About AdVoice Inc.
AdVoice Inc. is a publishing and media company based in Gujarat, India. We manage and publish multiple research journals across various academic and scientific disciplines. Our editorial team currently handles the complete layout and design of research articles submitted by authors using Adobe InDesign. We are now building an internal automation tool to streamline this process and reduce manual effort significantly.
About the Project
We have designed and partially built an offline desktop automation system for our internal use. The system allows our in-house team to receive research article submissions, process the content through a web-based form, and automatically generate a structured layout in Adobe InDesign — all on a single Windows machine in our office with no internet dependency.
The core architecture, HTML form, parsing logic, XML structure, and InDesign scripting are already complete. We need a developer to integrate all components, test with real submissions, and deploy the working system on our office machine.
What is Already Built
We will hand over all of the following on day one:
A complete HTML submission form with rich text editing, Word file upload, automatic content detection, image and chart extraction, table paste from Word, and form submission logic.
A Python Word file parser that reads .docx files submitted by authors and extracts the title, authors, abstract, body sections, tables, images, and references using heuristic and style-based detection.
An XML generation module that converts all form data into a structured article XML file for InDesign.
An Adobe InDesign ExtendScript (.jsx) automation file that reads the XML and populates a pre-designed InDesign template automatically.
A Windows .bat launcher file that triggers InDesign with the script.
The developer's responsibility is integration, testing, bug fixing, and final deployment. Not building from scratch.
Your Responsibilities
Set up a Python Flask local server that serves the HTML form on the browser and receives form submissions from our in-house team.
Connect form submission to the server so that the XML file and all images are saved automatically to a configured folder on the Windows machine immediately on submission.
Integrate the Word file parser with the server so that when a Word file is uploaded via the form, content is parsed server-side and returned to the form for human review and approval before filling.
Trigger Adobe InDesign 2020 automatically via subprocess after XML is saved, launching the existing layout script without any manual intervention.
Build a simple config.json settings file so our non-technical team can update the output folder path and InDesign installation path without touching any code.
Build a start.bat launcher that checks for Python, installs required packages automatically if missing, starts the Flask server, and opens Chrome at localhost:5000 without any manual steps.
Test the complete pipeline end to end using real author Word submissions covering multiple scenarios — unstyled documents, missing sections, embedded charts, multi-column tables, mathematical equations, and mixed formatting.
Handle all errors gracefully so the browser form displays a clear, readable message when something goes wrong instead of a crash or blank screen.
Write a simple one-page setup and usage guide in plain English for our non-technical office staff explaining how to start the system each morning and submit articles.
Required Skills
Python 3.x including Flask, file handling, subprocess, os, and pathlib modules.
python-docx library for reading, parsing, and extracting content from Word files.
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript sufficient to understand the existing form, debug issues, and make minor corrections if needed.
XML — reading, writing, and validating structured XML output files.
Windows environment including .bat scripting, Windows file paths, and calling external applications via subprocess.
Basic familiarity with Adobe InDesign or a willingness to learn enough to verify the output looks correct during testing.
Good to Have
Prior experience with Adobe ExtendScript or InDesign automation scripting.
Background in publishing, printing, document automation, or editorial workflow tools.
Experience with packaging Python applications using pyinstaller or similar tools for future standalone deployment.
What We Will Provide
Complete source code of all existing components on day one with no restrictions.
Full project documentation and design decision history for context.
Multiple sample author Word files in various formats for testing purposes.
Remote access to our Windows office machine via AnyDesk or TeamViewer for final deployment and live testing.
Adobe InDesign 2020 already installed and licensed on the target machine.
Prompt and clear feedback at every milestone from our editorial and technical team.
What We Expect From You
A brief daily or every-other-day progress update via WhatsApp or email. No long gaps in communication.
Working builds shared at each milestone so our team can test and give feedback before the next phase begins.
Clean, well-commented code that our team or a future developer can read, maintain, and extend without difficulty.
No changes to the existing HTML form design, XML structure, or InDesign script without prior discussion and approval from our side. These components are already reviewed and finalised.
Pay: ₹15,000.00 - ₹55,000.00 per month
Work Location: Remote
