Develop Reference

Add watermark on top of form fields

I have this code that will add a watermark on each page:
string watermarkLocation = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory + "Watermark.png";
Document document = new Document();
PdfReader pdfReader = new PdfReader(fileLocation);
PdfStamper stamp = new PdfStamper(pdfReader, new FileStream(fileLocation.Replace(".pdf", "_marked.pdf"), FileMode.Create));
iTextSharp.text.Image img = iTextSharp.text.Image.GetInstance(watermarkLocation);
img.ScaleToFit(document.PageSize);
img.SetAbsolutePosition(0, 100);
PdfContentByte waterMark;
for (int page = 1; page <= pdfReader.NumberOfPages; page++)
{
waterMark = stamp.GetOverContent(page);
waterMark.AddImage(img);
}
stamp.FormFlattening = true;
stamp.Close();
return fileLocation.Replace(".pdf", "_marked.pdf");
But on PDFs that have textboxes, the image will go behind the textbox/form. I thought flattening the file will fix this, but it does not work.
I used a full image as a test but the watermark in the end will have transparency.

Here's the final code I'm using. As my comment mentioned, there's basically 2 readers/stamps, one to flatten the file and another to add the watermark.
Flatten file:
private byte[] FlattenPdfFormToBytes(PdfReader reader)
{
var memStream = new MemoryStream();
var stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, memStream) { FormFlattening = true };
stamper.Close();
return memStream.ToArray();
}
Add Watermark (which will call FlattenPdfFormToBytes):
public string AddWatermark(string fileLocation)
{
string watermarkLocation = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory + "Watermark.png";
Document document = new Document();
PdfReader pdfReader = new PdfReader(fileLocation);
PdfReader pdfFlatten = new PdfReader(FlattenPdfFormToBytes(pdfReader)); // The secret sauce is this!!!
PdfStamper stamp = new PdfStamper(pdfFlatten, new FileStream(fileLocation.Replace(".pdf", "_marked.pdf"), FileMode.Create));
iTextSharp.text.Image img = iTextSharp.text.Image.GetInstance(watermarkLocation);
img.ScaleToFit(document.PageSize);
img.SetAbsolutePosition(0, 100);
PdfContentByte waterMark;
for (int page = 1; page <= pdfFlatten.NumberOfPages; page++)
{
waterMark = stamp.GetOverContent(page);
waterMark.AddImage(img);
}
stamp.Close();
return fileLocation.Replace(".pdf", "_marked.pdf");
}

display pdf without saving?

So I am trying to adjust this function so instead of creating a new PDF file with the new fields value, then display new file to user then delete on exit.
to just create maybe a stream or byte array of this template with the new fields value and just display it for user.. is it possible?
private void fillPDFForm()
{
string formFile = #"C:\fw4.pdf";
string newFile = #"C:\New_fw4.pdf";
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(formFile);
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create)))
{
AcroFields fields = stamper.AcroFields;
// set form fields
fields.SetField("name", "John Doe");
fields.SetField("address", "xxxxx, yyyy");
fields.SetField("postal_code", "12345");
fields.SetField("email", "johndoe#xxx.com");
// flatten form fields and close document
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
}
}

Yes Of-course it is possible by using MemoryStream instead of FileStream thus your code would look like:
using (MemoryStream memStream = new MemoryStream())
{
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, memStream, '\0', true))
{
AcroFields fields = stamper.AcroFields;
// set form fields
fields.SetField("name", "John Doe");
fields.SetField("address", "xxxxx, yyyy");
fields.SetField("postal_code", "12345");
fields.SetField("email", "johndoe#xxx.com");
// flatten form fields and close document
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
}
return memStream.ToArray();
}

