Swift 5 - How to create table in PDF with PDFKit

Question

I have information in UIGraphicsPDFRendererFormat with height 400 and I want to attach a table in it, but I need if the table is bigger than the page to create automatically new pages and continues with the table in the other pages.

I found answers about converting UITableView to PDF, but I don't use UITableView.

I'm going to fill the table with arrays: names:[String] , addresses:[String], money:[Double] The Array Money should be summed automatically at the end of the table.

So how can be drawn and automatically to create new pages, if the content is bigger?

Mcculloch

You can refer..raywenderlich.com/4023941-creating-a-pdf-in-swift-with-pdfkit – Czarevitch

I already passed thru that – Mcculloch

okay , Your question is quite interesting even I would like to know the answer...X0 – Czarevitch

Answer 1

For counting the number of items per page you could use the formula:

pageRectangle.height / rowHeight

and thus find out number of elements per page. Optionally you could subtract the top and bottom indents also. And it should look like the next:

You could find the example project below, that answers your question in detail (put it into a created project's ViewController)

import UIKit
import PDFKit

// Mock data
let names = ["Jenice Littler", "Marianna Harned", "Rosendo Laubach", "Lawrence Ritchie", "Dolores Mcnelly", "Jarred Edens", "Lakia Harten", "Jannette Duer", "Johnny Stinger", "Olympia Mclane", "Manda Kersh", "Clint Muller", "Anjanette Simkins", "Genny Mayhew", "Bonny Risser", "Bridgette Groth", "Glenda Mirarchi", "Omar Ashbrook", "Deedee Luker", "Caitlyn Borgeson", "Arden Maloy", "Orval Esper", "Carole Wendland", "Tiffanie Popp", "Whitley Davie", "Janett Carrara", "Rosia Stalvey", "Taunya Pinkney", "Bertram Hemmingway", "Dalia Hulett", "Alejandrina Heinz", "Marlena Goold", "Randa Cornish", "Nicolette Drexler", "Christi Collinson", "Harris Pesina", "Natasha Sommers", "Terrance Jarboe", "Avery Prouty", "Louise Shire", "Corrie Kapinos", "Bao Milstead", "Tran Mcpeak", "Cody Dewald", "Paris Newkirk", "Felisha Verona", "Milo Eno", "Nicole Bryand", "Anya Wierenga", "Dinah Levitsky"]

let addresses = ["667 Gates St. Paterson, NJ 07501", "6 Riverside Court Ellicott City, MD 21042", "282 Philmont Street Howell, NJ 07731", "120 N. Lake View Drive Wheaton, IL 60187", "748 S. Riverview St. Chapel Hill, NC 27516", "7038 Bridle Road Pottstown, PA 19464", "84 South Peninsula Dr. Merrick, NY 11566", "65 Blackburn Drive West Islip, NY 11795", "3 Whitemarsh Street Piscataway, NJ 08854", "8559 Mayfield Lane Taylor, MI 48180", "51 St Margarets Dr. Phoenixville, PA 19460", "224 East Bridgeton Circle Billings, MT 59101", "7 Arlington Drive Boca Raton, FL 33428", "74 Jennings St. Irwin, PA 15642", "9257 Mill Pond Street Painesville, OH 44077", "447 Rockaway Ave. Des Plaines, IL 60016", "34 Princess St. Waldorf, MD 20601", "8486 West Glen Creek Ave. Amsterdam, NY 12010", "748 Summer Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90008", "31 Victoria Lane Latrobe, PA 15650", "838 Central Ave. Utica, NY 13501", "123 Vine Rd. Lawndale, CA 90260", "632 Del Monte Dr. Williamstown, NJ 08094", "8626 Country Drive Williamsport, PA 17701", "4 Vermont St. Elizabethtown, PA 17022", "7752 Laurel Lane Ambler, PA 19002", "828 Creek Dr. Biloxi, MS 39532", "7950 South Pennsylvania Ave. Hollywood, FL 33020", "7645 Tunnel Ave. Culpeper, VA 22701", "199 Hudson St. Kaukauna, WI 54130", "689 Berkshire St. Apple Valley, CA 92307", "97A Lyme Ave. Janesville, WI 53546", "134 Cedarwood St. Middleton, WI 53562", "738 Coffee Street Elizabethton, TN 37643", "569 College Drive Buffalo, NY 14215", "87 Front Street State College, PA 16801", "8069 Kirkland Drive Portage, IN 46368", "48 Eagle Ave. Elmont, NY 11003", "833 Virginia Ave. Encino, CA 91316", "662 Boston Court Staten Island, NY 10301", "7233 Devonshire Court New Brunswick, NJ 08901", "65 Virginia Drive Seattle, WA 98144", "388 Sierra St. Middleburg, FL 32068", "641 SW. Gulf St. Waterbury, CT 06705", "8279 Mill Pond St. Staunton, VA 24401", "56 Deerfield St. Cranberry Twp, PA 16066", "9289 Hilldale Ave. Lakeland, FL 33801", "7486 Poplar St. Brainerd, MN 56401", "2 Berkshire Road Missoula, MT 59801", "160 Kirkland Ave. Clifton Park, NY 12065"]

