##Introduction
Sometimes you might need to generate PDF report from your android app. PDF report may help your users to take the information out of your app and share information with the outside world. In one of my recent apps I was also required to generate PDF report from my app. In this tutorial I will share my experience with you guys. However, I chose iText library to generate PDF file from android.
##What is iText?
iText Software is a world-leading specialist in programmable PDF software libraries for professionals. Its solutions are used in sales and marketing, legal and governance, finance, IT, operations and HR by a diverse customer base that includes medical institutions, banks, governments and technology companies. The iText solution was first designed by tech visionary Bruno Lowagie in 2000 and has known continuous growth in its 15 years of existence, coupled with a healthy desire to remain at the forefront of product innovation.
##iText for Android
If you want to use iText on Android or the Google App Engine, you need to use iTextG. iTextG is almost identical to iText, except that it only uses classes that are white-listed by Google. All references to java.awt, javax.nio and other "forbidden" packages have been removed.
##Prerequisite
Download latest version of iTextg jar and javadoc from https://github.com/itext/itextg/releases and add them to your project's build path or build.gradle file.
##Sample Code
###ProductModel.java
package com.sias.model;
public class ProductModel {
public String name,unitName, brandName, categoryName;
public ProductModel(String product_name,String unit, String brand_name, String category_name) {
this.setName(product_name);
this.setBrandName(brand_name);
this.setUnitName(unit);
this.setCategoryName(category_name);
}
public String getCategoryName() {
return categoryName;
}
public void setCategoryName(String categoryName) {
this.categoryName = categoryName;
}
public String getBrandName() {
return brandName;
}
public void setBrandName(String brandName) {
this.brandName = brandName;
}
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
public String getUnitName() {
return unitName;
}
public void setUnitName(String unitName) {
this.unitName = unitName;
}
}###GeneratePDFReport.java
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Environment;
import com.itextpdf.text.BadElementException;
import com.itextpdf.text.Document;
import com.itextpdf.text.DocumentException;
import com.itextpdf.text.Element;
import com.itextpdf.text.Font;
import com.itextpdf.text.PageSize;
import com.itextpdf.text.Paragraph;
import com.itextpdf.text.Phrase;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.ColumnText;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.GrayColor;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfContentByte;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfPCell;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfPTable;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfPageEventHelper;
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfWriter;
import com.sias.model.ProductModel;
import com.sias.utility.StaticValue;
public class ProductListAllPDF {
//creating a PdfWriter variable. PdfWriter class is available at com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfWriter
private PdfWriter pdfWriter;
//we will add some products to arrayListRProductModel to show in the PDF document
private static ArrayList<ProductModel> arrayListRProductModel = new ArrayList<ProductModel>();
public boolean createPDF(Context context, String reportName) {
try {
//creating a directory in SD card
File mydir = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory()
+ StaticValue.PATH_PRODUCT_REPORT); //PATH_PRODUCT_REPORT="/SIAS/REPORT_PRODUCT/"
if (!mydir.exists()) {
mydir.mkdirs();
}
//getting the full path of the PDF report name
String mPath = Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().toString()
+ StaticValue.PATH_PRODUCT_REPORT //PATH_PRODUCT_REPORT="/SIAS/REPORT_PRODUCT/"
+ reportName+".pdf"; //reportName could be any name
//constructing the PDF file
File pdfFile = new File(mPath);
//Creating a Document with size A4. Document class is available at com.itextpdf.text.Document
Document document = new Document(PageSize.A4);
//assigning a PdfWriter instance to pdfWriter
pdfWriter = PdfWriter.getInstance(document, new FileOutputStream(pdfFile));
//PageFooter is an inner class of this class which is responsible to create Header and Footer
PageHeaderFooter event = new PageHeaderFooter();
pdfWriter.setPageEvent(event);
//Before writing anything to a document it should be opened first
document.open();
//Adding meta-data to the document
addMetaData(document);
//Adding Title(s) of the document
addTitlePage(document);
//Adding main contents of the document
addContent(document);
//Closing the document
document.close();
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
return true;
}
/**
* iText allows to add metadata to the PDF which can be viewed in your Adobe Reader. If you right click
* on the file and to to properties then you can see all these information.
* @param document
*/
private static void addMetaData(Document document) {
document.addTitle("All Product Names");
document.addSubject("none");
document.addKeywords("Java, PDF, iText");
document.addAuthor("SIAS ERP");
document.addCreator(StaticValue.USER_MODEL.getName());
}
/**
* In this method title(s) of the document is added.
* @param document
* @throws DocumentException
*/
private static void addTitlePage(Document document)
throws DocumentException {
Paragraph paragraph = new Paragraph();
// Adding several title of the document. Paragraph class is available in com.itextpdf.text.Paragraph
Paragraph childParagraph = new Paragraph("PLUS Electronics Pvt. Ltd.", StaticValue.FONT_TITLE); //public static Font FONT_TITLE = new Font(Font.FontFamily.TIMES_ROMAN, 22,Font.BOLD);
childParagraph.setAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
paragraph.add(childParagraph);
childParagraph = new Paragraph("Product List", StaticValue.FONT_SUBTITLE); //public static Font FONT_SUBTITLE = new Font(Font.FontFamily.TIMES_ROMAN, 18,Font.BOLD);
childParagraph.setAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
paragraph.add(childParagraph);
childParagraph = new Paragraph("Report generated on: 17.12.2015" , StaticValue.FONT_SUBTITLE);
childParagraph.setAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
paragraph.add(childParagraph);
addEmptyLine(paragraph, 2);
paragraph.setAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
document.add(paragraph);
//End of adding several titles
}
/**
* In this method the main contents of the documents are added
* @param document
* @throws DocumentException
*/
private static void addContent(Document document) throws DocumentException {
Paragraph reportBody = new Paragraph();
reportBody.setFont(StaticValue.FONT_BODY); //public static Font FONT_BODY = new Font(Font.FontFamily.TIMES_ROMAN, 12,Font.NORMAL);
// Creating a table
createTable(reportBody);
// now add all this to the document
document.add(reportBody);
}
/**
* This method is responsible to add table using iText
* @param reportBody
* @throws BadElementException
*/
private static void createTable(Paragraph reportBody)
throws BadElementException {
float[] columnWidths = {5,5,5,2}; //total 4 columns and their width. The first three columns will take the same width and the fourth one will be 5/2.
