Suggest abstracting the exporting to PDF feature to be more customizable #5094

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OVERLORD · 2026-02-05T09:39:51+03:00

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 09:39:51 +03:00

Originally created by @Hallsie on GitHub (Jan 2, 2025).

Describe the feature you'd like

What I am thinking is that when you create a document, you set an "Export Template" (which would also have a global default template) so that when you export something it will have the template applied to it.

Now the templates would be for if you wanted to have things where you make a "Title Page" or have a proper "Table of Contents" generated to be included. It would also allow you to create things like headers & footers which would resolve some of what others have said where you could then take the footer and have it say {$RevNo} for example to display the revision number for consistency across document exports.

Describe the benefits this would bring to existing BookStack users

I realized I was writing the benefits above so I'm dropping down here. If you also had a Review Date system then you could choose to put that as well on the bottom of "Next Review Date: xx/xx/xxxx" or "Last Reviewed: xx/xx/xxxx" so that someone holding an exported print or looking at an exported PDF would know exactly they are looking at and the approximate age of it.

I would also suggest that there is an option for those companies (more and more now daily honestly) that need to TAG, either officially like government and the new CMMC stuff for manufacturers for government, or ISO companies etc. have an option to create/edit the tag they want to use.

This way you can make a library of templates that when a document is exported it doesn't just become a "PDF Print" of the webpage, it becomes something more and you can make it fit a myriad of instances. For example if something is a training document you could have it have a header of "Official [Company Name] Training Materials" or if it is a sensitive document you can make a template to mark it for that etc.

I would LOVE to see a way to incorporate a way that you can take your article, and within that, edit how the print version should look. In other words, have the option to keep the words and formatting but then allow to make manual page breaks or change how images are handled because on the print I believe it truncates the right side instead of shrinking to fit the page. ...things like that. Heck have the option to remove pictures on print versions or entire sections or possibly even add sections. Yes, it would be more work but some of us have situations where the articles/pages are exported and used in manuals or official documentation which is printed in 3-ring binders.

Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means?

I do not believe you can achieve any of this any other way.

Have you searched for an existing open/closed issue?

I have searched for existing issues and none cover my fundamental request

How long have you been using BookStack?

1 to 5 years

Additional context

No response

Originally created by @Hallsie on GitHub (Jan 2, 2025). ### Describe the feature you'd like What I am thinking is that when you create a document, you set an "Export Template" (which would also have a global default template) so that when you export something it will have the template applied to it. Now the templates would be for if you wanted to have things where you make a "Title Page" or have a proper "Table of Contents" generated to be included. It would also allow you to create things like headers & footers which would resolve some of what others have said where you could then take the footer and have it say `{$RevNo}` for example to display the revision number for consistency across document exports. ### Describe the benefits this would bring to existing BookStack users I realized I was writing the benefits above so I'm dropping down here. If you also had a **Review Date** system then you could choose to put that as well on the bottom of "Next Review Date: xx/xx/xxxx" or "Last Reviewed: xx/xx/xxxx" so that someone holding an exported print or looking at an exported PDF would know exactly they are looking at and the approximate age of it. I would also suggest that there is an option for those companies (more and more now daily honestly) that need to **TAG**, either officially like government and the new CMMC stuff for manufacturers for government, or ISO companies etc. have an option to create/edit the tag they want to use. This way you can make a library of templates that when a document is exported it doesn't just become a "PDF Print" of the webpage, it becomes something more and you can make it fit a myriad of instances. For example if something is a training document you could have it have a header of "Official [Company Name] Training Materials" or if it is a sensitive document you can make a template to mark it for that etc. I would LOVE to see a way to incorporate a way that you can take your article, and within that, edit how the print version should look. In other words, have the option to keep the words and formatting but then allow to make manual page breaks or change how images are handled because on the print I believe it truncates the right side instead of shrinking to fit the page. ...things like that. Heck have the option to remove pictures on print versions or entire sections or possibly even add sections. Yes, it would be more work but some of us have situations where the articles/pages are exported and used in manuals or official documentation which is printed in 3-ring binders. ### Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means? I do not believe you can achieve any of this any other way. ### Have you searched for an existing open/closed issue? - [X] I have searched for existing issues and none cover my fundamental request ### How long have you been using BookStack? 1 to 5 years ### Additional context _No response_

OVERLORD added the 🔨 Feature Request label 2026-02-05 09:39:51 +03:00

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Reference: starred/BookStack#5094