Change font color in StaticNote of PDFClown

Question

Referring to Build text callout with PDF Clown - Is there a possibility to change the font color of the text within the callout note?

I haven't found a suitable method yet, can someone please give me a hint?

Answer 1

There is no explicit PDF Clown method to set the text color. This might be related to the fact that there is no explicit entry in the PDF annotation dictionary for it either.

There are two options, though:

• There is a default appearance (DA) entry for variable text in annotations in general. As PDF Clown does not hide generic object methods, you can extend the original callout sample like this:

  // Callout.
  composer.showText("Callout note annotation:", new Point(35, 85));
  new StaticNote(
    page,
    new Rectangle(250, 90, 150, 70),
    "Text of the Callout note annotation"
    ).withLine(
       new StaticNote.CalloutLine(
         page,
         new Point(250,125),
         new Point(150,125),
         new Point(100,100)
         )
       )
     .withLineEndStyle(LineEndStyleEnum.OpenArrow)
     .withBorder(new Border(1))
     .withColor(DeviceRGBColor.get(Color.YELLOW))
     .getBaseDataObject().put(PdfName.DA, new PdfString("1 0 1 rg /Ti 12 Tf"));
  

  You have to use plain PDF instructions there, though, rg sets a RGB color defined by the three preceding values, and Tf sets font and size according to the preceding two values. The result of the above is:

  

  As you see, the text now is purple (red 100%, green 0%, blue 100%). A side effect is, though, that the callout line and the frame around the callout box also are purple.

• Alternatively a PDF can bring along an own appearance stream defining the whole appearance of the annotation in question. This means, though, that you really have to draw everything yourself including lines, frames, backgrounds, and text.

  PDF Clown allows you to set the appearance of an annotation using the setAppearance and withAppearance methods.