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PDF generation

To generate an A4 PDF of any page (large pages will result in a multi-paged PDF), add the variable CONVPAGE=PDF to the URL. For example, https://www.ultimatedb.net/pdf-generation?CONVPAGE=PDF.

This extra variable results in a PDF being created on page load which is available to view or download using the buttons displayed at the top of the page.

PDFs are created and available in the /res/tmp/ folder. This folder is regularly cleaned and any files older than 14 days are deleted. Save a copy of the PDF elsewhere if its needed for longer periods.

Fonts

Note that the server only has a limited number of fonts available when generating PDFs. These include Andale Mono, Arial, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman and Verdana. Use web fonts to ensure that the PDF fonts match the original design.

Page numbers

To add page numbers to the bottom right of each page, for example "Page 1 of 3", add page-numbers to the URL. For example, domain.com?CONVPAGE=PDF&page-numbers.

Landscape

By default, PDFs are portrait. To change the orientation, add landscape to the URL. For example, domain.com?CONVPAGE=PDF&landscape.

Table of contents

To add a table of contents to the beginning of the PDF, add toc to the URL. For example, domain.com?CONVPAGE=PDF&toc. The table of contents is generated based on the H tags in the original document.

Headers and foooters, with page data

To add a header and/or footer to each page of the PDF, create header and footer elements with the class udb-pdf. For example, <header class"udb-pdf">My PDF header</header>. The first header element, and last footer element, with the class udb-pdf, will be removed from the main body and added to each PDF page.

The class attribute, and udb-pdf class must come first in the element tag. The following example will not work,
   <header id="pdf-header" class"udb-pdf">
   <header class"text-muted udb-pdf">
whereas these will work,
   <header class"udb-pdf" id="pdf-header">
   <header class"udb-pdf text-muted">

To include page data in the header or footer, use spans with the following classes,

  • page - Number of the page currently being printed
  • frompage - Number of the first page to be printed
  • topage - Number of the last page to be printed
  • webpage - URL of the page being printed
  • section - Name of the current section
  • subsection - Name of the current subsection
  • date - Current date in system local format
  • isodate - Current date in ISO 8601 extended format
  • time - Current time in system local format
  • title - Title of the of the current page object
  • doctitle - Title of the output document
  • sitepage - Number of the page in the current site being converted
  • sitepages - Number of pages in the current site being converted

For example, 

    <span class="page"></span>

As a full footer example,

    <footer class"udb-pdf">Page <span class="page"></span> of <span class="topage"></span></footer>

will result in a something similar to,

    Page 1 of 3

UDB PDF Generation

Generate a PDF

To generate an A4 PDF of any UDB page, add CONVPAGE=PDF to the URL. Large pages produce multi-page PDFs.

Example:

https://www.ultimatedb.net/pdf-generation?CONVPAGE=PDF

When CONVPAGE=PDF is present, a PDF is created when the page loads. Buttons displayed at the top of the page allow the PDF to be viewed or downloaded.

PDF storage and retention

Generated PDFs are stored in the /res/tmp/ folder.

The /res/tmp/ folder is regularly cleaned. Files older than 14 days are deleted. Save a copy of a PDF elsewhere if it is needed for longer than 14 days.

PDF fonts

The PDF-generation server has only a limited set of fonts available:

  • Andale Mono
  • Arial
  • Courier New
  • Georgia
  • Impact
  • Times New Roman
  • Verdana

Use web fonts to ensure that the fonts in the PDF match the original design.

PDF page numbers

To add page numbers to the bottom right of each PDF page, add page-numbers to the URL.

Example:

domain.com?CONVPAGE=PDF&page-numbers

The page-number format can be similar to Page 1 of 3.

Landscape PDF orientation

PDFs use portrait orientation by default. To use landscape orientation, add landscape to the URL.

Example:

domain.com?CONVPAGE=PDF&landscape

PDF table of contents

To add a table of contents to the beginning of the PDF, add toc to the URL.

The table of contents is generated from the heading tags in the original document.

Example:

domain.com?CONVPAGE=PDF&toc

PDF headers and footers

To add a header or footer to every PDF page, create a header or footer element with the class udb-pdf.

<header class="udb-pdf">My PDF header</header>

The first header element with the class udb-pdf is removed from the main document body and added to every PDF page.

The last footer element with the class udb-pdf is removed from the main document body and added to every PDF page.

Page data in PDF headers and footers

To include PDF page data in a header or footer, add a span element using one of the following classes:

Class Value inserted into the PDF
page Number of the page currently being printed.
frompage Number of the first page to be printed.
topage Number of the last page to be printed.
webpage URL of the page being printed.
section Name of the current section.
subsection Name of the current subsection.
date Current date in the system local format.
isodate Current date in ISO 8601 extended format.
time Current time in the system local format.
title Title of the current page object.
doctitle Title of the output document.
sitepage Number of the page in the current site being converted.
sitepages Number of pages in the current site being converted.

PDF page-data examples

Display the current page number

<span class="page"></span>

Display “Page 1 of 3” in a footer

<footer class="udb-pdf">Page <span class="page"></span> of <span class="topage"></span></footer>

This produces output similar to:

Page 1 of 3

 2026-10-05 17:43:49