[Erp5-users] DOC: How to create a PDF Form report

[Bartłomiej Górny]

And another one:

How to create a report using ERP5 PDF Form
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v 0.1, 2006-01-20

ERP5 PDF Form allows easy creation of reports with an arbitrary and 
unrestricted layout - you can take any pdf document you like and place 
dynamically filled slots on it. It is particularly useful for filing tax 
forms, can also be used to produce  nice-looking financial statements 
and other documents.

1. Create a pdf with slots

Get Scribus (>=1.3.1 - version 1.3.0 can crash when placing image frames).

If your tax form has multiple pages, split it into separate files (can 
be gifs, jpegs or any other graphic formats).

Create a document in Scribus; place an image frame on the whole page, 
then set your form as the frame's background).

Draw fields on your document:

- draw a PDF Field

- right-click on it, select "PDF Options" -> "Field Properties"

- make it a text field, name it, set border to none

Save as .sla, export as .pdf.

2. Create a form

Add "ERP5 PDF Form", selecting your pdf file (you can change it later by 
going to the "edit" tab and uploading another      file).

Go to the "Edit Cell TALES" tab - you should see all the fields you 
created in your pdf. Fill them with appropriate formulas, either pure 
TALES or the "python:" ones. The expressions recognize "here" and 
"request" global variables.

To make filling formulas in easier, you can generate a form with field 
names shown as field values (click on "Display Cell
Names" tab).

3. Use it

You can use your form as any other executable content type (as target in 
dialog form, for example). The result will be a pdf file shipped 
straight to the user's browser.

Bartek


-- 
"Software is largely a service industry operating under the persistent 
but unfounded delusion that it is a manufacturing industry."
Eric S.Raymond, "The Magic Cauldron"