Did you try to set the content type for the response to application/pdf ?
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create)))
to
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create), "application/pdf"))
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create)))
private void fillPDFForm()
{
string formFile = #"C:\fw4.pdf";
string newFile = #"C:\New_fw4.pdf";
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(formFile);
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create), "application/pdf"))
{
AcroFields fields = stamper.AcroFields;
// set form fields
fields.SetField("name", "John Doe");
fields.SetField("address", "xxxxx, yyyy");
fields.SetField("postal_code", "12345");
fields.SetField("email", "johndoe#xxx.com");
// flatten form fields and close document
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
}
}

iTextSharp - Printing Merged PDF Templates

I am using iTextSharp in asp.net (C#) in order to merge more than one PDf template. There is a functionality of print which prints only data of the template. While merging the templates the fields/Controls which are available in the template is renamed using RenameField Method of iTextSharp.
This implementation has broken the Print functionality. As the Print functionality has been written according to the fields.
For merging Templates, I am using a PDFCopy.
Document document = new Document();
bool flag = true;
using (FileStream fileStream = File.Create(newFile))
{
PdfSmartCopy copy = new PdfSmartCopy(document, fileStream);
PdfReader reader;
MemoryStream baos;
for (int i = 0; i < loopCount; i++)
{
reader = new PdfReader(pdfTemplate);
baos = new MemoryStream();
stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, baos);
AcroFields pdfDoc = stamper.AcroFields;
BuildData(datarow,pdfDoc, obj)
renameFields(reader);
stamper.FormFlattening = false;
stamper.Close();
reader = new PdfReader(baos.ToArray());
copy.AddPage(copy.GetImportedPage(reader, 1));
}
document.Close();
strFileName = newFile;
}
private static void renameFields(PdfReader pdfReader)
{
string prepend = String.Format("_{0}", counter++);
foreach (KeyValuePair<string, AcroFields.Item> de in pdfReader.AcroFields.Fields)
{
pdfReader.AcroFields.RenameField(de.Key.ToString(), prepend + de.Key.ToString());
}
}
Edit1: This is the solution i found in itextsharp doc,BUT it's not working
"Using PdfCopy with documents
that have named destinations is one of these exceptions. All annotations, such
as link annotations, are kept with PdfCopy, but they no longer work for links to local
named destinations. There is a workaround for this problem."
PdfReader[] readers = {
new PdfReader(LinkActions.RESULT2),
new PdfReader(LinkActions.RESULT1) };
Document document = new Document();
PdfCopy copy =
new PdfCopy(document, new FileOutputStream(RESULT1));
document.open();
int n;
for (int i = 0; i < readers.length; i++) {
readers[i].consolidateNamedDestinations();
n = readers[i].getNumberOfPages();
for (int page = 0; page < n; ) {
copy.addPage(copy.getImportedPage(readers[i], ++page));
}
}

The forms no longer work because you have forgotten to add a single line: copy.setMergeFields();
See the MergeForms2 example:
public void manipulatePdf(String src, String dest) throws IOException, DocumentException {
Document document = new Document();
PdfCopy copy = new PdfSmartCopy(document, new FileOutputStream(dest));
copy.setMergeFields();
document.open();
List<PdfReader> readers = new ArrayList<PdfReader>();
for (int i = 0; i < 3; ) {
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(renameFields(src, ++i));
readers.add(reader);
copy.addDocument(reader);
}
document.close();
for (PdfReader reader : readers) {
reader.close();
}
}
public byte[] renameFields(String src, int i) throws IOException, DocumentException {
ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(src);
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, baos);
AcroFields form = stamper.getAcroFields();
Set<String> keys = new HashSet<String>(form.getFields().keySet());
for (String key : keys) {
form.renameField(key, String.format("%s_%d", key, i));
}
stamper.close();
reader.close();
return baos.toByteArray();
}
It seems that you're also making the assumption that your template consists of only one page:
copy.addPage(copy.getImportedPage(reader, 1));
It is safer to add the document all at once:
copy.addDocument(reader);
Important:
My examples are written in Java. You are working with iTextSharp in C#. You will have to adapt the methods by changing the Java-specific methods into C#-specific properties or methods.

itextsharp setting the stamper FormFlatttening=true results in no output

Using itextsharp v5.5.5.0 in VS2010
Setting the stamper FormFlattening = true no filed data is written to the output pdf. If set false the data is all present & correct but still editable (which I don't want)
PdfReader pdfTemplate = new PdfReader("..\\..\\pdf\\BFC-Template.pdf");
FileStream fileOutputStream = new FileStream("..\\..\\pdf\\BFC.pdf", FileMode.Create);
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(pdfTemplate, fileOutputStream);
stamper.AcroFields.SetField("FitID", "1234");
stamper.AcroFields.SetField("FitBy", "Fred Flintstone");
stamper.AcroFields.SetField("FitDate", "03/11/2015");
stamper.AcroFields.SetField("FitLocation", "Bedrock");
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
pdfTemplate.Close();
fileOutputStream.Close();

