Signed PDFs questions

Hi!

You can test this all before you're buying - Make your own impression ;-)
BTW: Digital signing has nothing to do with a watermarks.
I don't know about a pdf-library that offers "html to pdf" functionality this doesn't have to do with basically pdf-functions. Why there are so many components of this kind out there ;-)

Cheers, Ingo

Hi again jabatie

Hi Jabaltie!

Please read here:
http://www.quickpdflibrary.com/help/quickpdf/SignFile.php
This forum is from users and for users.
If you've made your sample-app you can post it in the samples-section, please.

Cheers, Ingo



Edited by Ingo - 20 Mar 09 at 8:09AM

Hello !

Thank you so much for your answer.

You can call me Adriano.

Some points :

- We're looking to HTML 2 PDF conversion as an alternative to PDF templates. We have built a system that mix XML data fields coming from a Unisys mainframe, onto a PDF template , using QuickPDF. Then we generate PDFs that are stored on students/teachers/employees folders (we're a Methodist University here in Brazil). We had many, many problems with 4.41 mixing data on those form fields. Randomly it would mix data amongst two documents, while in large batch processing. This was a bug of QuickPDF. Hope it has been fixed. We did a huge workaround to overcome this problem - identify form fields attributes, erase them all and draw text using those attributes. It's working. No problems anymore of mixing data.

- Those folders above, document folders, are accessible by a web browser either by the student/teacher/employee as the internal university team (based on rights of course).

- So we no longer PRINT students grades report. We generate them dinamically and stuff them onto those folders. Each student has it's own of course. Also for SEVERAL other documents. Payroll documents, academic documents and many , many others are generated electronically and stored on those folders.

- Currently we do A LOT of this using simple/plain ASCII files. They are shown inside a HTML page that improves layout.

- The plan is to CONVERT it all to a better presentation, either using pure HTML or PDFs.

- We think that PDF templates are way, way too rigid. Very difficult/limited.

- So, the alternatives we have here are :

- Store those documents in HTML , instead of plain ASCII file - then the student grade report will be a HTML file, instead of a ASCII file, as it is nowadays.

- Store those documents in PDF using PDF templates - all technology established already. But, would give some work and , it's not so flexible.

- Generate those documents in HTML and then convert them to PDF. We wonder this would give us an ENORMOUS flexibility. We have for instance MANY MANY CONTRACTS (lines and lines of text with variable data mixed inside) that would be IMPRACTIBLE to do with templates. With HTML this would be easy. Text just "wraps" easily. Currently those contracts are plain TEXT files . It's very, very ugly. But it works. And students "sign" them electronically by adding their password ON THE SITE. Then the contract goes into the student's folder after signed by the student. It's a personalized contract.

- The PDF signature would be "a plus". Not only we would have the documents stored but also, we would have authenticity on top of them.

Well , hope you have understood the project !

I understand your fear about them HTML 2 PDF conversion. The thing is that other members of the team have found products to do that and, I cant so far fight against this alternative because it LOOKs very very versatile.

On another hand , PDF signatures, either on templates or converted HTML would be an enourmous achievment, I guess.

But, let me know what do you think or, let's listen to other members as well, OK ?

Thanks !

I see !

Go for your weekend there ! It's saturday. Enjoy it !

I'm anxiously waiting for mine here.

We'll talk monday about it then.

Thanks !

I'm looking for a more convenient way to draw my document templates.

As I said, I have many documents "contract like" which are documents with many paragraphs, with variable data. Say that I have a paragraph with the customer name, address and so forth. I need this paragraph to "wrap" and the rest of the document to "grow" or "shrink" depending on this first paragraph. I can not do that with PDF templates. But I can do that very, very easily with HTML.

So my plan is to use HTML as "document template".

Because of this idea, I need some product that supports more HTML tags.

About the signature, also we would like something "evident" or that "bubles up" to the end user of the PDF document.

We dont have to solve that for "tomorrow" but, we're looking for a solution.

Thanks for your support !