briefutil

Small Qt Quick utility I use to turn ad-hoc letter text into nicely formatted PDFs via LaTeX. It is a personal tool built around my own workflow, shared in case someone else finds it useful.

Repository layout

.
|- briefutil/         # Application sources, templates, and build files
|- example.png        # Screenshot used in the README
|- sample_screenshot.png
|- LICENSE.txt
\- README.md

The briefutil directory contains both the original qmake project (briefutil.pro) and the CMake build system.

Build requirements

• CMake 3.16 or newer
• A C++17 compiler with std::filesystem
• Qt 5.15+ or Qt 6 with the Core, Gui, Qml, and Quick modules
• PowerShell (Windows) to expand archives

Configure and build

cmake -S briefutil -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="C:/Qt/6.9.1/msvc2022_64"
cmake --build build --config Release

Adjust CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH to point at your local Qt installation. To bundle a portable MiKTeX runtime (downloads about 200 MB on first use):

cmake --build build --target portable_miktex --config Release

Skip that step or pass -DBRIEFUTIL_BUNDLE_MIKTEX=OFF if you prefer to rely on a system-wide MiKTeX installation.

Install and package

cmake --install build --config Release --prefix C:/apps/briefutil
cpack -C Release --config build/CPackConfig.cmake

Runtime notes

• On first launch the executable creates ~/briefutil/templates/ and populates it with anonymized "Max Mustermann" examples plus a synthetic signature image. Replace those files with your own stationery as needed.
• Output is written under ~/briefutil/output/ by default. Override via output_dir.conf if you prefer a different location.
• texify.exe is resolved from the bundled portable MiKTeX tree (<install>/miktex/texmfs/install/miktex/bin/x64/texify.exe) first, and then from PATH. Keep MiKTeX up to date if you rely on the bundled copy.
• Templates rely on standard LaTeX packages; adjust as you like, but the project is intentionally lightweight and tailored for a single-user workflow.

License

Source code is provided under the Simplified BSD License (see LICENSE.txt). The included templates and signature use generic "Max Mustermann" placeholder data so that nothing personal is shipped with the repository.