How to fill PDF form using Sautinsoft or ASPOSE?

Question

I'm a beginner programmer and attempting to write a vb.net code to fill pdf forms using Sautinsoft or ASPOSE. My goal is to populate the fields within a pdf template using the data from the data set. For example, assume creation of a student report card using unique identifiers from source data. Each student report card should be created as a separate pdf file using the pdf template. Is anyone able to share a sample code?

Note: I'm looking for either Sautinsoft or ASPOSE code in particular (and not itextsharp).

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

To fill a PDF form using Sautinsoft.Document library in VB.Net, you can follow the example below. This code demonstrates how to populate fields within a PDF template.

Option Infer On

Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports SautinSoft
Imports SautinSoft.Pdf
Imports SautinSoft.Pdf.Content

Namespace Sample
    Friend Class Sample
        ''' <summary>
        ''' Fill in PDF interactive forms.
        ''' </summary>
        ''' <remarks>
        ''' Details: https://sautinsoft.com/products/pdf/help/net/developer-guide/fill-in-pdf-interactive-forms.php
        ''' </remarks>
        Shared Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)
            ' Before starting this example, please get a free 100-day trial key:
            ' https://sautinsoft.com/start-for-free/

            ' Apply the key here:
            ' PdfDocument.SetLicense("...");

            Dim pdfFile As String = Path.GetFullPath("..\..\..\Form.pdf")

            'Load PDF Document with forms.
            Using document = PdfDocument.Load(pdfFile)
                ' Fill the form fields.
                document.Form.Fields("FullName").Value = "Jane Doe"
                document.Form.Fields("ID").Value = "0123456789"
                document.Form.Fields("Gender").Value = "Female"
                document.Form.Fields("Married").Value = "Yes"
                document.Form.Fields("City").Value = "Berlin"
                document.Form.Fields("Language").Value = New String() { "German", "Italian" }
                document.Form.Fields("Notes").Value = "Notes first line" & vbCr & "Notes second line" & vbCr & "Notes third line"

                ' Save PDF Document.
                document.Save("FormFilled.pdf")
            End Using

            System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(New System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("FormFilled.pdf") With {.UseShellExecute = True})
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

If you are interested in the code sample for C#, you can follow this link.

Answer 2

Aspose is a cool component, but expensive. SautinSoft - not very famous, but the functionality is the same and cheaper at times.

For your task, you can do this:

1. Use DOCX template instead of PDF template, because Aspose and Sautinsoft can't read fields (FieldName) from pdf.
2. Fill out a student report card using your source data.
3. Save as PDF. You will receive a separate PDF file with student data.

Code:

    static void CustomDataSource()
    {
        // Populate some data that we will use in the mail merge.
        List<Actor> actors = new List<Actor>();
        actors.Add(new Actor("Arnold Schwarzenegger", "12989 Chalon Road, Los Angeles, CA 90049"));
        actors.Add(new Actor("Sylvester Stallone", "30 Beverly Park Terrace, Beverly Hills, CA 90210"));

        // Populate some data for nesting in the mail merge.
        actors[0].Orders.Add(new Order("Bowflex SelectTech 1090 Adjustable Dumbbell", 2));
        actors[0].Orders.Add(new Order("Gold's Gym Kettlebell Kit, 5-15 Lbs.", 1));
        actors[1].Orders.Add(new Order("Weider Cast Iron Olympic Hammertone Weight Set, 300 Lb.", 1));

        // Load the template document.
        DocumentCore dc = DocumentCore.Load(@"..\..\..\Template.docx");

        // To be able to mail merge from your own data source, it must be wrapped into an object that implements the IMailMergeDataSource interface.
        CustomMailMergeDataSource customDataSource = new CustomMailMergeDataSource(actors);

        // Execute the mail merge.
        dc.MailMerge.Execute(customDataSource);

        string resultPath = "StudentReportCard.pdf";

        // Save the output to file.
        dc.Save(resultPath);

        // Open the result for demonstration purposes.
        System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo(resultPath) { UseShellExecute = true });
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// An example of a class that contain actor's data.
    /// </summary>
    public class Actor
    {
        private string _fullName;
        private string _address;
        private List<Order> _orders;

        public string FullName
        {
            get { return _fullName; }
            set { _fullName = value; }
        }

        public string Address
        {
            get { return _address; }
            set { _address = value; }
        }

        public List<Order> Orders
        {
            get { return _orders; }
            set { _orders = value; }
        }

        public Actor(string fullName, string address)
        {
            _fullName = fullName;
            _address = address;
            _orders = new List<Order>();
        }

    }         

    /// <summary>
    /// An example of a class that contain order's data.
    /// </summary>
    public class Order
    {
        private string _name;
        private int _quantity;

        public string Name
        {
            get { return _name; }
            set { _name = value; }
        }

        public int Quantity
        {
            get { return _quantity; }
            set { _quantity = value; }
        }

        public Order(string name, int quantity)
        {
            _name = name;
            _quantity = quantity;
        }
    }                     

    /// <summary>
    /// A custom mail merge data source that allows SautinSoft.Document to retrieve data from Actor objects.
    /// </summary>
    public class CustomMailMergeDataSource : IMailMergeDataSource
    {
        private readonly List<Actor> _actors;
        private int _recordIndex;

        /// <summary>
        /// The name of the data source. 
        /// </summary>
        public string Name
        {
            get { return "Actor"; }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// SautinSoft.Document calls this method to get a value for every data field.
        /// </summary>
        public bool TryGetValue(string valueName, out object value)
        {
            switch (valueName)
            {
                case "FullName":
                    value = _actors[_recordIndex].FullName;
                    return true;
                case "Address":
                    value = _actors[_recordIndex].Address;
                    return true;
                default:
                    // A field with this name was not found
                    value = null;
                    return false;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// A standard implementation for moving to a next record in a collection.
        /// </summary>
        public bool MoveNext()
        {
            return (++_recordIndex < _actors.Count);
        }

        public IMailMergeDataSource GetChildDataSource(string sourceName)
        {
            switch (sourceName)
            {
                case "Order":
                    return new OrderMailMergeDataSource(_actors[_recordIndex].Orders);
                default:
                    return null;
            }
        }

        public CustomMailMergeDataSource(List<Actor> actors)
        {
            _actors = actors;
            // When the data source is initialized, it must be positioned before the first record.
            _recordIndex = -1;
        }
    }

    public class OrderMailMergeDataSource : IMailMergeDataSource
    {
        private readonly List<Order> _orders;
        private int _recordIndex;

        /// <summary>
        /// The name of the data source. 
        /// </summary>
        public string Name
        {
            get { return "Order"; }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// SautinSoft.Document calls this method to get a value for every data field.
        /// </summary>
        public bool TryGetValue(string valueName, out object value)
        {
            switch (valueName)
            {
                case "Name":
                    value = _orders[_recordIndex].Name;
                    return true;
                case "Quantity":
                    value = _orders[_recordIndex].Quantity;
                    return true;
                default:
                    // A field with this name was not found
                    value = null;
                    return false;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// A standard implementation for moving to a next record in a collection.
        /// </summary>
        public bool MoveNext()
        {
            return (++_recordIndex < _orders.Count);
        }

        // Return null because Order haven't any child elements.
        public IMailMergeDataSource GetChildDataSource(string tableName)
        {
            return null;
        }

        public OrderMailMergeDataSource(List<Order> orders)
        {
            _orders = orders;
            // When the data source is initialized, it must be positioned before the first record.
            _recordIndex = -1;
        }
    }