PACKAGE COMMANDS

::pdf4tcl::new objectName ?option value...?

This command creates a new pdf4tcl object with an associated Tcl command whose name is objectName. This object command is explained in full detail in the sections OBJECT COMMAND and OBJECT METHODS. The object command will be created under the current namespace if the objectName is not fully qualified, and in the specified namespace otherwise. If objectName is %AUTO% a name will generated. The return value is the newly created object's name.

The options and their values coming after the name of the object are used to set the initial configuration of the object. See OBJECT CONFIGURATION.

::pdf4tcl::getPaperSize paper

This call returns the size of a named paper type, e.g. "a4". Paper names are case insensitive. The argument paper may also be a two element list with values as accepted by ::pdf4tcl::getPoints. The return value is a list with width and height in points.

::pdf4tcl::getPaperSizeList

This call returns the list of known paper types.

::pdf4tcl::getPoints val

This call translates a measurement to points (1/72 inch). The format of val is 'num ?unit?' where num is a valid integer or double. See UNITS for valid units. If no unit is given, the value is interpreted as points.

::pdf4tcl::loadBaseTrueTypeFont basefontname ttf_file_name

This call loads a TTF font from file to be used by any pdf4tcl objects. The basefontname is used to reference this font. To use this base font in documents, a font with some encoding must be created from it using createFont. Note that the type loading functions require Tcl 8.5.

::pdf4tcl::createBaseTrueTypeFont basefontname ttf_data

This call creates a base font from TTF binary data.

::pdf4tcl::loadBaseType1Font basefontname AFM_file_name PFB_file_name

This call loads a Type1 font from two files (.afm and .pfb) to be used by any pdf4tcl objects. The basefontname is used to reference this font. To use this base font in documents, a font with some encoding must be created from it using createFont.

::pdf4tcl::createBaseType1Font basefontname AFM_data PFB_data

This call creates a base font from AFM text and PFB binary data.

::pdf4tcl::createFont basefontname fontname encoding_name

This call creates a font that can be used in documents from a base font.

pdf4tcl::loadBaseTrueTypeFont BaseArial "arial.ttf"
pdf4tcl::createFont BaseArial MyArial cp1251
pdf4tcl::loadBaseType1Font BaseType1 "a010013l.afm" "a010013l.pfb"
pdf4tcl::createFont BaseType1 MyType1 cp1251
pdf4tcl::new mypdf -paper a4 -compress 1
mypdf startPage
mypdf setFont 10 MyArial
set txt "\u042D\u0442\u043E \u0442\u0435\u043A\u0441\u0442 \u043D\u0430 \u0440\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043A\u043E\u043C \u044F\u0437\u044B\u043A\u0435. This is text in Russian."
mypdf text $txt -bg #CACACA -x 50 -y 100
mypdf setFont 10 MyType1
mypdf text $txt -x 50 -y 200
mypdf write -file fonts.pdf
mypdf destroy

::pdf4tcl::createFontSpecEnc basefontname fontname subset

This call creates a font that can be used in documents from a base font. The subset must be a list of unicode values.

OBJECT COMMAND

objectName method ?arg arg ...?

The method method and its arg'uments determine the exact behavior of the command. See section OBJECT METHODS for the detailed specifications.

OBJECT METHODS

objectName configure

The method returns a list of all known options and their current values when called without any arguments.

objectName configure option

The method behaves like the method cget when called with a single argument and returns the value of the option specified by said argument.

objectName configure -option value...

The method reconfigures the specified options of the object, setting them to the associated values, when called with an even number of arguments, at least two.

The legal options are described in the section OBJECT CONFIGURATION.

objectName cget -option

This method expects a legal configuration option as argument and will return the current value of that option for the object the method was invoked for.

The legal configuration options are described in section OBJECT CONFIGURATION.

objectName destroy

This method destroys the object it is invoked for. If the -file option was given at object creation, the output file will be finished and closed.

objectName startPage ?option value...?

