PDF to Directory · Your App Cloud
Turn a PDF into a searchable directory
Upload the PDF of a printed member, supplier or resource directory. Say where each entry starts and ends, check that column pages were read in order, and choose which contact details go public.
From printed pages to entries you can search and correct.
Explain the page layout, define one entry, then hold the directory up against the PDF before anyone else sees it.
01
Describe how a page is laid out
Attach the PDF with the upload button above. In the prompt, say how many columns a page has and what marks a new entry, such as a bold name or a thin rule. Name the lines that only serve print: letter headings, running headers and page numbers.
02
Define one entry
List the lines a single entry holds, in print order: name, street, phone, email, website, services, a short note. Explain every symbol printed after a name, because the key that defines them usually sits pages away.
03
Compare ten entries with the page
Choose ten entries spread across the PDF, including the last one in a column and the last one on a page. Open each listing beside its printed entry and confirm no phone number or street came from a neighbor.
What each part of the printed directory becomes.
Read across each row: what you see on the PDF page, where it can go in the directory, and what to check before sharing. Names in quotes are invented for this page.
| On the PDF page | In the directory | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| An entry block: a bold name, then street, phone and web lines | A listing with its own page, plus a line in the browse list | Count the entries on two printed pages by hand and find every one of them in the directory, with nothing extra. |
| Two or three columns of entries on each page | One list in the order you choose, usually A to Z by name | Text read straight across a page mixes the columns. Look for a listing whose phone number or street belongs to the entry printed beside it. |
| Letter headings (A, B, C), guide words such as 'Abbott to Barnes' at the top, and page numbers | Nothing. Sorting and search do the job these did in print | Search for one guide-word pair, then read a few descriptions for a stray page number. Neither belongs in a listing. |
| Chapters by area or trade, such as 'East Bay' or 'Electricians' | An area or category filter | An entry printed in two chapters should become one listing with two categories. Search for a name you know appears in both. |
| An entry that runs over a column or page break, sometimes marked 'continued' | One listing that holds all of its lines | Open the last entry on a few pages. Its closing lines, often the email or website, should belong to it, not to the next entry. |
| Symbols after a name, such as a star for accredited members, defined in a key at the front | A yes-or-no field or a label, with a filter if people choose by it | Name each symbol and its meaning in the prompt. Then open two entries with the star and two without, and compare the label. |
| Cross-references, such as 'Heating: see Plumbing' or 'Smith & Sons, see Northwind Plumbing' | A related-category link, or a former name kept on the listing it points to | A line that only points elsewhere should not have become an entry. Search for both names in a pointer: they should lead to the same listing. |
| Web and email addresses split over two lines in a narrow column | Links that open and email addresses in one piece | A hyphen added at the line break, as in 'north-windplumbing.com', can end up inside the address. Open a sample of links and look for stray spaces too. |
| Display ads and sponsor boxes set between the entries | Left out, or a featured listing marked as sponsored | An ad's slogan and phone number should not appear as an entry. When an advertiser is also listed, keep one listing for them. |
| The edition date on the cover, such as 'Correct as of March 1, 2026' | A 'listings as of' line on the directory, and a changed date on each listing corrected since | Check that a visitor can tell how old any entry is. Then correct one listing as a test and confirm it shows its own date, not the edition's. |
What the PDF leaves out.
A PDF records where text sat on a printed page, not which lines make one entry. The rules the editor followed, such as who may be listed or what a star means, sit in the editor's head or on another page. Put them in the prompt.
Printed for members is not the same as public
A booklet mailed to members reaches a known group. A public web page can reach anyone, search engines included. Check what people agreed to when they sent in their entry. If it covered only the booklet, keep the directory behind sign-in or ask them first.
Look for the list behind the PDF
Many printed directories are laid out from a spreadsheet or a membership export. If the editor still has that file, it already holds one row per entry, with no columns to untangle. Start from it on the Excel or CSV to Directory page and keep the PDF to compare against.
The key, the cover and the front matter
The symbol key, the edition date and notes such as 'Listings are free to members in good standing' explain the entries. Copy those lines into the prompt yourself, because they are printed far from the entries they describe.
One edition is one snapshot
An upload is a snapshot of one edition. Decide where corrections happen from now on: in the directory, or in the file the next edition is laid out from. Otherwise a phone number fixed online comes back wrong in next year's print.
An illustrative starting point
The printed edition, searchable and correctable.
A browse list with search and area filters, a page per entry, a visible edition date and a way to request corrections.
Entries in one order you choose
Ask for a page per entry and a browse list sorted A to Z, by area or by trade. Sorting replaces the print order, so the columns and letter headings don't need to survive. Pick one letter and check that every name the PDF prints under it is in the list.
Search that ignores chapters
A search box can cover names, trades and towns, so nobody has to know which chapter an electrician was printed under. Test it with a word that appears only inside one entry's note.
An edition date people can see
Show the print edition's date at the top and a changed date on each listing corrected since. Visitors then know how far to trust a phone number before they call it.
Corrections between editions
Ask for a request-a-correction form on each listing that saves each request for you to review before the entry changes. Saved requests need a backend. Submit one test correction yourself and follow it through to the listing.
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Good questions.
My PDF directory has two or three columns per page. Will the entries come out in the right order?
Don't assume so. Column layouts are where entries get mixed, because a page can be read across as well as down. Say how many columns each page has in the prompt. Then compare the entries at the foot of one column and the top of the next with the printed page.
Do I need permission to put a printed directory online?
Check before you publish. People who agreed to appear in a members' booklet may not have agreed to a page anyone can find. Read what the entry form said and ask where it is unclear. A members-only directory needs sign-in and the access you describe for each collection. Sign out afterwards and check what a stranger sees.
How do I keep listings current once the directory is published?
Pick one place for corrections. The upload won't follow later changes to the PDF or to the file it was laid out from. A correction form lets listed members ask for changes that you review, and saved requests need a backend. Before the next edition, decide whether it is printed from the directory or from last year's file.
Can I still print a directory once it lives online?
You can export your app's data and code, so next year's layout can start from the directory instead of last year's PDF. Check what an export contains before you plan the print run around it, and proof one printed page against the live listings.
Can the directory ask members to confirm their entry each year?
Apps can send email and run tasks on a schedule you set. One use is a yearly email asking each listed member to check their entry and send changes through the correction form, the job an annual update form did for print. Test it on your own entry, and review each change before it reaches a listing.
Can the directory carry featured listings for advertisers?
Yes. A featured listing can be a field on the entry, marked as sponsored so visitors can tell it apart from ordinary entries. Take the advertiser's payment the way the printed edition did, and turn the field on once it arrives.
Can the person who compiles each edition help run the directory?
Yes, as an editor of the published directory: give the volunteer who puts the booklet together each year a sign-in with access to the entries. Association members who only look entries up sign in with less. Describe what each can see for each collection, then sign in as one of each to check.
Which plan does a directory built from a PDF need?
A directory that members sign in to, correct through a form or get email from needs a backend, so it is an app with data, and putting it live needs a paid plan. Compare what each plan includes on the pricing page before you promise members sign-in or a correction form.
Explore Pricing for plans, included capabilities, and usage details.
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