PDFreactor

RealObjects PDFreactor is a powerful formatting processor for converting XML and XHTML/HTML documents into PDF. PDFreactor uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to define page layout and styles. The brand new server-side tool enables a great variety of applications in the fields of ERP, eCommerce and Electronic Publishing, such as:

Dynamic creation of documents and reports
Integration into business- and publishing-workflows
Multi-channel publishing of content through Web and Print
Invoices, delivery notes and shipping documents on-the-fly
Automatic generation of technical manuals, data sheets, reports and product information

PDFreactor is a practical choice for publishers, software architects and developers looking for a cross-platform, easy to deploy, cost-effective XML and XHTML/HTML printing solution that does not require any XSL-FO skills to quickly achieve great looking results.

It enables multi-channel publishing using CSS for styling XML and XHTML/HTML documents to be published in print or on the Web. It does not require two different style sheets in two different style languages. You do not have to master the complexities of XSL/XSL-FO syntax and programming. However, PDFreactor comes with built-in support for XSLT processing that offers further flexibility and interoperability for those who need to include a XSLT style sheet on top.

Features:

• Remarkable What-You-See-Is-What-You-Print functionality: Compared to other formatter or printing over the Web using a browser, PDFreactor provides real What-You-See-Is-What-You-Print functionality to your application. So, users won't be disappointed by unsatisfactory print results while you can offer unmatched print capabilities.
• Strong support for CSS: PDFreactor offers strong support for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), including CSS 2.1. CSS is a powerful formatting language for XML, is widely used and has become very popular on the Web. It is efficient to use, easy to learn and offers the flexibility to style the most common document layouts.
• Multi-channel publishing with CSS: RealObjects PDFreactor enables multi-channel publishing using CSS for styling XML and XHTML/HTML documents to be published in print or on the Web. You have to deal with one style sheet and consequently one style language only. Streaming the output either to print media or over the Web just requires the definition of two media types within the CSS. To achieve the same result with the transformation-based processing model of XSL/XSL-FO, you need two different style sheets in two different style languages. CSS for publishing on the Web, XSL/XSL-FO for publishing in print. For more information about the differences between the styling-based processing model of CSS and the transformation-based processing model of XSL/XSL-FO, please review the section CSS vs XSL.
• Print any XML document: Unlike many other formatters PDFreactor can print almost any XML document. Authors and publishers are able to typeset and print documents written in XHTML/HTML or one of the many XML-based document formats. PDFreactor supports DTDs and XML-Schema, allowing the print of documents with extensive illustrations and layouts. Automatic DOCTYPE and encoding detection is also supported.
• Strong support for legacy HTML Web content: Fully integrated clean-up processes also allow legacy HTML Web content as input. PDFreactor then parses, formats and renders the input according to the style definitions and clean-up processes used. The output can be returned to a Web client, used in mailings or streamed to printers and other devices.
• Print XHTML Web content: PDFreactor comes with a default XHTML style sheet. XHTML is the successor of HTML and the XML language of the World Wide Web. Using PDFreactor you are able to easily print Web content written in XHTML.
• Built-in support for XSLT processing: PDFreactor allows you to style the most common document layouts by using CSS only. You do not have to master the complexities of XSL/XSL-FO syntax and programming. However, PDFreator comes with built-in support for XSLT processing that offers further flexibility and interoperability for those who need to include a XSLT style sheet on top. For example, a XSLT style sheet would be necessary to calculate the total from values of a XML-based invoice. For more information about XSLT support please see the section How it works?
• Cross-platform, modular and open architecture in 100% Java: PDFreactor offers a modular and open architecture and is written in 100% Java. For example, it comes with built-in formatters for SVG and Barcode as well as built-in support for XSLT processing.
• W3C standard compliance: PDFreactor is based on the latest W3C standards, providing the highest flexibility and interoperability with your system.
• Flexible and quick deployment: PDFreactor is easy to integrate into Servlets, EJB, Java Web Services and can also be used from PHP, ASP.NET and other scripting languages.
• Powerful W3C standards-oriented layout capabilities: By implementing the W3C specification for Paged Media and print, PDFreactor provides great control over the paged output, enabling a real What-You-See-Is-What-You-Print approach. It is very easy to set page sizes, margins and pagination for specific elements, page headers and footers. Using proprietary CSS properties, it is possible to set PDF specific information, to generate outlines and links for your documents and even to add meta information about the author or keywords.
• Extensive PDF output.
• Built-in SVG support: PDFreactor comes with a built-in formatter for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), which enables CSS-based multi-channel publishing of high-quality graphics on the Web and in print. Please review also the mortgage calculation sample document, which is included in the PDFreactor GUI Demo application and part of every PDFreactor installation/trial package.
• Built-in Barcode support: PDFreactor comes with a built-in formatter for Barcode, which enables comprehensive documents to be displayed on the Web or to be streamed to printers and other devices. Please review also the Barcode sample document, which is included in the PDFreactor GUI Demo application and part of every PDFreactor installation/trial package.
• Comprehensive sample documents and live demonstrations

What is new in this release:

• This hot fix release resolves a regression issue where TrueType collections (TTC) fonts could not be used and embedded with PDFreactor 5.
• The version label of the .NET wrapper DLL was corrected.

What is new in version 5.0.5812:

• This version delivers new features such as support for sessions, request headers, cookies and HTTP authentication, automatic font fall-back, PDF overlay, enhanced PDF merging, multiple pages per sheet (n-up printing), rearranged order of pages, digital signatures, and many more.
• Besides adding new features, this release further optimizes PDFreactor's layout capabilities and performance.
• It includes basic support for some HTML5 elements and Java 7.

What is new in version 4.0.4491:

• New features include PDF/A support for compliance and accessibility, vastly improved formatting capabilities with multi-column layout, and footnotes.
• Support was also added for bleed, crop, and printer marks.
• The color capabilities were extended.
• Overall CSS3 support has been improved.
• PDFreactor's layout performance was significantly optimized, especially for larger documents.