Scripting a TeX document - (or other way to number pdf pages)

p.echols at comcast.net p.echols at comcast.net
Tue Apr 13 18:00:09 UTC 2010


----- "Loïc Grenié" <loic.grenie at gmail.com> wrote:

> 2010/4/13 Patton Echols <p.echols at comcast.net>:
> > I am working on a modification to the script found here:
> >
> > http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=30598
> >
> > The purpose is to "page number" an existing PDF document.  Part of
> the
> > process requires a pdf document with the page numbers in the
> appropriate
> > place.  The script author made his manually using OO.  What I would
> like
> > to do is to script the process.  One of the commentators to the
> script
> > said that he made his using LaTeX. (Which I know nothing about).
> >
> > The documentation I have been able to find is massive and frankly I
> > don't  quite know where to begin.
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > Nodding in the direction of "RTFM" is there a recommended "FM?"
> (and
> > pointers about what I should be reading!)
> 
>      I have been a user of LaTeX for a long time (and I still am) and
> I can tell
>   you that you do not want to learn LaTeX just to number pages in a
> pdf.
> 
> 
>            Sorry for the non-help,
> 
>                    Loïc
> 
> 

Actually, that is exactly what I was looking for, someone to tell me that the idea is not in the "realm of realistic" and not to go there!

My limited understanding of LaTeX is that you create a source file that has both text and markup.  That file is then interpreted when printed.  Would it be in the realm of realistic for someone such as yourself to identify the segments that would have to be in a script to do such a thing?  My analogy in "fake" html would be

<document>
<head>
-Format code
-Font Code
-etc
</head>
<text position=bottom-left>
Page Number 0001
</text>
<pagebreak><text position=bottom-left>
Page Number 0002
</text>
<pagebreak><text position=bottom-left>
Page Number 0003
</text>
</document>

(For the critics, I am not good at html, but I know this is wrong, and why and that's not the point)

The changing parts in such a page would be few, and the result easily scriptable.  For my purposes, I would not have to understand the LaTeX code for it to work.  Something you might think of as a fun challenge?

Thanks,

--PE




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