PDF export (template customization)

Exporting a page or a book

To print a page to PDF, click on the page-icon in the page tools. This opens the export dialog field.

Select the export settings.

Mode:
- Page: Prints the page.
- Page with subpages: Prints the page and all its subpages. This option is only shown if the page has subpages.
- Page with linked pages: Prints the page and the pages that are linked directly from this page.
Template:
- StandardPDF: This prints the page or pages without a cover sheet (unless the template has been edited).
- StandardBookPDF: This adds a cover sheet to the PDF (unless the template has been edited).

By default, the template StandardPDF shows the wiki's logo (from the skin settings page). If there are no custom settings, the default BlueSpice logo is used.

Editing existing PDF templates

You can edit the existing standard PDF or Book PDF template directly in the wiki. In addition to the existing templates, you can add your own custom templates. When printing a page or book, users can choose between these templates.

In addition, each book can be associated with a particular template when it is printed from the Books page.

To edit an existing template:

Open the page MediaWiki:PDFCreator.
Select the template you want to edit. As an example, we select the StandardPDF template.
Open the page in edit mode. This shows you the current layout of each PDF element. You can click on any tab to switch between the template elements you want to customize.
Click the Help-button to see the available parameters you can add to each PDF layout section. The parameters with prefix "book" are metadata that are defined in books and will not have any effect on pages that are not associated with a book.

Template elements

Each template consists of the same elements:

Header

The page header of each PDF page. The basic structure is:

<div class="pdfcreator-runningheaderfix">
	<table>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<div class="pdfcreator-runningheader-logo">
					{{{logo}}}
				</div>
			</td>
			<td>
				<h1 class="title">{{{title}}}</h1>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</table>
</div>

Important!The class .pdfcreator-runningheaderfix is necessary to top-align the header on the page. It works in conjunction with the class-declaration in the "Styles" tab of the template. Both need to be modified together.

Content

The content layout. The basic structure is:

{{{content}}}

Footer

The page footer of each PDF page. The basic structure is:

<div class="pdfcreator-runningfooterfix">
	<table>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<span>{{int:pdfcreator-pdf-disclaimer}}</span>
			</td>
			<td>
				<span>{{int:pdfcreator-pdf-export-time}}:{{#time:d.m.Y|now}}</span>
			</td>
			<td>
				<span>{{int:pdfcreator-pdf-param-currentpagenumber-label}} </span>{{{currentpagenumber}}} 
				<span> {{int:pdfcreator-pdf-param-totalpagescount-label}} </span>{{{totalpagescount}}}
			</td>
		</tr>
	</table>
</div>

Important!The class .pdfcreator-runningfooterfix is necessary to top-align the header on the page. It works in conjunction with the class-declaration in the "Styles" tab of the template. Both need to be modified together.

Configuration

The wiki configuration allows to set a default template for the PDF Page export and a default cover background image for cover pages.

Default export template for pages

The default template is shown when users select an export template in "Page" mode. It is also used when clicking on the PDF link for the Content Droplet PDF Link .

Templates of type "Page" usually do not have a cover page defined.

Default cover background image

Admins can also set a default cover background image. It is applied whenever the document preface of the template contains the standard "intro"-wrapper:

<div class="pdfcreator-intro">
....
</div>

Note:If a book has a custom bookshelf-image set in its metadata, the custom bookshelf-image is used instead.

Adding a new template

Each PDF template is a subpage of the page MediaWiki:PDFCreator.

To create a new PDF template:

Go to the page MediaWiki:PDFCreator.
Add a subpage (for example from the menu of the wiki's New-button).
Enter the html-layout and parameters for each template element.
Save the new template.

It is now available as a selection when exporting pages to PDF.

Customization examples for the header and footer

Custom logo

By default, the parameter {{{logo}}} displays the wiki logo in the PDF. You can also directly reference an uploaded image as your logo for your different PDF templates. Here, we add a custom logo to the header of a template:

<div class="pdfcreator-runningheaderfix">
	<table>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<div class="pdfcreator-runningheader-logo">
					[[File:my-logo.png|alt=my logo name]]
				</div>
			</td>
			<td>
				<h1 class="title">{{{title}}}</h1>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</table>
</div>

Semantic property

It is also possible to print a semantic property in the footer. The following example prints the value of the property "Classification" of a page in the PDF footer.

<div class="pdfcreator-runningfooterfix">
	{{#show:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|?Classification}}
</div>

Background color for header and footer

In the Styles tab, add:

/* add a background color to the header and footer */
.pdfcreator-runningheaderfix, .pdfcreator-runningfooterfix {
background-color: #eee;
}

This adds a grey background color.

Remove the underline from the header and footer

In the Styles tab, add:

/* remove the border from the header */
.pdfcreator-runningheaderfix > table {
border-bottom: none !important;
}

/* remove the border from the header */
.pdfcreator-runningfooterfix > table {
border-top: none !important;
}

Customization examples for the cover page

The cover page can be changed from the Document preface-tab. It is mainly used forbook templates. The default elements are:

Title
Logo
Bookshelf image: If a cover image is explicitely set by the user, the cover image is printed automatically. It does not have a parameter. The automatically generated preview images on the bookshelf are not printed on the PDF cover.

Adding a white background to the logo

Using background colors

Instead of using cover images, you can define some designs based on colors.

Important:If a book has a custom bookshelf image, it will be printed over the layout that is defined in the customized Document preface layout. Layouts therefore have to be tested in combination with bookshelf images!

Here is an example and the needed HTML/CSS for the PDF layout.

