In a time where more and more tasks happen directly in the web and media suggests the "paperless office" to be within reach, digital documents take on an important role. The PDF format is one very interesting standard to work with since PDF documents offer an interesting range of features: * High compatibility with a huge range of devices and operating systems * Preservation of the documents optical appearance * Important documents can be digitally signed * Can be printed and signed manually (e. g. for contracts) * Offline storage of downloaded documents is easy Many libraries exist that allow the creation of PDF documents. Unfortunately most are somehow limited in functionality, require good programming skills or come with high licensing cost. On the other hand an immensly powerful solution to PDF creation under a free license exists with LaTeX. This inspired us at dkd to write an Open Source service to make the power of LaTeX available to web applications via a REST interface. "Indoctrinatr" is a powerful toolkit that enables developers to easily create LaTeX templates that can be accessed via web- or REST-interface and thus create data driven PDF documents with ease. This talk will give a very short introduction to LaTeX and why it is a great choice for PDF creation. By means of different real world examples the advantages of a document generation service will be demonstrated. Within the range of examples will be: * Generation of customised contracts via the web-interface * Generation of data driven graphics within a PDF * Generation of custom address labels with generated barcodes via a TYPO3 extension using the REST-interface

1. Indoctrinatr
PDF generation service
Søren Schaffstein CEO, dkd Internet Service GmbH

2. A few words about myself
Søren Schaffstein, CEO of dkd Internet Service GmbH
soeren.schaffstein@dkd.de

9. The PDF format

10. »Portable Document Format
(PDF) is a file format used to
present documents in a manner
independent of application
software, hardware and operating
systems.«
–Wikipedia

11. PDF format – an overview
• Encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document
• Includes
• text
• fonts
• graphics
• and other information needed to display it
• Is an open standard (ISO 32000-1:2008)
• Can be digitally signed
• Employs various standardised subsets

12. PDF standardised subsets
• PDF/X "PDF for Exchange” – Graphic technology: Prepress digital data
exchange
• PDF/A "PDF for Archive" – Document management: Electronic document
file format for long-term preservation
• And more

13. PDF is platform independent

14. PDF is great for:
• Documents that should be printed.
• Documents that should have a specific appearance.
• Documents that should be archived.

15. Creating a PDF

16. Different ways to create a PDF.
• Scan to PDF
• PDF printer driver
• “Save as PDF” from within an application
• Using a software library

17. LaTeX

20. pronounced: /ˈlɑːtɛk/ LAH-tek

21. LaTeX – A document
preparation system
LaTeX is a high-quality typesetting system; it includes features designed for
the production of technical and scientific documentation.
!
– www.latex-project.org

23. Evolution

24. What you probably already know.
• LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication
of scientific documents.
• LaTeX is available as free software.
• Allows very easy generation of
• Table of contents
• Page numbering
• Document headers and footers
• Index of important terms in your document
• LaTeX documents are plain text, allowing
• Easy use of your favourite VCS
• Easy collaboration on documents
• Small file sizes
• LaTeX comes with a package system – just like TYPO3 – currently offering
approx. 4,800 additional packages.

25. What else can LaTeX do for you?
• Links and cross-references
• PDF bookmarks
• Bibliography
• Tables spanning multiple pages
• Set PDF metadata
• Generation of barcodes, QR codes, etc.
• Custom styles for your content
• Automatic generation of graphics

26. x
f(x)
Sekante
P
f(x0)
x0
Q
f(x0 + ") f(x0)
x0 +
f(x0 + )

27. p2
p3 p p 4 5
p6
p7
p8
p9
p10
p11 p12 p13
p14
p20
p19
p18
p16
p15
p17
p21
p22
p23
p24 p p26 p25 27 p28
p29
p30
p31
p32
p33
p34
p35
p36
p37
p38
p39
p40
p41 p42 p43 p44 p45
p46
p47
p48
p59
p50
p49
p57
p56
p55
p54
p52
p51
p53
p58
p60
p61
p62
p63
p64
p65 p p68 p67 p66 p 69 70 p71
p72
p73
p74
p75
p76
p77
p78
p79
p80
p81
p82
p83
p84
p85
p86
p87
p4 p5
p1

29. Brilliant!
Let’s do everything with LaTeX now.

30. A very short introduction
into LaTeX

31. Let’s write some LaTeX.
Let us start with a very simple
paragraph.
Can we have something bold?
How about a little bullet list?
• red
• green
• blue
Can I have a table, please.
Let us start with a very
simple paragraph.
Can we have something
textbf{bold}?
How about a little bullet
list?!
begin{itemize}!
! item red!
! item green!
! item blue!
end{itemize}
Sorry. Not today.

32. How to get a PDF from LaTeX?

33. Challenging Path

34. Fear not!

35. Indoctrinatr
PDF generation service

36. How does Indoctrinatr work?
Web-Interface
REST-Interface

40. A beautiful up-to-date contract.

43. A beautiful diagram.

48. Indoctrinatr template packs.
• Simple ZIP container
• Containing configuration
• Templates
• All required assets

49. Examples
Tested under real world conditions. ;)

56. ACO Drain Design – datasheets

57. A catalogue challenge
Approximately 15,000 products
Approximately 60 languages

58. ACO Haustechnik – datasheets

59. ACO Haustechnik – datasheets
• Headers and Footers
• Optional info boxes
• 3 column layout
• Optional sections
• Tables spanning multiple pages
• Links to product website
• Up-to-date data from PIM

60. formhandler finisher
Using the REST-interface to send form data.

63. Droplet
Using the REST-interface to send data.

65. Roadmap
SaaS
Indoctrinatr-Tools
Parser Pipeline
User Management

66. ?
Questions

67. Thanks a lot!
To the Indoctrinatr team at dkd!

68. Thank you
for listening

69. List of References
“Indoctrinatr – PDF generation service”
Autor: Søren Schaffstein
Datum: 2014-10-13
List of References
Images
[1] ACO Severin Ahlmann GmbH Co. KG. ACO. The future of
drainage.
[2] ACO Severin Ahlmann GmbH Co. KG. Grating.
[3] Media Loot. Location Icon. URL: http://medialoot.com/item/
free-vector-map-location-pins/.
[4] Søren Schaffstein. Blue Wave.
[5] Søren Schaffstein. Blurred Flower.
[6] Søren Schaffstein. Challenging Path.
[7] Søren Schaffstein. Climbing a rock.
[8] Søren Schaffstein. dkd Pizza.
[9] Søren Schaffstein. Donut and LEGO Simpsons.
[10] Søren Schaffstein. Green Butterfly.
[11] Søren Schaffstein. Illuminated Trishaw.
[12] Søren Schaffstein. Line of Tags.
[13] Søren Schaffstein. On top of the Rock.
[14] Søren Schaffstein. Protected Place.
[15] Søren Schaffstein. Roadmap.
[16] Søren Schaffstein and Simone Schaffstein. Cactus Ice Cream Cone.
[17] taymtaym. Girl in Latex Suit. URL: https://www.flickr.com/
photos/taymtaym/13663386063.
[18] texample.net. LaTeX example graphics. URL: http://www.texample.
net.
All trademarks, trade names, product names and logos appearing in
this presentation are the property of their respective owners, including
in some instances dkd. Any rights not expressly granted herein are
reserved.
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