PDFs of Full Issues

[Lantau]

I'm attempting to download the PDFs of full past issues. I have successfully logged in with my subscriber number and surname. When I follow the link to the archives and look up issues 108 and earlier I can see no way to download the full issue. Am I missing something?

[Dutch_Master]

Well, I logged in too, selected issue 75 (it came up earlier this week in discussions here) and presto: on the top of the page is a link (with a yellow background!) to a zipped file containing the entire issue. At least, that's what Mike (I suppose it was him) promised

[ollie]

I see the same thing - I just wish that it would remember that my account is a subscriber. I use multiple computers and need to enter the number each time I want to access the extra PDFs.

[Lantau]

Thanks Dutch and ollie, still no joy. I seem to get into a loop. After entering my subscriber number and being advised that I have successfully logged in, there is the message that I can access the PDF archives. I follow the link and select the issue in the Issue Navigator box but when that issue is displayed there is no download link. There is the box with the message "Subscriber: click her to get access to more PDFs...", i.e. the same page as before. I'm new to forums, is there a way to post a png screen print of the page with the missing link? Just in case I'm completely blind and can't see the obvious!!

[ollie]

After doing the subscribers log in don't click on the "Click here to see all available PDFs". Choose the issue number (108 or earlier) from the drop down box and click on "Go". Then you will see a large yellow box with the option to download the zip file.

I'd also like the association between my forum user and subscription to be remembered - if I keep saying it I may get an answer

On a side note, why use a zip file? Using a tar and gzip file would be the *nix way of distributing compressed files. In fact compression is part of the PDF specification so no other tool is really required.

[mrg9999]

I subscribe to many pdf magazines, Linuxjournal, Drdobbs,Nuts&volts,Popular mechanics, and they give you a single PDF file
I downloaded 108.zip and it contains lots of PDF's

108 contains these files
Am I supposed to join them together in the correct sequence, Welcome .pdf seems to be the first set?
It would be useful to have an index on each file.

First rule of linux is should be easy!

LXF108.amazon.pdf
LXF108.answr.pdf
LXF108.backpage.pdf
LXF108.content.pdf
LXF108.dvdpgs.pdf
LXF108.dwatch.pdf
LXF108.hot.pdf
LXF108.install.pdf
LXF108.iview.pdf
LXF108.mail.pdf
LXF108.news.pdf
LXF108.rev_books.pdf
LXF108.rev_brain.pdf
LXF108.rev_fedora9.pdf
LXF108.rev_inkscape.pdf
LXF108.rev_int.pdf
LXF108.rev_picasa.pdf
LXF108.rev_qt44.pdf
LXF108.round.pdf
LXF108.sysadmin.pdf
LXF108.tut_adv.pdf
LXF108.tut_alsa.pdf
LXF108.tut_begin.pdf
LXF108.tut_eee.pdf
LXF108.tut_gimp.pdf
LXF108.tut_int.pdf
LXF108.tut_rails.pdf
LXF108.tut_trouble.pdf
LXF108.user.pdf
LXF108.welcome.pdf
LXF108.woe.pdf

[Dutch_Master]

Linux is easy, once you get to grips with it!

These are separate articles, poored into a large bowl, compressed (Mike really puts his weight into this ya'know, but is not so very heavy... ) and made available to subscribers. When you, the subscriber, unpacks the lot Linux automagically puts them in alphabetical order for you. Smart èh?



PS: if you really want them in the same order as the mag, rename each article after you've read them. These are simply scans from the mag so page numbers are provided Simply add an index number between the LXF issue number and name of the article, Linux then sorts them in numerical order for you. Your assignment now is to find out why I advise you to put the index number right there... Hint: it has something to do with other issues

[mrg9999]

>PS: if you really want them in the same order as the mag, rename each article after you've read them
THAT IS THE WAY A WINDOWS USER MIGHT READ A MAGAZINE!!
I would prefer to read it from page 1 to page N

None of the other 20 or so magazines I download are in this mad!!!

I bet you don't send a random set of files to your printer and expect them to get the page order correct. I find this attitude patronising.

Don't worry, I'll try and automate it, so long as I can pull the pages numbers out and they are unique

[M-Saunders]

mrg9999,

Magazines aren't made in a direct order from page 1 to the end; different parts are worked on separately, hence separate documents. I'm sorry that you don't like the current system, but unfortunately there are only 24 hours in every day. If we have other requests for a single document system I'll add it to my to-do list

Mike

[mrg9999]

To save you the time, I've made one for you, it took me about 30mins to script, but now I should be able to just run it.

How to identify page numbers
using pscript

::OK being lazy I'm using the adobe API to search the PDF's
The page numbers appear in this format,in 108 at least
"NNN |" or "| NNN"



1. while file to process
2. search for page start" , append NNN to source_filename
3. wend
4. PDF concatenate 001 - max(NNN)
5. post process - deny print, copy&paste apply digital signature, password, certificate

parsed and sorted
003-LXF108.welcome.pdf
004-LXF108.content.pdf
006-LXF108.news.pdf
014-LXF108.user.pdf
016-LXF108.mail.pdf
021-LXF108.rev_int.pdf
022-LXF108.rev_fedora9.pdf
024-LXF108.rev_brain.pdf
026-LXF108.rev_qt44.pdf
027-LXF108.rev_picasa.pdf
028-LXF108.rev_inkscape.pdf
030-LXF108.round.pdf
036-LXF108.rev_books.pdf
038-LXF108.dwatch.pdf
040-LXF108.install.pdf
048-LXF108.iview.pdf
052-LXF108.tut_alsa.pdf
056-LXF108.amazon.pdf
060-LXF108.woe.pdf
062-LXF108.sysadmin.pdf
066-LXF108.dvdpgs.pdf
070-LXF108.hot.pdf
079-LXF108.tut_int.pdf
080-LXF108.tut_begin.pdf
084-LXF108.tut_eee.pdf
088-LXF108.tut_gimp.pdf
092-LXF108.tut_trouble.pdf
094-LXF108.tut_rails.pdf
098-LXF108.tut_adv.pdf
105-LXF108.answr.pdf
114-LXF108.backpage.pdf


what we get is after a few mins chundering on my 8way

108-Linuxformat-assembled-secured.pdf

for your perusal
http://www.mrg9999.com/pub/lf/
www.mrg9999.com/pub/lf/108-Linuxformat- ... ecured.pdf

[ollie]

Have you emailed Mike your script in open source fashion?

[mrg9999]

It's inline above. it uses a number of closed source components, like adobe acrobat. My aim is always to produce some thing totally open source, but my skills / tools available let me down. If they put the sequence number in the file name it would be 90% of the problem solved, and wouldn't need to search each file for the page number.