Try adding :
stamper.AcroFields.GenerateAppearances = true;
EDIT:
If your form is a Dynamic Form. you might need to change
stamper.AcroFields.SetField("FitID", "1234");
to:
stamper.AcroFields.Xfa.DatasetsSom.Name2Node["FitID"].InnerText = "1234"

It shouldn't matter, but you could try instantiating a AcroFields object from the pdfStamper field.
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(pdfTemplate, fileOutputStream);
AcroFields pdfFields = pdfStamper.AcroFields;
Then you can just set each field using pdfFields:
pdfFields.SetField("FitID", "1234");
pdfFields.SetField("FitBy", "Fred Flintstone");
pdfFields.SetField("FitDate", "03/11/2015");
pdfFields.SetField("FitLocation", "Bedrock");
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
I have this exact setup and it works for me.

Creating a PDF file?

I looked into iTextSharp and SharpPDF and Report.Net as well as PDFSharp.
None of these open source projects have good documentation OR do not work with VS 2012.
Does anyone have a recommended solution or can show me the documentation?
My employer blocks many sites and although Google is not blocked, some of the results are.
I plan on using C# with WinForms and obtaining my data from an Access DB

Hey #Cocoa Dev get this a complete example with diferent functions.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.IO;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
using System.Data;
using System.Text;
using System.util.collections;
using iTextSharp.text;
using System.Net.Mail;
public partial class PDFScenarios : System.Web.UI.Page
{
public string P_InputStream = "~/MyPDFTemplates/ex1.pdf";
public string P_InputStream2 = "~/MyPDFTemplates/ContactInfo.pdf";
public string P_InputStream3 = "~/MyPDFTemplates/MulPages.pdf";
public string P_InputStream4 = "~/MyPDFTemplates/CompanyLetterHead.pdf";
public string P_OutputStream = "~/MyPDFOutputs/ex1_1.pdf";
//Read all 'Form values/keys' from an existing multi-page PDF document
public void ReadPDFformDataPageWise()
{
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream3));
AcroFields form = reader.AcroFields;
try
{
for (int page = 1; page <= reader.NumberOfPages; page++)
{
foreach (KeyValuePair<string, AcroFields.Item> kvp in form.Fields)
{
switch (form.GetFieldType(kvp.Key))
{
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_CHECKBOX:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_COMBO:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_LIST:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_RADIOBUTTON:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_NONE:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_PUSHBUTTON:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_SIGNATURE:
case AcroFields.FIELD_TYPE_TEXT:
int fileType = form.GetFieldType(kvp.Key);
string fieldValue = form.GetField(kvp.Key);
string translatedFileName = form.GetTranslatedFieldName(kvp.Key);
break;
}
}
}
}
catch
{
}
finally
{
reader.Close();
}
}
//Read and alter form values for only second and
//third page of an existing multi page PDF doc.
//Save the changes in a brand new pdf file.
public void ReadAlterPDFformDataInSelectedPages()
{
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream3));
reader.SelectPages("1-2"); //Work with only page# 1 & 2
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(Server.MapPath(P_OutputStream), FileMode.Create)))
{
AcroFields form = stamper.AcroFields;
var fieldKeys = form.Fields.Keys;
foreach (string fieldKey in fieldKeys)
{
//Replace Address Form field with my custom data
if (fieldKey.Contains("Address"))
{
form.SetField(fieldKey, "MyCustomAddress");
}
}
//The below will make sure the fields are not editable in
//the output PDF.
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
}
}
//Extract text from an existing PDF's second page.
private string ExtractText()
{
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream3));
string txt = PdfTextExtractor.GetTextFromPage(reader, 2, new LocationTextExtractionStrategy());
return txt;
}
//Create a brand new PDF from scratch and without a template
private void CreatePDFNoTemplate()
{
Document pdfDoc = new Document();
PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, new FileStream(Server.MapPath(P_OutputStream), FileMode.OpenOrCreate));
pdfDoc.Open();
pdfDoc.Add(new Paragraph("Some data"));
PdfContentByte cb = writer.DirectContent;
cb.MoveTo(pdfDoc.PageSize.Width / 2, pdfDoc.PageSize.Height / 2);
cb.LineTo(pdfDoc.PageSize.Width / 2, pdfDoc.PageSize.Height);
cb.Stroke();
pdfDoc.Close();
}
private void fillPDFForm()
{
string formFile = Server.MapPath(P_InputStream);
string newFile = Server.MapPath(P_OutputStream);
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(formFile);
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create)))
{
AcroFields fields = stamper.AcroFields;
// set form fields
fields.SetField("name", "John Doe");
fields.SetField("address", "xxxxx, yyyy");
fields.SetField("postal_code", "12345");
