Meteor Example fill pdf template with data from a Collection

[dfuchs2512]

Hello,

I was searching arround but could not find a good example to use Meteor-pdftk with a given pdf template and generate a pdf with data from a collection. My task I would like to accomplish is the following.

I have a given pdf template (like a certificate which contains images and empty fields. The empty fields should be filled with data from a collection and the pdf should be shown on the client side. Each time when I proceed a query on the collection it will return me the fields that I want to fill in this pdf template.

Can you provide a simple example to make this task happen.

Regards,

Daniel alias dfuchs2512

[aadamsx]

"I was searching around but could not find a good example to use Meteor-pdftk with a given pdf template and generate a pdf with data from a collection." That's probably because not a lot of Meteor devs have not done this, and the ones that have probably have not posted how they did it (yet).

I couldn't find a way to do it when I started, and had to come up with a solution myself. That's one of the reasons I built and published this package.

The examples in the readme should get you started. Do you have a specific question? Sounds like you don't know where to start and your asking for instructions on how to do this from the point where you have data in your collection -- am I right?

[dfuchs2512]

Yes thats right. I dont really know where to start. Maybe you have some working example which I can use. My starting point is I just have a pdf template. And my app is generating a list with people out of a collection. When I select one of the people in the list I get detailed information from a other collection, which can containe different numer of documents. I take informations from this documents and want to generate a pdf file with this data, which I can show in a special meteor-template. Like a smal preview of the generated pdf.

Hope you can get me a little startup help.

Thanks.

Daniel

[aadamsx]

There's much more to it than having data in a collection of course -- this is the easy part. Getting the data into the Form is more work. I don't have a working example for you to follow right now, and there are a lot of small steps and things to know/understand about the PDF condition/format, and other things you'll eventually need -- and frankly it can get a little complex with all the moving parts, where this package is just one component.

Unfortunately, I'm building a software business right now, and besides it will take a fully working small but substantial application to show you how all the moving parts work and function.

But right now, coincidentally, I am doing this exact same thing for a new portion/slice of my software from start to finish, so I'm open to talk. I'll be done with this pdf add on by this Saturday, and after that I won't be doing this full cycle PDF form for about another month.

[dfuchs2512]

Ok, I saw from the readme the command fillform(pdf, xfdf, output). I guess the pdf is my Template pdf? and the xfdf file is the Data File for the pdf. And the Output is the pdf with the filled in data?

• How I call this command from my Meteor Client (maybe as a Method???)
• How the syntax looks like?
• And how I get my data from the collection in to this xfdf file?

[aadamsx]

Again, sorry friend, I'm building a software business right now and unfortunately don't have the cycles to do this for you. I could help you, but I'm not consulting for free right now, as it would take away from my project.

It took me a little while to get through it all with all the moving parts, and I didn't have this package as a stepping stone -- so you should have a easier time of it.

Best of luck.

[dfuchs2512]

I understand. Thank you so far.