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Installation Guide

Django PDF Actions Logo

Prerequisites

Before installing Django PDF Export, ensure you have:

  • Python 3.8 or higher
  • Django 3.2 or higher
  • pip (Python package installer)

Technical Requirements

  • PDF Engine: ReportLab (automatically installed)
  • Character Encoding: UTF-8
  • Default Paper Size: A4
  • Disk Space: Minimal (~30MB including fonts)
  • Memory: Depends on the size of exported data

Installation Methods

The easiest way to install Django PDF Export is using pip:

pip install django-pdf-actions

From Source

If you want to install the latest development version:

git clone https://github.com/ibrahimroshdy/django-pdf-actions.git
cd django-pdf-actions
pip install -e .

Configuration

1. Add to INSTALLED_APPS

Add 'django_pdf_actions' to your INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    ...
    'django_pdf_actions',
]

2. Run Migrations

Apply the database migrations:

python manage.py migrate

3. Set up Fonts

The package uses fonts from your project's static/assets/fonts directory. Here's how to set them up:

  1. Create the fonts directory: 

    mkdir -p static/assets/fonts

  2. Install the default font (DejaVu Sans): 

    python manage.py setup_fonts

  3. Add custom fonts (optional): 

    # Example: Installing Roboto font
python manage.py setup_fonts --font-url "https://github.com/google/fonts/raw/main/apache/roboto/Roboto-Regular.ttf" --font-name "Roboto-Regular.ttf"

# Example: Installing Cairo font for Arabic support
python manage.py setup_fonts --font-url "https://github.com/google/fonts/raw/main/ofl/cairo/Cairo-Regular.ttf" --font-name "Cairo-Regular.ttf"

Font Directory Structure

After setup, your project should have this structure: 

your_project/
├── static/
│   └── assets/
│       └── fonts/
│           ├── DejaVuSans.ttf
│           ├── Roboto-Regular.ttf (optional)
│           └── Cairo-Regular.ttf (optional)

4. Configure Static Files

Ensure your Django project is configured to serve static files:

  1. Add static files settings to your settings.py: 

    STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'staticfiles')
STATICFILES_DIRS = [
    os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static'),
]

  2. Run collectstatic: 

    python manage.py collectstatic

Verify Installation

To verify the installation:

  1. Start your Django development server: 

    python manage.py runserver

  2. Navigate to the Django admin interface

  3. Select any model with list view
  4. You should see "Export to PDF (Portrait)" and "Export to PDF (Landscape)" in the actions dropdown

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during installation:

  1. Font Installation Issues:
  2. Ensure your fonts directory exists at static/assets/fonts/
  3. Verify font files are in TTF format
  4. Check file permissions

  5. Run python manage.py collectstatic after adding fonts

  6. PDF Generation Issues:

  7. Ensure your model fields are properly defined in list_display
  8. Check that an active PDF Export Settings configuration exists

  9. Verify logo file paths if using custom logos

  10. Database Issues:

  11. Ensure migrations are applied correctly
  12. Check database permissions

  13. Verify Django database settings

  14. Static Files Issues:

  15. Verify STATIC_URL and STATIC_ROOT settings
  16. Ensure collectstatic command was run
  17. Check web server configuration for static files

Next Steps