[reportlab-users] Vector graphic embedding

[Tim Roberts]

Jason Craig wrote:

> So, if I'm interpreting what I have found correctly, if I wish to

> embed an already created vector graphic (say, in PS or PDF form) into

> my PDF document, there is no easy way to do this beyond purchasing a

> £15,000 software license and using PageCatcher?  It seems absurd that

> Reportlab supports all the PDF functions to draw all the pieces of my

> vector graphic but cannot actually draw it in my document.


Does it?  Please remember that ReportLab is *not* a free desktop
publishing program.  ReportLab is a Python-friendly wrapper around the
complicated PDF document standard.  In many (most?) cases, there is a
nearly 1-to-1 correspondence between ReportLab calls and low-level PDF
constructs.

The PDF format does not immediately support nesting Postscript and PDF
subdocuments in a PDF.  Instead, the Postscript or PDF documents have to
be cracked, analyzed, scaled, and inserted into the PDF stream.  That's
a non-trivial amount of processing, and it's neither surprising nor
absurd that the ReportLab folks would reserve that for paying customers.

Bitmapped graphics have direct support in the PDF standard, so the free
ReportLab products do it.

-- 
Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.