Insert blank page into a large PDF file

Question

I've got a very big PDF file with over 10,000 pages.
I need to insert a blank page after every 3rd page in this file.

Is there a way to do this in Acrobat DC? Or PostScript it in a special way?

Answer 1

You can create an Action in DC with the Action wizard.

The Action can use JavaScript to add a blank page after every 3 pages.

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1. In the Tools pane, select Action Wizard.

2. Under Action wizard, click Create New Action. The action will run on the currently open document by default.

3. In the Create New Action dialog, on the left side under "Choose tools to add", click "More Tools".

4. Under More Tools, select "Execute JavaScript" and click the "Add" button in the center.

5. On the right side, under Execute JavaScript, click Specify Settings to open the script window.

6. Delete the contents of the script window.

7. Add the following script:

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var start = 3; // start at page 3
var jump = 3;  // jump every 3 pages

for (var i=start; i<this.numPages+1; i=i+jump) { // Loop until past the end of the file
this.newPage(i); // Inject the blank page after the current page
i++;             // Advance a page to account for the one we just added
}

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8. Click OK to close the script window.

9. Uncheck the "prompt user" checkbox.

10. Click "Save" to save your Action.

11.Add a name like "Add blank pages" and click save.

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To run the Action:

1. Open the document in which you want to add blank pages.

2. Under Tools, select Action Wizard to show the list of defined Actions.

3. Locate your new "Add blank pages" Action and click on it.

4. Click Start to run the Action.

The Action will run quickly and silently and show "Completed" when it is done.

The above script does not Save the file after the pages are added.

Open the Pages panel on the left to ensure your blank pages are in the right place.

Answer 2

I do not have Acrobat DC... merely because I much prefer Acrobat X. And Adobe won't allow DC and X to exist on the same drive. So.. this answer is written based upon Acrobat X... it should translate to Acrobat DC, but menu locations/options may be titled differently.

Open the PDF...

View > Tools > Pages...

More Insert Options >

Insert Blank Page

You would need to do this for each page you want to insert. So offhand it's not ideal, I realize. Maybe you can comma separate multiple pages in DC? (you can't in X). I'd imagine this could be scripted via javascript, but that's kind of out of my wheelhouse.

There is a keyboard shortcut in Acrobat X, so that would possibly speed up the process a bit Shift+Command/Ctrl+Q -- seems a really odd place to use the Q key in a command, but that's what's there. On the Mac, the shortcut implements the OS Log Out feature so it's pointless to use, but it could be edited to something other than the Q.

If you have multiple large PDFs, you can use the Action Wizard to configure an action. In Acrobat X, you'd still have to add a step for each blank insertion in the action. I don't know if Actions have improved in DC.