What PDF export does
Journal can create a printable PDF document from the information already entered for an artwork. It does not require a separate record of painting layers or additional reporting fields. It does not modify the artwork, sessions, original photographs, or `.arsjournal` file.
Use the PDF export button 
on the Journal toolbar. This command is independent of Studio’s canvas export and printing functions.
Two formats are available:
| Report type | Intended use | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork Summary | A concise artwork presentation for an archive, portfolio, gallery or collector. | Artwork title; technique and dimensions if available; final artwork photograph and description if provided. |
| Process Report | A record of how the artwork was made. | The artwork information above, plus the artwork materials catalog, working sessions, recorded durations, notes, session material usage, video item names, and optionally WIP photographs. |
Neither option is a general-purpose PDF layout editor. The report uses a predetermined A4 page layout with automatic page breaks and page numbers.
Export step by step
- Open the required project in the Journal workspace.
- Click Export PDF… on the Journal toolbar.
- Under Report type, choose Artwork Summary or Process Report.
- Choose the Language: English or Lietuvių.
- For Process Report, decide whether to tick Include WIP photographs. This checkbox is unavailable for Artwork Summary.
- Click Export, choose a destination and `.pdf` filename, and confirm saving. The standard file dialog warns before overwriting an existing PDF.
- Open the resulting PDF in a reader to review image placement, text and page breaks.
The initial language selection follows the UI language where possible; you can change it for each export without changing the ARS interface or Journal data. Exporting an unsaved Journal does not automatically save the `.arsjournal` file. Edits must pass the same field validation before export.
A successful export can be indicated in the Journal status bar. The document’s unsaved-change marker (*) is independent of PDF export.
Language and the text in the report
The report language selects the generated headings and labels (for example, Technique / Technika, Sessions / Sesijos). ARS does not automatically translate artwork titles, material names, session descriptions or notes entered by the artist.
For example, a Lithuanian artwork description remains Lithuanian even when the report’s labels are exported in English. Accented Lithuanian characters are supported by the PDF generator, provided the necessary fonts are available when exporting.
Artwork Summary contents
Artwork Summary can include:
- Artwork title as the main heading.
- Technique, if entered.
- Dimensions, when both width and height are provided; the PDF displays them in centimeters.
- Final artwork image, if present and accessible.
- Artwork description / notes, if not empty.
- A small Artist Reference Studio footer with the page number.
It deliberately leaves out the session list, materials catalog, WIP gallery, and session notes. If there is no final image, the Summary can still be created from the text that exists.
Process Report contents
Process Report starts with the artwork-level information used in Summary, then adds:
| Section | What appears |
|---|---|
| Artwork materials | Material names, manufacturer, pigment Color Index codes and catalog notes where entered. The catalog is presented alphabetically for the chosen report language. |
| Sessions | Sessions in their Journal list order, numbered 1, 2, 3…, with the session title, start date/time, entered duration and session notes. |
| Total duration | Sum of recorded session durations, shown as hours and minutes. Empty durations contribute zero; this is not a running stopwatch. |
| Work-in-progress media | Display names of the session’s media. Video clips are listed as text entries. Images can additionally appear in the PDF when Include WIP photographs is selected. |
| Materials used in each session | Material names with individual usage notes if provided. These are distinct from the artwork catalog notes. |
The order of sessions in the exported report follows the order of the session collection shown by Journal. If two sessions have the same timestamp, the report does not invent a different chronological order.
Include WIP photographs applies to the photographs associated with the report’s sessions; there is no per-photo inclusion checklist. When unchecked, WIP images are not embedded, but the media records can still be mentioned by name. Video files are not embedded or made playable inside the PDF.
If an original image cannot be accessed while images are being included, the report can display an Image file unavailable note rather than the full image. The PDF does not repair broken paths in Journal.
Image quality and file size
Images are prepared for the PDF separately from the Journal originals. The exporter reduces photographic resolution, uses JPEG compression, and preserves the displayed proportions. The current settings aim to make reports easier to open and scroll without embedding a full-resolution archive of every photograph.
The artwork photograph is allotted a larger area than WIP photographs. Photographs may flow over several pages; image captions are kept with their images where the page layout permits. A report with many photographs may still span many pages and be considerably larger than a text-only summary.
Important: PDF compression affects only the exported document. The copies and linked originals stored or referenced by Journal are not recompressed or altered. A PDF report is not a substitute for backing up the full-resolution images.
Saving, project locations and missing media
- The export dialog asks for the PDF’s destination; the file can be placed outside the ARS project folder.
- PDF export does not replace Save Project. Save the Journal separately if its records have changed.
- The export can use a recently imported final image or WIP image that has not yet been committed to the project, as long as its staged original remains available.
- If a Link original has moved, repair its path in the WIP gallery before relying on images in the report. For a missing Copy original, use Restore missing file… The Final artwork block has no dedicated Relink/Restore menu; see Final Artwork.
- If generation fails, check the destination folder’s access permissions, available disk space, and source-image accessibility. Error details are displayed by ARS; a successful PDF is not reported when the export fails.
Journal status bar
The Journal status bar has two purposes:
- Left: short messages, such as Ready, Importing media…, Media imported, Journal saved or PDF exported. They remain until another applicable action changes the message; there is no countdown timer.
- Right: counts for Sessions, WIP media and Materials. WIP media counts the items across all sessions, not only the currently selected Session/All view; the separate Final artwork image is not included. Total working time is already shown below the Sessions list.
The status bar belongs to Journal only, not to a shared status system across Studio and Viewer.