This method starts a new page in the document. The page will have the default page settings for the document unless overridden by option. See PAGE CONFIGURATION for page settings. This will end any ongoing page.

objectName endPage

This method ends a page in the document. It is normally not needed since it is implied by e.g. startPage and finish. However, if the document is built page by page in e.g. an event driven environment it can be good to call endPage explicitly to have all the page's work finished before reentering the event loop.

objectName finish

This method ends the document. This will do endPage if needed. If the -file option was given at object creation, the output file will be finished and closed.

objectName get

This method returns the generated pdf. This will do endPage and finish if needed. If the -file option was given at object creation, nothing is returned.

objectName write ?-file filename?

This method writes the generated pdf to the given filename. If no filename is given, it is written to stdout. This will do endPage and finish if needed. If the -file option was given at object creation, an empty file is created.

OBJECT METHODS, PAGE

objectName getDrawableArea

This method returns the size of the available area on the page, after removing margins. The return value is a list of width and height, in the document's default unit.

objectName canvas path ?option value...?

Draws the contents of the canvas widget path on the current page. Option -bbox gives the area of the canvas to be drawn. Default is the entire contents, i.e. the result of $path bbox all. Options -x, -y, -width and -height defines an area on the page where to place the contents. Default area starts at origin, stretching over the drawable area of the page. Option -sticky defines how to place the contents within the area. The area is always filled in one direction, preserving aspect ratio, unless -sticky defines that the other direction should be filled too. Default -sticky is nw. If option -bg is true, a background is drawn in the canvas' background color. Otherwise only objects are drawn. Default is false. Option -fontmap gives a dictionary mapping from Tk font names to PDF font names.

Fonts:

If no font mapping is given, fonts for text items are limited to PDF's builtins, i.e. Helvetica, Times and Courier. A guess is made to chose which one to use to get a reasonable display on the page.

An element in a font mapping must exactly match the -font option in the text item. The corresponding mapping value is a PDF font family, e.g. one created by pdf4tcl::createFont. It is recommended to use named fonts in Tk to control the font mapping in detail.

Limitations:

Option -splinesteps for lines/polygons is ignored.

Stipple offset is limited. The form x,y should work.

Window items requires Img to be present and must be visible on-screen when the canvas is drawn.

objectName metadata ?option value...?

This method sets metadata fields for this document. Supported field options are -author, -creator, -keywords, -producer, -subject, -title, -creationdate and -format.

objectName bookmarkAdd ?option value...?

Add a bookmark on the current page.

OBJECT METHODS, TEXT

objectName setFont size ?fontname?

This method sets the font used by text drawing routines. If fontname is not provided, the previously set fontname is kept.

objectName getStringWidth str

This method returns the width of a string under the current font.

objectName getCharWidth char

This method returns the width of a character under the current font.

objectName setTextPosition x y

Set coordinate for next text command.

objectName moveTextPosition dx dy

Increment position by dx, dy for the next text command.

objectName getTextPosition

This method returns the current text coordinate.

objectName newLine ?spacing?

Moves text coordinate down and resets x to where the latest setTextPosition was. The number of lines to move down can be set by spacing. This may be any real number, including negative, and defaults to the value set by setLineSpacing.

objectName setLineSpacing spacing

Set the default line spacing used be e.g. newLine. Initially the spacing is 1.

objectName getLineSpacing

Get the current default line spacing.

objectName text str ?option value...?

Draw text at the position defined by setTextPosition using the font defined by setFont.

objectName drawTextBox x y width height str ?option value...?

Draw the text string str wrapping at blanks and tabs so that it fits within the box defined by x, y, width and height. An embedded newline in str causes a new line in the output. If str is too long to fit in the specified box, it is truncated and the unused remainder is returned.

objectName getFontMetric metric

Get information about current font. The available metrics are ascend, descend, fixed, bboxb, bboxt and height.

OBJECT METHODS, IMAGES

objectName putImage id x y ?option value...?

Put an image on the current page. The image must have been added previously by addImage or addRawImage. The id is the one returned from the add command.

objectName putRawImage data x y ?option value...?

Put an image on the current page. Works like putImage except that the raw image data is given directly.

  image create photo img1 -file image.gif
  set imgdata [img1 data]
  mypdf putRawImage $imgdata 60 20 -height 40

objectName addImage filename ?option value...?

