Hostlinks Certificate Generator WP Registry grade A. No security issues foundWP RegistryNo security issues foundOpen the reportA

Generate PDF completion certificates from Hostlinks events with optional email delivery.

Description

• Shortcode [hostlinks_certificate_generator] for the generator UI
• Settings under Settings → HL Certificates
• REST API: hl-cert/v1/events and hl-cert/v1/pdf
• Optional integration with Hostlinks Marketing Ops bucket scoping
• Hostlinks 2.10.5+ adds a Certificates toolbar button (Settings → Certificates)

Changelog

1.0.45

• Fix: Body text paragraph now centered in browser Print/Save PDF (margin-left/right auto in print CSS).
• Fix: Certificate background/borders no longer intermittently disappear in print preview — added print-color-adjust:exact to inner border elements and a double requestAnimationFrame before window.print() to guarantee a paint cycle after the print class is applied.

1.0.44

• Change: Email PDF button disabled and labelled "Coming soon" while email delivery is under development.
• Fix: certificate.php border units standardised (px → pt); seal left position adjusted for uniform spacing.

1.0.43

• Fix: Emailed PDF page shell reverted to safe 780×600pt to eliminate Dompdf blank-page clipping at exact page bounds (792×612pt).
• Fix: Content cell changed back to vertical-align:top with individually tuned top-margins to naturally fill the certificate area without overflow.
• Improvement: All inter-element spacing values re-calibrated (presented 36px, name 30px, body 40px, program 40px, completed 18px) matching the browser-printed layout.

1.0.42

• Fix: Emailed PDF page shell expanded to full letter landscape (792×612pt) so certificate fills the page correctly.
• Fix: Content cell changed to vertical-align:middle so remaining space distributes evenly rather than leaving a large gap before the signature.
• Improvement: Increased content-area spacing (presented, name, body, program) to better match the browser print proportions.

1.0.41

• Fix: Emailed PDF seal increased to 112px (matching 7rem live preview). Presented, program, and completed-date font sizes increased for better readability on full-page PDF.

1.0.40

• Fix: Emailed PDF watermark converted from PNG to JPEG and loaded as a data URI so Dompdf renders it without needing the GD extension.
• Fix: Removed negative bottom margin on recipient name in Dompdf template that was causing name/body text overlap.
• Fix: Updated Dompdf template spacing (presented, name, body, program, event-details) to match live preview proportions.

1.0.39

• Improvement: Body paragraph max-width set to 100% and bottom margin corrected to 0.

1.0.38

• Improvement: Reduced inter-element spacing by another 10%. Body margin set to 1.25rem 0 auto 0.

1.0.37

• Fix: CI workflow now runs composer install --no-dev before packaging so the Dompdf vendor library is included in the release zip. Previously the zip was missing the vendor directory, causing "PDF library is not installed" errors on live sites.
• Fix: composer.lock committed to git for reproducible CI installs.

1.0.36

• Improvement: Reduced vertical spacing by ~30% on "Proudly Presented", body paragraph, workshop/hours, and completed-date rows to balance layout when an agency name is shown.

1.0.35

• Fix: Seal capped at 7rem (width and height) to prevent it from rendering at native oversized dimensions.
• Improvement: Increased vertical spacing between certificate content elements (~20px between each block) so the layout breathes and fills the page better.

1.0.34

• Fix: Removed negative bottom margin from the recipient name so the rule line and body text appear correctly below it.
• Fix: Seal now uses its native image size (no 5rem cap).
• Improvement: Pen watermark height reduced to 65%.
• Improvement: Event details moved inside the scroll area, directly below the workshop/hours line, formatted as "Completed: Date, Location" in a matching uppercase sans-serif style.

1.0.33

• Improvement: CSS isolation — added a scoped baseline reset targeting bare element types inside .hlc-shell so theme CSS can no longer bleed into the plugin UI. All component rules now use an ancestor selector to reach higher specificity, eliminating the need for reactive !important flags throughout the stylesheet.

1.0.32

• Fix: Seal moved to absolutely-positioned lower-left so it aligns with the Rebecca Helm signature area and no longer controls footer row height.
• Fix: Event details moved outside the scroll div so overflow:hidden can no longer clip the dates/location text.
• Fix: Watermark height reduced to 70% anchored at bottom:0 so the full image is visible without clipping.

1.0.31

• Improvement: "Chief Executive Officer" label reduced to 0.45rem and gap above it tightened.

1.0.30

• Improvement: Pen watermark opacity reduced to 10%.

1.0.28

• Change: Seal (circular emblem) moved to lower-left corner of certificate.
• Change: Event details (dates and location) moved into certificate body below the body text.
• Change: Certificate number label updated to "Certificate of Completion No."

1.0.27

• Improvement: Pen watermark enlarged by 150px and opacity reduced to 25%.
• Improvement: Name rule line and body text moved up 60px closer to recipient name (preview and PDF).

1.0.26

• Change: Removed "Office of Professional Development & Training" subheader from both preview and PDF.
• Improvement: Logo enlarged to 4.5rem in preview / 140px in PDF.
• Improvement: Name rule line sits immediately below recipient name.
• Improvement: Body text increased to 1.1rem for better readability.
• Improvement: Seal enlarged to 7rem (approximately 1.5x previous size).
• New: Pen & flag watermark added at 50% opacity in lower-right corner of certificate (preview and PDF).

1.0.25

• Improvement: Name rule line sits tighter directly under the recipient name.
• Improvement: Body text increased back to 1rem for better readability.
• Improvement: Seal enlarged to 4.75rem in the preview.

1.0.24

• Fix: Certificate scroll area reverted to overflow:hidden to prevent body text bleeding into the footer area.
• Fix: Element sizes and margins reduced so all certificate content fits within the aspect-ratio-constrained preview at narrower page container widths (e.g. live site themes with a content max-width narrower than 1280px).

