newline-iwb-converter 0.2.1

A converter utility for handling Newline whiteboard IWB files and converting them

Newline IWB Converter

A converter utility for extracting SVG pages from Newline whiteboard IWB files, with optional PDF conversion.

Features

• Extract SVG pages from Newline IWB (.iwb) files
• Convert IWB to PDF - create multi-page PDFs with independent or uniform page sizing
• Flexible image handling:
  • Embed images as base64 data URIs (default)
  • Copy images directory alongside SVGs
  • Keep external image references
• Optional fill removal from shape elements
• Zero external dependencies for iwb2svg - uses only Python standard library for SVG extraction

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or later
• Ubuntu: Install Cairo with sudo apt install -y libcairo2-dev pkg-config python3-dev

Installation

pip install newline-iwb-converter

Usage

iwb2svg - Extract SVG Pages

Basic Usage

iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_directory

This will extract all SVG pages from the IWB file and embed images as base64 data URIs (default behavior).

Command Line Options

usage: iwb2svg [-h] [-o OUTPUT] [--fix-fills | --no-fix-fills] [--fix-size | --no-fix-size] [--images {nothing,copy_directory,data_uri}] [--delete-background] iwb_file

Extract SVG pages from an IWB file, with optional fill→stroke repair.

positional arguments:
  iwb_file              Path to input .iwb file

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
                        Output directory (default: svg_output)
  --fix-fills           Remove fill from shapes (default)
  --no-fix-fills        Do NOT modify fill behavior
  --fix-size            Fix SVG size if content extends beyond dimensions (default)
  --no-fix-size         Do NOT fix SVG size
  --images {nothing,copy_directory,data_uri}
                        How to handle images (default: data_uri)
  --delete-background   Remove background image elements

Examples

Embed images as data URIs (default):

iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_dir

Keep external image references:

iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_dir --images nothing

Copy images directory alongside SVGs:

iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_dir --images copy_directory

Don't remove fills from shapes:

iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_dir --no-fix-fills

Remove background images:

iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_dir --delete-background

Using uv run (without virtual environment activation):

uv run iwb2svg input.iwb -o output_dir

iwb2pdf - Convert to PDF

Basic Usage

iwb2pdf input.iwb -o output.pdf

This will extract all SVG pages and convert them to a multi-page PDF with independent page sizing.

Command Line Options

usage: iwb2pdf [-h] [-o OUTPUT] [--fix-fills | --no-fix-fills] [--fix-size | --no-fix-size] [--delete-background] [--uniform-size | --independent-size] iwb_file

Convert IWB files to PDF format.

positional arguments:
  iwb_file              Path to input .iwb file

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
                        Output PDF file (default: output.pdf)
  --fix-fills           Remove fill from shapes (default)
  --no-fix-fills        Do NOT modify fill behavior
  --fix-size            Fix SVG size if content extends beyond dimensions (default)
  --no-fix-size         Do NOT fix SVG size
  --delete-background   Remove background image elements
  --uniform-size        Make all pages the same size (size of the largest page)
  --independent-size    Each page size is independent based on its content (default)

Examples

Create PDF with independent page sizing (default):

iwb2pdf input.iwb -o output.pdf

Make all pages the same size:

iwb2pdf input.iwb -o output.pdf --uniform-size

Remove background images:

iwb2pdf input.iwb -o output.pdf --delete-background

Using uv run:

uv run iwb2pdf input.iwb -o output.pdf

Development

Getting Started

First, clone the repository and set up your development environment:

# Install UV package manager (https://github.com/astral-sh/uv)
# Then sync dependencies:
uv sync

Add Dependencies

uv add <package-name>

Install Dev Dependencies

uv sync --group dev

Package with PyInstaller

To create standalone executables:

# Install dev dependencies (if not already installed)
uv sync --group dev

# Build all executables (iwb2svg and iwb2pdf)
uv run python scripts/build_exec.py

# Or build a specific tool
uv run python scripts/build_exec.py iwb2svg
uv run python scripts/build_exec.py iwb2pdf

The executables will be created in the dist/ folder:

• iwb2svg.exe / iwb2svg (Linux/macOS)
• iwb2pdf.exe / iwb2pdf (Linux/macOS)

Project Structure

newline_iwb_converter/
├── src/
│   └── newline_iwb_converter/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── iwb2svg.py          # SVG extraction utility
│       └── iwb2pdf.py          # PDF conversion utility
├── scripts/
│   └── build_exec.py                # PyInstaller build script
├── pyproject.toml               # Project configuration
├── README.md                    # This file
└── .python-version              # Python version lock

How It Works

iwb2svg

1. Extract IWB: Opens the .iwb file (which is a ZIP archive)
2. Parse content.xml: Extracts and parses the embedded XML containing SVG pages
3. Process Images: Handles image references according to the selected mode
4. Fix Fills (optional): Removes fill attributes from shape elements
5. Fix Size (optional): Adjusts SVG dimensions if content extends beyond them
6. Export SVG: Writes each page as a separate SVG file

iwb2pdf

1. Extract SVGs: Uses iwb2svg to extract all SVG pages from the IWB file
2. Convert SVGs: Converts each SVG to a ReportLab drawing
3. Create PDF: Combines all drawings into a multi-page PDF
4. Page Sizing: Each page is sized independently (or uniformly) based on content

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• iwb2svg: No external dependencies (uses only Python standard library)
• iwb2pdf: Requires reportlab and svglib (installed via uv sync)

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

You are free to use, modify, and distribute this software under the terms of the GPL v3.0.