Smart Doc Editor Utils

Getting Started

Servoy ships a Smart Doc Editor component for rich in-app document editing. To compliment this component, we introduced this svyUtils$documentEditor module as part of the SvyUtils offering. This module provides additional utilities to manage custom tag libraries, document merge and PDF export.

Install the Smart Doc Editor component via the Servoy Package Manager (SPM), if you have not already. Help > Download Install with SPM This is a required dependency.

Then install the svyUtils$documentEditor module, also via the SPM. (Choose the "Modules" tab.) The module should be added as a dependency to your project, and the API will be available to you. You're ready to begin coding.

Custom Tag Libraries

This module provides methods to embed custom data-bound tag libraries in the component with a simple API. The tags allow end users do design custom documents which can easily be merged with data. This gives the best experience for end-users, who won't need to understand anything about your database or your code.

For more info on tag libs and how to set tags at design-time, please see the Smart Doc Editor wiki topic on mention feeds.

Basic Example

function createTags() { 
	
	// create editor object (stored as form variable)
	editor = scopes.svyDocEditor.getInstance(elements.editor);
	
	// setup tag library
	editor.tagBuilder(datasources.db.example_data.orders)
		.addField('orderid')
		.addField('shipcity')
		.addField('orders_to_order_details.quantity')
		.build()
}

As you can see, a DocumentEditor object was created and bound to the runtime component. Then a TagBuilder object was then requested and bound to a specific data source datasources.db.example_data.orders. The tag builder can then generate field tags, using the addField method. Each field can be a primary or related DataProvider in the context of the tag builder's data source.

The list of available field tags is shown in a type-ahead selector whenever the # key is pressed. The result could look something like this:

Customize Tag Display Value

Each tag has a displayValue, which is what the user will see.

By default, the TagBuilder will generate a default value based on the data provider. If it's a real column in the tag builder's data source, the JSColumn.title property is used. If the title property is empty, or the data provider is derived (i.e. calculated or aggregated), then the builder will prettify the name, with capital casing and spaces. For example, product_description would become Product Description. When this property starts with i18n: it will translate the value. Custom display values can be specified with the addField method as an optional parameter displayValue. For example:

editor.tagBuilder(datasources.db.example_data.orders)
		.addField('shipcity', 'Destination City')
		.build()

The result could look something like this:

The TagBuilder can generate data-bound tags for any path in your data model, as long as it is traversable from the data source. Simply add the full path of the related data provider as a String. For example:

editor.tagBuilder(datasources.db.example_data.orders)
		.addField('orders_to_customers.companyname', 'Customer.Name')

The result could look something like this:

Formatting Data

The TagBuilder supports also formats, in that case when replacing the tags the format will be applied to the given data.

editor.tagBuilder(datasources.db.example_data.orders)
		.addField('orders_to_customers.registration_date', 'Customer.RegistrationDate', 'dd-MM-yyyy')

In the given sample the format dd-MM-yyyy will be applied when the document merge is done

Ignore dataprovider validation

The TagBuilder also supports fields that are not real fields. This can be used in combination with Overwrites

editor.tagBuilder(datasources.db.example_data.orders)
		.addField('CURRENT_DATE', 'currentDate', 'dd-MM-yyyy', true)

In the given sample there will be no validation done for the field CURRENT_DATE on the selected datasource.

Repeater Tags

Because tag libraries are data-bound, they can be used to generate repeating content. This happens automatically when related data is specified in the addField method. The TagBuilder assumed a related FoundSet could have many records. Therefore any related data provider will also generate a repeat tag, unless the boolean repeats argument is set to false.

The list of available repeater tags is shown in a type-ahead selector whenever the $ key is pressed. For example:

tagBuilder
    .addField('orders_to_order_details.quantity','Order Details: Quantity')
    .addField('orders_to_order_details.order_details_to_products.productname',
              'Order Details - Product',false)

The result could look something like this:

You can see that a $startRepeater tag was automatically generated for the quantity field. This is ideal, because we know that each order can have many order detail lines. But also notice that no repeater tags were created for the productname field. This is because the (3rd) repeats parameter was explicitly set to false, as we know that order_details_to_products is a 1:1 relation.