1.0.23

• Fix: Certificate footer replaced with pure flexbox layout — no longer uses a element so theme CSS table resets (display: block on tr/td) cannot break the three-column layout.
• Fix: Logo and seal images now explicitly clear floats so theme img { float } rules cannot displace them into the body text.

1.0.22

• Fix: Certificate preview footer columns no longer collapse on live sites whose theme resets table elements to block display — explicit display: table/table-row/table-cell overrides now ensure the three-column footer always renders correctly.
• Fix: Logo and seal images now resist theme img { max-width: 100% } rules that were distorting their dimensions.
• Fix: Flex layout on certificate inner container protected against theme style resets.

1.0.21

• Fix: Certificate preview body text no longer clips when the page container is wide.
• Improvement: Shell max-width raised to 1280px; preview certificate capped at 760px so it stays balanced at all container widths.
• Improvement: Updater now busts its GitHub release cache when an admin visits the HL Certificates settings page, so a version check is always fresh on that page load.

1.0.20

• Change: Replace bundled Grant Writing / Grant Management certificate seals with updated stamp artwork.
• Change: Two-day workshops now show 12 contact hours; Subaward now shows 6 contact hours.
• Change: Footer now shows Event Details with event date range and location / Zoom webinar.
• Change: Signature text now reads Rebecca Helm.
• Improvement: HL Certificates now appears as a top-level admin menu item directly after Hostlinks.

1.0.19

• Improvement: Print / Save PDF now uses the live certificate preview with print-only sizing and spacing for a one-page landscape PDF.
• Improvement: Emailed certificate PDF layout is tuned to more closely match the printed certificate layout while staying Dompdf-safe.
• Fix: Event filters now classify simple Management event types correctly and filter year/month by certificate completion date.

1.0.18

• Fix: Rewrite PDF layout — replace position:absolute footer with height:100% table layout; eliminates second blank page and gap between content and footer

1.0.17

• Feature: Email template editor — From Name, From Email, Subject, and Body are now configurable in plugin settings

1.0.15

• Change: Signature font switched from Great Vibes to Alex Brush for a more natural ink-pen feel

1.0.14

• Fix: Replace signature image with Great Vibes script font text — eliminates white-background rectangle covering the rule line and name label
• Improvement: Signature now renders identically in both live preview and PDF with no image dependency

1.0.13

• Change: Certificate background is now white (PDF and preview) — no toner wasted on parchment fill
• Change: All bundled JPEG assets re-composited on white so signature and logos render cleanly

1.0.12

• Fix: PDF generation crash ("The PHP GD extension is required") — switched all PDF images to JPEG so Dompdf's Cpdf renderer works without the GD extension
• Fix: Dompdf render exceptions now caught and returned as a clean API error instead of a WordPress white-screen fatal

1.0.11

• Added a Class Type selector (Grant Writing / Grant Management / Subaward) at the top of the form. The selector now drives the certificate preview text, logo, and seal — no more dependence on per-event variant detection.
• Event dropdown is filtered server-side by the chosen class type, so you only ever see events of the selected workshop type.
• REST /events endpoint now accepts a class query parameter (grant_writing | grant_management | subaward).

1.0.10

• Event dropdown labels are now consistent: "Location — Class Type" (the class type is appended only when not already in the location string).
• ZOOM events (eve_zoom = yes) get a "ZOOM · " prefix in the dropdown so they are easy to spot.
• cvent_event_title is no longer used by default — it produced duplicated dates because it already contains the dates inline.

1.0.9

• Fix: preview now reliably updates for every event selection by using selectedIndex position lookup instead of string-key matching in eventsById (prevents stale preview when database event IDs are null or duplicated).
• UI: removed redundant Year / Month / Event label text above selectors; aria-label attributes retained for accessibility.

1.0.8

• Layout: restore two-column grid (form left, full preview right).
• Seals: replaced photo PNGs with vector SVG seals (transparent background, gold laurel wreath design).
• Logos: stripped near-white backgrounds from GWUSA / GMUSA logo PNGs; added mix-blend-mode: multiply so any fringe disappears on the parchment background.
• PDF: seals now rendered as inline SVG in Dompdf with DejaVu Serif font mapping.

1.0.7

• Thin horizontal rule under the Hostlinks toolbar before the certificate generator.

1.0.6

• Header logos: GWUSA / GMUSA artwork as transparent PNGs (regenerated from bundled gwusa-logo.pdf / gmusa-logo.pdf via build/rasterize_logo_pdfs.py); per–class-type defaults before legacy PNG fallback.

1.0.5

• Footer center seal uses bundled GWUSA / GMUSA artwork by workshop type (Grant Management and Subaward use the Grant Management seal).

1.0.4

• Remove Certificate Studio header strip; past-events-only event list with year (default: current year) and month filters for the dropdown; events sorted newest first.

1.0.3

• When Hostlinks can resolve the Reports page URL, the certificate hub repeats the same top toolbar as Reports (Certificates highlighted) and loads Hostlinks calendar styles.

1.0.2

• PDF: remove SVG seal text (Dompdf fatal), fixed US Letter landscape frame, aligned footer rules/labels, centered certificate number, removed “Issued in” line.
• Settings: separate Subaward logo (three logos). Grant Management / Subaward certificate copy per class type.

1.0.1

• Grant Certify Pro–style certificate layout, live preview, studio header, and workshop copy (Grant Writing / Grant Management / Subaward).
• Bundled Grant Writing USA logo + certificate seal assets; signature renders as styled Rebecca Helm text for print/PDF consistency.
• Subaward type hints setting; agency/organization field; certificate ID GWU-YEAR-#####.

1.0.0

• Initial release.