dlex-layout

Use the dlex-layout endpoint with one of DynamicPDF's client libraries to create PDF reports from DLEX files.

The dlex-layout endpoint is for creating PDF reports from DLEX files. The endpoint consists of two form field parameters and returns a PDF document. The dlex-layout endpoint uses a DLEX file combined with JSON data to create PDF reports. It is an HTTP POST command that submits a form.

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info

Refer to the following Users Guide page if you need more information illustrating how to call the endpoint directly as a REST call.

Calling the dlex-layout endpoint using REST (dlex-layout REST API).

API

The dlex-layout endpoint uses JSON layout data and a DLEX file to create a resultant PDF. Layout data can come from a file, a string, or a serializable object (Java, C#).

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The dlex-layout endpoint is represented in the client library using the DlexLayout class. A DlexLayout class takes a path to the DLEX data and a LayoutDataResource instance. The DlexLayout class also has an overloaded constructor that takes a path to a resource residing on your local system; however, it requires using a DlexResource instance. The LayoutDataResource instance can take an object, a path to the layout data, or the layout data as a string.

public class DlexLayout : Endpoint
{
    public DlexLayout(string cloudDlexPath, LayoutDataResource layoutData);
    public DlexLayout(DlexResource dlexResource, LayoutDataResource layoutData);
    public string DlexPath;
    public PdfResponse Process();
    public Task<PdfResponse> ProcessAsync();
}

public class LayoutDataResource : Resource
{
//
// Summary:
//     Initializes a new instance of the DynamicPDF.Api.LayoutDataResource class using
//     the layout data object and a resource name.
//
// Parameters:
//   layoutData:
//     Serializable object data to create PDF report.
//
//   layoutDataResourceName:
//     The name for layout data resource.
public LayoutDataResource(object layoutData, string layoutDataResourceName = null);
//
// Summary:
//     Initializes a new instance of the DynamicPDF.Api.LayoutDataResource class using
//     a JSON file with data and a resource name.
//
// Parameters:
//   layoutData:
//     The layout data JSON file path or JSON string.
//
//   layoutDataResourceName:
//     The name for layout data resource.
public LayoutDataResource(string layoutData, string layoutDataResourceName = null);       
}

Source: DlexLayout.cs Source: LayoutDataResource.cs

danger

When passing string data to LayoutDataResource, you must pass a Buffer not a string. If you pass a string then LayoutDataResource interprets the string as a filepath.

var fileData = fs.readFileSync("C:/temp/data.json");
var layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(fileData);

/**
 * Represents a Dlex layout endpoint.
 */
export class DlexLayout extends Endpoint {

    resource;

    #form;

    _Resources = [];

    /** Gets or sets the DLEX file path present in the resource manager. */
    dlexPath;

    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the < see cref="DlexLayout"/> class using the 
       DLEX file path present in the cloud environment and the JSON data for the PDF report.
     * @param {string} cloudDlexPath The DLEX file path present in the resource manager
     * @param {LayoutDataResource} layoutData The `LayoutDataResource` json data file used to create the PDF report.
     * @param {DlexResource} dlexResource The DLEX file and the JSON data file from the client to the API to create the PDF report.*/
   
    constructor(dlex, layoutData) {

Source: DlexLayout.js Source: LayoutDataResource.js

public class DlexLayout extends Endpoint
{
    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the <code>DlexLayout</code> class using the 
     * DLEX file path present in the cloud environment and the JSON data for the PDF report.
     * @param cloudDlexPath The DLEX file path present in the resource manager.
     * @param layoutData The <code>LayoutDataResource</code>, json data file used to create the PDF report.
     */
    public DlexLayout(String cloudDlexPath, LayoutDataResource layoutData) { 
        super();        
        dlexPath = cloudDlexPath;
        this.resource = layoutData;
    }

    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the <code>DlexInput</code> class by posting the 
     * DLEX file and the JSON data file from the client to the API to create the PDF report.
     * @param dlexResource The <code>DlexResource</code> dlex file created as per the desired PDF report design.
     * @param layoutData The <code>LayoutDataResource</code>, json data file used to create the PDF report.
     */
    public DlexLayout(DlexResource dlexResource, LayoutDataResource layoutData) { 
        super();
        getResources().add(dlexResource);
        this.resource = layoutData;
    }
}

public class LayoutDataResource extends Resource {
    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the <code>LayoutDataResource</code> class 
     * using a JSON file with data and a resource name.
     * @param layoutData The layout data JSON file path or JSON string.
     * @param layoutDataResourceName The name for layout data resource.
     */
    public LayoutDataResource(Object layoutData, String layoutDataResourceName);
    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the <code>LayoutDataResource</code> class 
     * using the layout data object.
     * @param layoutData Serializable object data to create PDF report.
     */
    public LayoutDataResource(Object layoutData);
    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the <code>LayoutDataResource</code> class 
     * using a JSON file with data and a resource name.
     * @param layoutData The layout data JSON file path or JSON string.
     * @param layoutDataResourceName The name for layout data resource.
     */
    public LayoutDataResource(String layoutData, String layoutDataResourceName);
    /**
     * Initializes a new instance of the <code>LayoutDataResource</code> class 
     * using a JSON file with data.
     * @param layoutData The layout data JSON file path or JSON string.
     */
    public LayoutDataResource(String layoutData);
    }
}