When the document is merged, all the content between the $startRepeater tag and the $endRepeater will be repeated for each record in the repeater tag's related FoundSet.

Document Merge

A document editor component can be initialized to have custom tag libraries embedded in it. Each tag contains a display value (what the user will see) and a real value (what the application will see). There are also repeater tags, that specify where content will be repeated.

When the document is merged, the tags will be replaced with record data. For example:

function mergeTags(){

	// get merged content for the selected record in the form
	content = editor.mergeTags(foundset.getSelectedRecord());
}

Here, the instance method DocumentEditor.mergeTags(record) was called and the selected record a form's foundset was used for the data source. The merged document is returned as a string, and in this case, it is set back into the content data provider to which the editor component is bound. The editor will render the merged document (like a print preview!).

The result could look something like this:

Document with tags

Merged content

As you can see the # field tags were replaced with the actual record data from the orders table. And the related data from the order_details and products tables were also merged. The $ repeater tags were applied to the 3 records in the related orders_to_order_details foundset. (You may also notice that the table header was intuitively skipped.)

Overwrites

THe merge function supports also overwrites That means that each tag or repeat or if tag can be validated.

function mergeTags(){

	// get merged content for the selected record in the form
	content = editor.mergeTags(foundset.getSelectedRecord(),true, null, ifParser, mentionOverwrite, repeatOverwrite);
}

As you can see we have 3 extra functions defined in the mergeTags call. Each function will be called for each tag or item that it finds.

ifParser function

In this case the function is called when it is given to the mergeTags function.

function ifParser(realValue, record) {
	application.output('Document Ifparser - realValue: `' + realValue + '` record: `' + record + '`');
	if (realValue == 'canShowDateOfBirth') {
		return false;
	}
	return true;
}

The sample code is checking if the realValue of the ifTag matches the value. When it is doing that it is returning false, in the merge this will result in a complete remove of the block. While true will only remove the if tags.

mentionOverwrite function

In this case the function is called when it is given to the mergeTags function.

function mentionOverwrite(dataprovider, relation, record, value, mentionRealvalue, mentionDisplayValue) {
	application.output('Document mentionCallback -  value: `' + value + "` dataprovider: `" + dataprovider + "` relationName: `" + relation + "` record: `" + record + "` mentionRealValue: `" + mentionRealvalue + "`");
	if (mentionRealvalue === 'CURRENT_DATE') {
		return new Date();
	}
	return value;
}

The sample code is checking if the realValue of the mention matches the value. This can overwrite every value.. and when there is a format set it will also format that value. When you return null it will hide the tag value

repeatOverwrite function

In this case the function is called when it is given to the mergeTags function.

function repeatOverwrite(relationName, mentionRealValue, record) {
	application.output('Document repeatCallback - realValue: `' + mentionRealValue + '` relationName: `' + relationName + '` record: `' + record + '`');
	if (mentionRealValue === 'this_relation_should_not_be_displayed') {
		return false;
	}
	return true;
}

The sample code is checking if the realValue of the mention matches the value. This is almost the same as an ifTag so you can really use it to filter data.

PDF Export

If you have made it this far, then you probably want to print, email or archive a merged document. Fortunately this module provides support for PDF export. Content from the Smart Docs Editor maybe converted to PDF format using a simple Export API.

Here's a quick example:

function print(){

    // get exported PDF file as bytes
	var bytes = scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
		.setContent(content)
		.exportToPDF();
	
	// Save file locally and open
	var pdf = plugins.file.createFile('export.pdf')
	plugins.file.writeFile(pdf,bytes);
	plugins.file.openFile(pdf);
}

Here the getExporter method was used to return an Exporter object, which has methods to set content, among other options.

