Paper Image Downloader - Setup Guide

This set of scripts automates downloading first-page images from your research papers and updating the publications carousel on your website.

Scripts

1. download_paper_images.py - Downloads PDFs and extracts first pages as JPG images
2. update_carousel.py - Helps update the research.html carousel with the new images

Prerequisites

You’ll need to install Python packages:

pip install requests pdf2image Pillow

Additional System Requirements

Since pdf2image requires poppler-utils, install it for your OS:

Windows:

choco install poppler

Or download from: https://github.com/oschwartz10612/poppler-windows/releases/

macOS:

brew install poppler

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt-get install poppler-utils

Usage

Step 1: Download Paper Cover Images

Run the downloader script from the workspace root:

python download_paper_images.py

This will:

• Download all 18 papers from your publications
• Extract the first page from each PDF
• Convert to JPG images (150 DPI)
• Save to /images folder with pattern: {paper_name}_cover.jpg
• Show a summary of success/failures

Step 2: Review Generated Images

Check the /images folder to review the generated cover images. You should see:

images/
  ├── backbones_cover.jpg
  ├── breakhis_cover.jpg
  ├── chatty_cover.jpg
  ├── cxv_cover.jpg
  ├── edsnet_cover.jpg
  ├── emnlp_cover.jpg
  ├── federated_cover.jpg
  ├── fld_cover.jpg
  ├── fld_plus_cover.jpg
  ├── graphs_cover.jpg
  ├── inpainting_cover.jpg
  ├── rl2_cover.jpg
  ├── samsung_cover.jpg
  ├── vixwacv22_cover.jpg
  ├── wavemix_cover.jpg
  ├── wavemixsr_cover.jpg
  ├── wavemixsrv2_cover.jpg
  └── wavepaint_cover.jpg

Step 3: Update Carousel HTML

Run the carousel updater to assist with HTML updates:

python update_carousel.py

Then manually update _pages/research.html carousel section:

Replace this pattern:

<div class="w-full h-48 bg-gradient-to-br from-purple-400 to-indigo-600 flex items-center justify-center">
  <span class="text-white text-center px-4"><strong>Paper Name</strong><br/>Subtitle</span>
</div>

With:

<img src="/images/{paper_name}_cover.jpg" alt="Paper Cover" class="w-full h-48 object-cover">

Paper Name Mappings

Troubleshooting

Downloads fail for certain papers

Some journals may:

• Block automated downloads
• Have CAPTCHAs
• Require subscriptions

Solution: Manually download PDFs and place in .temp_papers folder, then run the script again (it skips existing files).

PDF to image conversion fails

Ensure poppler is installed correctly:

# Test poppler (if installed via chocolatey/brew)
pdftoppm --version

Missing first page

Some PDFs may have blank first pages. Review the generated images and manually crop better pages if needed.

Script crashes on specific papers

Check the error message. Common issues:

• PDF is encrypted or corrupted
• Network timeout (try again)
• Unsupported PDF format

You can manually download and convert those PDFs separately.

Manual Alternative

If automated downloading fails, you can:

1. Visit each paper link manually
2. Download the PDF
3. Extract first page using any PDF reader
4. Save as JPG to /images/{paper_name}_cover.jpg
5. Update the HTML manually

Clean Up

After successful conversion, the script auto-deletes temporary PDFs. To manually clean:

rm -rf .temp_papers  # Linux/macOS
rmdir /s .temp_papers  # Windows

Need Help?

If you encounter issues:

1. Check that all required packages are installed: pip list
2. Verify poppler is in system PATH: pdftoppm --version
3. Try downloading a single paper manually to test the PDF
4. Check file permissions in /images folder

Created: March 2026
For: Pranav’s Research Portfolio Website