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ActivePDF-like Reports w/ Apache?

Posted by Cliff on from the nice-pretty-graphs-and-pagination dept.

Martin71a asks: "I have recently been tasked with managing our website. I come from a mainframe and VB background and have a team of 3 people to work with. Our manager is having us switch from IIS to an Apache web server later this year. In the more immediate future, I need a solution to distribute print to our customers through our website. Previously, we had developed our reports using HTML, but we need more professional looking reports with more basic printing functionality, such as paging, built in. We have been testing ActivePDF in which we develop the reports in Crystal then use ActivePDF to send [those reports] to a virtual PDF printer, which allows the user to view them. We like the solution because it doesn't require our customer to download anything, other than a PDF viewer. We've also experimented with Crystal Enterprise, although it was an older version that required either a Java plug-in, or ActiveX download. My concern is that AcitvePDF does not appear to be supported for an Apache server. Does any know of a similar solution that would be appropriate for an Apache server?"

8 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. PHP + PDF generation by DamienMcKenna · · Score: 4, Informative

    Use PHP for your report generation and use its PDFlib support to output the final result to a PDF file, which you then shuffle off to the user. Et voila!

    Damien

    1. Re:PHP + PDF generation by BoomerSooner · · Score: 4, Informative

      My problem is finding a server that will populate the pre-drawn PDF form fields like ActivePDF. Until I can just Call objPDF.SetFormField("fieldName", value, 0) like in ActivePDF I'm stuck as well.

      Anyone know something that does that and flattens remaining form fields (to limit size)?

  2. PHP + FPDF by octover · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.fpdf.org/ it is a completely contained PDF system for PHP. I haven't used it a lot but I've heard it is a lot more sane to use than PDF Lib plus it doesn't require you to compile in the library.

    1. Re:PHP + FPDF by tweder · · Score: 5, Informative

      I have used about every PDF library for PHP under the sun, so here's my $0.02.

      pdflib - SUCKS, the API is a pain in the ass. I liken it to doing your own dental work -- in the dark. You can circumvent this a little using the pc4p wrapper, but it's fickle.

      fpdf - It's pretty good, although it doesn't natively support any sane ways of dealing with text in tables - I was trying to use it to generate PDF invoices and quotations. It would barf and break columns when my text should wrap to the next line. The only way around this would be writing custom extensions to the class.

      r&os - This is what I really recommend using. Like fpdf, it doesn't require any additional libraries to be installed - everything runs within PHP itself. The documentation is pretty good and I've really enjoyed using it.

  3. Same Problem by justanyone · · Score: 4, Informative


    I work at a large bank. We had reports we needed to produce in PDF format with nice graphics. We tried many solutions including print-to-HTML from Excel, Crystal Reports, Ephiphany, and Insightful's S-Plus.

    The best solution for a compact format was a scripted solution (VBA / COM) that prints XLS, DOC, PPT, etc. to a file with thus creating a postscript file, then using ghostscript to convert .ps to .pdf, then moving the files to a Solaris Apache webserver.

    S-Plus required lots of programming and display was not compact enough. Ephiphany likewise. Crystal has a HUGE HUGE IMMENSE VAST WAY-BIG Learning curve and still didn't do what we wanted. Alas.

    For all it's worth.
    -- Kevin J. Rice, justanyone.com

    --
    Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
  4. Apache FOP by mapMonkey · · Score: 5, Informative

    Take a look at Apache FOP, although your starting documents would have to be XML. The pros: buzzword compliant, and the project has a name similar to an old Soundgarden song!!

  5. FPDF by ben_degonzague · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've been using this for the past year and its worked great. I use it with apache, php and mysql. A department has begun using it for their reports and is very happy.

    http://www.fpdf.org/

  6. CSS by TheTomcat · · Score: 4, Informative

    Have you evaluated CSS for the output?

    It's possible to switch "media" (from screen to print), and do absolute layout, without a second library.

    No vector art, but for layout, it can be done.

    S