Re: [iText-questions] Consultancy for iText

[iText Software]

On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:41:43 +0200, Anders Wong <anders_w...@163.com> wrote: I want to know if there is something like layout designer or templating so that we can design the report first and then populate it from business database or other datasource.   I know iText is more directly to operate PDF. But I’m not sure whether it meet our above requirements. There are different answers to this question. If you watch this movie, you'll already get two options: http://itextpdf.com/summit.php#talk3 The first option that is explained is: - create the template in HTML + CSS - inject the data as HTML - convert the HTML + CSS to PDF using iText's XML Worker Advantage: - everybody knows HTML, so it's easy to create the template Disadvantage: - the quality is what you can expect from HTML: poor The second option that is explained is: - create the template using Adobe LiveCycle Designer (an XFA form) - inject XML into your dynamic form - convert the filled out XFA form to PDF using XFA Worker Advantage: - high quality of the rendered output; even supports PDF/A output - you can use your own XML definitions - It's ideal in a BPM workflow: http://lowagie.com/xfabpm Disadvantage: - creating an XFA form isn't that easy (at least not as easy as creating HTML) A third option (not explained in the video) is to use a reporting tool. - JasperReports uses iText under the hood - Eclipse/BIRT uses iText under the hood - Inventive Designers / Scriptura used iText under the hood All these reporting tools come with a designer tool that allows you to create a proprietary template that can be parsed by their server product. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages. I know that this isn't a definitive answer to your question, but I hope it gives you the inspiration to check out some possible solutions.

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