LiveDocx in PHP

Please note: This post is part of a five post series. See introduction, part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

The advantages of the phpLiveDocx method of document creation over the Zend_Pdf method are numerous:

• phpLiveDocx separates template and programming logic. A graphical designer can produce the template, while a developer can take care of populating it. Similarly, changes to the layout of a template can be made without any changes to the programming logic.

• Unlike with Zend_Pdf, in which a template must be painstakingly programmed, phpLiveDocx allows templates to be created in a true WYSIWYG environment, using Microsoft Word, Open Office or TX Template Designer.

• When populating PDF templates with Zend_Pdf, the x and y coordinates of the position at which text should written must be specified. It is very time-consuming to calculate these coordinates and in some cases, not possible at all. Zend_Pdf offers no concept of a text field. Using phpLiveDocx, populating a template is simply a matter of assigning a value to a text field.

• Using the Zend Framework in the current incarnation (v1.7.1), there is no way to create word processing documents in DOCX, DOC or RTF formats. phpLiveDocx makes these file formats available with one single parameter. Generating a DOCX file, for example, is exactly the same procedure as for a PDF.

• The backend service to phpLiveDocx – LiveDocx – is authored by the manufacturer of TX Text Control, a company, which has around 20 years experience in the production of quality word processing components. Customers of LiveDocx are entitled to free telephone and e-mail support.