Generating PDF/UA from Excel templates

This guide explains how to generate an Excel workbook from a template and convert the generated file to PDF/UA with Nutrient Python SDK.

Use this workflow for invoices, financial reports, statements, and other workbooks that use a fixed worksheet design with variable content. PDF/UA helps generated PDFs meet accessibility requirements for assistive technologies such as screen readers.

Generating a workbook and exporting PDF/UA

Nutrient Python SDK handles the template processing and PDF/UA export workflow. The sample performs the following tasks:

• Open an Excel template.
• Load a JSON data model.
• Apply the data model to replace placeholders.
• Configure PDF/UA conformance.
• Export the generated document as a PDF.

Complete implementation

The following sections build the complete Python example. First, import the classes required for document processing, template editing, PDF conformance, and error handling:

from nutrient_sdk import Document
from nutrient_sdk import SpreadsheetEditor
from nutrient_sdk import PdfConformance
from nutrient_sdk import NutrientException

Open the Excel template file. The context-manager(opens in a new tab) syntax closes the document when processing finishes:

def main():
    try:
        with Document.open("input_spreadsheet.xlsx") as document:

Create a SpreadsheetEditor instance for template processing:

            editor = SpreadsheetEditor.edit(document)

Read the JSON data model that contains the values for the template placeholders:

            try:
                with open("input_spreadsheet_model.json", "r") as f:
                    model = f.read()
            except IOError:
                print("Failed to read template model file")
                return

Apply the template model, save the generated workbook, and close the editor:

            editor.apply_template_model(model)
            editor.save()
            editor.close()

Configure PDF/UA conformance and export the document as an accessible PDF:

            # Configure PDF settings for PDF/UA conformance
            pdf_settings = document.settings.pdf_settings
            pdf_settings.conformance = PdfConformance.PDF_UA_1

            document.export_as_pdf("output.pdf")
            print("Successfully generated accessible PDF from template")
    except NutrientException as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Conclusion

The template processing workflow consists of five steps:

1. Open the Excel template.
2. Create a spreadsheet editor.
3. Apply the JSON template model.
4. Configure PDF/UA conformance.
5. Export the generated workbook as a PDF.

Use this pattern when you have a fixed Excel worksheet design and variable content from a data model.

Download the sample package to run this example as-is.