Trying to print files in order

I have a problem where large batches of PDFs are being printed, but they print in a random order (I guess due to a combination of Acrobat and the Windows spooler processing things). I would like to try to use Print Distributor to print these files in the correct order, based on the filename. Is this possible?

By default they print in the order they arrive, in fact Print Distributor only ever handles one job at a time so there is no order.

Could you print to file based on the document name then manually reprint them in the correct order or were you looking for an automated solution.

We really need an automated solution, if it's possible. I have been toying with the scripts, saving the files out to a folder and then trying to print them in order, but the very fact you mention - that Print Distributor runs each file as a separate job - is making that approach impossible to use.

I guess the difficulty is knowing when the batch of prints is complete so we can sort and print them.

One option may be to just wait for a timeout, if we haven't received anything for 30 seconds then print the batch.

Alternatively is it possible for your software to send a special print at the end of the batch or mark the final print in some way so we know we have received them all.

I think a timeout may work - is there a simple way to set up the timer?

I'll look into it and get back to you.

It is looking a bit tricky however we can see the problem may be related to how Print Distributor is handling the jobs.

Can you run a test for us, can you pause the virtual printer then print your batch. Are the jobs in the paused printer ordered correctly or not?

No - if I print 10 PDFs, numbered 1 - 10, I get a random order, which this time was:

1,8,7,6,9,10,5,4,3,2

Well that rules out Print Distributor, unfortunately it looks like we can't do the timeout with the Script action so we don't have a solution for you.

Thanks anyway - I appreciate your time and help with this! You really go above and beyond to help users.