PDF export

I have a Linux instance (CentOS 7) setup under VMware that enables printing to PDF via CUPS PDF. (That used to work on OS X, but for the last several versions, I haven't been able to get it to work anymore.) Problem: The PDFs generated sit on the desktop of the Linux instance. Solution: A simple script that runs from rc.local in the background (actually in a screen session) and copies them to my macOS machine via SSH, as they're created. (Yes, I know I can "normally" print to PDF in Mac applications, but that doesn't work for Judicial Council forms I have to fill out in Acrobat Pro, dump to an unprotected populated PDF, and then paste on my electronic signature for e-filing.)

First, setup the instance to stop booting into the heavy GUI:

[root@localhost system]# systemctl set-default multi-user.target

Removed symlink /etc/systemd/system/default.target.

Created symlink from /etc/systemd/system/default.target to /usr/lib/systemd/system/multi-user.target.

[root@localhost system]# systemctl get-default

multi-user.target

Build the script (which makes use of an .ssh/config file to specify hostnames, identity files, etc) (this could be more robust, may revisit later, but in practice it's working perfectly):

#!/usr/bin/env bash

export IFS=$'\n'!

cd ~charshman/Desktop

/bin/pwd

while `/bin/true`

do

        for FILE in `/usr/bin/find . -maxdepth 1 -name "*.pdf"`

        do

                echo "Processing file [$FILE]";

                # Sleep for a couple of seconds to make sure it's finished being written

                sleep 3

                scp "$FILE" blacktower:~/Downloads

                export NEWFILE="old/`/usr/bin/date '+%Y.%m.%d.%H%M'`-`/bin/basename $FILE`"

                /bin/mv -v "$FILE" "$NEWFILE"

        done

        sleep 5

done

Install Screen:

[root@localhost ~]# yum install -y screen

Ensure SSHD is running as a service when I reboot:

[root@localhost ~]# systemctl enable sshd

Start the script running in the background:

[root@localhost system]# vim /etc/rc.local 

#!/bin/bash

# ...

/bin/sudo -u username /bin/screen -d -m -S CUPS-PDF /home/username/exporter.sh

Just as a convenience, announce the IP address in the login prompt:

[root@localhost ~]# vim /etc/issue

\S (\4)

Kernel \r on an \m

Commit to it all:

[root@localhost ~]# shutdown -r now

I love UNIX.