book

iText in Action

Name: iText in Action
Author: Bruno Lowagie
ISBN: 9781932394795

by Bruno Lowagie

October 2006

Intermediate to advanced

688 pages

15h 1m

English

Manning Publications

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Copyright
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
About this Book
How to use this bookRoadmapWho should read this book?Code conventionsSoftware requirements and downloadsAuthor OnlineAbout the titleAbout the cover illustration
1. Introduction
1. iText: when and why
1.1. The history of iText1.1.1. How iText was born1.1.2. iText todayEase of use and flexibilityiText licensing1.1.3. Beyond JavaiText.NET and iTextSharpiText and pdftkiText and ColdFusionUsing iText in PHP, Python, Ruby1.2. iText: first contact1.2.1. Running the examples in the book1.2.2. Experimenting with the iText toolbox1.3. An almost-true story1.3.1. Some Foobar fiction1.3.2. A document daydreamMaking a flyerComposing a study guide1.3.3. Welcoming the studentProducing documents in different languagesDrawing a city mapAdding street names to the mapAdding interactive layers to the map1.3.4. Producing and processing interactive documentsMaking documents interactiveAdding watermarks and page numbersUsing iText in a web applicationCreating and filling forms using iText1.3.5. Making the dream come true1.4. Summary
2. PDF engine jump-start
2.1. Generating a PDF document in five steps2.1.1. Creating a new document objectPage sizePage colorPage margins2.1.2. Getting a DocWriter instanceCreating the same document in different formatsChoosing an OutputStream2.1.3. Opening the documentThe PDF headerAdding metadata2.1.4. Adding contentUsing building blocksLow-level PDF generationUsing java.awt.Graphics2D2.1.5. Closing the documentDesign patternPDF cross-reference table and trailer2.2. Manipulating existing PDF files2.2.1. Reading an existing PDF fileDocument propertiesPage size and rotationReading damaged PDFsPdfReader and memory useRetrieving bookmarksReading metadata2.2.2. Using PdfStamper to change document properties2.2.3. Using PdfStamper to add contentFilling in a formAdding content to pagesInserting new pages2.2.4. Introducing imported pages2.2.5. Using imported pages with PdfWriter2.2.6. Manipulating existing PDF files with PdfCopyConcatenating PDF filesSelected pages2.2.7. Concatenating forms with PdfCopyFields2.2.8. Summary of the manipulation classes2.3. Creating PDF in multiple passes2.3.1. Stamp first, then copy2.3.2. Copy first, then stamp2.3.3. Stamp, copy, stamp2.4. Summary
3. PDF: why and when
3.1. A document history3.1.1. Adobe and documentsThe ancestors of PDFThe Portable Document Format3.1.2. The Acrobat family3.1.3. The intellectual property of the PDF specification3.2. Types of PDF3.2.1. Traditional PDF3.2.2. Tagged PDF3.2.3. Linearized PDF3.2.4. PDFs preserving native editing capabilities3.2.5. PDF types that became an ISO standardPDF/XPDF/A and XMPPDF/E3.2.6. PDF forms, FDF, and XFDF3.2.7. XFA and XDP3.2.8. Rules of thumb3.3. PDF version history3.3.1. Changing the user unit3.3.2. PDF content and compressionExisting PDF documents and compression3.3.3. EncryptionEncrypting existing PDF documentsPDF passwordsOverview of the permissionsEncrypting a PDF document generated from scratchDecrypting an existing PDF file3.4. Summary
2. Basic building blocks
4. Composing text elements
4.1. Wrapping Strings in text elements4.1.1. The atomic building block: com.lowagie.text.Chunk4.1.2. An ArrayList of Chunks: com.lowagie.text.Phrase4.1.3. A sequence of Phrases: com.lowagie.text.Paragraph4.2. Adding extra functionality to text elements4.2.1. External and internal links: com.lowagie.text.Anchor4.2.2. Lists and ListItems: com.lowagie.text.List/ListItem4.2.3. Automatic bookmarking: com.lowagie.text.Chapter/Section4.3. Chunk characteristics4.3.1. Measuring and scaling4.3.2. Lines: underlining and striking through text4.3.3. TextRise: sub- and superscript4.3.4. Simulating italic fonts: skewing text4.3.5. Changing font and background colors4.3.6. Simulating bold fonts: stroking vs. filling4.4. Chunks and space distribution4.4.1. The split character4.4.2. Hyphenation4.4.3. Changing the CharSpace ratio4.5. Anchors revisited4.5.1. Remote Goto4.5.2. Local Goto4.6. Generic Chunk functionality4.6.1. Drawing custom backgrounds and lines4.6.2. Implementing custom functionality4.6.3. Building an index4.7. Making a flyer (part 1)4.8. Summary

