When you batch print to PDF by portfolio, PortfolioCenter name the file using the account number and the creation date. For long term archiving or uploading to a client vault, you would probably prefer to use the quarter end date rather than the creation date — especially since quarterly reports may be run or re-run many days after the quarter ends.
Manually renaming the PDF files after PortfolioCenter creates them is tedious and error-prone. What can you do if you’re not a programmer? Here’s a quick method for creating a batch file that will rename the reports generated by a PortfolioCenter batch print job.
- Create your batch print job and run a test to make sure your settings are correct and confirm the naming convention of the reports are “AccountNumber_Date.pdf”. PortfolioCenter formats the date as mmddyyyy (month, day, year).
NOTE: If the set you use for your Batch Print Job includes groups, I strongly recommend create a numbering system for your groups. If a portfolio or group does not have an account number, the PortfolioCenter will use internal ID instead. But this internal id makes it difficult to trouble shoot your reports.
- Run the Global report List of Portfolio Accounts global report on the set you ran the batch print job, making sure you include the Account Number. Save this report to a csv format.
- Open the csv file you just saved in a spreadsheet. (I’ve found Open Office Calc opens cleaner than Microsoft Excel.) Sort by account number and delete the heading rows.
- Format your spreadsheet so it contains the following columns in the following order:
| Column 1: | “Rename ” with a space after rename |
| Column 2: | the account number. (You may need to use Trim to remove extra spaces.) |
| Column 3: | the date as it appears in the file name with an underscore in front and .pdf with a space after the “f” (for example: _10072012.pdf ) |
| Column 4: | the account number |
| Column 5: | the date as you want it to appear in the file name with an underscore in front of the date and .pdf after it with no extra space (for example: _09302012.pdf) |
When you’re done, save the file as .csv file.
- Open the txt file in notepad or your favorite text editor, use search and replace to replace the commas with a space. Adjust any formatting errors if needed. Your file should look something like this:
[note]rename 0293_10072012.pdf 0293_09302012.pdf
rename 0316_10072012.pdf 0316_09302012.pdf
rename 0333_10072012.pdf 0333_09302012.pdf
rename 0339_10072012.pdf 0339_09302012.pdf[/note]
- Save and rename the file to a .bat or .cmd (for example: rename the file.txt to file.bat)
- Place this file into the directory with your finished reports.
- Double click on it and it should rename the files with the preferred date.
Next time you need it, update your client list, use a search and replace to change the creation date and the new quarter end date.
Resources:
Preparing your Data for Web Reporting
Creating and Using Report Profiles for Analytical PortfolioCenter Reports
Batch Printing Basics