ActiveReports 18 .NET Edition
Developers / Export Reports / Export Section Reports / PDF Export
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    PDF Export
    In This Topic

    PDF, or portable document format, opens in the Adobe Reader. The PDF export filter has a number of useful properties that allow you to control your output. You can set the properties either in code using the PDFExport object after adding reference to MESCIUS.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf package in your project

    Note: PDF export and font linking features are only available in the Professional Edition of ActiveReports.

    PDF Export Properties

    Property Valid Values Description
    ConvertMetaToPng True or False (default) Set to True to change any Windows metafile images to PNG format to keep the file size down. If the report has no metafiles, this setting is ignored.
    ExportBookmarks True (default) or False Set to True to generate bookmarks from the bookmarks in the report. If the report has no bookmarks, this setting is ignored. To control how the exported bookmarks are displayed, use Options.DisplayMode detailed below.
    FontFallback String of font families Set a comma-delimited string of font families to be used to lookup glyphs missing in the original font.  
    ImageInterpolation None (default) or Auto Specifies the images interpolation value. Allows to enable/disable image interpolation, when exporting the file to PDF.
    ImageQuality Lowest, Medium (default), or Highest Set to Highest in combination with a high value in the ImageResolution property to yield the best printing results when converting Windows metafiles (.wmf). Set to Lowest to keep the file size down. If the report has no metafiles, this setting is ignored.
    ImageResolution 75 - 2400 dpi Set to 75 dpi to save space, 150 dpi for normal screen viewing, and 300 dpi or higher for print quality. Use this property in combination with ImageQuality (highest) to yield the best results when the report contains metafiles or the Page.DrawPicture API is used. Neither property has any effect on other image types.
    NeverEmbedFonts A semicolon-delimited string of font names List all of the fonts that you do not want to embed in the PDF file to keep the file size down. This can make a big difference if you use a lot of fonts in your reports.
    Options See below Expand this property to see a group of sub properties. These settings control how the Adobe Reader displays the output PDF file when it is first opened. See the table below for details.
    Pagination True or False (default) Gets or sets the value that indicates whether to use pagination in the exported PDF document. This property is only useful for Page/RDLX reports exports through RDF and does not affect a section report.
    PrintPresets See below Returns an object allowing you to specify the print presets.
    Security See below Expand this property to see a group of sub properties. These settings control encryption and permissions on the output PDF file. See the table below for details.
    Version Pdf11, Pdf12, Pdf13, Pdf14, Pdf15, Pdf16, Pdf17, Pdf20, PdfA1a, PdfA1b, PdfA2a, PdfA2b, PdfA2u, PdfA3a, PdfA3b, PdfA3u, and PdfUA1

    Sets the version of the PDF format the exported document is saved in.

    Watermark See below. For CrossPlatform compatibility mode only. Expand this property to see a group of sub properties. These settings control whether a report is exported to PDF with a watermark on it. See the table below for details.

    PDF Export usage and limitations

    Usage:

    Does not support:

    Options, Security, and Watermark

    When you expand the Options, Security, or Watermark properties in the Properties window, the following sub properties are revealed.

    PDF Options Properties

    Property Valid Values Description
    Application String Set to the string value that you want to display in the Adobe Document Properties dialog, Description tab, Application field.
    Author String Set to the string value that you want to display in the Adobe Document Properties dialog, Description tab, Author field.
    CenterWindow True or False (default) Set to True to position the Adobe Reader window in the center of the screen when the document is first opened.
    DisplayMode None (default), Outlines, Thumbs, or FullScreen

    Select how to display bookmarks when the document is first opened.

    • None (default) bookmarks are not displayed until opened by the user.
    • Outlines shows bookmarks in outline format.
    • Thumbs shows bookmarks as thumbnails.
    • FullScreen shows the document in full screen, and bookmarks are not displayed.
    DisplayTitle True or False (default) Set to True to use the Title string entered in the Title property below. Otherwise, the file name is used.
    FitWindow True or False (default) Set to True to expand the window to fit the size of the first displayed page.
    HideMenubar True or False (default) Set to True to hide the menu in the Adobe Reader when the document is first opened.
    HideToolbar True or False (default) Set to True to hide the toolbars in the Adobe Reader when the document is first opened.
    HideWindowUi True or False (default) Set to True to hide the scrollbars and navigation controls in the Adobe Reader when the document is first opened, displaying only the document.
    Keywords String Enter keywords to display in the Adobe Document Properties dialog, Description tab, Keywords field.
    OnlyForPrint True or False (default) Set to indicate whether the PDF is only for print.
    Subject String Enter a subject to display in the Adobe Document Properties dialog, Description tab, Subject field.
    Title String

    Enter a title to display in the Adobe Document Properties dialog, Description tab, Title field.