PdfPTable table = new PdfPTable(columnWidths);
table.setWidthPercentage(100); //set table with 100% (full page)
table.getDefaultCell().setUseAscender(true);
//Adding table headers
PdfPCell cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase("Product Name", //Table Header
StaticValue.FONT_TABLE_HEADER)); //Public static Font FONT_TABLE_HEADER = new Font(Font.FontFamily.TIMES_ROMAN, 12,Font.BOLD);
cell.setHorizontalAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER); //alignment
cell.setBackgroundColor(new GrayColor(0.75f)); //cell background color
cell.setFixedHeight(30); //cell height
table.addCell(cell);
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase("Brand Name",
StaticValue.FONT_TABLE_HEADER));
cell.setHorizontalAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
cell.setBackgroundColor(new GrayColor(0.75f));
cell.setFixedHeight(30);
table.addCell(cell);
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase("Category Name",
StaticValue.FONT_TABLE_HEADER));
cell.setHorizontalAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
cell.setBackgroundColor(new GrayColor(0.75f));
cell.setFixedHeight(30);
table.addCell(cell);
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase("Unit",
StaticValue.FONT_TABLE_HEADER));
cell.setHorizontalAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
cell.setBackgroundColor(new GrayColor(0.75f));
cell.setFixedHeight(30);
table.addCell(cell);
//End of adding table headers
//This method will generate some static data for the table
generateTableData();
//Adding data into table
for (int i = 0; i < arrayListRProductModel.size(); i++) { //
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(arrayListRProductModel.get(i).getName()));
cell.setFixedHeight(28);
table.addCell(cell);
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(arrayListRProductModel.get(i).getBrandName()));
cell.setFixedHeight(28);
table.addCell(cell);
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(arrayListRProductModel.get(i).getCategoryName()));
cell.setFixedHeight(28);
table.addCell(cell);
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(arrayListRProductModel.get(i).getUnitName()));
cell.setFixedHeight(28);
table.addCell(cell);
}
reportBody.add(table);
}
/**
* This method is used to add empty lines in the document
* @param paragraph
* @param number
*/
private static void addEmptyLine(Paragraph paragraph, int number) {
for (int i = 0; i < number; i++) {
paragraph.add(new Paragraph(" "));
}
}
/**
* This is an inner class which is used to create header and footer
* @author XYZ
*
*/
class PageHeaderFooter extends PdfPageEventHelper {
Font ffont = new Font(Font.FontFamily.UNDEFINED, 5, Font.ITALIC);
public void onEndPage(PdfWriter writer, Document document) {
/**
* PdfContentByte is an object containing the user positioned text and graphic contents
* of a page. It knows how to apply the proper font encoding.
*/
PdfContentByte cb = writer.getDirectContent();
/**
* In iText a Phrase is a series of Chunks.
* A chunk is the smallest significant part of text that can be added to a document.
* Most elements can be divided in one or more Chunks. A chunk is a String with a certain Font
*/
Phrase footer_poweredBy = new Phrase("Powered By SIAS ERP", StaticValue.FONT_HEADER_FOOTER); //public static Font FONT_HEADER_FOOTER = new Font(Font.FontFamily.UNDEFINED, 7, Font.ITALIC);
Phrase footer_pageNumber = new Phrase("Page " + document.getPageNumber(), StaticValue.FONT_HEADER_FOOTER);
// Header
// ColumnText.showTextAligned(cb, Element.ALIGN_RIGHT, header,
// (document.getPageSize().getWidth()-10),
// document.top() + 10, 0);
// footer: show page number in the bottom right corner of each age
ColumnText.showTextAligned(cb, Element.ALIGN_RIGHT,
footer_pageNumber,
(document.getPageSize().getWidth() - 10),
document.bottom() - 10, 0);
// // footer: show page number in the bottom right corner of each age
ColumnText.showTextAligned(cb, Element.ALIGN_CENTER,
footer_poweredBy, (document.right() - document.left()) / 2
+ document.leftMargin(), document.bottom() - 10, 0);
}
}
/**
* Generate static data for table
*/
private static void generateTableData(){
ProductModel productModel = new ProductModel("Samsung Galaxy Note", "Piece", "Samsung", "Smartphone");
arrayListRProductModel.add(productModel);
productModel = new ProductModel("HTC One", "Piece", "HTC", "Smartphone");
arrayListRProductModel.add(productModel);
productModel = new ProductModel("LG Mini", "Piece", "LG", "Smartphone");
arrayListRProductModel.add(productModel);
productModel = new ProductModel("iPhone 6", "Piece", "Apple", "Smartphone");
arrayListRProductModel.add(productModel);
}
}##Output
Please see the productlist.pdf file in the repository.