1PDF::Create(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation PDF::Create(3)
2
6 PDF::Create - Create PDF files.
7
9 Version 1.46
10
12 "PDF::Create" allows you to create PDF document using a number of
13 primitives.The result is as a PDF file or stream. PDF stands for
14 Portable Document Format.
15 Documents can have several pages, a table of content, an information
17 section and many other PDF elements.
18
20 "PDF::Create" provides an easy module to create PDF output from your
21 perl script. It is designed to be easy to use and simple to install
22 and maintain. It provides a couple of subroutines to handle text,
23 fonts, images and drawing primitives. Simple documents are easy to
24 create with the supplied routines.
25 In addition to be reasonable simple "PDF::Create" is written in pure
27 Perl and has no external dependencies (libraries, other modules,
28 etc.). It should run on any platform where perl is available.
29 For complex stuff some understanding of the underlying Postscript/PDF
31 format is necessary. In this case it might be better go with the more
32 complete PDF::API2 modules to gain more features at the expense of a
33 steeper learning curve.
34 Example PDF creation with "PDF::Create" (see PDF::Create::Page for
36 details of methods available on a page):
37 use strict; use warnings;
39 use PDF::Create;
40 my $pdf = PDF::Create->new(
42 'filename' => 'sample.pdf',
43 'Author' => 'John Doe',
44 'Title' => 'Sample PDF',
45 'CreationDate' => [ localtime ]
46 );
47 # Add a A4 sized page
49 my $root = $pdf->new_page('MediaBox' => $pdf->get_page_size('A4'));
50 # Add a page which inherits its attributes from $root
52 my $page1 = $root->new_page;
53 # Prepare a font
55 my $font = $pdf->font('BaseFont' => 'Helvetica');
56 # Prepare a Table of Content
58 my $toc = $pdf->new_outline('Title' => 'Title Page', 'Destination' => $page1);
59 # Write some text
61 $page1->stringc($font, 40, 306, 426, 'PDF::Create');
62 $page1->stringc($font, 20, 306, 396, "version $PDF::Create::VERSION");
63 $page1->stringc($font, 20, 306, 300, 'by John Doe <john.doe@example.com>');
64 # Add another page
66 my $page2 = $root->new_page;
67 # Draw some lines
69 $page2->line(0, 0, 592, 840);
70 $page2->line(0, 840, 592, 0);
71 $page2->string($font, 20, 50, 400, "default á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¿ ¡ a e i o u n'");
73 $page2->string_underline($font, 20, 50, 400, "default á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¿ ¡ a e i o u n'");
74 use utf8;
76 $page2->string($font, 20, 50, 350, "use utf8 á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¿ ¡ a e i o u n'");
77 $page2->string_underline($font, 20, 50, 350, "use utf8 á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¿ ¡ a e i o u n'");
78 no utf8;
80 $page2->string($font, 20, 50, 300, "no utf8 á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¿ ¡ a e i o u n'");
81 $page2->string_underline($font, 20, 50, 300, "no utf8 á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¿ ¡ a e i o u n'");
82 $toc->new_outline('Title' => 'Second Page', 'Destination' => $page2);
84 # Close the file and write the PDF
86 $pdf->close;
87
89 The method new(%params) create a new pdf structure for your PDF. It
90 returns an object handle which can be used to add more stuff to the
91 PDF. The parameter keys to the constructor are detailed as below:
92 +--------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
94 | Key | Description |
95 +--------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
96 | | |
97 | filename | Destination file that will contain resulting PDF or '-' for|
98 | | stdout. If neither filename or fh are specified, the |
99 | | content will be stored in memory and returned when calling |
100 | | close(). |
101 | | |
102 | fh | Already opened filehandle that will contain resulting PDF. |
103 | | See comment above regarding close(). |
104 | | |
105 | Version | PDF Version to claim, can be 1.0 to 1.3 (default: 1. |
106 | | |
107 | PageMode | How the document should appear when opened.Possible values |
108 | | UseNone (Default), UseOutlines, UseThumbs and FullScreen |
109 | | |
110 | Author | The name of the person who created this document. |
111 | | |
112 | Creator | If the document was converted into a PDF document from |
113 | | another form, this is the name of the application that |
114 | | created the document. |
115 | | |
116 | Title | The title of the document. |
117 | | |
118 | Subject | The subject of the document. |
119 | | |
120 | Keywords | Keywords associated with the document. |
121 | | |
122 | CreationDate | The date the document was created.This is passed as an |
123 | | anonymous array in the same format as localtime returns. |
124 | | |
125 | Debug | The debug level, defaults to 0. It can be any positive |
126 | | integers. |
127 | | |
128 +--------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
129 Example:
131 my $pdf = PDF::Create->new(
133 'filename' => 'sample.pdf',
134 'Version' => 1.2,
135 'PageMode' => 'UseOutlines',
136 'Author' => 'John Doe',
137 'Title' => 'My Title',
138 'CreationDate' => [ localtime ]
139 );
140 If you are writing a CGI you can send your PDF on the fly to stdout /
142 directly to the browser using '-' as filename.