let money = [55.08, 87.75, 72.00, 96.79, 17.07, 85.36, 75.44, 70.35, 28.39, 46.17, 84.70, 37.47, 23.22, 97.98, 56.23, 47.89, 40.56, 86.50, 30.93, 50.15, 22.19, 95.70, 26.48, 79.48, 15.27, 15.00, 45.36, 88.26, 11.49, 48.96, 58.58, 56.04, 95.31, 21.56, 63.44, 90.83, 22.12, 88.17, 19.75, 30.65, 47.00, 39.82, 26.83, 91.12, 54.61, 35.06, 16.54, 78.64, 90.66, 41.81]

struct TableDataItem {
    let name: String
    let address: String
    let money: Double

    init(name: String, address: String, money: Double) {
        self.name = name
        self.address = address
        self.money = money
    }
}

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    var pdfView: PDFView!

    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        createUI()
        createPDF()
    }

    func createUI() {
        pdfView = PDFView()
        pdfView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        view.addSubview(pdfView)
        pdfView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.topAnchor).isActive = true
        pdfView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor).isActive = true
        pdfView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor).isActive = true
        pdfView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.bottomAnchor).isActive = true
    }

    func createPDF() {
        var tableDataItems = [TableDataItem]()
        for itemIndex in 0..<names.count {
            tableDataItems.append(TableDataItem(name: names[itemIndex], address: addresses[itemIndex], money: money[itemIndex]))
        }
        let sumItem = money.reduce(0, +)
        tableDataItems.append(TableDataItem(name: "", address: "sum:", money: sumItem))
        let tableDataHeaderTitles =  ["name", "address", "money"]
        let pdfCreator = PDFCreator(tableDataItems: tableDataItems, tableDataHeaderTitles: tableDataHeaderTitles)

        let data = pdfCreator.create()
        pdfView.document = PDFDocument(data: data)
        pdfView.autoScales = true
    }

}

// inspired by Paul Hudson
extension Array {
    func chunkedElements(into size: Int) -> [[Element]] {
        return stride(from: 0, to: count, by: size).map {
            Array(self[$0 ..< Swift.min($0 + size, count)])
        }
    }
}

class PDFCreator: NSObject {
    let defaultOffset: CGFloat = 20
    let tableDataHeaderTitles: [String]
    let tableDataItems: [TableDataItem]

    init(tableDataItems: [TableDataItem], tableDataHeaderTitles: [String]) {
        self.tableDataItems = tableDataItems
        self.tableDataHeaderTitles = tableDataHeaderTitles
    }

    func create() -> Data {
        // default page format
        let pageWidth = 8.5 * 72.0
        let pageHeight = 11 * 72.0
        let pageRect = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: pageWidth, height: pageHeight)
        let renderer = UIGraphicsPDFRenderer(bounds: pageRect, format: UIGraphicsPDFRendererFormat())

        let numberOfElementsPerPage = calculateNumberOfElementsPerPage(with: pageRect)
        let tableDataChunked: [[TableDataItem]] = tableDataItems.chunkedElements(into: numberOfElementsPerPage)

        let data = renderer.pdfData { context in
            for tableDataChunk in tableDataChunked {
                context.beginPage()
                let cgContext = context.cgContext
                drawTableHeaderRect(drawContext: cgContext, pageRect: pageRect)
                drawTableHeaderTitles(titles: tableDataHeaderTitles, drawContext: cgContext, pageRect: pageRect)
                drawTableContentInnerBordersAndText(drawContext: cgContext, pageRect: pageRect, tableDataItems: tableDataChunk)
            }
        }
        return data
    }

    func calculateNumberOfElementsPerPage(with pageRect: CGRect) -> Int {
        let rowHeight = (defaultOffset * 3)
        let number = Int((pageRect.height - rowHeight) / rowHeight)
        return number
    }
}

// Drawings
extension PDFCreator {
    func drawTableHeaderRect(drawContext: CGContext, pageRect: CGRect) {
        drawContext.saveGState()
        drawContext.setLineWidth(3.0)

        // Draw header's 1 top horizontal line
        drawContext.move(to: CGPoint(x: defaultOffset, y: defaultOffset))
        drawContext.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: pageRect.width - defaultOffset, y: defaultOffset))
        drawContext.strokePath()

        // Draw header's 1 bottom horizontal line
        drawContext.move(to: CGPoint(x: defaultOffset, y: defaultOffset * 3))
        drawContext.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: pageRect.width - defaultOffset, y: defaultOffset * 3))
        drawContext.strokePath()

