universal-document-generator

name	universal-document-generator
description	Converts Markdown study content to print-ready PDF documents with professional formatting. Covers full pipeline from source PDFs to clean text to Markdown notes to PDF output. Works for ANY university, ANY subject. Trigger on requests to generate PDFs from Markdown, create printable study materials, or batch-convert notes to PDF.

Universal Document Generator — Markdown to PDF Pipeline

Overview

Generates print-ready, professionally formatted PDF documents from Markdown study content. Designed for creating exam-ready printed materials — unit notes, PYQ solutions, syllabus references, formula sheets, and master solutions.

Supports Node.js (Playwright — primary, renders LaTeX via KaTeX) and Python (weasyprint — fallback, Unicode math only). Includes a QP (Question Paper) variant that renders LaTeX equations via KaTeX and uses Times New Roman for authentic exam-paper formatting.

Dependency note: The core MD→QP-PDF pipeline runs on Node.js only (marked + playwright). Python is optional — only needed for PDF text extraction (pdf-extract.py) or the weasyprint fallback. See DEPENDENCIES.md for full install instructions.

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How This Skill Works

1. User provides: Markdown file(s) with study content, or PDF source material to convert through the pipeline
2. System converts: MD → HTML → PDF using CSS-styled A4 formatting
3. System outputs: Print-ready PDF with page numbers, styled tables, syntax-highlighted code, and diagrams

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The Full Conversion Pipeline

Source PDF (syllabus/PYQ)
       │
       ▼  [pdf-extract.py / pdftotext / OCR]
   Plain Text (.txt)
       │
       ▼  [Manual authoring or AI-assisted structuring]
   Markdown Notes (.md)
       │
       ▼  [convert-to-pdf.py or convert-to-pdf.js]
   Print-Ready PDF (.pdf)

Stage 1: PDF → TXT

Use scripts/pdf-extract.py or the universal-document-reader skill to extract text from source PDFs.

Stage 2: TXT → MD

Structure the extracted text into Markdown with proper headings, tables, code blocks, and exam-style formatting.

Stage 3: MD → PDF

Use one of the conversion scripts to generate a print-ready PDF.

Stage 3b: MD → QP-Styled PDF (KaTeX + Times New Roman)

For authentic question-paper formatting with equations rendered via KaTeX:

# Node.js (recommended — renders LaTeX via KaTeX)
node scripts/convert-qp-to-pdf.js paper.md paper.pdf

# Python (basic — Unicode math fallback)
python3 scripts/convert-qp-to-pdf.py paper.md paper.pdf

Requires (Node): npm install marked playwright && npx playwright install chromium Requires (Python): pip install markdown weasyprint

Note: The QP variant uses @font-face to load Times New Roman from system fonts and converts [ ... ] math blocks to $$ ... $$ KaTeX delimiters. Inline \mu, \alpha, etc. are rendered via CDN-loaded KaTeX auto-render.

SPPU Question Paper — Exact Page Properties (from 1225+ PDF analysis)

When generating an SPPU QP PDF, use these exact layout properties extracted from actual SPPU QPs across FE/SE/TE/BE and 2012/2015/2019/2024 patterns:

Property	Main Pattern (2019/2015 SE/TE/BE)	BE 2012	FE 2024 (normalized)
Page size	A4 (595.3×841.9 pt)	A4 (595.3×841.9 pt)	A4 (595.3×841.9 pt)
Left margin	~70.8 pt (~1″)	~70.8 pt	~70.8 pt
Right margin	~48.1 pt	~48.1 pt	~48.1 pt
Top margin	~56.3 pt	~56.3 pt	~56.3 pt
Bottom edge	~59–63 pt	~62.9 pt	~59–63 pt
Text area	~476 × 723 pt	~476 × 723 pt	~476 × 723 pt
Paper code	PC#### (no hyphen)	P####	PC-#### or PD####
Producer	Distiller 11.0 + iTextSharp 5.5.9	iTextSharp 5.5.9	Distiller 11.0 / cairo

Layout structure:

Total No. of Questions : N]                     SEAT No. : [number]
[Paper Code]                                    [Total No. of Pages : N]

           [Paper Number] e.g., [6352]-35
           [Program Name]
           [SUBJECT NAME IN ALL CAPS]
           (Pattern) (Semester) (Subject Code)