fields.SetField("email", "johndoe#xxx.com");
// flatten form fields and close document
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
}
}
//Helper functions
private void SendEmail(MemoryStream ms)
{
MailAddress _From = new MailAddress("XXX#domain.com");
MailAddress _To = new MailAddress("YYY#a.com");
MailMessage email = new MailMessage(_From, _To);
Attachment attach = new Attachment(ms, new System.Net.Mime.ContentType("application/pdf"));
email.Attachments.Add(attach);
SmtpClient mailSender = new SmtpClient("Gmail-Server");
mailSender.Send(email);
}
private void DownloadAsPDF(MemoryStream ms)
{
Response.Clear();
Response.ClearContent();
Response.ClearHeaders();
Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
Response.AppendHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment;filename=abc.pdf");
Response.OutputStream.Write(ms.GetBuffer(), 0, ms.GetBuffer().Length);
Response.OutputStream.Flush();
Response.OutputStream.Close();
Response.End();
ms.Close();
}
//Working with Memory Stream and PDF
public void CreatePDFFromMemoryStream()
{
//(1)using PDFWriter
Document doc = new Document();
MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream();
PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(doc, memoryStream);
doc.Open();
doc.Add(new Paragraph("Some Text"));
writer.CloseStream = false;
doc.Close();
//Get the pointer to the beginning of the stream.
memoryStream.Position = 0;
//You may use this PDF in memorystream to send as an attachment in an email
//OR download as a PDF
SendEmail(memoryStream);
DownloadAsPDF(memoryStream);
//(2)Another way using PdfStamper
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream2));
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, ms);
AcroFields fields = stamper.AcroFields;
fields.SetField("SomeField", "MyValueFromDB");
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
SendEmail(ms);
}
}
//Burst-- Make each page of an existing multi-page PDF document
//as another brand new PDF document
private void PDFBurst()
{
string pdfTemplatePath = Server.MapPath(P_InputStream3);
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(pdfTemplatePath);
//PdfCopy copy;
PdfSmartCopy copy;
for (int i = 1; i < reader.NumberOfPages; i++)
{
Document d1 = new Document();
copy = new PdfSmartCopy(d1, new FileStream(Server.MapPath(P_OutputStream).Replace(".pdf", i.ToString() + ".pdf"), FileMode.Create));
d1.Open();
copy.AddPage(copy.GetImportedPage(reader, i));
d1.Close();
}
}
//Copy a set of form fields from an existing PDF template/doc
//and keep appending to a brand new PDF file.
//The copied set of fields will have different values.
private void AppendSetOfFormFields()
{
PdfCopyFields _copy = new PdfCopyFields(new FileStream(Server.MapPath(P_OutputStream), FileMode.Create));
_copy.AddDocument(new PdfReader(a1("1")));
_copy.AddDocument(new PdfReader(a1("2")));
_copy.AddDocument(new PdfReader(new FileStream(Server.MapPath("~/MyPDFTemplates/Myaspx.pdf"), FileMode.Open)));
_copy.Close();
}
//ConcatenateForms
private byte[] a1(string _ToAppend)
{
using (var existingFileStream = new FileStream(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream), FileMode.Open))
using (MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream())
{
// Open existing PDF
var pdfReader = new PdfReader(existingFileStream);
var stamper = new PdfStamper(pdfReader, stream);
var form = stamper.AcroFields;
var fieldKeys = form.Fields.Keys;
foreach (string fieldKey in fieldKeys)
{
form.RenameField(fieldKey, fieldKey + _ToAppend);
}
// "Flatten" the form so it wont be editable/usable anymore
stamper.FormFlattening = true;
stamper.Close();
pdfReader.Close();
return stream.ToArray();
}
}
//Working with Image
private void AddAnImage()
{
using (var inputPdfStream = new FileStream(#"C:\MyInput.pdf", FileMode.Open))
using (var inputImageStream = new FileStream(#"C:\img1.jpg", FileMode.Open))
using (var outputPdfStream = new FileStream(#"C:\MyOutput.pdf", FileMode.Create))
{
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(inputPdfStream);
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, outputPdfStream);
PdfContentByte pdfContentByte = stamper.GetOverContent(1);
var image = iTextSharp.text.Image.GetInstance(inputImageStream);
image.SetAbsolutePosition(1, 1);
pdfContentByte.AddImage(image);
stamper.Close();
}
}
//Add Company Letter-Head/Stationary to an existing pdf
private void AddCompanyStationary()
{
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream2));
PdfReader s_reader = new PdfReader(Server.MapPath(P_InputStream4));
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(Server.MapPath(P_OutputStream), FileMode.Create)))
{
PdfImportedPage page = stamper.GetImportedPage(s_reader, 1);
int n = reader.NumberOfPages;
PdfContentByte background;
for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)
{
background = stamper.GetUnderContent(i);
background.AddTemplate(page, 0, 0);
}
stamper.Close();
}
}

