An Introduction to Scriptable Page Layout and Typography

PageBot is a powerful Python library that provides designers with a scriptable environment for creating high-quality documents. With its support for page layout, vector graphics, and typography, PageBot offers a wide range of possibilities for designers to generate print-ready and web-based formats.

Installation

To get started with PageBot, make sure you have Python 3.7 or 3.8 installed. You can install it system-wide or in a virtual environment. For a cross-platform installation, simply run the following command:

pip install pagebot

If you already have PageBot installed and want to upgrade to the latest version, use the following command:

pip install pagebot --upgrade

To set up PageBot in a virtual environment, first install virtualenv if you haven’t already:

pip install virtualenv

Then, create a new virtual environment and activate it:

mkdir ~/virtualenvironment
virtualenv ~/virtualenvironment/pagebot
cd ~/virtualenvironment/pagebot/bin
source activate

Finally, install PageBot within the virtual environment:

pip install pagebot

If you are a Mac OS X user, you can also install the PageBotOSX extension by running:

pip install pagebotosx

Usage

Once you have PageBot installed, you can start using it in your Python scripts. Here’s a simple example that demonstrates how to create a new document with a red square:

python
from pagebot.document import Document
from pagebot.elements import newRect
from pagebot.conditions import Center2Center, Middle2Middle
from pagebot.toolbox.units import pt
from pagebot.toolbox.color import color

W, H = pt(500, 400)
doc = Document(w=W, h=H, autoPages=1)
page = doc[1]

# Create a new rectangle element with position conditions
newRect(parent=page, fill=color('red'), size=pt(240, 140),
    # Show measure lines on the element.
    showDimensions=True, 
    conditions=[Center2Center(), Middle2Middle()])

# Make the page apply all conditions.
page.solve()

# Export the document page as PNG.
doc.export('_export/RedSquare.png') 

In this example, we import the necessary modules from PageBot and create a new document with a width of 500pt and height of 400pt. We then create a new page within the document and add a red rectangle element to it. We use position conditions to center the rectangle and align it vertically in the middle. Finally, we solve the page to make the position conditions take effect and export the page as a PNG image.

This is just a simple example to showcase the basic usage of PageBot. The library offers many more features and functionalities, such as support for grids, page templates, automatic layout conditions, text flows, image filtering, and much more. With PageBot, designers have full control over the layout and typography of their documents.

Conclusion

PageBot is a powerful tool for designers who want to create high-quality documents with precise control over page layout, vector graphics, and typography. With its Python library and Mac OS X extension, PageBot provides a scriptable environment that enables designers to generate print-ready and web-based formats. Whether you’re designing magazines, newspapers, books, or online documents, PageBot has the features and flexibility to meet your needs.

So why wait? Start exploring PageBot today and unleash your creativity in page layout and typography.