PDF Export & Copy-for-Email

Compass turns guides into shareable artifacts beyond the web — PDF exports (with your branding) and Copy-for-Email (paste a guide directly into Gmail, Outlook, or Apple Mail with formatting intact).

PDF Export

Every guide has a built-in PDF export. The PDF is rendered server-side with proper page breaks, your agency branding, and a polished social-splash cover.

Exporting a PDF

• From the editor — top-right menu → Download PDF. Generates and downloads in a few seconds.

• From the public site — every public/client guide has a Download PDF button

• Programmatic — any guide URL with /pdf appended (/guide/your-slug/pdf) downloads the PDF directly. Useful for embedding "Download" buttons in emails or other sites.

What's Included in the PDF

• A branded cover page with the guide title, your agency name, and your brand colors

• The full guide body with proper page breaks

• A footer with your agency name, the guide URL, and the export date

• Page numbers

PDF Caveats

• YouTube and Vimeo embeds render as a poster image with a "Watch on YouTube" caption (PDFs can't play video)

• HTML blocks render however the HTML renders — keep PDF-friendliness in mind for raw HTML

• The PDF reflects your guide's current published state — if you edit while a customer has the PDF, they have an older version. The footer shows the export date.

Copy-for-Email

Copy-for-Email turns any guide into HTML that you can paste directly into Gmail's compose window, Outlook, or Apple Mail — with all your formatting (headings, lists, callouts, tables, images) intact. The recipient sees the guide as a beautifully-formatted email, not a link.

When to Use Copy-for-Email

• Sending a custom destination guide to a specific client

• Following up after a consultation with a curated "next steps" guide

• Sharing an FAQ-style answer with a prospect who asked a question

• Any time you want the content to land in the email body, not behind a link

How to Use It

1. Open the guide in the editor

2. Top-right menu → Copy for Email

3. Compass copies the rendered HTML to your clipboard

4. Open Gmail/Outlook/Apple Mail → start a new email

5. Paste with Ctrl/Cmd + V (NOT paste-as-plain-text)

6. The guide appears in the compose window with formatting

7. Add a subject, recipient, your personal note, and send

Email Client Compatibility

• Gmail (web) — works perfectly

• Apple Mail (macOS, iOS) — works perfectly

• Outlook (web) — works perfectly

• Outlook (desktop, Windows) — works but some custom callout styling is simplified (Outlook desktop has weaker HTML support)

• ProtonMail, FastMail, etc. — generally works; results vary by version

PDF vs. Copy-for-Email — Which to Use

• PDF — for content you want as a downloadable attachment, archive-able, printable, or that should look identical regardless of where it's read

• Copy-for-Email — for content you want to land directly in the inbox, no "open this attachment" step required

Many advisors do both — paste the guide into the email body with Copy-for-Email AND attach the PDF version, so the recipient can read it inline or save it for later.