How to set field name in pdf- java

Question

I want to set a field name in a pdf (not in existing pdf) so that I can get the coordinates of that field when required. Can we achieve this without pdfstamper?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

You say you want to create a PDF from scratch (not an existing PDF) and you want this PDF to have a field.

Creating a PDF from scratch doesn't involve PdfStamper , so the answer to the question "Can we achieve this without PdfStamper " is "Yes, you can."

If you are thinking about using iText 5, you should take a look at the following examples:

• Creating form fields
• Create fields in a table

One of those examples was written in answer to the question Add PdfPCell to Paragraph

In this example, we create a Paragraph in which some Chunk objects are fields:

You can get the coordinates of those fields using the getFieldPositions() method. That is explained in the FAQ: How to find the absolute position and dimension of a field?

If you are thinking of using iText 7.0.1, you will discover that the classes are much easier to understand because the same classes are used regardless whether you are creating a form from scratch or filling out an existing form, see chapter 4 of the iText 7 jump-start tutorial .

public class GenericFields extends GenericTest {
    public static final String DEST = "./target/test/resources/sandbox/events/generic_fields.pdf";

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        File file = new File(DEST);
        file.getParentFile().mkdirs();
        new GenericFields().manipulatePdf(DEST);
    }

    @Override
    protected void manipulatePdf(String dest) throws Exception {
        PdfDocument pdfDoc = new PdfDocument(new PdfWriter(dest));
        Document doc = new Document(pdfDoc);
        Paragraph p = new Paragraph();
        p.add("The Effective Date is ");
        Text day = new Text("     ");
        day.setNextRenderer(new FieldTextRenderer(day, "day"));
        p.add(day);
        p.add(" day of ");
        Text month = new Text("     ");
        month.setNextRenderer(new FieldTextRenderer(month, "month"));
        p.add(month);
        p.add(", ");
        Text year = new Text("            ");
        year.setNextRenderer(new FieldTextRenderer(year, "year"));
        p.add(year);
        p.add(" that this will begin.");
        doc.add(p);
        doc.close();
    }


    protected class FieldTextRenderer extends TextRenderer {
        protected String fieldName;

        public FieldTextRenderer(Text textElement, String fieldName) {
            super(textElement);
            this.fieldName = fieldName;
        }

        @Override
        public void draw(DrawContext drawContext) {
            PdfTextFormField field = PdfTextFormField.createText(drawContext.getDocument(), getOccupiedAreaBBox(), fieldName);
            PdfAcroForm.getAcroForm(drawContext.getDocument(), true).addField(field);
        }
    }
}