PDF::API2::HOWTO(3) A basic set of guidelines to use PDF::API2.

THEORY

Coordinates and Units

Transformations

Colors

R-G-B

C-M-Y-K

H-S-V

THE BASIC DOCUMENT

A Hello World.

    $pdf = PDF::API2->new;
    #
    $fnt = $pdf->corefont('Helvetica-Bold');
    #
    $page = $pdf->page;
    $page->mediabox('A4');
    #
    $gfx = $page->gfx;
    $gfx->textlabel(200,700,$fnt,20,'Hello World !');
    #
    $pdf->saveas('/this/new/document.pdf');
    $pdf->end;

FONTS AND TYPESETTING

INTEROPERABLILITIES

Adobe Reader & Acrobat (Windows)

The Acrobat/Adobe Reader will open and print files created with PDF::API2, but sometimes Acrobat (Full Product) will be unable to edit/update them.

Adobe Reader (Linux)

Since the MS Core Fonts may not be available via X11, those corefonts may either look/print odd or may be entirely missing (dependent on installation).

Macromedia Freehand (Windows)

Any version of Freehand is unable to open files either created or updated by PDF::API2. Redestilled files do work, but embedded fonts are missing, which is probably bug in Freehand's pdf engine.

Ghostscript

Versions before 7.03 had problems reading PDF::API2 created pdfs.

PDF::API2 versions prior to 0.30_7x embedded Type1 Fonts not digestible by gs.

Redmon / FreePDF (Windows)

Since these are based on ghostscript, they can be used to redistill pdfs from and to PDF::API2.

Xpdf

Xpdf and tools need to be compiled with both freetype2 and libT1.

pdftops produces problematic ps-files if the pdf-file created via PDF::API2 contains embedded CFF (aka. Opentype) fonts.

pdftk

pdftk is a nice tool to pre/post-process pdf-files.

Version 0.91 does not support big-endian unicode metadata as PDF::API2 does use as default.

Jaws PDF

Some versions of this software (5D PDF Creator) create pdfs not consumable by PDF::API2 (if you just need a pdf-printer driver use FreePDF).

Omnipage

PDF::API2 versions prior to 0.40_17 had a bug that screws up omnipages unfortunate image name-keys and lzw-encoded page descriptions.

Open Office

PDF::API2 versions prior to 0.40_xx had a bug that screws up colorspaces of indexed images during import/save.

CHANGES

    $Log: HOWTO.pod,v $
    Revision 2.0  2005/11/16 02:16:00  areibens
    revision workaround for SF cvs import not to screw up CPAN
    Revision 1.2  2005/11/16 01:27:48  areibens
    genesis2
    Revision 1.1  2005/11/16 01:19:24  areibens
    genesis
    Revision 1.6  2005/03/14 22:01:05  fredo
    upd 2005
    Revision 1.5  2004/06/07 19:44:12  fredo
    cleaned out cr+lf for lf
    Revision 1.4  2004/02/22 23:45:25  fredo
    added pdftk tool comment
    Revision 1.3  2004/02/19 00:37:55  fredo
    added interoperability section
    Revision 1.2  2004/02/13 10:56:31  fredo
    added hello world example
    Revision 1.1  2003/12/08 22:42:19  Administrator
    rudimentary skeleton

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