143 CGI Example:
145 use CGI;
147 use PDF::Create;
148 print CGI::header(-type => 'application/x-pdf', -attachment => 'sample.pdf');
150 my $pdf = PDF::Create->new(
151 'filename' => '-',
152 'Author' => 'John Doe',
153 'Title' => 'My title',
154 'CreationDate' => [ localtime ]
155 );
156
158 new_page(%params)
159 Add a page to the document using the given parameters. "new_page" must
160 be called first to initialize a root page, used as model for further
161 pages.Returns a handle to the newly created page. Parameters can be:
162 +-----------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
164 | Key | Description |
165 +-----------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
166 | | |
167 | Parent | The parent of this page in the pages tree.This is page object.|
168 | | |
169 | Resources | Resources required by this page. |
170 | | |
171 | MediaBox | Rectangle specifying the natural size of the page,for example |
172 | | the dimensions of an A4 sheet of paper. The coordinates are |
173 | | measured in default user space units It must be the reference |
174 | | of 4 values array.You can use C<get_page_size> to get to get |
175 | | the size of standard paper sizes.C<get_page_size> knows about |
176 | | A0-A6, A4L (landscape), Letter, Legal, Broadsheet, Ledger, |
177 | | Tabloid, Executive and 36x36. |
178 | CropBox | Rectangle specifying the default clipping region for the page |
179 | | when displayed or printed. The default is the value of the |
180 | | MediaBox. |
181 | | |
182 | ArtBox | Rectangle specifying an area of the page to be used when |
183 | | placing PDF content into another application. The default is |
184 | | the value of the CropBox. [PDF 1.3] |
185 | | |
186 | TrimBox | Rectangle specifying the intended finished size of the page |
187 | | (for example, the dimensions of an A4 sheet of paper).In some |
188 | | cases,the MediaBox will be a larger rectangle, which includes |
189 | | printing instructions, cut marks or other content.The default |
190 | | is the value of the CropBox. [PDF 1.3]. |
191 | | |
192 | BleedBox | Rectangle specifying the region to which all page content |
193 | | should be clipped if the page is being output in a production |
194 | | environment. In such environments, a bleed area is desired, |
195 | | to accommodate physical limitations of cutting, folding, and |
196 | | trimming equipment. The actual printed page may include |
197 | | printer's marks that fall outside the bleed box. The default |
198 | | is the value of the CropBox.[PDF 1.3] |
199 | | |
200 | Rotate | Specifies the number of degrees the page should be rotated |
201 | | clockwise when it is displayed or printed. This value must be |
202 | | zero (the default) or a multiple of 90. The entire page, |
203 | | including contents is rotated. |
204 | | |
205 +-----------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
206 Example:
208 my $a4 = $pdf->new_page( 'MediaBox' => $pdf->get_page_size('A4') );
210 my $page1 = $a4->new_page;
212 $page1->string($f1, 20, 306, 396, "some text on page 1");
213 my $page2 = $a4->new_page;
215 $page2->string($f1, 20, 306, 396, "some text on page 2");
216 font(%params)
218 Prepare a font using the given arguments. This font will be added to
219 the document only if it is used at least once before the close method
220 is called.Parameters are listed below:
221 +----------+----------------------------------------------------------------+
223 | Key | Description |
224 +----------+----------------------------------------------------------------+
225 | Subtype | Type of font. PDF defines some types of fonts. It must be one |
226 | | of the predefined type Type1, Type3, TrueType or Type0.In this |
227 | | version, only Type1 is supported. This is the default value. |
228 | | |
229 | Encoding | Specifies the encoding from which the new encoding differs. |
230 | | It must be one of the predefined encodings MacRomanEncoding, |
231 | | MacExpertEncoding or WinAnsiEncoding. In this version, only |
232 | | WinAnsiEncoding is supported. This is the default value. |
233 | | |
234 | BaseFont | The PostScript name of the font. It can be one of the following|
235 | | base fonts: Courier, Courier-Bold, Courier-BoldOblique, |
236 | | Courier-Oblique, Helvetica, Helvetica-Bold, |
237 | | Helvetica-BoldOblique, Helvetica-Oblique, Times-Roman, |
238 | | Times-Bold, Times-Italic, Times-BoldItalic or Symbol. |
239 +----------+----------------------------------------------------------------+