Source: DlexLayout.java Source: LayoutDataResource.java

class DlexLayout extends Endpoint
{
    public function __construct(string $cloudDlexPath, LayoutDataResource $layoutData
    public $DlexPath;
    public function Process(): PdfResponse;
}
                                
class LayoutDataResource extends Resource
{
     /**
     *
     * Initializes a new instance of the LayoutDataResource
     * class using the layout data object and a resource name.
     *
     * @param  object|string $layout Serializable object data to create PDF 
     * report or the layout data JSON file path.
     * @param  string $layoutDataResourceName The name for layout data resource.
     */
    public function __construct($layout = null, string $layoutDataResourceName = null)
}

Source: DlexLayout.php Source: LayoutDataResource.php

func NewDlexEndpoint(cloudDlexPath string, resource resource.LayoutDataResource) *Dlex

type LayoutDataResource struct {
    Resource
}

/*
 * Initializes a new instance of the `LayoutDataResource` class
 * using the layout data object and a resource name.
 * @param {string }The layout data JSON file path.
 * @param {string} layoutDataResourceName The name for layout data resource.
 */
func NewLayoutDataResource(filepath string, layoutdataresourcename string) LayoutDataResource

Source: DlexLayout.go Source: layoutdata.go

class DlexLayout(Endpoint):
    '''
    Represents a Dlex layout endpoint.
    '''

    def __init__(self,cloud_dlex_path, layout_data):
        '''
        Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="DlexLayout"/> class using the 
        DLEX file path present in the cloud environment and the JSON data for the PDF report.

        Args:
            cloudDlexPath (string): The DLEX file path present in the resource manager
            layoutData (LayoutDataResource): The LayoutDataResource json data file used to create the PDF report.

Source: dlex_layout.py Source: layout_data_resource.py

Example

A complete example using JSON data from a file is available via one of the following GitHub projects depending upon the language you wish to use.

info

Do not be misled into thinking layout data must be a file. In a production setting you will usually generate layout data dynamically and then send it to the DynamicPDF client library as a string buffer or serializable object hierarchy. Refer to the relevant client library's example project on GitHub for example projects using a string buffer or serializable object hierarchy. The following table list the relevant classes on GitHub.

Language	GitHub Users Guide Project	Class/File	Location/Package/Namespace
C#	https://github.com/dynamicpdf-api/dotnet-client-examples	`Program.cs`, `Program.cs`	`DlexLayout`, `DlexLayoutObjectExample`
Go	https://github.com/dynamicpdf-api/go-client	`dlex-layout-example.go`	`go-client-examples`
Java	https://github.com/dynamicpdf-api/java-client-examples	`DlexLayoutExample.java`, `DlexLayoutExampleString.java`, `DlexLayoutExampleObject.java`	`com.dynamicpdf.api.examples`
Node.js	https://github.com/dynamicpdf-api/nodejs-client-examples	`DlexLayoutExample.js`, `DlexLayoutStringBufferExample.js`	`nodejs-client-examples`
PHP	https://github.com/dynamicpdf-api/php-client-examples	`DlexLayoutExample.js`, `DlexLayoutString.php`	`php-client-examples`
Python	https://github.com/dynamicpdf-api/python-client-examples	`DlexLayoutExample.py`	`python-client-examples`

Obtain the resources used by the example from the DynamicPDF API File Manager.

Figure 1. The resources for the dlex-layout code examples.

In the following examples, the processing steps and syntax are consistent across languages. Each client library has the following classes.

The LayoutDataResource holds the JSON dataset used by the DLEX file to create the finished report.
The DlexLayout instance holds the DLEX file containing and the LayoutDataResource instance.
The DlexLayout instance calls the Process method and, if successful, returns a PdfResponse containing the completed PDF.