    Set DisplayTitle to True to display this text in the title bar of the Adobe Reader when the document is opened.

    PDF Security Properties

    Property Valid Values Description
    Encrypt True or False (default) Sets or returns a value indicating whether the document is encrypted.
    OwnerPassword String Enter the string to use as a password that unlocks the document regardless of specified permissions.
    Permissions None, AllowPrint, AllowModifyContents, AllowCopy, AllowModifyAnnotations, AllowFillIn, AllowAccessibleReaders, or AllowAssembly Combine multiple values by dropping down the selector and selecting the check boxes of any permissions you want to grant. By default, all of the permissions are granted.
    UserPassword String Enter the string to use as a password that unlocks the document using the specified permissions. Leave this value blank to allow anyone to open the document using the specified permissions.

    PDF Watermark Properties (CrossPlatform Compatibility Mode only)

    Property Valid Values Description
    Angle String Specify the degree of angle for the watermark text on the PDF document. Valid values range from 0 to 359, where 0 is horizontal, left to right.
    Color String Select a color for the watermark text of the PDF document.
    FontName String Specify the font of the PDF document watermark text.
    FontSize String Specify the font size of the PDF document watermark text.
    FontStyle Regular, Bold, Italic, Underline, or Strikeout. Select the font style of the PDF document watermark text.
    PrintOnly True or False (default) Specify whether the watermark should appear on printed pages only.
    Text String Enter text to be used as the watermark on the PDF document.

    PDF Print Presets Properties

    ActiveReports allows you to preset the printing properties for PDF report exports using the PrintPresets class. This pre-populates the print settings in the Print dialog box. Please see Print Presets for more information.

    Note: The print preset properties are only available with the Professional Edition license. An evaluation message is displayed when used with the Standard Edition license.

     

    Property Description
    PageScaling Specify scaling for the printable area.You can select Default to shrink to the printable area, or you can select None for the actual size.
    DuplexMode

    Specify the duplex mode of the printer. For the best results with the duplex option, the selected printer should support duplex printing. You can choose from the following values,

    • Simplex: Prints on one side of the paper. This is the default value.
    • Duplex (Flip on long edge): Prints on both sides of the paper with paper flip on the long edge.
    • Duplex (Flip on short edge): Prints on both sides of the paper with paper flip on the short edge.
    PaperSourceByPageSize Determines the output tray based on PDF page size, rather than page setting options. This option is useful when printing PDFs with multiple page sizes, where different sized output trays are available. By default, this option is set to False.
    PrintPageRange Specify the range of page numbers as 1-3 or 1, 2, 3.
    NumberOfCopies Specify the number of copies to print. You can select any number of copies from 2 to 5, or select Default to specify a single copy.

     

    Note: These properties are available in PDF version 1.7 or higher. The PageScaling property is supported in PDF version 1.6.

    Metadata in PDFs

    Adding Metadata

    Adding metadata

    Metadata such as keywords, descriptions are used by the search engines to narrow down the searches. You can add a number of predefined accessors, such as title, contributors, creators, copyright, description, etc. using AdditionalMetadata property. The allowed namespaces are:

    VB code. Paste INSIDE the Form Load event.
    Copy Code
    Dim sectionReport As GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport = New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport()
    Dim xtr As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create(Application.StartupPath & "\SectionReport1.rpx")
    sectionReport.LoadLayout(xtr)
    sectionReport.Run()
    Dim pdfExport As GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport = New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport()
    Dim metadata1 = New AdditionalMetadataInfo With {
        .[Namespace] = AdditionalMetadataNamespace.PurlOrg, ' Dublin Core Properties
        .Key = "title",
        .Value = "Invoice"
    }
    pdfExport.Options.AdditionalMetadata.Add(metadata1)
    pdfExport.Export(sectionReport.Document, Application.StartupPath & "\MyPDF.pdf")
    
