PDF to Academic Poster Skill

Purpose

Extract text from a PDF academic paper, translate the content into Chinese, and generate a
professional, visually rich academic poster as a single self-contained HTML file.

When to Use

Load this skill when the user:
- Provides a PDF file path (or drops a PDF) and requests a "学术海报" / "academic poster"
- Asks to translate an article and visualize it as a poster
- Wants to summarize a paper in poster format for presentations or sharing

Step-by-Step Workflow

Step 1: Extract PDF Text

Use the bundled script scripts/extract_pdf.py to extract text from the PDF.

First, ensure the Python venv exists and pymupdf is installed:

# Create venv if it doesn't exist
<managed_python> -m venv <venv_path>

# Install pymupdf
<venv_pip> install pymupdf

Where:
- <managed_python> = the managed Python binary path (check runtime docs for location)
- <venv_path> = managed venv directory (e.g. <managed_python_dir>/envs/default)
- <venv_pip> = <venv_path>/Scripts/pip (Windows) or <venv_path>/bin/pip (macOS/Linux)
- <venv_python> = <venv_path>/Scripts/python (Windows) or <venv_path>/bin/python (macOS/Linux)

Then run extraction using the skill's bundled script (resolve path relative to this skill's base directory):

<venv_python> "<skill_base>/scripts/extract_pdf.py" "<pdf_path>" "<workspace>/pdf_content.txt"

Where <skill_base> is the absolute path to this skill's directory (e.g. ~/.workbuddy/skills/pdf-to-academic-poster).

Step 2: Read and Understand the Article

Read the extracted pdf_content.txt in multiple passes:
- First pass (lines 1–200): Get title, authors, abstract, introduction
- Second pass (lines 200–500): Methods, results
- Third pass (lines 500–end): Discussion, conclusions, references

Key information to extract:
- Title (original language + Chinese translation)
- Authors & Affiliation
- Journal & Year
- Background/Objective (1–2 sentences)
- Methods (study design, sample, interventions)
- Key Results (3–5 specific quantitative findings)
- Conclusions (main takeaway)
- Clinical/Practical Significance

Step 3: Generate Academic Poster HTML

Create a single self-contained HTML file with the following structure and requirements:

Visual Design Requirements

• Layout: 3-column academic poster layout, A0/widescreen proportions
• Color scheme: Deep navy/teal header gradient (#0a2342 → #1a6b6b), white cards, accent colors for highlights
• Typography: Chinese + English bilingual; use system fonts or Google Fonts CDN (Noto Sans SC)
• Charts: Use Chart.js CDN for data visualizations (bar/radar charts for key results)
• Icons: Unicode symbols or simple SVG inline icons
• No external dependencies beyond CDN links (Chart.js, Google Fonts)
• Responsive: Works at 1200px+ width

Poster Sections (3 columns)

Column 1 (Left):
1. 流行病学背景 / Background — prevalence, incidence data with visual callouts
2. 病理生理机制 / Pathophysiology — numbered flow diagram (SVG or CSS-based)
3. 诊断标准 / Diagnostic Criteria — table or icon grid

Column 2 (Middle):
1. 研究设计 / Study Design — visual diagram or table
2. 干预方案 / Intervention — structured list with visual elements
3. 常规治疗对比 / Comparison with Standard Treatment — comparison table

Column 3 (Right):
1. 核心结果 / Key Results — Chart.js bar chart with quantitative data
2. 分级推荐方案 / Graded Recommendations — colored badge list
3. 安全性评估 / Safety Profile — visual summary

Header: Full-width gradient banner with title, authors, journal, year
Footer: Journal citation, corresponding author, key keywords

HTML Template Structure

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="zh-CN">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>[Article Title] — Academic Poster</title>
  <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Noto+Sans+SC:wght@300;400;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js"></script>
  <style>
    /* CSS variables, layout, cards, typography */
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <!-- Header banner -->
  <!-- 3-column grid -->
  <!-- Footer citation -->
  <script>
    // Chart.js initialization
  </script>
</body>
</html>

CSS Key Variables

:root {
  --primary: #0a2342;
  --secondary: #1a6b6b;
  --accent: #e74c3c;
  --accent2: #27ae60;
  --accent3: #f39c12;
  --text: #2c3e50;
  --light-bg: #f8fafc;
  --card-bg: #ffffff;
  --border: #e0e8f0;
}

Step 4: Save and Preview

• Save HTML to <workspace>/academic_poster.html
• Call preview_url to show the poster
• Call deliver_attachments to deliver the file to the user

Step 5: Summary

After generating the poster, provide a brief summary in Chinese:
- Original article title and authors
- Journal and year
- 3–5 key findings
- Table showing poster sections

Notes

• If the PDF is in Spanish/English, translate all section headings and content to Chinese
• If quantitative data is sparse, use qualitative visual summaries instead of charts
• The poster should be print-ready (suitable for A0 printing at 300dpi equivalent)
• pymupdf install may require background task (run_in_background: true) due to network conditions
• Always check if venv already exists before creating it