Time : [X] Hours]                               [Max. Marks : XX]

Instructions to the candidates:
  1) [Instruction 1]
  2) [Instruction 2]

Typographic Rules:

• Paper number — bold, centered, larger than body
• Subject name — ALL CAPS, bold
• Time/marks — bold, left/right justified on same line
• Instructions — numbered with ), indent 3 spaces
• Question numbers — bold like **Q1)**
• Sub-questions — lowercase a) b) c), bold, indent
• Marks — [N] brackets, right-aligned
• OR separator — **OR** centered on its own line

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Conversion Backends

Option A: Python (weasyprint)

# Notes/study material
python3 scripts/convert-to-pdf.py notes.md

# Question paper (with QP formatting)
python3 scripts/convert-qp-to-pdf.py paper.md paper.pdf

# Batch: wrap in a loop
for f in *.md; do python3 scripts/convert-to-pdf.py "$f"; done

Requires: pip install markdown weasyprint

Option B: Node.js (Playwright)

# Notes/study material
node scripts/convert-to-pdf.js notes.md

# Question paper (with KaTeX math + Times New Roman)
node scripts/convert-qp-to-pdf.js paper.md paper.pdf

Requires: npm install marked playwright && npx playwright install chromium

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PDF Output Features

Feature	Detail
Page Size	A4 with 2cm margins
Headers	Styled h1/h2/h3/h4 with distinct colors
Tables	Professional styling, alternating row colors
Code Blocks	Dark theme (GitHub Dark style), monospace font
Inline Code	Light gray background with accent color
Page Numbers	Centered at bottom
Blockquotes	Left-accented blue border
Page Breaks	Avoided inside tables, code blocks, blockquotes
Diagrams	Mermaid or image support via HTML

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Use Cases

Scenario	Description
Unit Notes → PDF	Convert subject unit notes to printable study sheets
PYQ Solutions → PDF	Generate print-friendly previous year question solutions
Formula Sheets → PDF	Create compact formula reference PDFs
Syllabus Reference → PDF	Print official syllabus with CO-PO mapping
Master Solutions → PDF	Compile full subject solutions into one document
Flashcards → PDF	Generate printable flashcard sheets

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Style Customization

The CSS template can be customized by editing the script:

• Colors: --primary: #0d3b66, --accent: #1b5a8c, --code-bg: #0d1117
• Fonts: Segoe UI, Calibri, DejaVu Sans (Python) / system fonts (JS)
• Spacing: Line height, margins, padding per element type
• Page: Size, margins, header/footer content

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Error Handling

Situation	Action
Markdown parse error	Validate Markdown syntax; check for unclosed code blocks or mismatched delimiters
Font not found	Fall back to system fonts (Segoe UI, Calibri); note font substitution in output
PDF renderer unavailable	Ensure Playwright is installed (npx playwright install chromium); fall back to weasyprint (Python)
Page count exceeds limit	Adjust margins or font size; split document into multiple volumes if necessary

Quality Gate — Check Before Output

• All images embed correctly in the PDF (no broken img tags)
• Math renders properly (KaTeX for Node.js pipeline, Unicode fallback for Python)
• Page count matches specification (within limits set by user)
• Fonts load correctly for the target platform
• Tables, code blocks, and blockquotes styled per CSS template
• Page numbers present and correctly formatted

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Session Config

This skill integrates with the session config system (deps/session-profile.json). Before executing, check for an existing session profile:

• If deps/session-profile.json exists, read university, subject, pattern, and exam_type fields to auto-configure the skill.
• If the file does not exist, fall back to user-provided context or prompt the user to run setup-exam-prompt (or npm run init) first.
• Session config eliminates redundant context detection — detection happens once and is reused across all skill calls.

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Integration with Other Skills

• universal-session-config: Reads formatting preferences (university, pattern) from session profile
• universal-document-reader: First stage (PDF → TXT)
• universal-notes-generator: Produces MD content ready for PDF conversion
• universal-a-plus-answer-writer: Generates answers that can be compiled into PDF
• universal-diagram-generator: Embeds rendered SVG diagrams into PDF output
• universal-formula-sheet-generator: Outputs MD formula sheets for PDF
• universal-flashcard-generator: Flashcard content exportable to printable PDF
• universal-mind-map-generator: Mermaid diagrams embeddable in PDF output