    C# code. Paste INSIDE the Form Load event.
    Copy Code
    GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport sectionReport = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport();
    XmlReader xtr = XmlReader.Create(Application.StartupPath + "\\SectionReport1.rpx");
    sectionReport.LoadLayout(xtr);
    sectionReport.Run();
    GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport pdfExport = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport();
    // Add meta data
    var metadata1 = new AdditionalMetadataInfo
    {
        Namespace = AdditionalMetadataNamespace.PurlOrg, //Dublin Core Properties
        Key = "title",
        Value = "Invoice"
     };          
                
    pdfExport.Options.AdditionalMetadata.Add(metadata1);
    pdfExport.Export(sectionReport.Document, Application.StartupPath + "\\MyPDF.pdf");
    

     

    Adding Attachment

    Adding an attachment

    You can include an attachment as metadata (such as invoices) to exported PDFs using Attachments property. This property allows to attach files such as a .xml or a .txt file in PDF. Below is example to export Section reports to PDF and attach a file to the exported PDF.

    VB code. Paste INSIDE the Form Load event.
    Copy Code
    Dim sectionReport As GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport = New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport()
    Dim xtr As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create(Application.StartupPath + _, SectionReport1.rpx)
    sectionReport.LoadLayout(xtr)
    sectionReport.Run()
    Dim pdfExport As GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport = New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport()
    Dim attachment = New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.AttachmentInfo With {
        .Name = "file.txt",
        .Content = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes("D:\Reports\file.txt"),
        .Description = "attachment description"
    }
    pdfExport.Options.Attachments.Add(attachment)
    pdfExport.Export(sectionReport.Document, Application.StartupPath & "\MyPDF.pdf")
    
    C# code. Paste INSIDE the Form Load event.
    Copy Code
    GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport sectionReport = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport();
    XmlReader xtr = XmlReader.Create(Application.StartupPath + \\SectionReport1.rpx);
    sectionReport.LoadLayout(xtr);
    sectionReport.Run();
    GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport pdfExport = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport();
    // Add attachment
    var attachment = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.AttachmentInfo
        {
              Name = "file.txt",
              Content = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(@"D:\Reports\file.txt"),
              Description = "attachment description" //optional
        };
    pdfExport.Options.Attachments.Add(attachment);
    pdfExport.Export(sectionReport.Document, Application.StartupPath + "\\MyPDF.pdf");
    

    Open the exported PDF and you should see the attachment. Check the left sidebar in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

    Note: Metadata in PDFs is part of the Professional Edition. It is supported with the PDF version PDF/A-3b (or higher).

    PDF/A Support Limitations

    Export Report using PDF Export Filter

    Use the following steps to export reports through PDF export filters.

    1. Create a new or open an existing Visual Studio project.
      • If you are creating a new project,
        - select ActiveReports 18 Section Report (xml-based) Application in Create a New Project dialog, and then
        - specify a name for the project, and click OK.
      • If you are using an existing project,
        - go to the Solution Explorer and right-click the project and select Add > New Item, and then
        - select ActiveReports 18 Section Report (xml-based) and click Add.
    2. Add a reference to MESCIUS.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf package in the project. See Manage ActiveReports Dependencies for more information.
    3. In your project's Bin>Debug folder, place the report.rpx (Section Report).    
    4. On the Form.cs or Form.vb, double-click the title bar to create the Form_Load event.
    5. In Form_Load event, add the following code to export Section Reports .
      Visual Basic.NETcode. Paste INSIDE the Form_Load event
      Copy Code
      ' Create a Section report.
      
      Dim rpt As New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport()
      ' For the code to work, report.rpx must be placed in the bin\debug folder of your project.
      Dim xtr As New System.Xml.XmlTextReader(Application.StartupPath + "\report.rpx")
      rpt.LoadLayout(xtr)
      rpt.Run()
                         
      ' Export the report in HTML format.
      Dim PdfExport1 As New GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport()
      PdfExport1.Export(rpt.Document, Application.StartupPath + "\PDFExpt.pdf")
      

      C# code. Paste INSIDE the Form_Load event.
      Copy Code
      // Create a Section Report
      GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport rpt = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReport();
      
      // For the code to work, report.rpx must be placed in the bin\debug folder of your project.
      System.Xml.XmlTextReader xtr = new System.Xml.XmlTextReader(Application.StartupPath + "\\report.rpx");
      rpt.LoadLayout(xtr);
      rpt.Run();
      
      // Export the report in PDF format.
      GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport PdfExport1 = new GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.PdfExport();
      PdfExport1.Export(rpt.Document, Application.StartupPath + "\\PDFExpt.pdf");