Integrate PDF Tables with Data Sources in Python

Create PDF from DataFrame

The create_pdf_from_dataframe function builds a new PDF and inserts a table generated from a pandas DataFrame. This approach is useful for reporting workflows where your data already exists in tabular form.

The function performs the following steps:

  1. Create an empty PDF document with ap.Document().
  2. Add a page to the document.
  3. Convert the DataFrame into an Aspose.PDF table by calling create_table_from_dataframe(df, max_rows).
  4. Add the table to the page with page.paragraphs.add(table).
  5. Save the PDF to the output path.
from os import path
import sys

import pandas as pd
import aspose.pdf as ap
from config import set_license, initialize_data_dir

def create_pdf_from_dataframe(
    outfile: str, df: pd.DataFrame, max_rows: int = 20
) -> None:
    # Create new PDF document
    document = ap.Document()
    page = document.pages.add()

    table = create_table_from_dataframe(df, max_rows)

    # Add table object to first page of input document
    page.paragraphs.add(table)
    document.save(outfile)

Create Table from DataFrame

The create_table_from_dataframe function converts a DataFrame into an Aspose.PDF Table object that you can add to any page.

It does the following:

  1. Create an empty ap.Table() instance.
  2. Set table and cell borders for consistent formatting.
  3. Add a header row using DataFrame column names.
  4. Add data rows from df.head(max_rows).
  5. Return the populated table object.
from os import path
import sys

import pandas as pd
import aspose.pdf as ap
from config import set_license, initialize_data_dir

def create_table_from_dataframe(df: pd.DataFrame, max_rows: int = 20) -> ap.Table:
    """Create an Aspose.PDF table from a pandas DataFrame."""
    # Initializes a new instance of the Table
    table = ap.Table()
    # Set the table border color as LightGray
    table.border = ap.BorderInfo(ap.BorderSide.ALL, 1, ap.Color.light_gray)
    # Set the border for table cells
    table.default_cell_border = ap.BorderInfo(
        ap.BorderSide.BOTTOM, 1, ap.Color.light_gray
    )

    # Add header row with column names
    header_row = table.rows.add()
    header_row.is_row_broken = False  # Prevent header row from being split across pages
    for column_name in df.columns:
        cell = header_row.cells.add(str(column_name))
        cell.background_color = ap.Color.light_gray

    # Add data rows
    for row_data in df.head(max_rows).itertuples(index=False):
        row = table.rows.add()
        for value in row_data:
            row.cells.add(str(value))

    return table
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