[reportlab-users] Adding Platypus paragraphs in a canvas.

[Eric Masson]

Hello,

I'm using reportlab to revamp print spools coming from an ibm midrange, 
final documents are duplexed (on recto revamped data, on verso legal 
blahblah).

So far, I've used a canvas and low level methods (lines, boxes, string 
and so on)

I'd like to use higher level objects like paragraphs to achieve a better 
presentation for the legal verso (mainly justified text).

So I tried the following snippet :
import copy
from reportlab.platypus import *
from reportlab.lib.units import cm
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet
from reportlab.lib.enums import TA_JUSTIFY
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas

styles = getSampleStyleSheet()

ParaStyle = copy.deepcopy(styles["Normal"])
ParaStyle.spaceBefore = 0.2 * cm
ParaStyle.alignment = TA_JUSTIFY

def run():
     c = canvas.Canvas('paragraphtest.pdf')
     p = Paragraph("premier paragraphe de test", ParaStyle)
     p.drawOn(c, 1 * cm, 1 * cm)
     p = Paragraph("deuxième paragraphe de test", ParaStyle)
     p.drawOn(c, 1 * cm, 2 * cm)
     p = Paragraph("troisième paragraphe de test", ParaStyle)
     p.drawOn(c, 1 * cm, 3 * cm)
     p = Paragraph("quatrième paragraphe de test", ParaStyle)
     p.drawOn(c, 1 * cm, 4 * cm)
     p = Paragraph("cinquième paragraphe de test", ParaStyle)
     p.drawOn(c, 1 * cm, 5 * cm)
     c.save()

if __name__=='__main__':
     run()

But, it fails with :
Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "test.py", line 29, in ?
     run()
   File "test.py", line 17, in run
     p.drawOn(c, 1 * cm, 1 * cm)
   File 
"/usr/local/lib/python2.4/site-packages/reportlab/platypus/flowables.py", 
line 97, in drawOn
     self._drawOn(canvas)
   File 
"/usr/local/lib/python2.4/site-packages/reportlab/platypus/flowables.py", 
line 82, in _drawOn
     self.draw()#this is the bit you overload
   File 
"/usr/local/lib/python2.4/site-packages/reportlab/platypus/paragraph.py", 
line 474, in draw
     self.drawPara(self.debug)
   File 
"/usr/local/lib/python2.4/site-packages/reportlab/platypus/paragraph.py", 
line 655, in drawPara
     blPara = self.blPara
AttributeError: Paragraph instance has no attribute 'blPara'

So, two questions, is it possible to use Paragraph objects without a 
DocTemplate, If yes, what am I missing ?

Regards