%[Bates] macro missing from Bookmarks - Add Text

[Nemo]

The Bookmarks - Add Text function allows you to specify a macro such as page number or page label but it does not allow you to specify Bates number.

Can this be changed to allow specification of Bates number?

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, Nemo

Your requested prompted some lengthy discussion on this topic, While it may be possible, there are a few potential issues with it, and as such I cannot guarantee that we will be able to implement it. We have created a formal feature request on the matter for tracking purposes, while you cannot look this up yourself, you can ask here about updates on it in the future:
#5407: FR: Fetch existing "bates number" for new macro

Kind regards,

[Nemo]

A further thought on this.

As I understand it the general idea of page labels is that they should match the imprinted page number (or imprinted Bates number).

Of course the specification of the PDF format does not mandate how people should use page labels but itsn't that the general idea/general expectation? Typically a document will have imprinted numbers for the main run on pages starting with 1 (or 001) preceded by a table of contents and/or title page traditionally imprinted using Roman numerals, and the page labels would then be set up to be aligned to the imprinted page numbers.

If it is accepted that that is the idea/purpose of page labels, how about having an option in PDF X-Change Editor of "set page labels to bates numbers". That way you can get bates numbers into bookmarks without having to implement a new macro.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, Nemo

Unfortunately there is no generalized idea or expectation for how page numeration/labelling works. Among the countless fields of work and countless languages in which those exist, there is an astronomical number of possible uses. The closest thing to a general rule, is that in a given section, it is commonly expected that the "value" of the page numeration should increase as you get farther into said section.

Yes, in many legal systems, there is a more rigid ruling on how this should be done, and bates numbering takes the stage there, but technically "Bates numbering" is unrelated to the page number/label, and is instead simply a header that is automatically calculated based on an offset, multiplier, and physical page number (not logical page number, as used for page labels) value during placement.

Page labels on the other hand, are separate objects from headers/footers, they are calculated in much the same way as bates numbering, but have other possible values, such as Letter indicies, or Roman numerals. It is also only possible to have a single value for each page. They unfortunately do not, and cannot, reflect the bates numbering directly. Did you know it is possible to apply numerous different headers/footers, including bates numbering with different offsets, to a single page? Because of this, any logic we could attempt to implement that "assumes" only one header is in use could be quite incorrect, and would lead to complications.

Kind regards,

[Nemo]

Hi Daniel

I follow the point you are making - that Bates numbers have a number of uses and you could have more than one Bates number on a page.

However if you generate a TOC using the Output page numbers as Bates Numbers you always get one Bates Number only per page listed in the TOC. I don't know how exactly it decide which one to use but a brief test suggest top left has priority over top right, for example.

If PDF X-Change Editor can select one Bates number (out of potentially many on a page) to use as the page number for the purposes of the TOC there does not seem to be any conceptual difficulty in having an option to set page label to the same Bates number as would be used in a TOC.

Kind Regards

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, Nemo

A ticket has been made on this request as well now, though I cannot promise that it will be implemented at this time.

RT#5629: FR: Page-Range allow to use "Bates" numbering values

Kind regards,