5. Inserting images
5.1. Standard image types5.1.1. BMP, EPS, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and WMF5.1.2. TIFF with multiple pages5.1.3. Animated GIFs5.2. Working with java.awt.Image5.3. Byte arrays with image data5.3.1. Raw image data5.3.2. CCITT compressed images5.3.3. Creating barcodes5.3.4. Working with com.lowagie.text.pdf.PdfTemplate5.4. Setting image properties5.4.1. Adding images to the documentAlignment and wrappingImages and ChunksImage bordersImage sequence5.4.2. Translating, scaling, and rotating imagesAdding an image at an absolute positionScaling imagesImage resolutionScale to fit a rectangleImage rotation5.4.3. Image masks5.5. Making a flyer (part 2)5.5.1. Getting the Image instance5.5.2. Setting the border, the alignment, and the dimensions5.5.3. The resulting PDF5.6. Summary
6. Constructing tables
6.1. Tables in PDF: PdfPTable6.1.1. Your first PdfPTable6.1.2. Changing the width and alignment of a PdfPTableRelative versus absolute width of the PdfPTableColumn widthsSpacing before and after a PdfPTable6.1.3. Adding PdfPCells to a PdfPTableAlignment of the cell contentIndentation and leading of the cell contentPadding of the cell contentChanging the row heightChanging cell borders and colorsChanging the rotation of a PdfPCell6.1.4. Special PdfPCell constructorsNested tablesTables and images6.1.5. Working with large tablesTables spanning multiple pagesRepeating the table header and footerMemory management for large tables6.1.6. Adding a PdfPTable at an absolute positionComparing document.add() with writeSelectedRows()Splitting a PdfPTable vertically6.2. Alternatives to PdfPTableAdvantages of the Table class6.3. Composing a study guide (part 1)6.3.1. The data source6.3.2. Generating the PDF6.4. Summary
7. Constructing columns
7.1. Retrieving the current vertical position7.2. Adding text to ColumnText7.2.1. Different ways to add text to a columnColumnText.addText(Phrase p)ColumnText.setSimpleColumn(Phrase p, ... )ColumnText.setText(Phrase p)7.2.2. Keeping paragraphs together7.2.3. Adding more than one column to a pageRegular columnsIrregular columnsText mode versus composite mode7.3. Composing ColumnText with other building blocks7.3.1. Combining text mode with images and tables7.3.2. ColumnText in composite mode7.4. Automatic columns with MultiColumnText7.4.1. Regular columns with MultiColumnText7.4.2. Irregular columns with MultiColumnText7.5. Composing a study guide (part 2)7.6. Summary
3. PDF text and graphics
8. Choosing the right font
8.1. Defining a font8.1.1. Using the right terminology8.1.2. Standard Type 1 fontsThe iText Font classDefining the font style and colorDefining the font sizeEmbedded versus nonembedded fonts8.2. Introducing base fonts8.2.1. Working with an encodingCreating a BaseFont object8.2.2. Class BaseFont and Type 1 fontsAdobe Font Metrics filesPostScript Font Binary filesPrinter Font Metric files8.2.3. Embedding Type 3 fonts8.2.4. Working with TrueType fonts8.2.5. Working with OpenType fontsOpenType font with PostScript outlinesOpenType font with TrueType outlines8.3. Composite fonts8.3.1. What is Unicode?Using Unicode in CID fonts8.3.2. Introducing Chinese, Japanese, Korean (CJK) fontsUsing other CMaps8.3.3. Embedding CIDFonts8.3.4. Using TrueType collections8.4. Summary
9. Using fonts
9.1. Other writing directions9.1.1. Vertical writing9.1.2. Writing from right to left9.2. Sending a message of peace (part 1)9.3. Advanced typography9.3.1. Handling diacriticsChanging the character advanceChanging a proportional font into a monospace font9.3.2. Dealing with ligaturesLigatures in the Latin alphabetArabic ligatures9.4. Automating font creation and selection9.4.1. Getting a Font object from the FontFactoryRegistering separate fontsRegistering font directories9.4.2. Automatic font selectionAutomatic selection of Greek symbolsAutomatic selection of glyphs9.5. Sending a message of peace (part 2)9.6. Summary
10. Constructing and painting paths
