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Mailing lists / fpc-pascal / 2013-05

What library would be recommended for creating pdf file (print invoices)

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Adrian Maier

Hello guys ,

I'm wondering which is the best library available for freepascal that i could use to generate printable invoices?
Most likely a lot of people need this kind of functionality in their applications, so ... perhaps there is some obvious choice that someone could point to me immediately ;)

Some background information: i'm adapting an existing application for a new customer. Previously,
the invoices were simple text files that were sent directly to a matrix printer (using pre-printed
paper that contained the company logo, the labels, the lines/boxes).

But now i have to find a solution to draw the entire invoice on blank paper.

An important remark: the invoice generator has to be a console program, because it will be part
of a bigger application that has a text-interface (running on linux).

So far i am aware of :
- lazreport. To me it's unclear whether this one can be used in a console application.
- powerpdf , a library for creating pdf files
- libharu, a c-library that can be used from pascal (mentioned on this list in an older thread)
- fpgui has a component that would allow pdf creation Probably there are several other libraries available.

Which one would you recommend to me (taking into account the API cleanliness) ?

Cheers,
Adrian M

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Michael Van Canneyt
to Adrian Maier
Adrian Maier wrote 19 lines
Hello guys , I'm wondering which is the best library available for freepascal that i could use to generate printable invoices? Most likely a lot of people need this kind of functionality in their applications, so ... perhaps there is some obvious choice that someone could point to me immediately ;) Some background information:   i'm adapting an existing application for a new customer.  Previously, the invoices were simple text files that were sent directly to a matrix printer (using pre-printed paper that contained the company logo, the labels, the lines/boxes).     But now i have to find a solution to draw the entire invoice on blank paper.   An important remark: the invoice generator has to be a console program, because it will be part of a bigger application that has a text-interface (running on linux). So far i am aware of : - lazreport.   To me it's unclear whether this one can be used in a console application.   

No.

Show quoted text 7 lines
- powerpdf , a library for creating pdf files   - libharu,   a c-library that can be used from pascal (mentioned on this list in an older thread) - fpgui has a component that would allow pdf creation Probably there are several other libraries available. Which one would you recommend to me   (taking into account the API cleanliness)  ?   

powerpdf or the fpgui one.

Michael.

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Tony Whyman
to Adrian Maier: I'm wondering which is the best library available for freepascal that i could use to…

Adrian,

I use Lazreports to lay out invoices, purchase orders, parcel labels etc. This can print directly to a printer and has an extension to print to PDF using PowerPDF. I use this so that I can export to PDF and EMail invoices. All works very well for me.

Tony W

Adrian Maier wrote 45 lines
Hello guys , I'm wondering which is the best library available for freepascal that i could use to generate printable invoices? Most likely a lot of people need this kind of functionality in their applications, so ... perhaps there is some obvious choice that someone could point to me immediately ;) Some background information: i'm adapting an existing application for a new customer. Previously, the invoices were simple text files that were sent directly to a matrix printer (using pre-printed paper that contained the company logo, the labels, the lines/boxes). But now i have to find a solution to draw the entire invoice on blank paper. An important remark: the invoice generator has to be a console program, because it will be part of a bigger application that has a text-interface (running on linux). So far i am aware of : - lazreport. To me it's unclear whether this one can be used in a console application. - powerpdf , a library for creating pdf files - libharu, a c-library that can be used from pascal (mentioned on this list in an older thread) - fpgui has a component that would allow pdf creation Probably there are several other libraries available. Which one would you recommend to me (taking into account the API cleanliness) ? Cheers, Adrian M _______________________________________________ fpc-pascal maillist - http://lists.freepascal.org/mailman/listinfo/fpc-pascal

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Graeme Geldenhuys
to Adrian Maier: I'm wondering which is the best library available for freepascal that i could use to…
Adrian Maier wrote
Which one would you recommend to me (taking into account the API cleanliness) ?

I think that very much depends on you. Each developer would have their own preference and requirements. I can add that we use the pdf engine in fpGUI for all our commercial reporting and invoicing needs, and it works very well. With little effort it could be made into a non-gui component. 99% of the code is non-gui anyway - the remaining 1% is simply that it pulls in a "print preview" dialog from fpGUI.

I can't really compare the pdf engine in fpGUI to the others, because I have never used any of the others. If you want to see some of what the fpGUI report engine can do, take a look at the reporting demo <fpgui>/examples/gui/reporting/

Regards,
- Graeme -

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