Mac-letterhead 0.4.1

A macOS utility to merge letterhead with PDF documents using a drag-and-drop interface

Mac-letterhead

A macOS utility that automatically merges a letterhead template with PDF documents using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

Installation

Install the package using uv:

uv pip install -e .

Usage

Mac-letterhead provides a simple and reliable way to apply letterhead to PDF documents using a drag-and-drop application.

Creating the Letterhead Applier App

Simply install the letterhead PDF as a drag-and-drop application:

uvx mac-letterhead install /path/to/your/letterhead.pdf

This will create a droplet application on your Desktop. The application will be named based on your letterhead file (e.g., "Letterhead CompanyLogo").

You can customize the name and location:

uvx mac-letterhead install /path/to/your/letterhead.pdf --name "Company Letterhead" --output-dir "~/Documents"

Using the Letterhead Applier App

1. Print your document to PDF (using the standard "Save as PDF..." option)
2. Drag and drop the PDF onto the Letterhead Applier app icon
3. The letterhead will be applied automatically
4. You'll be prompted to save the merged document

The application combines your letterhead and document in a way that preserves both document content and letterhead design.

Using Different Merge Strategies

If you already know which strategy works best for your letterhead, you can specify it directly:

uvx mac-letterhead merge /path/to/your/letterhead.pdf "Document Name" "/path/to/save" /path/to/document.pdf --strategy overlay

Available strategies:

• multiply: Original strategy using multiply blend mode
• reverse: Draws content first, then letterhead on top with blend mode
• overlay: Uses overlay blend mode for better visibility
• transparency: Uses transparency layers for better blending
• darken: (Default) Uses darken blend mode which works well for light letterheads with dark text/logos
• all: Generates files using all strategies for comparison (the main output file will use the darken strategy)

Version Information

To check the current version:

uvx mac-letterhead --version

Error Logging

The tool logs all operations and errors to:

~/Library/Logs/Mac-letterhead/letterhead.log

If you encounter any issues while using the tool, check this log file for detailed error messages and stack traces.

Features

• Easy installation of letterhead services
• Supports multiple letterhead templates
• Maintains original PDF metadata
• Preserves PDF quality
• Shows save dialog for output location
• Proper error handling with detailed logging
• Supports --version flag
• Type hints for better code maintainability

Development

To install in development mode:

uv pip install -e .

Publishing a New Release

First-time Setup

1. Create an account on PyPI if you don't have one
2. Create an API token on PyPI:
   • Go to https://pypi.org/manage/account/token/
   • Create a token with "Upload packages" scope
3. Add the token to GitHub repository secrets:
   • Go to your repository's Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions
   • Create a new secret named PYPI_API_TOKEN
   • Paste your PyPI token as the value

Publishing a Release

1. Update the version in:

   • pyproject.toml
   • letterhead_pdf/init.py
   • letterhead_pdf/main.py

2. Run the release script:

./tag_release.sh

This will:

• Create a git tag for the current version
• Push the tag to GitHub
• Trigger the GitHub workflow to publish to PyPI

The GitHub workflow will:

• Build the package
• Upload it to PyPI using the configured API token
• Make it available for installation via pip/uv

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues:

1. Check the log file at ~/Library/Logs/Mac-letterhead/letterhead.log
2. The log contains detailed information about:
   • All operations performed
   • Error messages with stack traces
   • Input/output file paths
   • PDF processing steps

License

MIT License