Populate a PDF form with multiple rows

Question

I'm not sure if this has been answered yet, I looked but didn't know what the best search terms would be.

I have a pdf form that I'd like to populate from the database using DBFront. I can already do that part, no problem, but I'm having a hard time figuring out if there's a way to populate multiple rows into the PDF.

I.E. I can't prebuild the pdf form with the number of rows, because the number of rows changes depending on the database query results.
Is there a way to do this and I'm just not aware? Or do I need to use a more database centric reporting tool like crystal reports?

For example, I'm building a small payroll timesheet reporter, depending on the department, it will have a different number of employees thus a different number of rows. The columns are always the same, but the rows may change.

thanks,
-Steve Hare

Answer 1

Good morning Steve,

The short answer is that a PDF form is not intended for the scenario you describe. It may be possible to get close using a Joined view that summarizes multiple results and returns that as a single field but you will still have issues with formatting the data and the fact that the PDF won't reflow.

The solution would be to create either a Quick Report, a Crystal Report or something similar using a different reporting tools.

I am available to help with that if required.