240 The ZapfDingbats font is not supported in this version.Default font is
242 Helvetica.
243 my $f1 = $pdf->font('BaseFont' => 'Helvetica');
245 new_outline(%params)
247 Adds an outline to the document using the given parameters. Return
248 the newly created outline. Parameters can be:
249 +-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
251 | Key | Description |
252 +-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
253 | | |
254 | Title | The title of the outline. Mandatory. |
255 | | |
256 | Destination | The Destination of this outline item. In this version,it is |
257 | | only possible to give a page as destination. The default |
258 | | destination is the current page. |
259 | | |
260 | Parent | The parent of this outline in the outlines tree. This is an |
261 | | outline object. This way you represent the tree of your |
262 | | outlines. |
263 | | |
264 +-------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
265 Example:
267 my $outline = $pdf->new_outline('Title' => 'Item 1');
269 $pdf->new_outline('Title' => 'Item 1.1', 'Parent' => $outline);
270 $pdf->new_outline('Title' => 'Item 1.2', 'Parent' => $outline);
271 $pdf->new_outline('Title' => 'Item 2');
272 get_page_size($name)
274 Returns the size of standard paper used for MediaBox-parameter of
275 "new_page". "get_page_size" has one optional parameter to specify
276 the paper name. Possible values are a0-a6,
277 a4l,letter,broadsheet,ledger,tabloid,legal,executive and 36x36.
278 Default is a4.
279 my $root = $pdf->new_page( 'MediaBox' => $pdf->get_page_size('A4') );
281 version($number)
283 Set and return version number. Valid version numbers are 1.0, 1.1, 1.2
284 and 1.3.
285 close(%params)
287 Close does the work of creating the PDF data from the objects collected
288 before. You must call close() after you have added all the contents as
289 most of the real work building the PDF is performed there. If omit
290 calling close you get no PDF output. Returns the raw content of the
291 PDF. If "fh" was provided when creating object of "PDF::Create" then
292 it does not try to close the file handle. It is, therefore, advised you
293 call flush() rather than close().
294 flush()
296 Generate the PDF content and returns the raw content as it is.
297 reserve($name, $type)
299 Reserve the next object number for the given object type.
300 add_comment($message)
302 Add comment to the document.The string will show up in the PDF as
303 postscript-style comment:
304 % this is a postscript comment
306 annotation(%params)
308 Adds an annotation object, for the time being we only do the 'Link' -
309 'URI' kind This is a sensitive area in the PDF document where text
310 annotations are shown or links launched. "PDF::Create" only supports
311 URI links at this time.
312 URI links have two components,the text or graphics object and the area
314 where the mouseclick should occur.
315 For the object to be clicked on you'll use standard text of drawing
317 methods. To define the click-sensitive area and the destination URI.
318 Example:
320 # Draw a string and underline it to show it is a link
322 $pdf->string($f1, 10, 450, 200, 'http://www.cpan.org');
323 my $line = $pdf->string_underline($f1, 10, 450, 200, 'http://www.cpan.org');
325 # Create the hot area with the link to open on click
327 $pdf->annotation(
328 Subtype => 'Link',
329 URI => 'http://www.cpan.org',
330 x => 450,
331 y => 200,
332 w => $l,
333 h => 15,
334 Border => [0,0,0]
335 );
336 The point (x, y) is the bottom left corner of the rectangle
338 containing hotspot rectangle, (w, h) are the width and height of the
339 hotspot rectangle. The Border describes the thickness of the border
340 surrounding the rectangle hotspot.