Export Options

The Exporter supports various options, such as page size, orientation and margins to name a few. Here is an example of exporting with additional options:

var bytes = scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
		.setMargin(.25, .25, .25, .25)
		.setOrientation(scopes.svyDocEditor.ORIENTATION.LANDSCAPE)
		.setContent(content)
		.exportToPDF();

API Key

Converting rich HTML documents to PDF is no small task and Servoy delivers this functionality as a commercial-strength cloud service, greatly reducing the distribution footprint and developer requirements needed. All you need is an API key and a few lines of code to turn documents into PDFs.

Obtain an API Key

You can obtain a FREE key from the Servoy Cloud Control Center. From the navigation choose "Add-Ons", and under "Document Printing", click "Generate Key". Your secret key will be displayed. Copy it to your clipboard.

Register your key

There are two ways to register your key:

By Configuration: Open your properties configuration file <SERVOY_HOME>/application_server/servoy.properties and set the following property: svyDocumentEditorAPIKey=<your-secret-key>. This is the preferred approach for deployments. Note: that should only edit the properties file when the Servoy Developer or App Server instance is stopped.
At Runtime: Use the registerAPIKey method to set the key dynamically. This is ideal for testing in development. It will override any configuration.

Unlimited Printing

The PDF export service is FREE and subject to daily quotas and limitations. It is ideal for testing purposes and low-volume production scenarios. Upgrade to unlimited printing for high-volume production scenarios and a dedicated document server.

API Reference

A top-level scope svyDocEditor which contains a simple object-oriented API to extend the Smart Docs Editor component.

Class Summary

Class

Summary

DocumentEditor

An simple object to wrap a document editor component instance, exposing basic methods

TagBuilder

Used to build tag libraries to a bound editor instance

Exporter

Used to generate document exports (PDF)

Field Summary

Type

Name

Summary

Enum<String>

ORIENTATION

An enum which describes export options for the page orientation property, including PORTRAIT and LANDSCAPE.

Enum<String>

PAGE_SZE

An enum which describes export options for the page size property. Currently, only A4 is supported.

Method Summary

Return Type

Method

Summary

DocumentEditor

getInstance

Gets a new doc editor instance.

Exporter

getExporter

Gets an exporter to configure and export documents

String

mergeTags

Merges a document template with data, returning the merged content.

None

registerAPIKey

Registers/overrides API key for document export service

Method Details

getInstance

Gets an instance of document editor for the specified component.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

RuntimeWebComponent <SmartDocumentEditor>

editor

The real doc editor component

required

Returns: DocumentEditor

Example:

var editor = scopes.svyDocEditor.getInstance(elements.editor);

getExporter

Gets an exporter to configure and export documents

Params: None

Returns: Exporter

Example:

var exporter = scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter();

mergeTags

Merges a document template with data, executing repeater tags, replacing field tags and returning the merged content.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

content

The document template to be merged

required

JSRecord

data

The data which will be merged

required

Returns: String The content which

Example:

var displayContent = scopes.svyDocEditor.mergeTags(content, record);

registerAPIKey

Registers/overrides API key for document export service, ideally for development/testing. It should be called before using the Exporter. The key can also be set in the servoy.properties file using the property name svyDocumentEditorAPIKey, ideally for production/deployment.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

apiKey

Your private API key

required

Returns: None

Example:

function onOpen(){
    scopes.svyDocEditor.registerAPIKey('AOzDghg+j6786SDlkjSSDT/K76KJghLbsH=');
}

DocumentEditor

An simple class to wrap a document editor component instance, exposing basic methods.

Method Summary

Return Type

Method

Summary

TagBuilder

tagBuilder

Gets a tag builder instance bound to this editor

String

getContent

Gets the HTML content from this editor object, with options to inline CSS and filter style sheet.

String

mergeTags

Merges this editor's content with data, includes options to inline CSS and filter style sheet.

