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CreateInvoiceFromStructuredData

Builds a tagged PDF invoice from structured input files with the Datalogics C++ APDFL API: JSON metadata (seller, customer, dates, tax rate), a CSV of line items, a JSON style sheet (fonts, colors, page dimensions), and a local PNG logo. Everything is drawn directly with APDFL — text positioned with real font metrics, boxes and rules as vector paths, and the logo placed with Image — while the logical structure tree is built alongside the content so the invoice is accessible.

The generated invoice includes:

  • A header with the scaled logo (tagged Figure with alt text), the invoice number, and issue/due dates
  • "From" and "Bill To" cards for the seller and customer
  • A line-item table (Table → TR → TH/TD) whose header row repeats on every continuation page, with right-aligned quantities and currency values
  • A totals box with subtotal, tax, and grand total
  • Payment terms and notes sections, and a decorative footer emitted as artifact content outside the structure tree

When applyRestrictionPassword is enabled in the metadata (the default), the document is secured with Document::secure using 256-bit AES: it opens, prints, and remains accessible without a password, but editing requires the owner password from the metadata file.

Building and running

Run from this directory so the default data/ paths resolve:

make          # or open CreateInvoiceFromStructuredData.vcxproj in Visual Studio
./create_invoice_from_structured_data             # uses the bundled data files
./create_invoice_from_structured_data --help      # all options
./create_invoice_from_structured_data --self-test # validate inputs, no PDF written

Options: --metadata <path>, --line-items <path>, --style <path>, --output <path>. The logo path in the metadata file is resolved relative to the metadata file's directory.

Set APDFL_LICENSE_KEY to provide a Datalogics APDFL activation key before the library initializes.

Input files

  • data/metadata.json — invoice number, dates, currency, tax rate, seller and customer contact blocks, logo path, and the optional restriction password. All data is fictional.
  • data/line-items.csv — itemCode,description,quantity,unitPrice rows; quoted fields may contain commas.
  • data/style.json — fonts, font sizes, page size, margin, logo bounds, and #RRGGBB colors.
  • images/northstar-logo.png — the sample logo.

Differences from the .NET sample

This is a rewrite of the apdfl-csharp-dotnet-samples sample of the same name using the Modern C++ interface. The Modern C++ API assigns marked-content IDs and maintains the structure parent tree automatically (StructElement::add_marked_content_ref), so the tagging code is substantially simpler than the .NET version. JSON and CSV parsing is done with a small parser inside the sample, so APDFL remains the only dependency.