Try this example:
using iTextSharp.text;
// Set up the fonts to be used on the pages
private Font _largeFont = new Font(Font.FontFamily.HELVETICA, 18, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK);
private Font _standardFont = new Font(Font.FontFamily.HELVETICA, 14, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK);
private Font _smallFont = new Font(Font.FontFamily.HELVETICA, 10, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK);
public void Build()
{
iTextSharp.text.Document doc = null;
try
{
// Initialize the PDF document
doc = new Document();
iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfWriter writer = iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfWriter.GetInstance(doc,
new System.IO.FileStream(System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() + "\\ScienceReport.pdf",
System.IO.FileMode.Create));
// Set margins and page size for the document
doc.SetMargins(50, 50, 50, 50);
// There are a huge number of possible page sizes, including such sizes as
// EXECUTIVE, LEGAL, LETTER_LANDSCAPE, and NOTE
doc.SetPageSize(new iTextSharp.text.Rectangle(iTextSharp.text.PageSize.LETTER.Width,
iTextSharp.text.PageSize.LETTER.Height));
// Add metadata to the document. This information is visible when viewing the
// document properities within Adobe Reader.
doc.AddTitle("My Science Report");
doc.AddCreator("M. Lichtenberg");
doc.AddKeywords("paper airplanes");
// Add Xmp metadata to the document.
this.CreateXmpMetadata(writer);
// Open the document for writing content
doc.Open();
// Add pages to the document
this.AddPageWithBasicFormatting(doc);
this.AddPageWithInternalLinks(doc);
this.AddPageWithBulletList(doc);
this.AddPageWithExternalLinks(doc);
this.AddPageWithImage(doc, System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() + "\\FinalGraph.jpg");
// Add page labels to the document
iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels pdfPageLabels = new iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels();
pdfPageLabels.AddPageLabel(1, iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels.EMPTY, "Basic Formatting");
pdfPageLabels.AddPageLabel(2, iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels.EMPTY, "Internal Links");
pdfPageLabels.AddPageLabel(3, iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels.EMPTY, "Bullet List");
pdfPageLabels.AddPageLabel(4, iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels.EMPTY, "External Links");
pdfPageLabels.AddPageLabel(5, iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfPageLabels.EMPTY, "Image");
writer.PageLabels = pdfPageLabels;
}
catch (iTextSharp.text.DocumentException dex)
{
// Handle iTextSharp errors
}
finally
{
// Clean up
doc.Close();
doc = null;
}
}

You can always just create an html page and then convert that to pdf using wkhtmltopdf. This has the benefit of you not having to construct the pdf with a library such as iText. You just make a text file (html) and then pass it to the wkhtmltopdf executable.
See Calling wkhtmltopdf to generate PDF from HTML for more info.