Method Details

tagBuilder

Gets a tag builder instance bound to this editor.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String|JSDataSource

dataSource

The data source to use for building tags. Can be the name or the actual data source object.

required

Returns: TagBuilder which can generate tags for this editor

Example:

var tagBuilder = editor.tagBuilder(datasources.db.example_data.orders);

getContent

Gets this editor's content, optionally with inline CSS and filtered stylesheet. Ideal to save or export the content.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

Boolean

withInlineCSS

Option to also inline the CSS when merging. This is recommend if the result will be exported. Note: There is a performance impact, so this parameter should be ignored if the result will be rendered in the component anyway.

optional: default is false

String

filterStyleSheetName

The style sheet name to filter. Only this style sheet will be inline. This is ideal for a custom style to be used, say in an email template. Note: The path and .css extension should be skipped.

optional

Returns: String The content from this editor, with optional inline CSS and filtered stylesheet.

Example:

// FETCH THE CONTENT, IGNORE DOC CSS. IDEAL FOR SAVING THE DOC OR SHOWING IN AN EDITOR COMPONENT
var plainContent = editor.getContent();

// FETCH THE CONTENT, INLINE CSS. IDEAL FOR EXPORTING
var reneredContent = editor.getContent(true);

// FETCH THE CONTENT, INLINE CSS. IDEAL FOR EXPORTING
var filteredContent = editor.getContent(true, 'myCustomStyle');

mergeTags

Merges this editor's current content with data, executing repeater tags, replacing field tags and returning the merged content. (This is a convenience method to combine scope-level mergeTags method with this editor's getContent.)

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

JSRecord

data

The data which will be merged

required

Boolean

withInlineCSS

optional: default is false

String

filterStyleSheetName

The style sheet name to filter. Only this style sheet will be inline. This is ideal for a custom style to be used, say in an email template. Note: The path and .css extension should be skipped.

optional

Returns: String The merged content

Example:

// MERGE TAGS ON PLAIN CONTENT
var mergedContent = editor.mergeTags(record, true);

// INLINE THE CSS AND MERGE TAGS
var mergedRenderedContent = editor.mergeTags(record, true);

// FILTER FOR STYLE SHEET AND MERGE TAGS
var mergedRenderedContent = editor.mergeTags(record, true, 'myCustomStyle');

TagBuilder

A class used to build custom tag libraries for a bound document editor component.

Method Summary

Return Type

Method

Summary

TagBuilder

addField

Add a specified data provider as a field tag

none

build

Applies the tag lib to the document editor component

JSDataSet

getFields

Returns the field tags as data set, ideally used in a value list in a custom toolbar item.

Method Details

addField

Add a specified data provider as a field tag. If the data provider is a related value, then this tag builder may also generate repeater tags for the relation.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

dataProviderID

The data provider, relative the builder's data source. Can be a column, calculation, aggregate or related data provider.

Required

String

displayTag

An optional display value for the tag. If none specified, then JSColumn.title property is used for a real column. If the title property is empty, or the data provider is derived (calculated or aggregated), then the builder will prettify the name, with capital casing and spaces.

Optional

Boolean

repeats

An optional flag to specify if a related data provider should generate repeater tags. Ideally, this is used to omit 1:1 relations.

Optional, default is true

Returns: TagBuilder for call chaining.

Example:

// ADD COLUMN FROM PRIMARY TABLE, DEFAULT DISPLAY
builder.addField('orderid')

// ADD COLUMN FROM PRIMARY TABLE, OVERRIDE DISPLAY VALUE
.addField('shipcity', 'Destination City')

// ADD COLUMN FROM FOREIGN TABLE, OVERRIDE DISPLAY VALUE, SPECIFY NO-REPEAT
.addField('orders_to_customers.companyname', 'Customer.Name',false);

build

Applies the tag lib to the bound document editor component.

