Overview

The DynamicPDF Designer is a layout tool used to create templates that are then used to create PDF documents using the pdf and the dlex-layout endpoints. Layout elements are dragged, dropped, resized, and positioned to create a template as a DLEX file. The DLEX file, combined with a JSON dataset, is then used via the DynamicPDF Cloud API's pdf or dlex-layout endpoints. The following topics list the DLEX document sections, major Designer Interface Layout elements, and then describes the major features of Designer.

Main Window

Designer's UI consists of a toolbar along the application's top, the document window, and the properties window.

When opening Designer with no DLEX file loaded, you are presented with the File Explorer. You must either open a DLEX file from the File Explorer, add a file to your File Explorer from your local system, or create a new DLEX file.

Figure 1. Designer's main window.

After loading a DLEX file or choosing to create a new DLEX file, Designer is enabled.

Figure 2. The DynamicPDF Designer application main window.

Toolbar

The toolbar buttons along Designer's top are described from left to right.

Figure 3 The DynamicPDF Designer's toolbar.

Main Navigation Button

Switch the application you wish to work with by selecting the desired tool in the main navigation button (the DynamicPDF image). You can switch between DynamicPDF Designer, Portal, and API and Help Documentation.

Figure 4. DynamicPDF Designer's main navigation button.

New and Open DLEX File

Selecting the New DLEX File button opens the File Explorer. Selecting Open DLEX File opens the File Explorer with the Create button replaced with an Open button.

Figure 5. DynamicPDF Designer's File Explorer, creating or opening a DLEX file.

Adding a File

Drag resources from your local system to the Drag files here to upload to this folder button to add files to your cloud storage space using the File Manager.

Figure 6. Add resources to your API resources by dragging local files to the Drag files here... button.

View DLEX Source

Selecting the View DLEX Source button opens the DLEX Source View.

Figure 7. View your underlying DLEX file by selecting the DLEX Source View.

Edit Layout Data

The Edit Layout Data is where you add or modify the DLEX file's JSON data. You can open a pre-existing JSON data file using the File Explorer and also save the JSON data.

Figure 8. The Layout Data Editor displays your JSON dataset for your DLEX file.

Run Report

The Run Report button (the green arrow) will attempt to generate the PDF document from the DLEX file combined with the JSON dataset.

Figure 9. Create the PDF document by clicking the Run Report button.

Settings

In Settings you can snap values to a grid or show placeholders. Placeholders are only applicable to using Designer with the DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET class's LayoutData and is not applicable to the DynamicPDF API.

Figure 10. Settings button

Add Page and Add Report

The Add Page Button adds a new page to the Document Window while the Add Report button adds a new Report to the Document Window.

Figure 11. Create a new page or new report to a DLEX by selecting the Add Page or Add Report button.

Control Elements And Properties

You can add new pages and reports to the Document Window by selecting the Add Page or Add Report buttons.

Adding Elements to a Page or Report

You add elements to a page or report by right-clicking and making a selection from the context menu.

Figure 12. Add elements to a DLEX file through the context menu.

You add RecordBox elements by dragging and dropping the JSON field name from the Data Explorer.

Figure 13. Adding a new element from the Data Explorer.

Page

Upon creating a new page you are presented with a blank page. You can only add static elements and non-repeating top-level JSON fields to a page. Only valid selections are displayed in a page when you right-click and view the context menu (invalid choices are greyed-out).

Adding RecordBox or RecordArea

You can only add non-repeating top-level JSON fields to a page. For example, suppose you had the following simple JSON dataset.

{
  "Title":"My Report",
  "ReportCreatedFor": "Alex Smith",
  "Products": [
    {
      "ProductID": 17,
      "ProductName": "Alice Mutton",
      "UnitPrice": 39
    },
    {
      "ProductID": 3,
      "ProductName": "Aniseed Syrup",
      "UnitPrice": 10
    }
  ]
}

You could only add the Title and ReportCreatedFor elements to the page as a RecordBox or RecordArea. The repeating elements in the Products array must be added to a report rather than a page.

Page Properties

Figure 14. The Page Properties explorer.

The Page Properties explorer contains formatting properties for a page.

Report

You create a report by clicking the Add Report button. This adds a blank report with header, footer, and a body section. The header and footer contains non-repeating data fields and static data such as labels. The details contains the repeating report data from the JSON dataset.

Figure 15. The major sections of a report.

Report Properties

Figure 16. The Report Properties explorer.

This property specifies the manner in which the columns will be populated. The three options are explained below (default for a Report is verticalUneven, default for a Subreport is verticalEven):

1. horizontal – Records will appear horizontally across the columns. For instance, if a report has three columns, records will first be placed in column 1, then 2 then 3, then back to 1 and continue in this fashion. A column layout of horizontal will never be splittable.
2. verticalUneven – Records will vertically fill column 1, then proceed to subsequent columns. This is the default layout.
3. verticalEven – Records will vertically fill column 1, then proceed to subsequent columns. On the last page, the verticalEven option will layout the records so that they are as evenly displayed on the page as possible. For instance, if a report has three columns and the last page has 6 records to display, the verticalEven layout may display 2 records on each of the three columns. Where the verticalUneven layout may have just placed all 6 records in the first column.

Template

Templates are a powerful and easy way to add professional formatting to your reports. A template is added to a page or report. When added to a report, the template is divided into three sections, header, footer, and details in the report.

Figure 17. A template displayed in a DLEX report.

Resizing Template

When loading a template, you must resize the dimensions. For example, in the previous template, we resize the report's header, footer, left and right margins. We then must resize the header, footer, and details section's widths.

Figure 18. A template that matches the report's sizing.

Resizing

Resize the report to use the appropriate dimensions for a template using the following properties.

Template Properties

Figure 19. A template displayed in Designer.

Header/Footer/Details

A report's header, footer, and details are used to space the report to display correctly when the JSON data is applied to generate the report. Each report section is displayed using the following logic.

• The header repeats for each page of data.
• The footer repeats for each page of data.
• The details repeats for each data row.

For example, suppose displaying all the data in a JSON dataset took three pages to display, the header and footer would be displayed three times. The details would be displayed for each row within the dataset.

Header

Figure 20. A report's header and footer details displaying the Header Properties.

Footer

Figure 21. A report's header and footer details displaying the Footer Properties.

Body

Figure 22. A report's Body and Detail Properties.