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Java JEE - Apache PDFBox Series

Adding Text, Fonts, and Pages

Draw text with PDPageContentStream, embed fonts, and build multi-page documents.

Table of Contents

• 1. PDPageContentStream Basics
• 2. Standard and Embedded Fonts
• 3. Multi-line and Positioning
• 4. Multi-page Documents

1. PDPageContentStream Basics

Open a stream in append mode, set font, move text position, show text, close stream.

try (PDPageContentStream cs = new PDPageContentStream(doc, page)) {
    cs.beginText();
    cs.setFont(new PDType1Font(Standard14Fonts.FontName.HELVETICA), 12);
    cs.newLineAtOffset(50, 700);
    cs.showText("Hello PDFBox");
    cs.endText();
}

2. Standard and Embedded Fonts

Standard 14 fonts need no embedding. For Unicode, load TTF with PDType0Font.load().

3. Multi-line and Positioning

Use newLineAtOffset and manual Y decrements for line spacing. Consider helper utilities for wrapped paragraphs.

4. Multi-page Documents

Add a new PDPage when content exceeds page bounds. Track cursor Y and paginate in your layout engine.

5. Conclusion

Text rendering requires understanding coordinates (origin bottom-left), font embedding, and closing content streams. Practice with simple layouts before complex reports.