The following example illustrates using layout data from a JSON file. It also illustrates using a DLEX file in the cloud and a local DLEX file.

danger

If your DLEX file has embedded resources such as images, then you must include them as an additional resource.

info

Refer to the DlexLayoutObjectExample project in dotnet-client-examples on GitHub for an example using a simple serializable object.

public static void RunFromCloud(string apiKey, string basePath, string outputPath)
{
    LayoutDataResource layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(basePath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    DlexLayout dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout("samples/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", layoutData);
    dlexEndpoint.ApiKey = apiKey;
    PdfResponse response = dlexEndpoint.Process();

    if (response.IsSuccessful)
    {
        File.WriteAllBytes(outputPath + "/csharp-dlex-layout-example-output.pdf", response.Content);
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine(response.ErrorJson);
    }
}

public static void RunFromLocal(string apiKey, string basePath, string outputPath)
{
    LayoutDataResource layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(basePath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    DlexResource dlexResource = new DlexResource(basePath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex");
    DlexLayout dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout(dlexResource , layoutData);
    dlexEndpoint.AddAdditionalResource(basePath + "NorthwindLogo.gif", "NorthwindLogo.gif");
    dlexEndpoint.ApiKey = apiKey;
    PdfResponse response = dlexEndpoint.Process();

    if (response.IsSuccessful)
    {
        File.WriteAllBytes(outputPath + "/csharp-dlex-layout-local-example-output.pdf", response.Content);
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine(response.ErrorJson);
    }
}

Source: DlexLayoutExample

The following example illustrates using layout data from a JSON file. It also illustrates using a DLEX file in the cloud and a local DLEX file.

danger

If your DLEX file has embedded resources such as images, then you must include them as an additional resource.

info

Refer to DlexLayoutStringBufferExample.js in the nodejs-client-examples project on GitHub for examples using JSON data from serializable objects.

static async RunFromCloud(apiKey, localPath) {
    var layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(localPath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    var dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout("samples/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", layoutData);
    dlexEndpoint.apiKey = apiKey;

     var res = await dlexEndpoint.process();
        
     if (res.isSuccessful) {
        var outFile = localPath + "nodejs-dlex-layout-example-output.pdf";
        var outStream = fs.createWriteStream(outFile);
        outStream.write(res.content);
        outStream.close();
     } else {
        console.log(res.errorJson);
     }
}

static async RunFromLocal(apiKey, localPath) {
    var layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(localPath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    var dlexResource = new DlexResource(localPath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex");
    var dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout(dlexResource, layoutData);
    dlexEndpoint.dlexAdditionalResource(localPath + "NorthwindLogo.gif", "NorthwindLogo.gif");
    dlexEndpoint.apiKey = apiKey;

    var res = await dlexEndpoint.process();
        
    if (res.isSuccessful) {
        var outFile = localPath + "nodejs-dlex-layout-example-local-output.pdf";
        var outStream = fs.createWriteStream(outFile);
        outStream.write(res.content);
        outStream.close();
    } else {
        console.log(res.errorJson);
    }
}

Source: DlexLayoutExample.js

The following example illustrates using layout data from a JSON file. It also illustrates using a DLEX file in the cloud and a local DLEX file.

danger

If your DLEX file has embedded resources such as images, then you must include them as an additional resource.

info

Refer to DlexLayoutExampleObject.java in the java-client-examples project on GitHub for examples using JSON data from serializable objects.

public static void RunFromCloud(String apiKey, String basePath) {
    LayoutDataResource layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(basePath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    DlexLayout dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout("samples/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", layoutData);
    dlexEndpoint.setApiKey(apiKey);
    PdfResponse response = dlexEndpoint.process();
          
    if (response.getIsSuccessful()==true) {
        try {
            FileUtils.writeByteArrayToFile(new File(basePath + "java-dlex-layout-output.pdf"), 
            (byte[])response.getContent());
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    } else {   System.out.println(PrettyPrintUtility.prettyPrintJSON(response.getErrorJson()));
           }
}

public static void RunFromLocal(String apiKey, String basePath) {
    LayoutDataResource layoutData = new LayoutDataResource(basePath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    DlexResource dlexResource = new DlexResource(basePath + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex");
    DlexLayout dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout(dlexResource, layoutData);
    dlexEndpoint.addAdditionalResource(basePath + "NorthwindLogo.gif", "NorthwindLogo.gif");
          
    dlexEndpoint.setApiKey(apiKey);
    PdfResponse response = dlexEndpoint.process();
          
    if (response.getIsSuccessful()==true) {
        try {
            FileUtils.writeByteArrayToFile(new File(basePath + "java-dlex-layout-local-output.pdf"), 
            (byte[])response.getContent());
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    } else {      System.out.println(PrettyPrintUtility.prettyPrintJSON(response.getErrorJson()));
           }
}

Source: DlexLayoutExample.java

danger

If your DLEX file has embedded resources such as images, then you must include them as an additional resource.

