such as
54, then take all the lines from %%Page: 1 1 to the line
just above %%Page: 54 54 and append them to the first file.
Then take the line %%Page: 54 54 and the rest of the lines
and append them to the second file.  It's that easy.

Bob Stayton                                 400 Encinal Street
Publications Architect                      Santa Cruz, CA  95060
Technical Publications                      voice: (831) 427-7796
The SCO Group                               fax:   (831) 429-1887
                                            email: bobs at sco.com

-------------------
(*) To unsubscribe, send a message with words 'unsubscribe xep-support'
in the body of the message to majordomo at renderx.com from the address
you are subscribed from.
(*) By using the Service, you expressly agree to these Terms of Service http://www.renderx.com/tos.html