Release 3: "Code Cowboy" (Patreon)

In Alpha 3 we start generating PDFs... finally. The full rendering pipeline is working, and looks like:

`Data -> Code Transforms -> PDF

...but it's tough to use, because you need to be a coder, or an adventurous person, or a crazy person... or all 3, because the only way to get your data into a PDF right now is by writing code. Which is great for me, I'm an adventurous, crazy coder, and I built the thing. But it's not so great for would-be users. Welcome to Alpha 3, I guess!

Release Info

Release Name: "Code Cowboy"

Release Series: Alpha 3

Release Date: December 8th, 2017

New Feature Overview:

• image uploading
• layered Transform rendering system
• new Transform type: Code Transform
• basic PDF output

Publicly Available: Yes

Link: http://beta.editor.paperize.io 

Details:

This release hits some serious project goals.

For instance, we've got an image manager now:

This proves that we can "upload" images from our hard drive into the browser's local storage, accessible to the Paperize application. (This may seem trivial, but remember we aren't using a server to store anything, so having a robust database available in the browser for both application data and media assets is a big deal!)

We've also got a code editor (for hand-coding Transforms) embedded right into the page:

Lovely, in-browser code editor on the left, PDF on the right. It's a real PDF, same as the final product, what you see is what you get. It automatically renders and re-renders the PDF as you code, creating a tight feedback loop. Legit!

And lastly, there's a nice Transform layer manager with drag-n-drop re-order:

These are like layers in Photoshop. It's how a game gets rendered, or drawn: back to front. Being able to rapidly re-order each of these layers is essential to building, updating, and maintaining nice templates.

But A Lot Doesn't Work

• no documentation for how to use anything
• no PDF layouts
• no font support
• no icon support
• no support image or text alignment
• and the list goes on...

In lieu of proper documentation, I'll follow up with a video demonstrating its usage, hopefully you'll see the potential I do!