[pdftex] define pdf variable and then reference it?

[Victor Ivrii]

On 5/31/06, ivo welch <ivowel at gmail.com> wrote:
> I have a strange question.  I would like to customize a large pdftex
> generated document for everyone who downloads it.  For example, I
> would like to write in the headings of each page "hello, george".
> alas, I do not want to have to re-latex for every downloader.
>
> One solution would be to turn off all pdftex compression, and then
> look for a very unusual string that I would put into the heading, and
> which would be replaced.  (I know that the typesetting of this string
> may be off.)  Is this the best solution?
>
> I do not know much about pdf, but if it were to allow me to set a
> variable and pdftex were to allow me to use this variable later, it
> would solve this very elegantly.  something like
>    \pdfdefinevariable{\someheading}{VERYUNUSUALSTRING}
>    \pagestyle{myheadings}
>    \markboth{\someheading \hfill}
> the resolution would occur at display time, not at
> latex-typesetting-compile time.  a simple sed program could replace
> VERYUNUSUALSTRING with "hello, george", and every page heading would
> have "hello, george" on it.
>
> Is the latter possible?  advice appreciated.
>

Instead of trying to change pdf why you do not try to change the
source and then regenerate pdf? There are plenty web sites that do it



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Victor Ivrii, Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto