CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javaitext
Nid
Nid

Reputation: 125

How to set field name in pdf- java

I want to set a field name in a pdf (not in existing pdf) so that I can get the coordinates of that field when required. Can we achieve this without pdfstamper?

Thanks in advance

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1100

Answers (1)

Bruno Lowagie
Bruno Lowagie

Reputation: 77606

You say you want to create a PDF from scratch (not an existing PDF) and you want this PDF to have a field.

Creating a PDF from scratch doesn't involve PdfStamper, so the answer to the question "Can we achieve this without PdfStamper" is "Yes, you can."

If you are thinking about using iText 5, you should take a look at the following examples:

One of those examples was written in answer to the question Add PdfPCell to Paragraph

In this example, we create a Paragraph in which some Chunk objects are fields:

enter image description here

You can get the coordinates of those fields using the getFieldPositions() method. That is explained in the FAQ: How to find the absolute position and dimension of a field?

If you are thinking of using iText 7.0.1, you will discover that the classes are much easier to understand because the same classes are used regardless whether you are creating a form from scratch or filling out an existing form, see chapter 4 of the iText 7 jump-start tutorial.

public class GenericFields extends GenericTest {
    public static final String DEST = "./target/test/resources/sandbox/events/generic_fields.pdf";

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        File file = new File(DEST);
        file.getParentFile().mkdirs();
        new GenericFields().manipulatePdf(DEST);
    }

    @Override
    protected void manipulatePdf(String dest) throws Exception {
        PdfDocument pdfDoc = new PdfDocument(new PdfWriter(dest));
        Document doc = new Document(pdfDoc);
        Paragraph p = new Paragraph();
        p.add("The Effective Date is ");
        Text day = new Text("     ");
        day.setNextRenderer(new FieldTextRenderer(day, "day"));
        p.add(day);
        p.add(" day of ");
        Text month = new Text("     ");
        month.setNextRenderer(new FieldTextRenderer(month, "month"));
        p.add(month);
        p.add(", ");
        Text year = new Text("            ");
        year.setNextRenderer(new FieldTextRenderer(year, "year"));
        p.add(year);
        p.add(" that this will begin.");
        doc.add(p);
        doc.close();
    }


    protected class FieldTextRenderer extends TextRenderer {
        protected String fieldName;

        public FieldTextRenderer(Text textElement, String fieldName) {
            super(textElement);
            this.fieldName = fieldName;
        }

        @Override
        public void draw(DrawContext drawContext) {
            PdfTextFormField field = PdfTextFormField.createText(drawContext.getDocument(), getOccupiedAreaBBox(), fieldName);
            PdfAcroForm.getAcroForm(drawContext.getDocument(), true).addField(field);
        }
    }
}

Upvotes: 1

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