        // Draw header's 3 vertical lines
        drawContext.setLineWidth(2.0)
        drawContext.saveGState()
        let tabWidth = (pageRect.width - defaultOffset * 2) / CGFloat(3)
        for verticalLineIndex in 0..<4 {
            let tabX = CGFloat(verticalLineIndex) * tabWidth
            drawContext.move(to: CGPoint(x: tabX + defaultOffset, y: defaultOffset))
            drawContext.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: tabX + defaultOffset, y: defaultOffset * 3))
            drawContext.strokePath()
        }

        drawContext.restoreGState()
    }

    func drawTableHeaderTitles(titles: [String], drawContext: CGContext, pageRect: CGRect) {
        // prepare title attributes
        let textFont = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 16.0, weight: .medium)
        let paragraphStyle = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
        paragraphStyle.alignment = .center
        paragraphStyle.lineBreakMode = .byWordWrapping
        let titleAttributes = [
            NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle: paragraphStyle,
            NSAttributedString.Key.font: textFont
        ]

        // draw titles
        let tabWidth = (pageRect.width - defaultOffset * 2) / CGFloat(3)
        for titleIndex in 0..<titles.count {
            let attributedTitle = NSAttributedString(string: titles[titleIndex].capitalized, attributes: titleAttributes)
            let tabX = CGFloat(titleIndex) * tabWidth
            let textRect = CGRect(x: tabX + defaultOffset,
                                  y: defaultOffset * 3 / 2,
                                  width: tabWidth,
                                  height: defaultOffset * 2)
            attributedTitle.draw(in: textRect)
        }
    }

    func drawTableContentInnerBordersAndText(drawContext: CGContext, pageRect: CGRect, tableDataItems: [TableDataItem]) {
        drawContext.setLineWidth(1.0)
        drawContext.saveGState()

        let defaultStartY = defaultOffset * 3

        for elementIndex in 0..<tableDataItems.count {
            let yPosition = CGFloat(elementIndex) * defaultStartY + defaultStartY

            // Draw content's elements texts
            let textFont = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 13.0, weight: .regular)
            let paragraphStyle = NSMutableParagraphStyle()
            paragraphStyle.alignment = .center
            paragraphStyle.lineBreakMode = .byWordWrapping
            let textAttributes = [
                NSAttributedString.Key.paragraphStyle: paragraphStyle,
                NSAttributedString.Key.font: textFont
            ]
            let tabWidth = (pageRect.width - defaultOffset * 2) / CGFloat(3)
            for titleIndex in 0..<3 {
                var attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: "", attributes: textAttributes)
                switch titleIndex {
                case 0: attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: tableDataItems[elementIndex].name, attributes: textAttributes)
                case 1: attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: tableDataItems[elementIndex].address, attributes: textAttributes)
                case 2: attributedText = NSAttributedString(string: String(format: "%.2f", tableDataItems[elementIndex].money), attributes: textAttributes)
                default:
                    break
                }
                let tabX = CGFloat(titleIndex) * tabWidth
                let textRect = CGRect(x: tabX + defaultOffset,
                                      y: yPosition + defaultOffset,
                                      width: tabWidth,
                                      height: defaultOffset * 3)
                attributedText.draw(in: textRect)
            }

            // Draw content's 3 vertical lines
            for verticalLineIndex in 0..<4 {
                let tabX = CGFloat(verticalLineIndex) * tabWidth
                drawContext.move(to: CGPoint(x: tabX + defaultOffset, y: yPosition))
                drawContext.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: tabX + defaultOffset, y: yPosition + defaultStartY))
                drawContext.strokePath()
            }

            // Draw content's element bottom horizontal line
            drawContext.move(to: CGPoint(x: defaultOffset, y: yPosition + defaultStartY))
            drawContext.addLine(to: CGPoint(x: pageRect.width - defaultOffset, y: yPosition + defaultStartY))
            drawContext.strokePath()
        }
        drawContext.restoreGState()
    }
}

Used materials:

• project inspiration by RayWenderlich.com tutorial
• random names: http://listofrandomnames.com
• random addresses: https://www.randomlists.com
• random money: Float.random(in: 9...99)

Cattalo

I'm changing drawTableHeaderTitles , because I want the fields not to be with equal width. So I'm setting the vertical lines like this: CGPoint(x: pageRect.width/2.5 + pageStartX,... where pageStartX is 30, but when I place the titles: CGRect(x: pageRect.width/2.5 + pageStartX.... The title is not close to the line. I think this is happening, because the line use CGPoint and the label use CGRect. Is there a conversion? Or how to get the CGRect of the line ? – Mcculloch

Actually, NSAttributedString could be drawn in both: draw(in: CGRect) and draw(at: CGPoint). Please, see this gist and the result should be like this. Is it what you've been asking for? – Cattalo

Nice! I didn't know. Thank you very much for the answer and the comment! Happy holidays!!! :) – Mcculloch

It is a pleasure to help) I wish happy holidays to you too :) – Cattalo

Accept me in LinkedIn to talk with you about Sygic. I can give you an idea about maps, which is not developed yet :) – Mcculloch