Xbase++ Requires Chilkat v11.7.0+

Fill a PDF Template: Replace {{placeholders}} with Values

See more PDF Text Replacement Examples

Demonstrates the TextReplace method on an invoice template whose values are written as placeholders such as {{customer}} and {{total}}. The "placeholders" object names each placeholder and the text to put in; every occurrence on the page is replaced, including a placeholder inside a sentence or inside a label such as "Tax ({{taxRate}}):". The text is redrawn with the font the template used, so the result looks like the template, and a value that is right-aligned in the template stays right-aligned. The changes are written by WriteFile. Xbase++

LOCAL nSuccess
LOCAL oPdf
LOCAL oJson
LOCAL oJsonOut
LOCAL i
LOCAL nCount_i

nSuccess := 0

//  This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
//  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

//  The PDF used in this example is available at invoice_template.pdf

oPdf := CreateObject("Chilkat.Pdf")
nSuccess := oPdf:LoadFile("qa_data/pdf/invoice_template.pdf")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oPdf:LastErrorText
    oPdf:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

//  The template has these placeholders in its page text:
//    {{customer}} (twice: "Bill To:" and the closing sentence), {{date}}, {{po}},
//    two item rows: {{qty1}} {{desc1}} {{price1}} {{amount1}} and {{qty2}} {{desc2}} {{price2}} {{amount2}},
//    {{subtotal}}, "Tax ({{taxRate}}):" with {{tax}}, and {{total}}.
oJson := CreateObject("Chilkat.JsonObject")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.customer", "Acme Corp")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.date", "2026-10-18")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.po", "PO-88213")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.qty1", "2")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.desc1", "Cordless drill, 18 V")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.price1", "$460.00")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.amount1", "$920.00")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.qty2", "6")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.desc2", "Galvanized hinge, 4 inch")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.price2", "$12.50")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.amount2", "$75.00")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.subtotal", "$995.00")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.taxRate", "7.35%")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.tax", "$73.13")
oJson:UpdateString("placeholders.total", "$1,068.13")

//  "apply" makes every replacement, or none: if any value cannot be drawn with the
//  template's font, the method returns false, the PDF is unchanged, and jsonOut says why.
oJsonOut := CreateObject("Chilkat.JsonObject")
nSuccess := oPdf:TextReplace("apply", oJson, oJsonOut)
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? "Not applied: " + oJsonOut:Emit()
    IF (nSuccess == 0)
        ? oPdf:LastErrorText
        oPdf:destroy()
        oJson:destroy()
        oJsonOut:destroy()
        RETURN
    ENDIF

ENDIF

//  One entry per placeholder: the pages it was found on and how many times it was replaced.
i := 0
nCount_i := oJsonOut:SizeOfArray("replacements")
DO WHILE i < nCount_i
    oJsonOut:I := i
    ? oJsonOut:StringOf("replacements[i].field") + ": " + Str(oJsonOut:IntOf("replacements[i].count")) + " on page(s) " + oJsonOut:StringOf("replacements[i].pages")
    i := i + 1
ENDDO

//  The replacements stay in memory until the PDF is written.
nSuccess := oPdf:WriteFile("qa_output/invoice_filled.pdf")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oPdf:LastErrorText
    oPdf:destroy()
    oJson:destroy()
    oJsonOut:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

? "Wrote qa_output/invoice_filled.pdf"

//  Sample output:

//  customer: 2 on page(s) 1
//  date: 1 on page(s) 1
//  po: 1 on page(s) 1
//  qty1: 1 on page(s) 1
//  desc1: 1 on page(s) 1
//  price1: 1 on page(s) 1
//  amount1: 1 on page(s) 1
//  qty2: 1 on page(s) 1
//  desc2: 1 on page(s) 1
//  price2: 1 on page(s) 1
//  amount2: 1 on page(s) 1
//  subtotal: 1 on page(s) 1
//  taxRate: 1 on page(s) 1
//  tax: 1 on page(s) 1
//  total: 1 on page(s) 1
//  Wrote qa_output/invoice_filled.pdf

oPdf:destroy()
oJson:destroy()
oJsonOut:destroy()