I need to reformat a text file into a PDF. Using Perl, I am modifying an existing PostScript template file based on what is in the text file. Sometimes this text file will be long enough to require a two page PDF.
Can I create a two page PDF file from one .ps file using GhostScript? If so, what tells GhostScript where the page break should occur?
Maybe I need to use two template files. One for a one page pdf and another for a two page PDF.
I would guess it depends on what's in your PostScript template. A PostScript file is a computer program, and page breaks are determined by the logic in the PostScript. If the two-page format is substantially the same as the one-page format, you could have your Perl script split the data up, then create two single-page files concatenated together. GhostScript should render that file correctly.
It's down to whatever is converting your text file to create appropriate PostScript commands to handle the page break.
A page break will happen if (and only if) your PostScript template invokes showpage.
PostScript doesn't directly have the concept of text flows or page breaks. The showpage operator renders the page to the device, clears the page and starts a new one. PS to PDF conversion will create a new page in the PDF on this operator. If you want to chop up a PostScript file into pages, psutils is a series of programs for manipulating PostScript files.