Skavio File Toolbox: organize PDFs before downstream processing
Prepare PDFs around complete business records—not simply the order in which attachments arrived. Separate unrelated documents, keep multi-page records together and merge only an intentionally ordered package. Skavio File Toolbox’s reviewed public interface advertises PDF merging. Splitting is discussed below as a general preparation step, not a verified File Toolbox feature.
1. Preserve the originals and map the pages
Keep unchanged source files and work on copies. Before reorganizing anything, record which pages belong to each business document. Use the PDF’s actual page positions in this map rather than relying only on printed page labels. For example, an illustrative eight-page scan might contain one invoice on pages 1–3, a second invoice on pages 4–5 and an unrelated delivery note on pages 6–8. Treat these as three records, even though they arrived in one file.
- Record the original filename and total page count.
- Identify each document’s first and last source page.
- Keep signed originals untouched; do not assume a reorganized copy retains the original signature or seal.
2. Split at document boundaries—not arbitrary page counts
Page extraction creates a new document from selected pages. Use an approved extraction workflow when unrelated records share a source file, but keep continuation tables, totals pages and relevant supporting pages with the record they explain. File Toolbox’s advertised merge capability does not establish support for splitting. If extraction is necessary, use a workflow whose support is confirmed, or confirm current File Toolbox functionality before proceeding. This guide does not prescribe unverified split controls or page-range syntax.
- Keep all pages of a multi-page invoice together.
- Check blank-looking pages before deciding to exclude them.
- Give each prepared file a clear name and retain its original source-page range.
3. Merge only when one ordered package is the intended output
Merging creates one sequential PDF. It does not remove the need to identify individual records: a package containing an order, delivery note and invoice still contains three distinct records after they are combined. The reviewed File Toolbox public page invites users to select PDFs to merge. That supports the advertised capability, but the research did not include a successfully completed merge job. Before submitting a package, write down the intended file and page order. Check the current interface rather than assuming how ordering works, then verify the downloaded result.
- Define the sequence before uploading.
- Keep unrelated records separate when the receiving process expects one document per input.
- Retain a map showing where each source file should appear in the merged package.
4. Review every output page—and keep OCR separate
Open the resulting files and compare every page against the source map. Check page count, sequence, orientation and readability, including small print and tables that continue across pages. Inspect any required bookmarks, annotations, forms or attachments rather than assuming they survived the operation. Splitting and merging organize pages; they should not be presented as making scanned text searchable. OCR is a separate operation that recognizes text in page images. A successful download alone does not establish that a document is complete or ready for downstream processing.
- Confirm that no required page is missing or duplicated.
- Check the first and last page of each record, especially around document boundaries.
- If searchable text is required, test that requirement separately from visual review.
5. Hand off the page map with the prepared files
Make the handoff traceable. For each output, record its filename, original source filename, source-page range and any unresolved issue. For a merged package, include both the original references and the corresponding output-page positions. Keep files with missing or unreadable pages out of the approved handoff until someone resolves the problem. Preparation is complete when the next reviewer can identify each record, check its completeness and trace it back to the unchanged source—not merely when several attachments have become one PDF.
- Include the output filename, source references and expected page count.
- Note missing pages, unreadable content or uncertain document boundaries explicitly.
- Hand reviewed outputs onward deliberately; do not assume merging triggers further processing.