Confluence PDF Export Solutions - Adobe Pro scripting

[Graeme Wallace]

Hi to all.

Context:
I have a requirement to be able to export PDF and Word documents from Confluence.

I have been experimenting with various export functions (both native and add-ons) and the range and depth of control over precise document content is limited or seems to be costly for the actual service provided.

Question:
Does anyone have any experience with copy-pasting Confluence Page content into Adobe PDF and then scripting/automating precision layout and design elements to a required or predefined corporate design and standard ?

[Bill Bailey · Accepted solution]

I think your best solution (and it is not without some pain), is to go with Scroll PDF Exporter, BUT not the latest version. You need to go with version 3.5.1 as it was the last version that supported CSS and VTL, good templating and export schemes. This is the setup we use for all customer doc PDF production.

So the first pain is being on an older version. K15t for some inexplicable reason removed all power-user features when they changed PDF engines with version 4.x

Second pain is the last official supported Confluence version for 3.5.1 is 6.2.4. I have not tested the plugin beyond this version. But my future support plan is as follows:

• Current version of Confluence running 4.x (K15t swears I can bring in old templates, etc, and they will still work, just cannot create new 3.x style ones in 4.x)
• Keep a development server on 6.2.4 with Scroll 3.5.1 solely for template development.

If this plan doesn't work, we will have to fix on version 6.2.4 as I have not found any other viable PDF solution.

[Graeme Wallace]

Thanks for the input, much appreciated. 

The extra complexity may be an issue.

Accessing 3.5.1 looks like its own set of problems; release notes stop at 4.0.  I will contact K15t.

It's a bit frustrating that the Atlassian Confluence application features some very large and conspicuous (basic documentation tool/system) absences which require retrospective surgery with third-party tools.

[Bill Bailey]

Well, 3.5.1 is the last of the 3,x versions, and they want to promote the newer 4.x. But you can still access older versions. The complete listing is on the Atlassian marketplace:

scroll-pdf-exporter-for-confluence/version-history

And the docs for the older version are here:

https://help.k15t.com/legacy/scroll-pdf-exporter

And yes, there may be some glaring holes in the Confluence solution set, but it is both a negative and a positive. Usually you are left with an incomplete toolset with little ability to fill in holes. But with Confluence being open, third-parties can develop plugins to help round out a solution. And as users, we have the ability to generate macros or even our own plugins -- at least we have tools to help get us out of trouble.

One thing to keep in mind, the main use case for Confluence is to deliver online documentation natively, not as Word/FrameMaker replacement. My hope is my customer will move away from PDFs and go to just delivering content natively. Then my life will be much easier. ;-)

[Tom Rough]

Hi Graeme, 

Thanks for the post. 

As Bill made reference to, we offer the app, Scroll PDF Exporter, which will allow you to export your Confluence content in your chosen style. 

Had you tested the latest version of our app in your Confluence instance? If not, you can do so for free for 30 days and this will provide you with an understanding in relation to whether our app will suit your export requirements. 

Since the release of version 4.x of our app, we have introduced a graphical template designer, allowing users to style their custom templates and thus, their exports, easily without the need for coding skills. This was a change from v3.x, like Bill has mentioned, where you could format the look of your exported PDF via the actual CSS. 

If you choose to evaluate the app and have any questions please reach out to us via support@k15t.com – we'll be happy to help. 

Cheers, Thomas (K15t Software)