macOS Automator Save as PDF Service

[Cougarcat]

I'd like to create a Save as PDF service via Automator that'll allow me to batch-convert word documents. Is this possible?

I've created one via these instructions but it strips the formatting and comments out. It needs to do the same thing as the Save as PDF function in the print dialog.

 

[superscape]

Hmmm. That's a tricky one. One route might be AppleScript UI scripting, but it can be clunky and I'm not sure whether it plays nicely with Automator.

Alternatively you might look at OpenOffice and/or LibreOffice and see if you can do something on the command line as part of a "do shell script" action. Personally, that's the first thing I'd try in your position. Maybe something like this:

https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/12084/how-to-convert-documents-to-pdf-on-osx/

I should say that I've not tried either myself. I'd be interested to know how you get on.

Good luck!