Cedarville Cybersecurity Textbook PDF Creator#

Automated tool to download and convert the Cedarville "Invitation to Cybersecurity" textbook to PDF format.

Features#

• Downloads all 340 pages (SVG text layers + high-res WebP images)
• Composites layers with proper font rendering
• Creates high-quality PDF (1045x1350 pixels per page)
• Optional: Add searchable text with OCR

Quick Start#

./build.sh

That's it! The script will:

1. Create a Python virtual environment
2. Install dependencies
3. Download all page layers (~10-15 min)
4. Create the PDF (~8-10 min)
5. Optionally add OCR for selectable text (~30-60 min)

Manual Steps#

If you prefer to run steps individually:

1. Setup Environment#

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m playwright install chromium

2. Download Layers#

python download_layers.py

Downloads 340 pages:

• SVG layers (text, vector graphics) → svg_layers/
• High-res WebP images (1045x1350) → webp_highres/

3. Create PDF#

python create_pdf.py

Composites SVG + WebP and creates Invitation_to_Cybersecurity.pdf

4. Add OCR (Optional)#

brew install ocrmypdf
ocrmypdf Invitation_to_Cybersecurity.pdf Invitation_to_Cybersecurity_OCR.pdf

Creates a version with selectable/searchable text.

Requirements#

• Python 3.9+
• macOS (tested on Apple Silicon)
• Homebrew (for OCR step)

Output#

• Invitation_to_Cybersecurity.pdf - 340 pages, ~70-80 MB, high quality
• Invitation_to_Cybersecurity_OCR.pdf - Same as above + searchable text (optional)

File Structure#

cedrus/
├── build.sh                    # Main build script
├── requirements.txt            # Python dependencies
├── download_layers.py          # Download SVG + WebP
├── create_pdf.py              # Composite and create PDF
├── svg_layers/                # Downloaded SVG files
├── webp_highres/              # Downloaded WebP files
├── merged_pages/              # Temporary composited PNGs
└── Invitation_to_Cybersecurity.pdf

Troubleshooting#

"Command not found: python3"

• Install Python 3: brew install python3

"ocrmypdf not found"

• OCR step is optional. Install with: brew install ocrmypdf

Fonts look wrong

• The script uses Playwright (Chromium) which properly renders embedded fonts
• If issues persist, check that Playwright browser installed: python -m playwright install chromium

Notes#

• Total time: ~20-30 minutes (without OCR)
• With OCR: ~50-90 minutes total
• Disk space needed: ~500 MB temporary files
• The script downloads from the official Cedarville publication server
• Be patient - high-quality rendering takes time!