341 The function "string_underline" returns the width of the string, this
343 can be used directly for the width of the hotspot rectangle.
344 image($filename)
346 Prepare an XObject (image) using the given arguments. This image will
347 be added to the document if it is referenced at least once before the
348 close method is called. In this version GIF,interlaced GIF and JPEG is
349 supported. Usage of interlaced GIFs are slower because they are
350 decompressed, modified and compressed again. The gif support is
351 limited to images with a LZW minimum code size of 8. Small images with
352 few colors can have a smaller minimum code size and will not work. If
353 you get errors regarding JPEG compression, then the compression method
354 used in your JPEG file is not supported by "PDF::Image::JPEG". Try
355 resaving the JPEG file with different compression options (for example,
356 disable progressive compression).
357 Example:
359 my $img = $pdf->image('image.jpg');
361 $page->image(
363 image => $img,
364 xscale => 0.25, # scale image for better quality
365 yscale => 0.25,
366 xpos => 50,
367 ypos => 60,
368 xalign => 0,
369 yalign => 2,
370 );
371 get_data()
373 If you did not ask the $pdf object to write its output to a file, you
374 can pick up the pdf code by calling this method. It returns a big
375 string. You need to call "close" first.
376
378 "PDF::Create" comes with a couple of limitations or known caveats:
379 PDF Size / Memory
381 Unless using a filehandle, "PDF::Create" assembles the entire PDF in
382 memory. If you create very large documents on a machine with a small
383 amount of memory your program can fail because it runs out of memory.
384 If using a filehandle, data will be written immediately to the
385 filehandle after each method.
386 Small GIF images
388 Some gif images get created with a minimal lzw code size of less than
389 8. "PDF::Create" can not decode those and they must be converted.
390
392 I support "PDF::Create" in my spare time between work and family, so
393 the amount of work I put in is limited.
394 If you experience a problem make sure you are at the latest version
396 first many of things have already been fixed.
397 Please register bug at the CPAN bug tracking system at
399 <http://rt.cpan.org> or send email to "bug-PDF-Create [at] rt.cpan.org"
400 Be sure to include the following information:
402 - PDF::Create Version you are running
404 - Perl version (perl -v)
405 - Operating System vendor and version
406 - Details about your operating environment that might be related to the
407 issue being described
408 - Exact cut and pasted error or warning messages
409 - The shortest, clearest code you can manage to write which
410 reproduces the bug described.
411 I appreciate patches against the latest released version of
413 "PDF::Create" which fix the bug.
414 Feature request can be submitted like bugs. If you provide patch for a
416 feature which does not go against the "PDF::Create" philosophy (keep it
417 simple) then you have a good chance for it to be accepted.
418
420 Adobe PDF <http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html>
421 PDF::Labels Routines to produce formatted pages of mailing labels in
423 PDF, uses PDF::Create internally.
424 PDF::Haru Perl interface to Haru Free PDF Library.
426 PDF::EasyPDF PDF creation from a one-file module, similar to
428 PDF::Create.
429 PDF::CreateSimple Yet another PDF creation module
431 PDF::Report A wrapper written for PDF::API2.
433
435 Fabien Tassin
436 GIF and JPEG-support: Michael Gross (info@mdgrosse.net)
438 Maintenance since 2007: Markus Baertschi (markus@markus.org)
440 Currently maintained by Mohammad S Anwar (MANWAR) "<mohammad.anwar at
442 yahoo.com>"
443
445 <https://github.com/manwar/pdf-create>
446
448 Copyright 1999-2001,Fabien Tassin.All rights reserved.It may be used
449 and modified freely, but I do request that this copyright notice
450 remain attached to the file. You may modify this module as you
451 wish,but if you redistribute a modified version , please attach a note
452 listing the modifications you have made.
453 Copyright 2007 Markus Baertschi
455 Copyright 2010 Gary Lieberman
457
459 This is free software; you can redistribute it and / or modify it under
460 the same terms as Perl 5.6.0.
461perl v5.38.0 2023-07-21 PDF::Create(3)