Converting Smart Forms to PDF output

In this recipe, we will see how the form output may be suppressed and returned as internal table to our calling program and then how a PDF is generated within the program. We will set values to some fields in the control structure of the Smart Form and use it with the CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF function module.

How to do it...

For generating PDF output without showing the Smart Form on the screen, follow these steps:

1. First, we define two structures cont_parameters and myoutput based on the dictionary structures ssfctrlop and ssfcrescl respectively.

   

2. Then, we assign 'X' to the setotf and no_dialog fields of the control structure.

   

3. The dynamic call of the Smart Form function module is then carried out.

   

4. Appropriate variables are then defined. The most important is the internal table pdf_content used for storing the converted PDF output of the form. The filesize and doc_archive tables are necessary for calling the function module CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF.

   

5. The function module CONVERT_OTF_2_PDF...