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Xojo FPDF - Pure Xojo PDF Generation with Full Unicode Support

Jean-Yves POCHEZ Free

Why Another PDF Library?

If you've ever tried to generate PDFs in Xojo with extensive Unicode text (Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, Mathematical symbols, etc.), you know the challenges. While Xojo's built-in PDFDocument class works across platforms, it has significant limitations:

❌ ANSI Encoding Only - No true Unicode support, special characters and CJK languages don't work properly ❌ No Font Subsetting - Embeds entire 20MB font files instead of just the glyphs you use (massive file sizes) ❌ Closed Source - Can't inspect internals, fix bugs, or extend functionality yourself ❌ Limited Extensibility - Harder to customize for advanced PDF features

Xojo FPDF changes everything. 🚀

Get it here : Xojo FPDP on Github

🌟 What Makes Xojo FPDF Special?

✅ Full Unicode Support

// Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Mathematical symbols - ALL WORKING!
pdf.AddUTF8Font("Arial", "", "/path/to/ArialUnicode.ttf")
pdf.SetFont("Arial", "", 14)
pdf.Cell(0, 10, "Hello World! 你好世界! مرحبا بالعالم! שלום עולם!")

✅ Automatic Font Subsetting

Massive file size savings! Our TrueType font subsetter embeds only the glyphs you actually use:

  • 📉 98% size reduction - 20MB Arial Unicode → 400KB subset
  • 🎯 Sparse glyph IDs - Preserves original character encoding
  • ⚡ Automatic - Happens transparently during font embedding
  • 📦 Smaller PDFs - Perfect for web delivery and email

Xojo's PDFDocument embeds entire font files, bloating your PDFs unnecessarily.

✅ 100% Open Source & Pure Xojo

  • No black boxes - Read and modify every line of code
  • No declares - Works everywhere (Desktop, Web, iOS, Console)
  • Community-driven - Contribute features, fix bugs, adapt to your needs
  • Based on proven libraries: go-pdf/fpdf and original PHP FPDF

✅ Cross-Platform by Design

One codebase, four platforms:

  • 🖥️ Desktop (Mac/Windows/Linux)
  • 🌐 Web (Server-side generation)
  • 📱 iOS (Native mobile PDFs)
  • ⚙️ Console (Automated workflows)

90%+ shared code across all platforms!

📦 Current Feature Set (v0.3.0)

Core Features

  • ✅ UTF-8/Unicode - TrueType font support with full Unicode
  • ✅ Multiple Page Formats - A3, A4, A5, Letter, Legal, Custom sizes
  • ✅ Text Methods - Cell, MultiCell, Write, Text with alignment
  • ✅ Graphics Primitives - Line, Rect, Circle, Ellipse, Arc, Bezier curves, Arrows, Polygons
  • ✅ Image Support - JPEG, PNG (RGB/Grayscale/CMYK), programmatic graphics
  • ✅ Colors - RGB for text, fill, and draw operations
  • ✅ Compression - FlateDecode/zlib (27-60% file size reduction, Desktop/Web/Console)
  • ✅ Links & Bookmarks - Internal links, external URLs, hierarchical outlines
  • ✅ Header/Footer Callbacks - Automatic page headers and footers
  • ✅ Metadata - Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Language
  • ✅ PDF/A Compliance - ICC color profiles for archival documents

Advanced Features

  • ✅ Document Encryption - RC4-40 encryption with password protection (free version)
  • ✅ PDF Permissions - Print, copy, modify restrictions (free version with RC4-40)
  • ✅ Custom Page Formats - Define any page dimensions
  • ✅ Printf-Style Formatting - Cellf(), Writef() with %s/%d/%f
  • ✅ Font Metrics - GetFontDesc() for precise typography
  • ✅ Error Accumulation - Go-style error handling (Ok/Err/GetError)

🎯 19 Working Examples

Every feature has a working example that generates a real PDF:

  1. Simple Shapes - Lines, rectangles, circles, Bezier curves, arrows
  2. Text Layouts - Cell, MultiCell, Write with alignment
  3. Multiple Pages - Multi-page documents with various shapes
  4. Line Widths - Different line styles, caps, joins
  5. UTF-8 & TrueType Fonts - Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, Mathematical symbols
  6. Text Measurement - Precise alignment with GetStringWidth()
  7. Document Metadata - Title, Author, Subject, Keywords
  8. Error Handling - Ok(), Err(), GetError() patterns
  9. Image Support - JPEG, PNG files, programmatically drawn graphics
  10. Header/Footer Callbacks - Automatic headers with page count
  11. Links and Bookmarks - TOC, clickable links, PDF outline
  12. Custom Page Formats - Mixed page sizes in one document
  13. PDF/A Compliance - ICC color profiles for archival
  14. Document Encryption - RC4-40 password protection and permissions (free version)
  15. Watermark Header - Semi-transparent background watermarks
  16. Formatting Features - Printf-style formatters, font metrics
  17. Utility Methods - Version info, unit conversions, page size helpers
  18. Plugin Architecture - Premium feature separation
  19. Table Generation - Professional tables with pagination

All examples generate PDFs you can inspect in pdf_examples/ folder!