The following example illustrates using layout data from a JSON file. It also illustrates using a DLEX file in the cloud and a local DLEX file.

public static function RunCloud(string $apikey, string $path, string $output_path)
{
    $layoutData = new LayoutDataResource($path . "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    $dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout("samples/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", $layoutData);
    $dlexEndpoint->ApiKey = $apikey;
    $response = $dlexEndpoint->Process();
    if($response->IsSuccessful)
    {
        file_put_contents($output_path . "php-dlex-layout-example-output.pdf", $response->Content);
    } else { 
        echo($response->ErrorJson);
    }  
}

public static function RunLocal(string $apikey, string $path, string $output_path)
{
    $layoutData = new LayoutDataResource($path . "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json");
    $dlexResource = new DlexResource($path . "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex");
    $dlexEndpoint = new DlexLayout($dlexResource, $layoutData);
    $dlexEndpoint->AddAdditionalResource($path . "NorthwindLogo.gif", "NorthwindLogo.gif");
    $dlexEndpoint->ApiKey = $apikey;
    $response = $dlexEndpoint->Process();
    if($response->IsSuccessful)
    {
        file_put_contents($output_path . "php-dlex-layout-local-example-output.pdf", $response->Content);
    } else { 
        echo($response->ErrorJson);
    }  
}

Source: DlexLayoutExample.php

The following example illustrates using layout data from a JSON file. It also illustrates using a DLEX file in the cloud and a local DLEX file.

danger

If your DLEX file has embedded resources such as images, then you must include them as an additional resource.

func processCloud() {
    layoutDataResource := resource.NewLayoutDataResource("./resources/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json")

    layoutData := endpoint.NewDlexEndpoint("samples/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", layoutDataResource)
    layoutData.Endpoint.BaseUrl = "https://api.dpdf.io/"
    layoutData.Endpoint.ApiKey = "DP.--api-key--"
    resp := layoutData.Process()

    res := <-resp

    if res.IsSuccessful() == true {
        os.WriteFile("./output/dlex-layout-output.pdf", res.Content().Bytes(), os.ModeType)
    } else {
        fmt.Println("errorId: " + res.ErrorId().String())
        fmt.Println("errorMsg: " + res.ErrorMessage())
        fmt.Println("Failed with error json: " + res.ErrorJson())
    }
}

func processLocal() {
    layoutDataResource := resource.NewLayoutDataResource("./resources/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json")

    theDlexResource := resource.NewDlexResourceWithPath("./resources/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex")


    layoutData := endpoint.NewDlexEndpointWithResource(*theDlexResource, layoutDataResource)

    additionalResource := endpoint.NewDlexWithAdditionalResource("./resources/dlex-layout/NorthwindLogo.gif", "NorthwindLogo.gif")

    layoutData.Resources = append(layoutData.Resources, additionalResource);

    layoutData.Endpoint.BaseUrl = "https://api.dpdf.io/"
    layoutData.Endpoint.ApiKey = "DP--api-key--"
    resp := layoutData.Process()

    res := <-resp

    if res.IsSuccessful() == true {
        os.WriteFile("./output/dlex-layout-local-output.pdf", res.Content().Bytes(), os.ModeType)
    } else {
        fmt.Println("errorId: " + res.ErrorId().String())
        fmt.Println("errorMsg: " + res.ErrorMessage())
        fmt.Println("Failed with error json: " + res.ErrorJson())
}

Source: dlex-layout-example.go

danger

The following example illustrates using layout data from a JSON file. It also illustrates using a DLEX file in the cloud and a local DLEX file.

def dlex_layout_cloud(apiKey, full_path):
    layoutData = LayoutDataResource(full_path + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json")
    dlexEndpoint =DlexLayout("samples/dlex-layout/SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", layoutData)
    dlexEndpoint.api_key=apiKey
    response = dlexEndpoint.process() 
    if response.is_successful:
         with open(output_path + "python-dlex-layout-example.pdf", "wb") as output_file:
            output_file.write(response.content)
    else:
        print(response.error_id)

def dlex_layout_local(apiKey, full_path):
    layoutData = LayoutDataResource(full_path + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.json")
    dlexResource = DlexResource(full_path + "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex", "SimpleReportWithCoverPage.dlex")
    dlexEndpoint =DlexLayout(dlexResource, layoutData)
    dlexEndpoint.add_additional_resource(full_path + "NorthwindLogo.gif")
    dlexEndpoint.api_key=apiKey
    response = dlexEndpoint.process() 
    if response.is_successful:
         with open(output_path + "python-dlex-layout-local-example.pdf", "wb") as output_file:
            output_file.write(response.content)
    else:
        print(response.error_id)
    

Source: DlexLayoutExample.py

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Example​

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Example