pdfMachine : AI File Naming

Name new PDFs after the content of their first page. Uses one AI credit per document.

Printed PDFs are usually named after the program or web page they came from, which tells you nothing about what is inside. With AI filenaming, pdfMachine reads the first page and names the file after its content, so the name is meaningful before you have even opened it.

For example:

  • You print an invoice from your email or a web shop. Instead of 'Order confirmation.pdf' or 'Untitled.pdf', the file is saved as 'Acme Supplies invoice 10234 March 2026'.
  • You print a batch of letters, quotes and contracts during the day. Each one is named after its sender and subject, so you can find the right document later by searching your folder rather than opening each file to see what it is.
  • You print a web page. Instead of the page's browser title, which is often a marketing slogan or a truncated URL, the file is named after what the page is actually about.

How it works

  1. You print a document to pdfMachine as usual.
  2. pdfMachine extracts the text of the first page only of the new PDF. Only the first few thousand characters are used.
  3. That text is sent over an encrypted (https) connection to the broadgun.com server, together with your pdfMachine licence details.
  4. The broadgun.com server passes the text to Google's AI, which suggests a short, descriptive filename in the language the document is written in.
  5. pdfMachine tidies the suggestion so that it is a valid Windows filename and renames the PDF before anything else sees it. The Save As window, the viewer title and the next action all use the new name.

A small progress window is shown while the server is being asked; the request normally takes a few seconds. If the first page has no text (for example a scanned image without OCR), if the server cannot be reached or if you cancel, the PDF keeps the name it would otherwise have had. AI filenaming is also skipped when pdfMachine has already been given an exact output filename, for example by a command line conversion.

What is sent to the server

Only the text of the first page is sent. The rest of the document, and the PDF itself, stay on your computer. Nothing is sent at all when the option is switched off. If a document should not leave your computer even in this limited form, turn the option off for that printer, or set up a second pdfMachine printer with the option off and print sensitive documents to that one.

AI Powered Works on Newly Created PDFs

AI credits

Each document named this way uses one AI credit from your pdfMachine account. The number of credits you have left is shown on the AI filenaming options page; it is updated after every call, so it reads "not yet known" until the first document has been named. When the account runs out of credits, pdfMachine opens a web page explaining how to top up. Until then the PDFs simply keep their normal names, so nothing is lost.

Options

AI File Naming can be turned on or off in the pdfMachine options, under "Apply On Print".

AI filenaming Turns the feature on or off for this printer. In an unregistered copy of pdfMachine the box cannot be ticked.
Edit AI filename prompt The "prompt" is the instruction sent to the AI along with the page text. pdfMachine has a built-in prompt that asks for three to eight plain words in the document's language, preferring the things a person would search for later: document type, sender, subject, reference or invoice number and date. You can replace it with your own, for example to always start the name with the sender, to use a particular language, or to include a department code.

Put {text} where the page text should go; if it is absent the text is added at the end. Put {lang} where you want the two-letter code of the pdfMachine user interface language. The prompt may be up to 1000 bytes long. Reset to default returns to the built-in prompt; saving the unchanged default stores nothing, so any later improvements to the built-in prompt apply automatically.
AI credits remaining The credit balance as last reported by the server. See AI credits.

Need to process more? You can top up at any time by purchasing extra credits, contact Jenny Ballard <jenny@broadgun.com>

An active internet connection is required, as the document is analysed by a cloud AI service.

Don't have pdfMachine yet? Learn more about pdfMachine or download a free trial.

Notes

  • Characters that are not allowed in Windows filenames are removed from the suggestion and very long suggestions are shortened. Names that Windows reserves, such as "CON" or "PRN", are adjusted.
  • AI filenaming runs before the next action, so a "Launch default email client" or "Execute the command line" next action receives the new name.
  • The name is chosen from the document's first page, so documents whose first page is a blank cover sheet or a fax header may get a less useful name. Consider putting the important information on the first page, or leave the option off for that printer.
  • The setting is separate for each pdfMachine printer. See multiple pdfMachines with different options.