💎 Premium Modules - Coming Soon

Premium modules are ready! We're finalizing the distribution and licensing system:

🔐 Encryption Premium (Ready)

Free version includes RC4-40 encryption + permissions. Premium adds:

  • ✅ AES-256 - Strongest PDF encryption available (Revisions 5-6)
  • ✅ AES-128 - Modern encryption without Acrobat warnings (Revision 4) - RECOMMENDED
  • ✅ RC4-128 - Enhanced legacy support (Revision 3)
  • 🔒 All encryption levels work with full permission control (print, copy, modify restrictions)

📊 Table Premium (Ready)

  • ✅ SimpleTable - Quick equal-width columns
  • ✅ ImprovedTable - Custom widths, auto number alignment
  • ✅ FancyTable - Styled headers, alternating rows
  • ✅ Multi-Page Tables - Auto page breaks with header repetition
  • ✅ Database Integration - Direct RowSet support from SQLite/PostgreSQL/etc

🗜️ Compression Premium (Ready)

Free version uses system zlib with Declares (Desktop/Web/Console only, iOS blocked)

Premium is 100% pure Xojo code - no declares, works everywhere:

  • ✅ Pure Xojo Zlib - Complete DEFLATE/INFLATE implementation in Xojo
  • ✅ iOS Support - Works on iOS where system zlib is blocked by sandboxing
  • ✅ 60% Smaller PDFs - FlateDecode compression on all platforms
  • ✅ No Dependencies - No system libraries, no declares, fully portable

🔮 PDF/A Premium (Planned)

  • Advanced archival features
  • Automatic compliance validation
  • Long-term preservation support

🧾 E-Invoice Premium (Planned)

  • Factur-X / ZUGFeRD - Hybrid PDF/XML invoices (French/German/EU standard)
  • XML Invoice Embedding - Attach structured XML data to PDF invoices
  • Standards Compliance - EN 16931, PEPPOL, UBL 2.1, CII D16B formats
  • Validation - Automatic invoice structure validation
  • Digital Signatures - Sign embedded invoice data
  • Metadata Extraction - Parse and extract invoice data from hybrid PDFs
  • Multi-Country Support - Adapt to regional e-invoicing requirements

Premium modules are code-complete and fully tested (Encryption, Table, Zlib ready now). E-Invoice and PDF/A modules are in planning phase. We're currently setting up the distribution and licensing system. Expected availability: soon.

💡 Important: Premium modules are delivered as full, unencrypted source code - no black boxes, no compiled libraries. After payment, you receive the complete Xojo source code to inspect, modify, and integrate into your projects. Same transparency as the free version!

💰 Flexible Pricing: Purchase Modules Separately - You don't need to buy all premium modules! Each module (Encryption, Table, Zlib, PDF/A, E-Invoice) can be purchased individually based on your specific needs. Only pay for the features you'll actually use!

Interested in early access? Contact us through this forum thread to discuss beta testing or early licensing.

🚀 Quick Start

// Create document
Dim pdf As New VNSPDFDocument(VNSPDFModule.ePageOrientation.Portrait, _
                              VNSPDFModule.ePageUnit.Millimeters, _
                              VNSPDFModule.ePageFormat.A4)

// Add page
pdf.AddPage()

// Set font (core font)
pdf.SetFont("Helvetica", "", 16)

// Output text
pdf.Cell(0, 10, "Hello from Xojo FPDF!")

// Or use Unicode with TrueType font
pdf.AddUTF8Font("Arial", "", "/System/Library/Fonts/Supplemental/Arial Unicode.ttf")
pdf.SetFont("Arial", "", 14)
pdf.Cell(0, 10, "你好世界! مرحبا بالعالم!")

// Save PDF
If pdf.Ok() Then
  Dim f As FolderItem = SpecialFolder.Desktop.Child("output.pdf")
  Call pdf.SaveToFile(f)
Else
  MsgBox "Error: " + pdf.GetError()
End If

📚 Architecture Highlights

Smart Code Sharing

  • All PDF logic in shared PDF_Library/ folder
  • Platform-specific only for file I/O and UI
  • Conditional compilation for platform differences
  • Module-based organization (VNSPDFModule, VNSPDFExamplesModule)

Clean API Design

  • Consistent naming - All classes prefixed with VNS
  • Go-style error handling - Ok/Err pattern
  • Delegate callbacks - Header/Footer functions
  • Printf formatting - Cellf(), Writef() for convenience
  • Method chaining - Fluent API where appropriate

Reference Implementations

Based on proven libraries with millions of downloads:

  • go-pdf/fpdf (Go) - Primary reference
  • PHP FPDF (PHP) - Original library (2000)

🚧 Known Limitations & Roadmap

We're transparent about what doesn't work yet and our plans to fix it:

Web Platform Limitations

  • ❌ WebChart Embedding - WebChart has protected constructor, cannot be converted to Picture
    • 📋 Planned: Server-side chart rendering using pure Xojo graphics
  • ❌ Color Emoji Support - Server-side Graphics API cannot access system emoji fonts
    • 📋 Planned: Direct font file parsing (SBIX, COLR/CPAL, CBDT/CBLC formats)

iOS Platform Notes

  • ✅ String Functions - All cross-platform differences handled with conditional compilation
  • ✅ File I/O - SpecialFolder.Documents instead of Desktop
  • ✅ Image Handling - JPEG encoding for Picture objects (iOS RGBA→RGB conversion)
  • ⚠️ Compression (Free) - System zlib uses Declares, blocked by iOS sandboxing
    • ✅ Solution: Premium Pure Xojo Zlib (no declares) works perfectly on iOS!

Desktop/Console

  • ✅ No known limitations - All features fully working

Bottom Line: Desktop and Console are 100% feature-complete. Web and iOS have minor limitations with workarounds available or in development.

🏆 November Contest Entry

This project demonstrates:

  • ✅ Innovation - First open-source Unicode PDF library for Xojo
  • ✅ Quality - 19 working examples, cross-platform, well-documented
  • ✅ Practicality - Solves real pain points (Unicode, closed source)
  • ✅ Completeness - Full feature set from fonts to encryption
  • ✅ Community Value - Open source, extensible, educational

Xojo FPDF is production-ready for the free version, with premium modules launching soon!

Xojo FPDF v0.3.0 - Pure Xojo, Full Unicode, Cross-Platform

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