PDF Generator

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Creating PDF documents programmatically from data or specifications
• Filling PDF forms with dynamic data
• Adding watermarks, stamps, or overlays to existing PDFs
• Extracting text and metadata from PDF files
• Merging multiple PDFs into one document
• Analyzing PDF structure and form fields

Do NOT use this skill when:

• User wants to open/view PDFs (use native PDF viewer)
• Complex page layout with flowing text is needed (consider HTML-to-PDF tools)
• Working with password-protected PDFs (limited support)
• OCR is needed for scanned documents

Prerequisites

• Deno installed (https://deno.land/)
• Input PDF files for template-based operations
• JSON specification for scratch generation

Quick Start

Two Modes of Operation

1. Template Mode: Modify existing PDF templates

   • Fill form fields (text, checkbox, dropdown)
   • Add overlays (text, images, shapes)
   • Merge and combine PDFs

2. Scratch Mode: Create PDFs from nothing using JSON specifications

Instructions

Mode 1: Template-Based Generation

Step 1a: Analyze the Template

Extract form fields and structure from an existing PDF:

deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-template.ts form-template.pdf > inventory.json

Output (inventory.json):

{
  "filename": "form-template.pdf",
  "pageCount": 2,
  "title": "Application Form",
  "author": "Company Inc",
  "pages": [
    { "pageNumber": 1, "width": 612, "height": 792, "text": "..." }
  ],
  "formFields": [
    { "name": "FullName", "type": "text", "value": "" },
    { "name": "Email", "type": "text", "value": "" },
    { "name": "AgreeToTerms", "type": "checkbox", "value": false }
  ],
  "placeholders": [
    { "tag": "{{DATE}}", "location": "page 1", "pageNumber": 1 }
  ],
  "hasFormFields": true
}

Step 1b: Create Fill Specification

Create form-data.json:

{
  "formFields": [
    { "name": "FullName", "value": "John Smith" },
    { "name": "Email", "value": "[email protected]" },
    { "name": "AgreeToTerms", "value": true }
  ],
  "flattenForm": true
}

Step 1c: Generate Filled PDF

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-from-template.ts \
  form-template.pdf form-data.json filled-form.pdf

Adding Overlays (Watermarks, Stamps)

Create watermark-spec.json:

{
  "overlays": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "page": 1,
      "x": 200,
      "y": 400,
      "text": "CONFIDENTIAL",
      "fontSize": 48,
      "color": { "r": 1, "g": 0, "b": 0 },
      "rotate": 45
    },
    {
      "type": "image",
      "page": 1,
      "x": 450,
      "y": 700,
      "path": "logo.png",
      "width": 100,
      "height": 50
    }
  ]
}

Merging PDFs

Create merge-spec.json:

{
  "prependPdfs": [
    { "path": "cover-page.pdf" }
  ],
  "appendPdfs": [
    { "path": "appendix-a.pdf", "pages": [1, 2, 3] },
    { "path": "appendix-b.pdf" }
  ],
  "excludePages": [5, 6]
}

Mode 2: From-Scratch Generation

Step 2a: Create Specification

Create spec.json:

{
  "title": "Quarterly Report",
  "author": "Finance Team",
  "pages": [
    {
      "size": "A4",
      "elements": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "x": 50,
          "y": 750,
          "text": "Q4 2024 Financial Report",
          "fontSize": 28,
          "font": "HelveticaBold",
          "color": { "r": 0, "g": 0, "b": 0.5 }
        },
        {
          "type": "line",
          "startX": 50,
          "startY": 740,
          "endX": 550,
          "endY": 740,
          "thickness": 2
        },
        {
          "type": "text",
          "x": 50,
          "y": 700,
          "text": "Executive Summary",
          "fontSize": 18,
          "font": "HelveticaBold"
        },
        {
          "type": "text",
          "x": 50,
          "y": 670,
          "text": "This quarter showed strong growth across all divisions...",
          "fontSize": 12,
          "maxWidth": 500,
          "lineHeight": 16
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Step 2b: Generate PDF

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-