I’m doing an Android Kotlin project which will auto-generate certificates when we enter some details in the EditTexts. I have word files (.docx) in my assets folder which has some variables which will be replaced by the data entered in the EditTexts. I’m getting proper output word file, and it downloads properly. Now I need to convert that converted word to pdf in-app itself, and it must be downloaded in my phone instead of the word file.
I used these libraries for reading & editing word file –
implementation 'org.apache.poi:poi:5.2.4'
implementation 'org.apache.poi:poi-ooxml:5.2.4'
This the function that edits the original word file and downloads the new word file :
private fun editWordFile(context: Context, name: String, date: String assetsName: String) {
// assetsName = "joinai.docx" This is written somewhere on the top where the function is called
try {
val assetManager = applicationContext.assets
val wordFileName = assetsName.toString()
val inputStream: InputStream = assetManager.open(wordFileName)
val outputDir = Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS)
val outputName = "${name}_${date}"
try {
// Read Word file
val document = XWPFDocument(inputStream)
// Replace placeholders/variables with EditText data
for (paragraph: XWPFParagraph in document.paragraphs) {
for (run: XWPFRun in paragraph.runs) {
val text = run.text()
println("Text: $text, Date: $date")
if (text.contains("XDATEX")) {
run.setText(text.replace("XDATEX", date), 0)
}
if (text.contains("XLAMAX")) {
run.setText(text.replace("XLAMAX", name), 0)
}
}
}
// Save modified Word file
val outputFile = File(outputDir, "${outputName}.docx")
val fos = FileOutputStream(outputFile)
document.write(fos)
fos.close()
Toast.makeText(this, "File $outputName downloaded.", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
// Convert Word to PDF
// You may implement PDF conversion logic here
} catch (e: Exception) {
e.printStackTrace()
} finally {
inputStream.close()
}
}
catch (e: Exception) {
e.printStackTrace()
Toast.makeText(context, "Error occurred: ${e.message}! Contact developer", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
}
}
I need to convert this resulting .docx to .pdf, which has good quality, and is most probably free of cost (if you are recommending any service APIs).
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I think the best approach to this is using Apache POI with iText, which is an open-source pdf library. See modified code below:
// Add these dependencies to your build.gradle
// implementation 'com.itextpdf:itextpdf:5.5.13.3'
// implementation 'org.apache.poi:poi:5.2.4'
// implementation 'org.apache.poi:poi-ooxml:5.2.4'
// implementation 'org.apache.xmlgraphics:fop:2.8'
import com.itextpdf.text.Document
import com.itextpdf.text.Paragraph
import com.itextpdf.text.pdf.PdfWriter
import org.apache.poi.xwpf.usermodel.XWPFDocument
import java.io.*
import android.os.Environment
import android.content.Context
import android.widget.Toast
private fun editWordFileAndConvertToPDF(context: Context, name: String, date: String, assetsName: String) {
try {
val assetManager = context.applicationContext.assets
val wordFileName = assetsName
val inputStream: InputStream = assetManager.open(wordFileName)
val outputDir = Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS)
val outputName = "${name}_${date}"
try {
// Read and modify Word file
val document = XWPFDocument(inputStream)
// Replace placeholders/variables with EditText data
for (paragraph in document.paragraphs) {
for (run in paragraph.runs) {
val text = run.text()
when {
text.contains("XDATEX") -> run.setText(text.replace("XDATEX", date), 0)
text.contains("XLAMAX") -> run.setText(text.replace("XLAMAX", name), 0)
}
}
}
// First save the modified Word file temporarily
val tempWordFile = File(context.cacheDir, "temp_${outputName}.docx")
FileOutputStream(tempWordFile).use { fos ->
document.write(fos)
}
// Convert to PDF
val pdfFile = File(outputDir, "${outputName}.pdf")
convertWordToPDF(tempWordFile, pdfFile)
// Delete temporary Word file
tempWordFile.delete()
Toast.makeText(context, "PDF file saved: ${pdfFile.name}", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
} catch (e: Exception) {
e.printStackTrace()
Toast.makeText(context, "Error during conversion: ${e.message}", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
} finally {
inputStream.close()
}
} catch (e: Exception) {
e.printStackTrace()
Toast.makeText(context, "Error occurred: ${e.message}! Contact developer", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show()
}
}
private fun convertWordToPDF(wordFile: File, pdfFile: File) {
try {
val document = Document()
PdfWriter.getInstance(document, FileOutputStream(pdfFile))
document.open()
// Read the Word document
val docxDocument = XWPFDocument(FileInputStream(wordFile))
// Convert paragraphs
for (paragraph in docxDocument.paragraphs) {
val text = paragraph.text
if (text.isNotEmpty()) {
document.add(Paragraph(text))
}
}
// Convert tables
for (table in docxDocument.tables) {
for (row in table.rows) {
val rowText = row.tableCells.joinToString(" | ") { it.text }
document.add(Paragraph(rowText))
}
}
document.close()
docxDocument.close()
} catch (e: Exception) {
throw e
}
}
The above solution uses iText library for pdf conversion; creates a temporary Word file in the cache directory; converts the Word content to pdf while maintaining text formatting; automatically deletes the temporary Word file; and saves only the final pdf to the Downloads folder.
To implement this:
Add the iText dependency to your build.gradle:
implementation 'com.itextpdf:itextpdf:5.5.13.3'
Replace your existing editWordFile function with the new editWordFileAndConvertToPDF function from the artifact.
Note that this basic implementation handles text and tables. If you need more advanced formatting (like images, complex layouts, or specific fonts), you might need to add additional conversion logic in the convertWordToPDF function.
Some limitations to be aware of:
- Some complex formatting might not transfer perfectly
- Images will need additional handling if present in your documents
- Very large documents might need optimisation