latextopdfs.py

Uses a LaTeX template to generate a bunch of PDF files using substitutions stored in a CSV file or specified on the command line. Helpful for doing a mail merge since Word doesn't let you save the output to different files.

Dependencies

• jinja2: http://jinja.pocoo.org/docs/
• Python 2.7.1 (not tested on anything else)

How to use:

1. Build a LaTeX template using modified Jinja syntax (so that it plays nicely with LaTeX syntax). The syntax changes are as follows:

• \VAR{foo} specifies a variable called foo.
• \BLOCK{} defines a block of Jinja template code.
• \#{} defines a comment; %# turns the whole line into a comment
• Refer to the Jinja docs at http://jinja.pocoo.org/docs/ for more info.

2. Create a CSV file containing the variable to make in the LaTeX template. Each row in the CSV file will produce one PDF.

3. For every variable named foo, there should be a corresponding substitution in the CSV file. The first row of the CSV file should contain the names of all of the variables in the template file (e.g. if the template has variables \VAR{FullName} and \VAR{Address}, the CSV file's first row should have columns titled FullName and Address). These names need not be in any particular order.

4. Make sure to include a column called Destination that specifies the output filename for each PDF!

5. Each subsequent row in the CSV file should contain the variable substitutions for a single PDF.

6. Run the code as follows:

    $ ./latextopdfs.py <template-file> <substitutions-file>
   

7. You can also specify the fields directly on the command line using key=value syntax. This only works for generating one file from your template though!

    $ ./latextopdfs.py <template-file> <key1=val1> <key2=val2> ...
   

Help

$ latextopdfs.py -h