Create PDF from a text file

If you are using VB you can load the text into memory and the draw this text onto a new PDF using QPL.

Use

QP.DrawWrappedText(400, 50, 200, "This text was drawn using the DrawWrappedText function. As you can see, the text automatically wraps when it exceeds the specified width.");

You specifiy the location and size of the bounding box, then the text automatically wraps within it.

Ok firstly is the source a Word document, rtf or a .txt file?

I think it must be done with GetWrappedTextHeight and DrawWrappedText

you must read TXT file to variable

Edited by mLipok - 12 Sep 14 at 12:55PM

I will check my concept in practice.

Ben wrote: it's not 100% like what I expected but it works.

When you check that the line can not fit on the page, then you need this line, divided/split into words, and check word by word.

Edited by mLipok - 13 Sep 14 at 8:00AM

I use Quick Macros and here is my program. Feel free to make any suggestion to improve it.

    str s.getfile("$Documents$/Test File.txt")
    ARRAY(str) a=s
    int xPos = 50
    int startLine = 60
    int lineCount = 0
    int maxLines = 600
    int width = 520
    double height = 0
    QP.SetOrigin(1)
    int pid = QP.AddStandardFont(4)
    QP.SelectFont(pid)
    QP.SetTextSize(16)
    double standard_height=18.496  ;; this will change when selected font and font size change

    for int'i 0 a.len
        QP.DrawWrappedText(xPos, startLine, width, a[ i ])

        height = QP.GetWrappedTextHeight(width , a[ i ])

        lineCount = (height / standard_height) * 20

        if(lineCount=0) lineCount=10

        startLine + lineCount

        if (startLine >= maxLines)
            QP.SelectPage(QP.NewPage())
            startLine = 60
            QP.SelectFont(pid)
            QP.SetTextSize(16)

    QP.SaveToFile(_s.expandpath("$Documents$/outfile.pdf"))

Edited by Ben - 13 Sep 14 at 3:46PM

I try to write it in c++ and still can not get right outlook of the pages.

You may want to try DrawHTMLTextBox which has the option to return the overflow text which you can use to draw onto the next page and so on.  Here is the basic code to get it working.

Thanks Andrew,

Thanks AndrewC for the new hint of using "DrawHTMLTextBox" and re-use its text overflow.

Thanks AlexA_B for your coding in C++ for the Text to PDF conversion.

Now I have my Text to PDF program working as I expected!

Here is my program:

    str pageText s.getfile("$my qm$/A Story.txt")
    ARRAY(str) a=s
    int Left = 20
    int Top = 30
    double PageWidth = qp.PageWidth() - 60
    double PageHeight = qp.PageHeight() - 60
    qp.SetOrigin(1)
    qp.SetHTMLNormalFont("Default", qp.AddTrueTypeFont("Arial", 0));

    // Convert text file into a HTML file
    for int'i 0 a.len
        pageText += _s.from(a "<br>")
    
    // Change font size
    pageText.insert("<font size='7'>" 0)    
    
    // Write HTML file to page
    str Overflow = qp.DrawHTMLTextBox(Left, Top, PageWidth, PageHeight, pageText)

    // Continue to write out if still left over
    rep
        if (Overflow.len=0) break
        qp.NewPage()
        Overflow = qp.DrawHTMLTextBox(Left, Top, PageWidth, PageHeight, Overflow)

    // Save to new PDF file
    qp.SaveToFile(_s.expandpath("$my qm$/out2.pdf"))
    run "$my qm$/out2.pdf"

Edited by Ben - 17 Sep 14 at 2:45AM

AlexA_B, have you considered whether converting your raw text into rich text will support the other languages? I have not tried it for this example but found in an earlier project (Outputting rich text into a PDF form field), that rich text is able to contain more text info, font, size, style - bold, italic etc so may possible work for handling the Russian.

AlexA,

Hi AndrewC,

I've noticed that after using the new feature of AddTrueTypeSubsettedFont with option #4. There is a bug I might say, which is for the very first long string it encounters, the function "DrawHTMLTextBox" will not wrap up the text within the box width like before.

During testing for different text file, I've noticed there is always an overbound for the very first long string in the text that this function encountered, it will always produce an overbound of the box width limit. This is regardless of Unicode or Non-Unicode text files.

Could you take a look at that?

Edited by Ben - 20 Sep 14 at 12:39AM

Hi AndrewC,

Thanks for the update info. I'm looking forward for the new fix in the upcoming release.

Ben

Thanks.

Edited by mLipok - 23 Sep 14 at 1:45PM