Params: None

Returns: None

Example:

// ADD TAGS AND APPLY
builder
    .addField('orderid')
    .addField('shipcity', 'Destination City')
    .addField('orders_to_customers.companyname', 'Customer.Name',false)
    .build();

getFields

Returns this builder's field tags as data set, ideally used in a value list

Params: None

Returns: JSDataSet The field tags, which can be used in a value list.

Example:

// GET FIELD TAGS AS A DATA SET
var fieldTags = builder.getFields();

Exporter

An object to configure and generate document exports (PDF)

Method Summary

Return Type

Method

Summary

Exporter

addHeadTag

Adds additional head tags to the exported content

Array<byte>

exportToPDF

Exports the content to PDF.

Exporter

setContent

Sets the content to be exported

Exporter

setCSS

Set/Override the css in the exporter

Sets the image URL

Sets the page margins

Exporter

setOrientation

Sets the page orientation

Exporter

setPageSize

Sets the page size

Method Details

addHeadTag

Adds additional head tags to the exported content. Head tags can carry additional metadata and style info to the exported PDF.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

headTag

The head tag to be added

Required

Returns: Exporter for call chaining.

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND ADD CUSTOM HEAD TAGS
scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .addHeadTag('<head><!-- my custom head tag --></head>')
    .addHeadTag('<head><!-- another head tag --></head>')

exportToPDF

Exports to PDF with

Params: None

Returns: Array<byte> The PDF file bytes

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND EXPORT CONTENT
var bytes = scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .setContent(content)
    .exportToPDF();

// DOWNLOAD AND OPEN FILE IN BROWSER
var pdf = plugins.file.createFile('export.pdf')
plugins.file.writeFile(pdf,bytes);
plugins.file.openFile(pdf);

setContent

Sets the content to be exported.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

content

The content to exported

Required

Returns: Exporter for call chaining.

See Also: DocumentEditor.getContent

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND SET CONTENT
var content = editor.getContent()
scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .setContent(content);

setCSS

Sets the CSS to be use in the export. In this way, CSS can be inlined and the PDF is self-contained.

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

css

The CSS to be used

Required

Returns: Exporter for call chaining.

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND SET CSS
scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .setCSS(css);

setMargin

Sets the page margins

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

Number

top

The top margin

Required

Number

right

The right margin

Required

Number

bottom

The bottom margin

Required

Number

left

The left margin

Required

Returns: Exporter for call chaining.

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND SET PAGE MARGIN
scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .setMargin(0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5);

setOrientation

Sets the page orientation

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

orientation

The page orientation, must be one of enum ORIENTATION

Required

Returns: Exporter for call chaining.

See Also: ORIENTATION

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND SET ORIENTATION
scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .setOrientation(scopes.svyDocEditor.ORIENTATION.LANDSCAPE);

setPageSize

Sets the page size

Params:

Type

Name

Summary

Required

String

pageSize

Page size, must be one of enum PAGE_SIZE

Required

Returns: Exporter for call chaining.

See Also: PAGE_SIZE

Example:

// GET EXPORTER AND SET PAGE SIZE
scopes.svyDocEditor.getExporter()
    .setPageSize(scopes.svyDocEditor.PAGE_SIZE.A4);

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Contents

Getting Started

Custom Tag Libraries

Basic Example

Customize Tag Display Value

Showing Related Data

Formatting Data

Ignore dataprovider validation

Repeater Tags

Document Merge

Overwrites

ifParser function

mentionOverwrite function

repeatOverwrite function

PDF Export

Export Options

API Key

Obtain an API Key

Register your key

Unlimited Printing

API Reference

Class Summary

Field Summary

Method Summary

Method Details

getInstance

getExporter

mergeTags

registerAPIKey

DocumentEditor

Method Summary

Method Details

tagBuilder

getContent

mergeTags

TagBuilder

Method Summary

Method Details

addField

build

getFields

Exporter

Method Summary

Method Details

addHeadTag

exportToPDF

setContent

setCSS

setMargin

setOrientation

setPageSize