10.1. Path construction and painting operators10.1.1. Seven path construction operators10.1.2. Path-painting operatorsStroking versus fillingNonzero winding number vs. even-odd ruleBézier curvesConvenience methods to draw shapes10.2. Working with iText’s direct content10.2.1. Direct content layers10.2.2. PdfPTable and PdfPCell eventsImplementing PdfPCellEventImplementing PdfPTableEventCombining table and cell events10.3. Graphics state operators10.3.1. The graphics state stack10.3.2. Changing the characteristics of a lineLine cap and line join stylesLine dash patternOverviewLiteral PDF syntax10.4. Changing the coordinate system10.4.1. The CTMDoing the mathAffine transformations10.4.2. Positioning external objectsImage XObjectsPostScript XObjectsPdfTemplates10.5. Drawing a map of a city (part 1)10.5.1. The XML/SVG source file10.5.2. Parsing the SVG file10.6. Summary
11. Adding color and text
11.1. Adding color to PDF files11.1.1. Device colorspaces11.1.2. Separation colorspaces11.1.3. Painting patternsTiling patternsShading patterns11.1.4. Using color with basic building blocks11.2. The transparent imaging model11.2.1. Transparency groups11.2.2. Isolation and knockout11.2.3. Applying a soft mask to an image11.3. Clipping content11.4. PDF’s text state11.4.1. Text objectsText-positioning and text-showing operatorsText-state operators11.4.2. Convenience methods to position and show textCaveats11.5. The map of Foobar (part 2)11.6. Summary
12. Drawing to Java Graphics2D
12.1. Obtaining a Java.awt.Graphics2D instance12.1.1. A simple example from Sun’s tutorialThe 2D Graphics tutorial trailIntegrating iText into this example12.1.2. Mapping AWT fonts to PDF fonts12.1.3. Drawing glyph shapes instead of using a PDF font12.2. Two-dimensional graphics in the real world12.2.1. Exporting Swing components to PDF12.2.2. Drawing charts with JFreeChart12.3. PDF’s optional content12.3.1. Making content visible or invisible12.3.2. Adding structure to layers12.3.3. Using a PdfLayer12.3.4. Optional content membership12.3.5. Changing the state of a layer with an action12.3.6. Optional content in XObjects and annotations12.4. Enhancing the map of Foobar12.4.1. Defining the layers for the map and the street names12.4.2. Combining iText and Apache Batik12.4.3. Adding tourist information to the map12.5. Summary
4. Interactive PDF
13. Browsing a PDF document
13.1. Changing viewer preferences13.1.1. Setting the page layout13.1.2. Choosing the page mode13.1.3. Viewer options13.2. Visualizing thumbnails13.2.1. Changing the page labels13.2.2. Changing the thumbnail image13.3. Adding page transitions13.4. Adding bookmarks13.4.1. Creating destinationspublic PdfDestination(int type)public PdfDestination(int type, float parameter)public PdfDestination(int type, float left, float top, float zoom)public PdfDestination(int type, float left, float bottom, float right, float top)13.4.2. Constructing an outline tree13.4.3. Adding actions to an outline tree13.4.4. Retrieving bookmarks from an existing PDF file13.4.5. Manipulating bookmarks in existing PDF files13.5. Introducing actions13.5.1. Actions to go to an internal destination13.5.2. Actions to go to an external destination13.5.3. Triggering actions from events13.5.4. Adding JavaScript to a PDF document13.5.5. Launching an application13.6. Enhancing the course catalog13.7. Summary
14. Automating PDF creation
14.1. Creating a page14.1.1. Adding empty pages14.1.2. Defining page boundaries14.1.3. Reordering pages14.2. Common page event functionality14.2.1. Overview of the PdfPageEvent methods14.2.2. Adding a header and a footer14.2.3. Adding page X of Y14.2.4. Adding watermarks14.2.5. Creating an automatic slide show14.2.6. Automatically creating bookmarks14.2.7. Automatically creating a table of contents14.3. Alternative XML solutions14.3.1. Writing a letter on company stationeryWriting the page eventsWriting the code that parses the XMLBatch-processing the XML14.3.2. Parsing a play14.3.3. Parsing (X)HTML14.3.4. Using HtmlWorker to parse HTML snippets14.4. Enhancing the course catalog (part 2)14.5. Summary
15. Creating annotations and fields
