I'm using iText and create a dynamic table which has a a reoccurring header in the method createTabularHeader:
PdfPTable table = new PdfPTable(6);
// fill it with some basic information
table.setHeaderRows(1);
Yet on the first page I would like to display different information. (but the table structure/size remains the same)
Due to the dynamic content which is obtained in a different method I can't say when a new page starts.
I tried with the most primitive variant - just adding a white rectangle over the text and insert the different text. As it's just on the first page all I have to do is creating that rectangle between both methods. But the white rectangle doesn't have any opacity and can' cover anything.
Yet by trying around I found the method writer.getDirectContent().setColorStroke(BaseColor.WHITE); which set the text to white. Later I just set the BaseColor of my cells manually to black. But the even though the new text is applied after the calling of my createTabularHeader-method its layer is under the layer of the original text and the letters are covering the new text partly.
Using the answer to How to insert invisible text into a PDF? brought me to the idea of using myPdfContentByte.setTextRenderMode(PdfContentByte.TEXT_RENDER_MODE_INVISIBLE); was not so helpful as it resets only on the 2nd page regardless what I do and the regular text on the first page stays invisible.
I'm unable to find a proper solution... How can the table-header be modified only on the first page?
The solution is not really nice, but works... and as some sort of bonus I want to add how you can modify the indentions on the first page.
public void createPdf() {
document = new Document();
try {
PdfWriter writer = PDFHead.getWriter(document);
//If it's a letter we have a different indention on the top
if (letterPDF) {
document.setMargins(36, 36, 100, 36);
} else {
document.setMargins(36, 36, 36, 36);
}
document.open();
document.add(createTabularContent());
document.close();
} catch (DocumentException | FileNotFoundException ex) {
try {
document = new Document();
PdfWriter.getInstance(document, new FileOutputStream(FILENAME));
document.open();
document.add(new Phrase(ex.getLocalizedMessage()));
document.close();
Logger.getLogger(Etikette.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
} catch (FileNotFoundException | DocumentException ex1) {
Logger.getLogger(Etikette.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex1);
}
}
}
The PDFHead is used to create a regular header (the one which appears on every page, not only on pages with the table):
public static PdfWriter getWriter(Document document) throws FileNotFoundException, DocumentException {
PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.getInstance(document, new FileOutputStream(filename));
HeaderFooter event = new HeaderFooter("Ing. Mario J. Schwaiger", type + " " + DDMMYYYY.format(new java.util.Date()), 835, isLetterPDF(), customerNumber);
writer.setBoxSize("art", new Rectangle(36, 54, 559, 788));
writer.setPageEvent(event);
return writer;
}
And in that HeaderFooter-Event I use the fact the function is called after the PDF is basically created (for the page number for instance):
@Override
public void onEndPage(PdfWriter writer, Document document) {
if (isLetter) {
//That's only for the first page, apparently 1 is too late
//I'm open for improvements but that works fine for me
if (writer.getPageNumber() == 0) {
//If it's a letter we use the different margins
document.setMargins(36, 36, 100, 36);
}
if (writer.getPageNumber() == 1) {
PdfContentByte canvas = writer.getDirectContent();
float llx = 460;
float lly = 742;
float urx = 36;
float ury = 607;
//As I add the rectangle in the event here it's
//drawn over the table-header. Seems the tableheader
//is rendered afterwards
Rectangle rect1 = new Rectangle(llx, lly, urx, ury);
rect1.setBackgroundColor(BaseColor.WHITE);
rect1.setBorder(Rectangle.NO_BORDER);
rect1.setBorderWidth(1);
canvas.rectangle(rect1);
ColumnText ct = new ColumnText(canvas);
ct.setSimpleColumn(rect1);
PdfPTable minitable = new PdfPTable(1);
PdfPCell cell = PDFKopf.getKundenCol(PDFHeader.getCustomer(customerNumber));
cell.setBorder(Rectangle.NO_BORDER);
minitable.addCell(cell);
//A single cell is not accepted as an "Element"
//But a table including only a single cell is
ct.addElement(minitable);
try {
ct.go();
} catch (DocumentException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(HeaderFooter.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
//In any other case we reset the margins back to normal
//This could be solved in a more intelligent way, feel free
} else {
document.setMargins(36, 36, 36, 36);
}
}
//The regular header of any page...
PdfPTable table = new PdfPTable(4);
try {
table.setWidths(new int[]{16, 16, 16, 2});
table.setWidthPercentage(100);
table.setTotalWidth(527);
table.setLockedWidth(true);
table.getDefaultCell().setFixedHeight(20);
table.getDefaultCell().setBorder(Rectangle.BOTTOM);
table.addCell(header);
PdfPCell cell;
cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(mittelteil));
cell.setHorizontalAlignment(Element.ALIGN_CENTER);
cell.setBorder(Rectangle.BOTTOM);
table.addCell(cell);
table.getDefaultCell().setHorizontalAlignment(Element.ALIGN_RIGHT);
table.addCell(String.format("Page %d of ", writer.getPageNumber()));
cell = new PdfPCell(Image.getInstance(total));
cell.setBorder(Rectangle.BOTTOM);
table.addCell(cell);
table.writeSelectedRows(0, -1, 34, y, writer.getDirectContent());
} catch (DocumentException de) {
throw new ExceptionConverter(de);
}
}