[pmwiki-users] PublishPDF beta released

[John Rankin]

http://www.pmwiki.org/wiki/Cookbook/PublishPDF

I have uploaded a beta release of the script library that 
turns wiki page collections into typeset pdf files, 
laid out for printing.

Patrick, can we have a go at getting this working with 
Cookbook:PublishPDF and PublishPDFSandpit pages? You 
will want to read the installation instructions, as it 
needs a *lot* of stuff.

Intended audience:
Any wiki where the writers and readers want to read 
selected content on paper as well as on screen.

Goal:
Aspire to produce print material that looks as if it 
came from a publishing system (ie better than a word 
processor).

Key features include:
- repurpose wiki markup for print output -- every page 
  carries a pdf icon

- pages from any page collection can be turned into a pdf
  -- including trails, search results, and calendars

- add a cover page and a table of contents

- readers can control the look of the output, eg whether 
  to format for single-sided or double-sided printing,
  via PDF options pages

- markup extensions enable enhanced control over page
  structure
  
  for example, list items can contain one or more
  sub-paragraphs

- includes a modified version of the pmwiki skin that
  works with the publishing library's search extension

For more information see
http://www.wikipublisher.org/wiki/index.php?n=Wikipublisher.BasicFeatures

Click the pdf icon to see what the results look like.

The wikipublisher.org site runs pmwiki 2.0.5 plus the 
wikipublisher library; it has no other local customisations.

The server-side scripts will be released later for those who 
want to install a complete solution locally, once the print 
dtd and associated xslt processing are more stable. In the 
mean time, the library points to the wikipublisher.org server.

Recipe-writers can take advantage of PublishPDF capabilities
by instructing pmwiki to produce alternate xml markup if
$format=='pdf'.

The key differences between this library and other PDF creation 
recipes is that:

- it works off the wiki markup, rather than the xhtml that
  pmwiki generates

- it typesets the content, it doesn't turn the Print view
  into a pdf

We are keen to get feedback and suggestions for improvements.
Comments and questions welcome.
-- 
JR
--
John Rankin