how to implement such a PDF form

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  • Kevin
    #1

    how to implement such a PDF form

    I am developing a web site with PHP and MySQL.
    There are many forms that need to be generated
    based on users' information in database, and
    then let users to complete the rest. Finally
    the users can print and sign the forms.
    I think a good way to implement this application
    is to use Adobe Acrobat to compose form templates
    in advance. When a user request a form by
    internet, I will make a copy of its template,
    and fill some pre-designed entries with his info
    from the database, and then let him to view it.

    My questions are
    1) how can I fill these pre-designed entries with
    PHP?
    2) Is there any other better way to implement the
    application?

    Thank you

    Kevin


    Tags: None
    • NC
      #2
      Re: how to implement such a PDF form

      Kevin wrote:[color=blue]
      >
      > I am developing a web site with PHP and MySQL.
      > There are many forms that need to be generated
      > based on users' information in database, and
      > then let users to complete the rest. Finally
      > the users can print and sign the forms.
      > I think a good way to implement this application
      > is to use Adobe Acrobat to compose form templates
      > in advance.[/color]

      Not really... PDF is not like your normal word processing
      format. If your template contains the word "name", you may
      not be able to find it if you open your template in a
      plain-text editor.
      [color=blue]
      > When a user request a form by internet, I will make
      > a copy of its template, and fill some pre-designed
      > entries with his info from the database, and then
      > let him to view it.[/color]

      If you want PDF output not modifiable by user, your best
      bet is to generate PDF from scratch using ClibPDF functions,
      or PDF functions, or a pure-PHP alternative such as FPDF.

      You could use PDF forms, but they are user-modifiable, so
      there will be no guarantee that the signed form will contain
      the same data as your database.
      [color=blue]
      > My questions are
      > 1) how can I fill these pre-designed entries with PHP?
      > 2) Is there any other better way to implement the application?[/color]

      I would say that your best bet is to generate PDF from
      scratch. If you insist on using templates, Rich Text Format
      (RTF) may suit you better; however, write protection will be
      more difficult to achieve.

      Cheers,
      NC

        Comment

        • BKDotCom
          #3
          Re: how to implement such a PDF form

          Look into the PDFlib "personalizatio n server"
          it basically lets you easily create templates in Acrobat via a plugin
          then use their php library to insert stuff into the template.
          I haven't used it, but I'm looking into it.
          BTW. it's commercial ware
          the freeware ver without these helpful abilties is bundled with PHP
          PDFlib: 404
          http://www.pdflib.com/products/pdflib/pps.html


            Comment

            • Kevin
              #4
              Re: how to implement such a PDF form

              "BKDotCom" wrote:[color=blue]
              > Look into the PDFlib "personalizatio n server"
              > it basically lets you easily create templates in Acrobat via a plugin
              > then use their php library to insert stuff into the template.
              > I haven't used it, but I'm looking into it.
              > BTW. it's commercial ware
              > the freeware ver without these helpful abilties is bundled with PHP
              > http://www.pdflib.com/products/pdflib/pps.html
              >[/color]

              Thank you. The PDFlib product could be an option, though I am not
              sure if it is too expensive. Any other suggestions from any one?



                Comment

                • Sacs
                  #5
                  Re: how to implement such a PDF form

                  Kevin wrote:[color=blue]
                  > "BKDotCom" wrote:
                  >[color=green]
                  >>Look into the PDFlib "personalizatio n server"
                  >>it basically lets you easily create templates in Acrobat via a plugin
                  >>then use their php library to insert stuff into the template.
                  >>I haven't used it, but I'm looking into it.
                  >>BTW. it's commercial ware
                  >>the freeware ver without these helpful abilties is bundled with PHP
                  >>http://www.pdflib.com/products/pdflib/pps.html
                  >>[/color]
                  >
                  >
                  > Thank you. The PDFlib product could be an option, though I am not
                  > sure if it is too expensive. Any other suggestions from any one?
                  >
                  >
                  >[/color]

                  As NC mentioned, try FPDF. I've had good success with it, and the price
                  is right. $0 :-)

                  FPDF
                  http://www.fpdf.org/
                  The FPDF site


                    Comment

                    • Bugz
                      #6
                      Re: how to implement such a PDF form

                      You could look into flash paper...
                      Flash has a remarkable printing capability... and it gives you the
                      general look and feel of PDF documents without having to use acrobat or
                      any other viewer...
                      And since we're talking flash, it's easy to insert values into it...

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