Catalog Machine provides API to generate one-page PDF on the fly based on prepared templates. You can call PDF generation as a link, using HTML form or call API from other program code.
You can use this API to generate flyers, invoices, product sheets, etc without need to build them manually in a designer. You can switch to advanced API to generate multi-page PDF with JSON.
To use API follow the steps below
Create a new template or use existing with field placeholders (blue border). Copy template id to use it as a key for PDF generation (red border).
In addition, Full page templates enable special attributes for designer elements to control PDF page rendering of the large text blocks.
Fixed attribute marks header or footer elements that will be repeated on every page if the page content expands to the new page.
Expandable attribute marks text elements that can flow to the next page. This text will fill space between fixed elements on the new page.
2. Build a link for pdf generation:
Format:
http://www.catalogmachine.com/public/api/1/pdf?templateid={Template ID}&{Field1}={Field1 Value}&{Field2}={Field2 Value}&{Image Field1}=image:{Local Image Path}
Example:
http://www.catalogmachine.com/public/api/1/pdf?templateid=5a65a225-0659-48cf-a2bf-e8f4f110196c&Name=Test&Price=$100&Description=My%20Description&Image=image:Sample/4FRNTEHPSki.jpg
Images should refer to local path that you can copy from image preview and prefix image:should be added before.
3. HTML Forms and direct program access using HTTP request to API
Format
http://www.catalogmachine.com/public/api/1/pdf?templateid={Template ID}
Advanced users can build an HTML form on their site that make a GET or POST request to the link above to download PDF.
Another approach is to use any programming library on any platform to submit request and receive PDF as a binary stream.
Note: Daily quote of API calls depends on plan limits.