FAQ

General

What skills must I have to use PL/PDF?

What kind of objects can I use in a PDF using PL/PDF?

What is the structure of the program that creates the PDF file?

What can I do with the generated PDF file?

Can I produce PDF documents at specific intervals or at specific times?

What sort of visual objects can be included in the PDF document?

Install

What are the system requirements for PL/PDF?

Can I use PL/PDF with Oracle Express Edition?

Java

What are the restrictions when I choose not to use Java?

If I use PL/PDF without Java then how can I include images that are not JPEG (type APP0)?

Character Set

What kind of character sets does PL/PDF support?

Must I set a default character set?

Font

What fonts can I use to display text in a generated PDF?

Acrobat Reader

What version of Acrobat Reader can I use to view PDF documents generated by PL/PDF?

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General

What skills must I have to use PL/PDF?

Because PL/PDF uses Oracle’s PL/SQL language, the knowledge of PL/SQL is required.

What kind of objects can I use in a PDF using PL/PDF?

Any object that can be stored in an Oracle database can be used in PL/PDF. Text, numeric data and dates stored in columns as well as images and files stored in BLOB columns can be used.

What is the structure of the program that creates the PDF file?

The program must create PL/PDF using the PL/SQL language. A simple structure should have:

Initialization
Assembly of the contents of the PDF document
Sending the document to it’s destination (database or web browser)

What can I do with the generated PDF file?

PL/PDF returns the PDF file in a BLOB variable. This return value can be used in the following way:

Store the BLOB variable containing the PDF file in the database to display later or to archive.
Display the PDF file in a browser using a Web Server that has MOD_PLSQL capabilities.
Send the PDF file as an e-mail using PL/SQL’s mail extension.
Save the PDF file to a computer.

A combination of these usages is possible.

Can I produce PDF documents at specific intervals or at specific times?

The Oracle database contains the DBMS_JOB package with which PL/SQL packages can be called at specific intervals and times. DBMS_JOB can be used to call PL/PDF packages.

What sort of visual objects can be included in the PDF document?

Line
Circle, ellipse, sector
Rectangle
Polygon
Picture
Attached file

Using the extended packages of PL/PDF:

Diagram
- Bar
- Line
- Pie
Bar code (no need for bar code fonts!)
- Code 39
- EAN13
- UPC-A
- 2 of 5 interleaved code
- PDF417

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Install

What are the system requirements for PL/PDF?

An Oracle RDBMS is necessary for PL/PDF. Database requirement: Oracle 9i Release 2 and up (including Express Edition). PL/PDF is written in PL/SQL that is available in all database versions. A number of functions use integrated Java components, but PL/PDF can function without these as well. We recommend using the integrated Java components.

Can I use PL/PDF with Oracle Express Edition?

Yes, but because Oracle XE does not contain the integrated Java components, the restrictions detailed in the Java section apply.

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Java

What are the restrictions when I choose not to use Java?

PL/PDF uses Java for the following functions:

Compression of the created PDF document.
Conversion of various formats of images using Oracle InterMedia.

Therefore, if Java is not used:

The created PDF documents will be larger in size.
Only standard JPEG (type APP0) images can be included in the PDF document.

As of version 2.0.0, native support for the PNG image format is introduced, so PNG images can be used without Intermedia/Java. Also, a PL/SQL based compression is now available, so Java is not needed for that either.

If I use PL/PDF without Java then how can I include images that are not JPEG (type APP0)?

In this case the images must be converted by the user. IrfanView is a good tool to use to convert images.

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Character Set

What kind of character sets does PL/PDF support?

Single byte
AL32UTF8 Unicode

For single byte: According to the Adobe PDF specification, characters are encoded using cp1252 in a PDF document. If the database uses a different encoding, then the user needs to either set the default encoding or use the SetEncoding command in PL/PDF to adjust the encoding used.

For Unicode: If the database uses Unicode character sets, then there are two possibilities:

If only one encoding is used throughout the whole PDF, then the same character sets can be used as with the single byte character sets. In this case PL/PDF converts the text to the single byte character set and then includes it in the PDF document. When PL/PDF finds a character that is not in the character set selected then a ‘?’ is displayed instead of the character.
When multiple encoding standards are used in a PDF document, then the TTF font for the appropriate encoding must be embedded and ‘utf16’ encoding must be used. The size of the resulting PDF file will be larger because of the TTF embedding.

Must I set a default character set?

It is not necessary to set the default character set. However, if in general only one character set is used, then the creation of PDF takes a lot less time by using default encoding.

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Font

What fonts can I use to display text in a generated PDF?

Adobe includes standard fonts:

Helvetica (Arial, Sans Serif)
Courier
Times (Serif)
Symbol
ZapfDingBats

Also, PL/PDF allows users to use TTF (True Type Fonts). When a TTF font is used it is important to note that:

The PDF file created will larger in size, because the font file needs to be embedded.
Always choose TTF fonts that contain the national characters to be used.

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Acrobat Reader

What version of Acrobat Reader can I use to view PDF documents generated by PL/PDF?

PL/PDF supports Adobe’s PDF Specification v1.3, therefore Acrobat Reader 4 is a minimum requirement for viewing PDF files generated by PL/PDF. Any later version of Acrobat Reader can also be used.

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