nextgenpdf/README.md

PDF Rename Sort

A Python web application built with Flask that automatically renames PDF files based on form field data extracted from within the PDFs. Designed for batch processing of fillable PDFs, extracting "Last Name" and "First Name" to create standardized filenames.

Features

• Web-Based Interface: Clean, responsive web UI for easy file uploads
• Batch Processing: Handle multiple PDFs or ZIP archives containing PDFs
• Form Field Extraction: Uses PyPDF2 to read PDF form fields
• Intelligent Renaming: Renames files to "LastName_FirstName.pdf" format
• Duplicate Handling: Automatically appends counters for duplicate names
• ZIP Support: Upload ZIP files and download processed results as ZIP
• Job Management: Background processing with job status tracking and history
• Authentication: Microsoft Entra ID and local admin login support
• Error Handling: Gracefully skips files that can't be processed

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Virtual environment (recommended)
• Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) tenant with app registration

Microsoft Entra ID Setup

Detailed setup instructions: See ENTRA_SETUP.md for comprehensive step-by-step guide to configure Microsoft Entra ID authentication.

Quick Setup:

1. Register application in Azure Portal (optional for admin login)
2. Get Tenant ID, Client ID, and Client Secret (for Entra login)
3. Set environment variables:

   # For Entra ID login (optional)
   export TENANT_ID="your-tenant-id"
   export CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
   export CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"
   
   # For admin login
   export ADMIN_USERNAME="trbcit"
   export ADMIN_PASSWORD="atdrmbicn"
   
   # Required
   export SECRET_KEY="your-random-secret-key"
   

Authentication

The application supports two authentication methods:

1. Microsoft Entra ID: OAuth2 authentication with Azure AD
2. Admin Login: Local username/password authentication

Users can choose their preferred login method on the login page.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://gitlab.com/trbc-dev/pdf-rename-sort.git
   cd pdf-rename-sort
   

2. Create and activate virtual environment:

   python -m venv .venv
   # On Windows:
   & .venv/Scripts/Activate.ps1
   # On macOS/Linux:
   source .venv/bin/activate
   

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Usage

1. Set environment variables (see Entra ID Setup above)

2. Run the application:

   python pdf_renamer.py
   

3. Access the web interface:

   • Open http://127.0.0.1:3000/
   • Authenticate using Microsoft Entra ID or admin login

4. Upload files:

   • Select individual PDF files or ZIP archives containing PDFs
   • Click "Process PDFs" - this creates a background job

5. Monitor jobs:

   • Click "View Jobs" to see processing status and history
   • Jobs show as "Queued", "Processing", or "Completed"

6. Download results:

   • When complete, download the ZIP file from the jobs page
   • Review any skipped files listed for each job

How It Works

1. File Upload: Accepts PDFs or ZIPs via web form
2. Extraction: If ZIP, extracts PDFs to temporary directory
3. Processing: For each PDF, reads form fields using PyPDF2
4. Renaming: Extracts "Last Name" and "First Name" values
5. Packaging: Creates a ZIP archive of renamed PDFs
6. Download: Provides secure download link for results

Important Notes

• PDFs must contain fillable form fields named exactly "Last Name" and "First Name"
• Files without these fields or with extraction errors will be skipped
• All processing happens server-side with temporary file storage
• Maximum upload size is limited to 500MB

Production Deployment

For production deployment on Ubuntu with reverse proxy (multi-domain setup):

1. Run the automated installation script:

   # On your Ubuntu server (can coexist with other apps)
   wget https://gitlab.com/trbc-dev/pdf-rename-sort/-/raw/main/ubuntu-install.sh
   chmod +x ubuntu-install.sh
   sudo ./ubuntu-install.sh
   

2. Configure DNS:

   • Point a subdomain (e.g., pdf-renamer.yourdomain.com) to your server's IP
   • This allows the app to run alongside your existing app on port 5000

3. Configure environment variables: Edit /etc/systemd/system/pdf-renamer.service and update:

   • SECRET_KEY: Generate a secure random key
   • TENANT_ID, CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET: From Azure AD app registration
   • ADMIN_USERNAME and ADMIN_PASSWORD: Set secure credentials

4. Update domain configuration: Edit /etc/nginx/sites-available/pdf-renamer and replace pdf-renamer.your-domain.com with your actual subdomain

5. Enable SSL (recommended):

   sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
   sudo certbot --nginx -d your-subdomain.yourdomain.com
   

6. Reload services:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl restart pdf-renamer
   sudo systemctl reload nginx
   

The application will be accessible at your subdomain on ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS after SSL setup), running alongside your existing application.

Development

To contribute or modify:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues or questions, please open an issue on the GitLab repository.