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5 replies

How to turn a PDF visualforce page into a PDF attachment on a visualforce email template?

SHORT PROBLEM STATEMENT:  If someone has good guidance for the best way to go about splitting the below pdf-rendered visualforce page into a component(s) that will render identically when included in an Apex Page AND when pulled into a VF email template, I would be most grateful!  Obviously, my goal is to use (as much as possible) the same VF code and Apex controller code for the PDF both when it is rendered as an email attachment and when it is rendered from a VF page in a browser.

 

MORE DETAILS:

I created a Visualforce page (pasted below) to produce PDF invoices for our Opportunities.  I created a custom link to it so our staff can generate a PDF invoice for any given Opportunity with a click of their mouse.  It works beautifully.  Then, I wanted to attach the VisualForce page to VisualForce email templates we use for automating our renewal invoicing.  From the documentation, it appears that I have to convert it from a Page it into a Component in order to do that.  So, I tried turning it into a component that can be reference both by the Visualforce page that my custom link calls AND that can be pulled into my Visualforce email templates within <messaging:attachment> tag.  Sounds simple, right? 

 

Unfortunately, I'm pulling my hair out right now because my VF page uses the standard Opportunity controller, which I extended - whereas components cannot use standard controllers at all!  Does that mean I have to write a controller now that mimics everything that my VF page gets from the Opportunity controller?  Is there any easy way to create a controller that mimics everything a standard controller does? 

 

Obviously, my goal is to use (as much as possible) the same VF code and Apex controller code for both the PDF rendered as an email attachment and the PDF when rendered from a browser.  If someone has general guidance for the best way to go about splitting the below pdf-rendered visualforce page into a component(s) that will render identically when included in an Apex Page AND when pulled into a VF email template, I would be most grateful!  

 

BTW - you may notice that my styles include data from the controller.  That's because putting data in a PDF header or footer requires putting it in the "content" attributes of the @page styles.  This has proven to be a problem in my experiments with componentizing this page.  Advice on how to handle the styles, given that they need access to Opportunity data, would be a big help, too.

 

THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!

 

<apex:page standardController="Opportunity" showHeader="FALSE" standardStylesheets="false" renderas="pdf">
<head>
<style type="text/css">
@page{
    size: letter;
    margin: 10%;
    @top-center {
        content: "Invoice Date: {!MONTH(TODAY())}/{!DAY(TODAY())}/{!YEAR(TODAY())}";
            font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
            font-size: 12px;
            font-weight: bolder;
    }
    @top-right {
        content: "Invoice #: {!opportunity.ID_for_invoices__c}";
        font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
        font-size: 12px;
        font-weight: bolder;
    }
    @top-left {
        content: "INVOICE";
        font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
        font-size: 12px;
        font-weight: bolder;
    }
    @bottom-left {
        content: "";
        font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
        font-size: 10px;
    }
    @bottom-right {
        content: "Page " counter(page) " of " counter(pages);
        font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
        font-size: 10px;
    }
}
body {
    font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 11px;
}
table {
    font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;  
}
td {
    border: 1px solid #000000;  
}
.tablelabel {
    background: #000000;
    color: #FFFFFF;
    padding: 5px;
    font-weight: bolder;
}
.tableheader {
    font-weight: bolder;
}
.invisiblecell {
    border-left: 0;
    border-bottom: 0;
    border-top: 0;
}
span#warningtext{
    font-size: 80%;
    background: #FFF000;
    float: left;
    padding: 3px;
    margin-right: 8px;
    width: 90px;
    align: middle;
    text-align: right;
}

</style>
</head>

<p><strong>Billed To:</strong></p>
<p>{!opportunity.Account.Name}<br/>
<apex:outputText value="{! IF(ISBLANK(opportunity.Account.BillingStreet),"", opportunity.Account.BillingStreet &"<br/>")}" escape="false"/>
{!opportunity.Account.BillingCity}, {!opportunity.Account.BillingState} {!opportunity.Account.BillingPostalCode}<br/>
{!opportunity.Account.BillingCountry}
</p>

<!-- OUTPUT INVOICE COMMENT, IF ANY  -->
<apex:outputpanel rendered="{! NOT(ISBLANK(opportunity.invoice_comment__c))}">
<p><strong>Comment:</strong> {!opportunity.Invoice_Comment__c}</p>
</apex:outputpanel>

<!-- OUTPUT PROMOTION DESCRIPTION, IF PROMOTION APPLIED -->
<apex:outputpanel rendered="{! NOT(ISBLANK(opportunity.promotion_code__c))}">
<p><strong>Promotion:</strong> {!opportunity.Promotion_Code__c}</p>
</apex:outputpanel>

<!-- OUTPUT ORDERED ITEMS TABLE -->
<table class="tables" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tr><td colspan="5" class="tablelabel">Order</td></tr>
<tr class="tableheader"><td>Item Description</td><td align="right">List Price</td><td align="right">Sale Price</td><td align="center">Quantity</td><td align="right">Amount</td></tr>
<tr>
</tr>

<apex:repeat var="lineitem" value="{!opportunity.OpportunityLineItems}">
<tr>
<td align="left" width="50%">{!lineitem.PricebookEntry.Product2.Name}</td>
<td align="right"><apex:outputfield value="{!lineitem.ListPrice}" /></td>
<td align="right"><apex:outputfield value="{!lineitem.UnitPrice}" /></td>
<td align="center">{!lineitem.Quantity}</td>
<td align="right"><apex:outputfield value="{!lineitem.TotalPrice}" /></td>
</tr>
</apex:repeat>
<tr><td class="invisiblecell"></td><td colspan="3" class="tablelabel">Order Total</td><td class="tablelabel" align="right"><apex:outputfield value="{!opportunity.Amount}" /></td></tr>
</table>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>To Pay by Credit Card</strong><br/>
We are available to take credit card payments over the phone between 8am and 5pm ET at XXX-XXX-XXXX.</p>

<p>
<strong>To Pay by Check</strong> <br/>
Make checks payable to “XXXXX”, include a memo that the amount is for "XXXXX" and mail to:</p>


<p><span id="warningtext">Please note our<br />new address<br />for payments</span>AASHE<br />
PO Box XXXXXXX<br />
Philadelphia, PA XXXXXX 
</p>

<p><strong><em>Thank you!</em></strong>
</p>

</apex:page>