[reportlab-users] Dynamic page sizes

[Robin Becker]

On 21/10/2011 16:04, Glenn Linderman wrote:

> On 10/21/2011 1:57 AM, Robin Becker wrote:

>> On 21/10/2011 00:53, Glenn Linderman wrote:

>>> On 10/19/2011 1:45 AM, Robin Becker wrote:

>>>> Glen

>>> ............

>>>

........

>

> Thanks. This might have confused me. So tell me if the following algorithm would

> work, or could be optimized:

>

> Call wrap with 8.5 width, and obtain height. Use "binary search" on widths (try

> 4.25 width next) until locating the minimum width that preserves the same height

> as 8.5 inches. This would call wrap repeatedly on the same flowable, presuming

> that the height returned reflects the actual widths used (increasing when lines

> are broken to fit the width), even though the width returned is the same as

> passed in. Of course, I may choose a narrower maximum width as a starting point

> because of the small screens on these mobile devices.

>


binary search works well in the KeepInFrame Flowable, but there we're scaling 
the font sizes usually to squash stuff in.


>>> the template list, and append the flowable to the set of flowables.

>>> 3. create a document, using the list of templates, and the list of flowables

>>> 4. build the document

>>>

>>> Questions that come to mind,

>>>

>>> A. is the flowable still reusable for the document after doing the

>>> pre-processing wrap method? I guess the worst case is that I discard it and

>>> create a new one without calling wrap on it.

>>

>> It should be.

>>

>>> B. margins: I'm not clear on whether the wrap size includes the margins or not,

>>> I would guess not, but it seems that with a 3-column layout I did for something

>>> else, that each frame may have had a bit of margin, even though I tried to

>>> specify none. But that layout was using tables inside the frames, so maybe there

>>> was interaction with that as well.

>> The template contains a frame whose size if fixed by the construction. Frames

>> have padding in general of 6 points (top and bottom left/right). When the

>> doctemplate processes a flowable it will use the frames add method and that

>> takes the padding current position spaceBefore/After etc etc into account to

>> poisiton the flowable in the frame or to reject and ask for a split etc etc.

>>

>> The frame's size and padding can be controlled explicitly, (not in the simple

>> doc template though unless you get creative and override the build method).

>

> Hmm. OK, another compensation would be to increase the height and width of the

> frame by 12 points, and reduce the position by 6 points in each direction. This

> would hard code these numbers: of course, it would be nicer if they could be

> overridden. But that would explain why a table with no padding or margins)

> specified to be the same width as the frame consumed more space (slightly) than

> plain text in the same frame consumed... using the further assumption that a

> table inserted into a frame is centered on the space in the frame when it is

> wider than the frame can hold... this last assumption also seems to apply to

> inserting wide pictures in a frame... ?

>

........
Tables draw lines which are not zero thickness etc etc. If you start with the 
BaseDocTemplate you get to specify all the templates up front eg

doc = BaseDocTemplate('my.pdf',
	pageTemplates=[.....],
	)

where [....] is your list of PageTemplates eg

PageTemplate(
	id="pt-4.5",
	frames=[Frame(...)......],
	#onPage=_doNothing,
	#onPageEnd=_doNothing,
	pagesize=(8.5*in,4.25*in)
	)

frames is the list of Frames you want for this page. For your case you seem to 
want zero padding etc etc

Frame(0,0,8.5*in,4.25*in,leftPadding=0, bottomPadding=0,
      rightPadding=0, topPadding=0, id='firstandlastframe',
      showBoundary=0,
      overlapAttachedSpace=1,_debug=None)

so for your applicatuion you need as many page templates as page sizes and each 
should have a single frame with the full space of the pt pagesize used etc etc.
-- 
Robin Becker