The Daily Prophet - Broadsheet Generator & Layout Publisher

A modern, high-fidelity desktop publishing application in Python that generates authentic broadsheet newspaper layouts inspired by The Daily Prophet from Harry Potter.

Powered by a pure native rendering engine (Pillow) with borderless multi-page PDF export, animated broadsheet GIFs, an interactive real-time preview dock with dual-monitor support, and an in-place article composer.

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Key Features

• Authentic Broadsheet Typography & Aesthetics:

  • Classic period fonts (Cinzel, Cinzel Decorative, Playfair Display, IM Fell English, UnifrakturMaguntia).
  • Ornate engraved borders, decorative filigree rules, and ear boxes (Weather and Community dispatches).
  • Multi-column justified body text with elegant drop-caps and text-wrapping around cutout silhouettes.
  • Breaking news banner ribbons and pull-quote callouts.

• Word-Inspired Three-Pane Workspace:

  • Left Pane (Story Navigator): Displays the active page's articles with instant reordering, deletion, and "Move to Page..." actions.
  • Center Pane (Article Composer): Direct in-place writing—no modal dialogs required for routine authoring. Features 5 Wizarding Archetype presets, live slot auto-fit capacity meter, and an expandable styling drawer.
  • Right Pane (Live Broadsheet Preview Dock): Interactive real-time canvas with zoom controls (Fit to Screen, 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%), page flip controls, and bi-directional slot highlighting.

• Dual-Monitor Pop-Out Mode:

  • Click Pop Out to detach the live broadsheet preview into an independent floating window for your secondary monitor.
  • The main editor window automatically expands across your screen for maximum writing comfort. Click Dock to restore it into the main workspace.

• Bi-Directional Highlighting:

  • Selecting an article in the story list or composer highlights its slot on the live sheet preview with a glowing parchment outline.
  • Clicking any slot directly on the live sheet preview immediately selects that article for editing.

• Multi-Page Publication Engine:

  • Full multi-page support with a horizontal page ribbon ([Page 1: Front Page] [Page 2: Inside Feature] ... [ + Add Page ]).
  • Each page can independently select its own layout template (Hero Cover, 3-Column Editorial, Classifieds & Notices, etc.).
  • Compile all pages into a unified 300 DPI borderless PDF.

• One-Click Wizarding Archetypes & Lorem Ipsum:

  • Presets for Breaking Scandal / Alert, Ministry Official Decree, Rita Skeeter Exclusive, Quidditch Match Report, and Hogwarts Notice & Snippet.
  • Wizarding Lorem Ipsum: Generates authentic Harry Potter newspaper copy (Diagon Alley potion shortages, cauldron regulations, owl post mist advisories) with one click for rapid layout prototyping.

• Interactive Layout Slot Editor:

  • Visual drag-and-drop bounding box editor for custom templates.
  • Shipped factory templates are protected against accidental deletion.
  • Portable, self-contained .prophettemplate archive packages.

• Pure Native Exporters (Zero Browser / CLI Dependencies):

  • Multi-Page PDF: 300 DPI borderless print-ready document.
  • High-Res Images: Export active page or batch-export all pages as numbered PNGs.
  • Animated Broadsheet GIFs: Export moving pictures for authentic wizarding portraits.

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Quick Start

1. Installation

Ensure Python 3.10+ is installed, then clone the repository and install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Launching the Publisher

Run the application entry point:

python main.py

Or using Poe the Poet:

poe run

3. Developer Commands (Poe the Poet & Ruff)

Task automation is configured via poethepoet and ruff:

Command	Action
poe run / poe start	Launch The Daily Prophet desktop application
poe check	Run formatting check and linting in sequence
poe format	Auto-format Python code using Ruff
poe format-check	Check code formatting without writing changes
poe lint	Lint codebase for issues using Ruff
poe lint-fix	Check and automatically fix safe lint issues
poe test	Run functional GUI smoke and regression tests

4. Built-In Issue Presets

Use the top ribbon commands to load pre-configured editions immediately:

• Hogwarts Issue: The Hogwarts Community & Castle Dispatch edition with feature stories and student lore.

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Workflow Overview

[ Top Ribbon: Project & Sample Presets | Export Commands ]
[ Page Ribbon: Page 1 | Page 2 | ... | + Add Page | Layout Selector | Pop-Out Preview ]
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[ Story Navigator ]  |  [ Streamlined Composer ]         |  [ Live Preview Dock ]
- Active page stories |  - Headline, subheadline, author   |  - Real-time sheet rendering
- Add, Up, Down, Del |  - Archetype presets & Lorem Ipsum|  - Slot highlighting
- Move to Page...    |  - Auto-fit meter & Photo filters |  - Zoom (Fit, 50%-150%)
                     |  - Accordion styling drawer       |  - Page flip (< Prev, Next >)

1. Navigate or Add Pages: Switch between publication pages using the Page Ribbon. Assign different layout templates per page as desired.
2. Select or Add a Story: Click any story on the left pane, or click directly on the live sheet preview to select its slot.
3. Compose & Customize: Edit headline, body text, or author in the center composer. Notice the live sheet preview updates in real-time as you type.
4. Export Your Publication:
   • Click Export PDF (Multi-Page) to compile all edition pages into a high-resolution, borderless print-ready PDF.
   • Click Export Images / GIF to export either the active page or all pages (as PNGs or animated GIFs).

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Project Architecture

TheDailyProphet/
├── main.py                     # Application entry point
├── requirements.txt            # Python dependencies (Pillow, CustomTkinter, etc.)
├── docs/                       # Project roadmap & documentation
│   └── prophet_modernization_roadmap.md
├── assets/
│   ├── fonts/                  # Authentic wizarding font collection
│   ├── library/                # Character portraits and transparent cutouts
│   └── templates/installed/    # .prophettemplate packages
└── daily_prophet/
    ├── models.py               # NewspaperEdition, NewspaperPage & Story domain models
    ├── layout_models.py        # LayoutSlot, LayoutDefinition & SlotType models
    ├── native_renderer.py      # High-resolution Pillow broadsheet compositor
    ├── pdf_exporter.py         # Native Multi-Page PDF, Image & GIF exporter
    ├── template_package.py     # .prophettemplate archive packager & loader
    ├── versioning.py           # Format versioning & schema migration pipelines
    ├── sample_data.py          # Built-in Hogwarts issue edition
    └── gui/
        ├── main_window.py      # Main Word-inspired 3-pane publication workspace
        ├── story_composer.py   # In-place article composer with archetypes & auto-fit
        ├── preview_canvas.py   # Interactive live preview dock & dual-monitor window
        ├── layout_editor_window.py # Drag-and-drop slot layout editor
        ├── library_dialog.py   # Artwork & character cutout library
        ├── story_dialog.py     # Advanced story configuration dialog
        └── theme.py            # Centralized design tokens & vector IconManager

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License

This project is open-source and intended for educational, creative, and personal use. Harry Potter characters, names, and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.