[ic] PDF generated invoices etc.

[David Christensen]

> I am wondering which applications would work best for generating
> complex pdf invoices, preferably on the fly.

As an addendum, another approach we've taken has been to pre-generate  
a PDF with an editable form embedded, and then process through a  
toolchain which feeds in the data to the appropriate fields and  
flatten the resulting form into regular text fields in the PDF  
document.  (I believe we used PDF::FDF::Simple and pdftk to do the  
respective parts.)

If the changing fields in the document are fixed, this can be a good  
compromise, as the source PDF can be created by any document system  
that can generate it; additionally the layout/formatting information  
for each of the text fields can be set, making it easy to separate  
layout from content.  However, this approach will fall down when the  
number/types of fields on the page are variable (such as an invoice  
with a varying number of sub-items), so this may or may not be viable  
for your needs.  You will also need a program that can create the  
editable form in the PDF itself.  I just ended up using Acrobat, not  
sure what's out there in the OSS arena.

Regards,

David
--
David Christensen
End Point Corporation
david at endpoint.com