Calls method from listing 3.13 in Java

Creator Quick Response Code in Java Calls method from listing 3.13

The result is shown in figure 3.10. Now you re ready to go to the film festival! We aren t finished discussing the ColumnText object yet. This example worked out fine because you were able to fit the content inside the rectangles reserved for the screenings. But what would have happened if the text didn t fit Also, you ve been adding a Phrase object to the column to display its contents at an absolute position. Can you add other objects such as Paragraphs, Lists, and Images with the ColumnText object The answer to the first question will be explained in section 3.3.1; the answer to the second question is yes, but not in text mode, only in composite mode.

In section 2.3.3, you created PDF documents with movie information that was organized in Paragraphs. Suppose you want to repeat this exercise, but now you want to organize the same information in columns, as is shown in figure 3.11.

Instead of the setSimpleColumn() method from listing 3.15, which can be used for a single Phrase, you ll use addText() to add a series of Phrases and Chunks.

ADDING CONTENT WITH ADDTEXT()

List movies = PojoFactory.getMovies(connection); ColumnText ct = new ColumnText(writer.getDirectContent()); Creates column for (Movie movie : movies) { ct.addText(createMovieInformation(movie)); Adds content ct.addText(Chunk.NEWLINE); } ct.setAlignment(Element.ALIGN_JUSTIFIED); ct.setExtraParagraphSpace(6); Defines column ct.setLeading(0, 1.2f); properties ct.setFollowingIndent(27); int linesWritten = 0; int column = 0; Initializes status int status = ColumnText.START_COLUMN; while (ColumnText.hasMoreText(status)) { Loops until column is empty ct.setSimpleColumn( COLUMNS[column][0], COLUMNS[column][1], Defines position COLUMNS[column][2], COLUMNS[column][3]); on page ct.setYLine(COLUMNS[column][3]); status = ct.go(); Writes content linesWritten += ct.getLinesWritten(); column = Math.abs(column - 1); if (column == 0) Switches columns document.newPage(); }

ct.addText(new Phrase("Lines written: " + linesWritten)); ct.go();

Just as in listing 3.15, you create a ColumnText object, passing a PdfContentByte object as a parameter. You add content (Phrase and/or Chunk objects) to this column with the addText() method. You set the properties for the text that will be rendered, such as the alignment, the leading, extra space between paragraphs, and special indentations. You perform some initializations. The linesWritten parameter informs you about the number of lines that have been written. The column variable (keeping track of the column number) and the status of the ColumnText object are more important. You want all the content added to the ColumnText object to be rendered, so you invoke the go() method in a loop as long as the ColumnText.NO_MORE_TEXT bit isn t set in the status value. You define the dimensions of the column where the next block of text will be added. In this case, COLUMNS is a two-dimensional array, containing two sets of four values (one rectangle for each column). You also define the Y position; that s the vertical start position of the text in the column.

Lines of text are written as soon as you invoke the go() method. Text that didn t fit the current column remains in the ColumnText object. The content that was rendered is consumed; it s no longer present in the ColumnText object. Each time a column is written, you have to switch to the next column. If there are no more columns on the current page, you have to go to a newPage(). In this example, you re changing the properties of the text. The setAlignment() method is similar to the Paragraph method with the same name. It takes the same parameters: Element.ALIGN_LEFT, Element.ALIGN_RIGHT, Element.ALIGN_JUSTIFIED, and Element.ALIGN_JUSTIFIED_ALL. The setLeading() method comes in two flavors: in listing 3.16, you define an absolute leading of 0 pt and a relative leading of 1.2. The resulting leading will be 0 + 1.2 x 12 pt (the font size) = 14.4 pt. In listing 3.17, you ll use the other setLeading() method to define a leading of 14 pt. Let s examine the properties that can be set for the text that has to be rendered.