BookStyle1

BookStyle1

Document preface:

<!-- Logo -->
<div class="pdfcreator-bookStyle1-logo">
   {{{logo}}}
</div>
<!-- Color block -->
<div class="pdfcreator-bookStyle1-colorblock">
</div>
<div class="pdfcreator-bookStyle1-colorblock-accent">
</div>
<!-- Title -->
<div class="pdfcreator-bookStyle1-title">
   {{{title}}} 
</div>
<!-- Subtitle -->
<div class="pdfcreator-bookStyle1-subtitle">
   {{{book-subtitle}}}
</div>

Styles:

/* Logo */
.pdfcreator-bookStyle1-logo {margin:1cm; text-align:right}

/* Color block */
.pdfcreator-bookStyle1-colorblock  {position:absolute; height:2cm; width:1.8cm; background-color:#3a3b3c; 
margin:4cm 0 0 0;  z-index:-500}

.pdfcreator-bookStyle1-colorblock-accent {position:absolute; height:2cm; width:24cm; background-color:#3366cc; 
margin:4cm 0 0 1.8cm;  z-index:-500}

/* Title */
.pdfcreator-bookStyle1-title {font-size:28pt;font-weight:bold;margin:8.5cm 1cm 1cm 1.8cm;color:#333333;}

/* Subtitle */
.pdfcreator-bookStyle1-subtitle {font-size:16pt; margin:1cm 1cm 1cm 1.8cm; color:#555555}

Migrating existing BlueSpice cloud PDF templates

BlueSpice 4 cloud has one standard template that can be customized in the wiki. Its elements are defined in the following pages:

MediaWiki:UniversalExport/PDF/Default/Header.html
MediaWiki:UniversalExport/PDF/Default/Footer.html
MediaWiki:UniversalExport/PDF/Default/Cover page.html
MediaWiki:UniversalExport/PDF/Default/Styles.less

These pages have been replaced in BlueSpice 5. You need to transfer the content of these pages to one or more new PDF layouts.

To move the content:

Open the page MediaWiki:PDFCreator.
Select the template you want to edit or create a new one.
Add the content of your templates to the appropriate tabs:
1. Header.html -> Header tab
2. Footer.html -> Footer tab
3. Cover page -> Document prefixtab
4. Styles.less -> Styles tab
Correct the style-references for the header and footer wrappers:

Comparison of the default template content of BlueSpice 4 (cloud) and BlueSpice 5 cloud:

	BlueSpice 4 cloud	BlueSpice 5 (cloud)
Header	{\| \| {{{logo}}} \|\| \|\| {{{title}}} \|} Note: The header-wrapper was created in the background and marked by the id="runningheaderfix". This ID no longer exists, but could be added manually to the new wrapper element.	The page header of each PDF page. The basic structure is: <div class="pdfcreator-runningheaderfix"> <table> <tr> <td> <div class="pdfcreator-runningheader-logo"> {{{logo}}} </div> </td> <td> <h1 class="title">{{{title}}}</h1> </td> </tr> </table> </div>
Content		The content layout. The basic structure is: {{{content}}}
Footer	{\| \| {{{exportdate}}} \|\| {{int:universal-export-pdf-default-disclaimer}} \|\| {{{currentpagenumber}}} / {{{totalpagescount}}} \|} Note: The footer-wrapper was created in the background and marked by the id="runningfooterfix". This ID no longer exists, but could be added manually to the new wrapper element. The parameter `{{{exportdate}}}` no longer exists. It can be replaced with the parser function `{{#time:m/d/Y\|now}}` or with the MediaWiki magic words `{{CURRENTMONTH}}/{{CURRENTDAY}}/{{CURRENTYEAR}}`	<div class="pdfcreator-runningfooterfix"> <table> <tr> <td> <span>{{int:pdfcreator-pdf-disclaimer}}</span> </td> <td> <span>{{int:pdfcreator-pdf-export-time}}:{{#time:d.m.Y\|now}}</span> </td> <td> <span>{{int:pdfcreator-pdf-param-currentpagenumber-label}} </span>{{{currentpagenumber}}} <span> {{int:pdfcreator-pdf-param-totalpagescount-label}} </span>{{{totalpagescount}}} </td> </tr> </table> </div>
Document preface	{\| style="width: 100%; text-align: right;" \|{{{logo}}} \|} {\| style="margin-top: 10cm;" \| <span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight:bold;">{{{title}}}</span> \|- \|{{{subtitle}}} \|- \|} Note: the parameter `{{{backgroundcover}}}` was available to set a background image for the cover sheet. This parameter no longer exists. The background image is now set when the wrapper <div class="pdfcreator-intro">...</div>exists: It shows the default cover image defined in the Config manager settings. If no image is set, no background image is printed unless a bookshelf-image is defined in the metadata for a book.	<div class="pdfcreator-intro"> <div class="pdfcreator-intro-title">{{{title}}}</div> </div> Note: If you do not want to use a predefined cover background image in a template (e.g. from the configuration manager setting or the bookshelf-image of a book), do not use a wrapper with class `pdfcreator-intro`.
Document appendix	n/a	The last page of the PDF export. It has no predefined basic structure.
Styles	default styles.	Style declarations for the CSS classes that are used in any of the template elements. There are no predefined styles.
Description	n/a	Allows to document the template and its usage purpose.

The following parameters no longer exist and need to be replaced with MediaWiki magic words:

Obsolete parameters
Parameter	Description	Replace with
url	URL of the wiki page	{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}
exportdate	date of PDF-creation	{{CURRENTMONTH}}/{{CURRENTDATE}}/{{CURRENTYEAR}}
exporttime	time of PDF-creation	{{CURRENTTIME}}
subtitle	Subtitle of the book	{{{book-subtitle}}}

Technical Reference: PDFCreator

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