PDF Catalog with Page Builder Block

Hi @Terri_Bose - yes, there is a way to do this. The trick is to have the product type as one table and the products as another. The type in the product table is linked to the product types table:

Now, if you create a page design on the Types table you can show the related products on this page:

Then just print all records to PDF.

Hope this helps

JB

thanks that does help. Now how do I get this to look more like a catalog with a larger image and info underneath?

I don’t have the answer to your image size question, but I am curious about how to prevent each group of product types from page-breaking onto a new page when creating a PDF with the page designer block.

I was able to recreate the example database that @JonathanBowen created above, but when I go to create a PDF file of my products grouped by type (using the page designer block), each grouped product type starts a new page.

I would love for the next grouped product type to appear directly underneath the previous grouped product type.

Hi @Terri_Bose - you can’t change the layout too much in the “linked record” view I described above. However, if you do the layout the other way around, from the Products table, you’ve got much more flexibility on layout, image sizes, etc. Here’s what I did:

1. In the page designer settings, use a custom layout:

(note that the table is now “products”, not “types”)

2. Arrange your fields on the smaller custom page as you want:

3. When you go to print select “records in a specific view” and “in a list”

4. Then print:

The downside of this method is the products aren’t grouped by type (as in grouped under a type header), but if you sort your view appropriately, the print can be sorted by type.

JB

Thanks, that might work.

If printing from the grouped view (the product type table), is there any way to prevent each group from starting a brand new page?

Hi @ScottWorld - you might be able to experiment with custom page size and achieve something that works, but I think this might depend upon a very specific product set, e.g. X products per type, for every type. In practice, I think this might be quite hard to achieve. Doing it the other way around (from the products table) and making the type more prominent might get you closer (although type will appear on every record).

JB

Thanks, @JonathanBowen! :slightly_smiling_face:

Let’s say I kept it the way it is now — products grouped by “product type” (and printed from the “product type” table). Does Airtable only print out the first page of each grouped product type?

In other words, if there are so many products per group that the list of products needs to continue onto another page, will Airtable print the additional products on additional pages?

Will Airtable allow a group to extend onto multiple pages when printing?

@JonathanBowen. I ended up using a pdf builder for wordpress for now but I still want to look into this further. I like the flexibility of page builder. I’m guessing that if I make a pdf the only only way to add links would be with adobe acrobat?

Hi @Terri_Bose - when you say “links” do you mean links to your products (on a website)? Or something else?

JB

Yes, product link urls

Hi @Terri_Bose, yes, if you include the links in your table:

When you print this to PDF, the links do work as expected:

The link could be an explicit link or derived in a formula field - works the same in the PDF print

JB

I wish I new what this meant. :blush: Can I show anchor text instead of the URL?

:slightly_smiling_face:

By explicit link, I meant the full URL, i.e. type or copy the URL into the field for each product. “Derived for a formula field” - I meant that if your URLs had a specific format, e.g.

https://www.mysite.com/product/{PRODUCT_ID}

Then you could derive this using a formula (assuming PRODUCT_ID is already in your table), so something like:

'https://www.mysite.com/product/' & {PRODUCT_ID}

I’m afraid you can’t have anchor text in a URL (or formula) field though, so something like:

“View Product”

with the link “attached” to it won’t work.

JB

thank you. This has all been a big help.

@JonathanBowen It’s worth noting that something has changed with the PDF export since you wrote that, and formula-generated URLs are no longer clickable. I could only get a clickable URL in a PDF from an actual URL field.

Hi @Justin_Barrett - oh yes, I see. Pretty sure I didn’t make that up :winking_face:

Wonder if this is an Airtable thing or something to do with the way the browser is rendering and printing the pdf? It is still the case that both the URL and a formula URL are clickable from within the Airtable UI.