Software Engineering Stack Exchange
Software Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [pdf]

27 questions
10
votes
1 answer

When opening pdf's in browser, why is "inspect element" available and "view source" not?

When opening pdf's in Chrome and Firefox, the "view source" button is greyed out. "Inspect elemet," however, reveals HTML. Are the browsers simply downloading the file and generating html to display it?
wils484
  • 121
  • 1
  • 1
  • 5
6
votes
3 answers

Why are custom PDF download options preferred over ctrl+p?

Why do I, as a developer, have to go through so much trouble developing PDF download options for my clients when everyone in the world can simply hit Ctrl+P and life is good? The current issue I'm working on is dealing with Google Charts, so I'm not…
Micah Bolen
  • 215
  • 1
  • 6
4
votes
5 answers

Is XML required for this?

I am writing a desktop application in Java, which has all of the Airband radio frequencies for the UK in it. I would like to make this frequency database downloadable so people can print it. Would it be best to create the database in XML or use PDF…
NeonLinux
  • 308
  • 1
  • 8
4
votes
1 answer

How to do reports from python

This is not a question, asking for a (single) tool, although to answer my question, of course tools are involved. The focus of this question is, asking for advice in which direction to head for. I have a JAVA-background, so in order to generate any…
Thomas Junk
  • 9,405
  • 2
  • 22
  • 45
3
votes
1 answer

PDF content : text or graphics?

Is there a possible test to check if a PDF file contains text or it is created by scanning paper sheets ? text : plain text that, for example, I can copy & paste while I am reading the PDF. Not searchable / hidden text. Created for example from a…
Massimo
  • 131
  • 5
3
votes
1 answer

Mac Developer Library Download

I'm not sure which SE site this belonged on, so I figured I'd try this one. Whenever I browser the Mac Developer Library at developer.apple.com, on the top right of the window, there's a link for a PDF version. Has anyone ever downloaded them all…
citruspi
  • 135
  • 6
2
votes
0 answers

Digital Signature for PDF files through Web Application

We are developing a Web Application for manage dental clinics. The app can generate PDF files through the PHP backend (for example invoices, quotes etc.). Each of those PDF file needs to be digitally signed by both the app user (the clinician) and…
Nite
  • 129
  • 2
2
votes
2 answers

Generating PDF files using individual template components

EDIT: Updated flow diagram to better explain the (likely unnecessary) complexity of what I'm doing. We at the company I work for are attempting to create complex PDF files using Java iText (the free version 2.1 line). The documents are built…
Southpaw Hare
  • 1,106
  • 2
  • 10
  • 23
2
votes
1 answer

application architecture with one or more PDFs

I am writing an iPad application. The main view of the application will be a PDF. I have made considerable progress in parsing out the contents of the PDF. The application will also have at least two "side views". These side views may or may not…
William Jockusch
  • 2,001
  • 2
  • 18
  • 16
1
vote
1 answer

Are Flate compression in PDF and Deflate different algorithms?

I'm trying to make a program that produces pdf files. I've been studying the pdf format specification and specific pdf files whose format I'm trying to mimic. I found the line /FlateDecode in these documents and when I searched about this…
Zoltán Király
  • 547
  • 1
  • 4
  • 8
1
vote
2 answers

How do password-protected pdf documents work?

I hope this is the right site for this question... I tutor in my spare time, and recently I downloaded a past GCSE exam paper and was attempting to edit the pdf- to select just a few pages to send to my student. Unfortunately, I could not do so…
Meep
  • 127
  • 2
1
vote
2 answers

Best practices/patterns for generation PDF reports

I have PDF generation feature in my app. I am using iTextPDF for generating reports, so it works well. The problem is not exactly in pdf generation but in approach. Currently PDF generation code looks horrible, hard-coded and not flexible, so there…
CROSP
  • 1,548
  • 3
  • 11
  • 17
1
vote
0 answers

User-editable templates for reporting: alternatives to word?

Not sure if this is the right platform for this, but here goes :) Throughout my career I have been generating reports for users, and most of the times it always started from a Word template (.dot/.dotm) handed to us by a user, containing all the…
nathanvda
  • 151
  • 5
1
vote
1 answer

Dealing with unreliable data source

I have been assigned the task of automating entering of supplier prices and inventory based on our master google sheet. I have limited programming knowledge, but so far I have made code that can create an order sheet and send it via E-mail. The…
Revali Senai
  • 29
  • 2
1
vote
2 answers

Serving a file from a private directory

I have a PDF that needs to be accessible for multiple unrelated areas across a website. I don't want to reveal anything about where the file is downloaded from and I want to only upload the file once. Is it possible to serve a file stored in the…
nobrandheroes
  • 211
  • 2
  • 8
1
2