Quick Start

PDF Mail Engine is a secure, local-first tool for generating and emailing PDFs in bulk. This guide will take you from installation to sending your first invoice in minutes.

Step 1: Installation

The safest way to install the application is via the Microsoft Store.

1. Click the button above.
2. Click Get (or Install).
3. Once installed, click Open.

Step 2: Creating Your First Profile

When you launch the app for the first time, the Home screen displays two onboarding options:

• Create New Profile — Start fresh with your own data.
• Try Demo Data — Explore the app with pre-loaded sample data (recommended for first-time users, see below).

Click Create New Profile, enter a descriptive name like Monthly Invoices, and click Create. You will be taken to the Profile settings screen.

Configure Mail Settings (SMTP)

On the Profile settings screen, find the SMTP & Email Configuration section and configure the email server used to send emails. You will need the connection details from your email provider:

• Host: The server address (e.g., smtp.example.com)
• Port: Usually 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
• Username: Your login ID (often your email address, but check your provider)
• Password: Your login password
• SSL/TLS: Enable if required by your provider (usually Yes)

Step 3: Designing a Template

Now, let's create the layout for your PDF. You will use our visual Template Designer.

1. Download Sample Data

First, download this sample invoice list to use for your design: 📥 sample_invoices.csv

2. Open the Designer

On the Profile settings screen, click the Template Designer button (located at the bottom right).

3. Initialize the Template

Before you start designing, a configuration modal will appear to set up the data structure:

1. Load Data: Click Load Transaction Data and select the sample_invoices.csv file you just downloaded.
2. Group Key: Select a column that identifies a unique document (e.g., id).
3. Email Address: Select the column containing email addresses (e.g., email).
4. PDF Filename: Define how files should be named. You can use variables like {{ id }}_{{ name }}.pdf.
5. Click Finish.

4. Create the Layout

You are now in the visual designer canvas.

1. Add Text: Drag a Text element onto the canvas.
2. Map Variable: In the text content area, type: Hello, {{ name }}.
   • You will see it update in real-time using your sample data.
3. Save: Click Save and name it invoice_template.yaml.

Step 4: Generate & Send

Now that your Profile is ready (Mail configured, Template selected), let's run the job.

1. Import Data

Navigate to Data Import in the sidebar and select the same sample_invoices.csv. (In a real scenario, this would be your monthly data export).

2. Generate PDFs

Navigate to PDF Generation in the sidebar and click Run Process. The engine will process each row in the CSV, swapping {{ name }} with the actual names (e.g., "Alice", "Bob"), and create PDFs in the Output folder.

3. Send Emails

Navigate to Email Sending in the sidebar. Review the queue, then click Run Process to send the generated PDFs as email attachments.

Try Demo Data

If you want to explore the app before setting up your own data, choose Try Demo Data from the Home screen:

1. Click Setup Demo.
2. Optionally enter your SMTP server details (you can skip this step and configure it later).
3. A demo profile with sample template and data will be created automatically.

This is a great way to see how the entire workflow works end-to-end before creating your own profile.

Summary

You have successfully:

1. Configured a Profile.
2. Initialized and designed a dynamic template.
3. Generated and Sent personalized PDFs.

Next Steps:

• Advanced Template Features: Tables, Images, and Barcodes.
• Calculations: Tax, Sums, and conditional logic.