Add an image to the document. Returns an id that can be used in subsequent calls to putImage. Supported formats are PNG and JPEG.

objectName addRawImage data ?option value...?

  image create photo img1 -file image.gif
  set imgdata [img1 data]
  set id [mypdf addRawImage $imgdata]
  mypdf putImage $id 20 60 -width 100

objectName getImageHeight id

This method returns the height of the image identified by id.

objectName getImageSize id

This method returns the size of the image identified by id. The return value is a list of width and height.

objectName getImageWidth id

This method returns the width of the image identified by id.

OBJECT METHODS, COLORS

objectName setBgColor red green blue

Sets the background color for text operations where -bg is true.

objectName setFillColor red green blue

Sets the fill color for graphics operations, and the foreground color for text operations.

objectName setStrokeColor red green blue

Sets the stroke color for graphics operations.

OBJECT METHODS, GRAPHICS

objectName setLineWidth width

Sets the width for subsequent line drawing. Line width must be a non-negative number.

objectName setLineDash ?on off...? ?offset?

Sets the dash pattern for subsequent line drawing. Offset and any elements in the dash pattern must be non-negative numbers. on off is a series of pairs of numbers which define a dash pattern. The 1st, 3rd ... numbers give units to paint, the 2nd, 4th ... numbers specify unpainted gaps. When all numbers have been used, the pattern is re-started from the beginning. An optional last argument sets the dash offset, which defaults to 0. Calling setLineDash with no arguments resets the dash pattern to a solid line.

objectName setLineStyle width args

Sets the width and dash pattern for subsequent line drawing. Line width and any elements in the dash pattern must be non-negative numbers. args is a series of numbers (not a tcl list) which define a dash pattern. The 1st, 3rd ... numbers give units to paint, the 2nd, 4th ... numbers specify unpainted gaps. When all numbers have been used, the pattern is re-started from the beginning. This method do not support offsetting the pattern, see setLineDash for a more complete method.

objectName line x1 y1 x2 y2

Draws a line from x1, y1 to x2, y2

objectName curve x1 y1 x2 y2 x3 y3 ?x4 y4?

If x4, y4 are present, draws a cubic bezier from x1, y1 to x4, y4 with control points x2, y2 and x3, y3. Otherwise draws a quadratic bezier from x1, y1 to x3, y3, with control point x2, y2

objectName polygon ?x y...? ?option value...?

Draw a polygon. There must be at least 3 points. The polygon is closed back to the first coordinate.

objectName circle x y radius ?option value...?

Draw a circle at the given center coordinates.

objectName oval x y radiusx radiusy ?option value...?

Draw an oval at the given center coordinates.

objectName arc x y radiusx radiusy phi extend ?option value...?

Draw an arc, following the given oval. The arc starts at angle phi, given in degrees starting in the "east" direction, counting counter clockwise. The arc extends extend degrees.

objectName arrow x1 y1 x2 y2 size ?angle?

Draw an arrow. Default angle is 20 degrees.

objectName rectangle x y width height ?option value...?

Draw a rectangle.

OBJECT CONFIGURATION

-compress boolean

Pages will be zlib compressed if this option is set to true. This requires the presence of the zlib package. This option can only be set at object creation.

-file filename

Continuously write pdf to filename instead of storing it in memory. This option can only be set at object creation.

-unit defaultunit

Defines default unit for coordinates and distances. Any value given without a unit is interpreted using this unit. See UNITS for valid units. Default value is "p" as in points. This option can only be set at object creation.

PAGE CONFIGURATION

-paper name

The argument of this option defines the paper size. The paper size may be a string like "a4", where valid values are available through ::pdf4tcl::getPaperSizeList. Paper size may also be a two element list specifying width and height.

The default value of this option is "a4".

-landscape boolean

If true, paper width and height are switched.

The default value of this option is false.

-orient boolean

This sets the orientation of the y axis of the coordinate system. With -orient false, origin is in the bottom left corner. With -orient true, origin is in the top left corner.

The default value of this option is true.

-margin values

The margin is a one, two or four element list of margins. For one element, it specifies all margins. Two elements specify left/right and top/bottom. Four elements specify left, right, top and bottom.

The default value of this option is zero.

-rotate angle

This value defines a rotation angle for the display of the page. Allowed values are multiples of 90.

The default value of this option is zero.