15.1. Introducing annotations15.1.1. Simple annotationsText annotationsLink annotationsMovie annotations15.1.2. Other types of annotationsFile attachmentsFree text annotationsLine, square, and circle annotations15.1.3. Adding annotations to a chunk or image15.2. Creating an AcroForm15.2.1. Button fieldsAdding a pushbuttonAdding radio buttonsAdding check boxesConvenience classes for button fields15.2.2. Creating text fields15.2.3. Creating choice fields15.3. Submitting a form15.3.1. Choosing field names15.3.2. Adding actions to the pushbuttonsSubmitting as HTMLSubmitting as FDFSubmitting as XFDFSubmitting as PDFReset, hide, and show fields15.3.3. Adding actions15.4. Comparing HTML and PDF forms15.5. Summary
16. Filling and signing AcroForms
16.1. Filling in the fields of an AcroForm16.1.1. Retrieving information about the fields (part 1)16.1.2. Filling fields16.1.3. Retrieving information from a field (part 2)16.1.4. Flattening a PDF file16.1.5. Optimizing the flattening process16.2. Working with FDF and XFDF files16.2.1. Reading and writing FDF files16.2.2. Reading XFDF files16.3. Signing a PDF file16.3.1. Adding a signature field to a PDF file16.3.2. Using public and private keys16.3.3. Generating keys and certificates16.3.4. Signing a documentKeyStore, PrivateKey and Certificate[]Creating the signatureValidating the PDF in Adobe ReaderUsing a smart card for signing16.4. Verifying a PDF file16.5. Summary
17. iText in web applications
17.1. Writing PDF to the ServletOutputStream: pitfalls17.1.1. Solving problems related to content type-related problems17.1.2. Troubleshooting the blank-page problemServer-related problemsBrowser-related problems17.1.3. Problems with PDF generated from JSP17.1.4. Avoiding multiple hits per PDF17.1.5. Workaround for the timeout problem17.2. Putting the theory into practice17.2.1. A personalized course catalog17.2.2. Creating a learning agreement formUsing FieldPositioningEventsUsing JavaScript to manipulate fieldsUsing file selection fields17.2.3. Reading an FDF file in a JSP page17.3. Summary
18. Under the hood
18.1. Inside iText and PDF18.1.1. Factors of success18.1.2. The file structure of a PDF documentThe file trailerThe cross-reference table18.1.3. Basic PDF objects18.1.4. Climbing up the object treeThe catalog dictionaryRetrieving the bookmarksThe pages/page dictionary18.2. Extracting and editing text18.2.1. Reading a page’s content stream18.2.2. Why iText doesn’t do text extraction18.2.3. Why you shouldn’t use PDF as a format for editing18.3. Rendering PDF18.3.1. How to print a PDF file programmaticallySending PDF to the printerUsing a viewer application to print a PDF18.3.2. Printing a PDF file in a web application18.4. Manipulating PDF files18.4.1. Toolbox tools18.4.2. The learning agreement (revisited)Changing the submit URLExtracting a file from an FDF18.5. Summary
A. Class diagrams
A.1. PDF/RTF/HTML creation classesA.2. PDF manipulation classesA.3. Text element classesA.4. Image classesA.5. Barcode classesA.6. Table classesA.7. Font classesA.8. Color classesA.9. PdfObject classes
B. Creating barcodes
B.1. Barcodes to identify productscom.lowagie.text.pdf.BarcodeEANcom.lowagie.text.pdf.BarcodeEANSUPPcom.lowagie.text.pdf.Barcode128com.lowagie.text.pdf.BarcodeInter25B.2. Barcodes for postal services and other industriescom.lowagie.text.pdf.BarcodePostnetcom.lowagie.text.pdf.Barcode39com.lowagie.text.pdf.CodabarB.3. Barcode propertiesOverview of barcode propertiesB.4. Two-dimensional barcodescom.lowagie.text.pdf.BarcodePDF417
C. Open parameters
D. Signing a PDF with a smart card
E. Dealing with exceptions
E.1. iText-specific exception classesE.1.1. com.lowagie.text.BadElementExceptionE.1.2. com.lowagie.text.DocumentExceptionE.2. Standard Java exceptionsE.2.1. java.io.IOExceptionE.2.2. java.lang.RuntimeExceptionE.2.3. Converting checked exceptionsE.3. Virtual machine errorsE.3.1. java.lang.OutOfMemoryErrorE.3.2. Class or method not found error
F. Pdf/X, Pdf/A, and tagged PDF
F.1. PDF/XF.2. PDF/AF.2.1. Creating an XMP metadata streamF.2.2. Existing PDF files and XMP metadataF.3. Tagged PDFF.3.1. Standard structure typesF.3.2. Marked contentF.4. To be continued
G. Resources
PDF in generalPublications by Adobe Systems IncorporatedFont-related bibliography and sitesiText-related linksLinks to PDF tools mentioned in the bookLimited list of other projects and products using iText

