itextpdf : rectangle modify width

Question

Is it possible to modify width of existing rectangle ?

I have :

@Override
public void onGenericTag(PdfWriter writer, Document document, Rectangle rect, String text){
Rectangle rectangle = new Rectangle(rect);
//something like that :
rectangle.setWidth(400f);
}

Answer 1

You can (and should) not use a method called setWidth() . Whatever that method would do would be very ambiguous.

Suppose that you would have a rectangle with lower-left x coordinate equal to 36 and with upper-right x coordinate equal to 559. (I didn't choose these numbers at random: those are the default margins inside the default A4 page when using iText.) Now when you change the width of such a rectangle: do you mean to extend the rectangle to the left, to the right, or both? I hope this example shows that having a setWidth() method doesn't make sense.

Instead, you should use setLeft() or setRight() when you change the x value of the left or right coordinate of the rectangle, you automatically change the width and there can be no confusion about the direction in which you're changing the width.