Overview

Say you need a tool to add dynamic or interactive features to a PDF file and you decide to search on Google for "Java PDF." What do you think you'd find? Why, at the top of the page you'd find "iText," of course. A leading tool for programmatic creation and manipulation of PDF documents, iText is an open source Java library developed and maintained by Bruno Lowagie, the author of this book, with the help of many contributors.

While at the entry level iText is easy to learn, developers find they soon need its more advanced features. Written by the master himself, iText in Action now offers an introduction and a practical guide to the subject—you will gain a sound understanding of the Portable Document Format and how to do interesting and useful things with PDF using iText.

iText in Action introduces iText and lowers the learning curve to its advanced features. Its numerous, valuable examples unlock many of the secrets hidden in Adobe's PDF Reference. The examples are in Java but they can be easily adapted to .NET using one of iText's .NET ports: iTextSharp (C#) or iText.NET (J#).

About the Technology

About the Book

What's Inside

How to

Serve PDF to a browser
Generate dynamic documents from XML files or databases
Use PDF's many interactive features
Add bookmarks, page numbers, watermarks, etc.
Split, concatenate, and manipulate PDF pages
Automate filling out of PDF forms
Add digital signatures to a PDF file
And much more

About the Reader

About the Author

Bruno Lowagie is the original developer and one of the current maintainers of iText. He works for Ghent University and lives in Ghent, Belgium with his wife and two sons.

Quotes
I've been using iText for over a year, but I still learnt an awful lot while reading this book.
- Stephen Kitt, JavaLobby

Thorough and complete ... will be a long running, valuable resource for iText and PDF.
- Alan Dennis, Software Architect, MyFamily.com

One of the best technical books I have ever read! Great work!
- Oliver Zeigermann, Technical Trainer, CoreMedia AG

I wholeheartedly recommend it.
- Doug James, eReporting Team Lead, Benefitfocus.com, Inc.

Impressive! It provides depth without all the noise.
- Justin Lee, President, Antwerkz Inc.

Valuable to any developer using PDF.
- Stuart Caborn, Consultant, Thoughtworks

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