PDF Rendering of HTML Item

[mimariposa]

Hi All,

I have a report studio report constituting an HTML element with the code

<iframe name="test" id="test" frameborder="1" width="100%" height="100%" src="http://www.google.com">
</iframe>

When I run the report in HTML, I am able to see the GOOGLE home page as the iframe content.But,when I run the same report as PDF...nothing is displayed. I believe that Cognos renders PDF and HTML outputs differently.I was wondering if there was a workaround to make the GOOGLE home page render in PDF as well.

Any help in this regard is appreciated. Please respond , as this issue might be a show-stopper for me.

Thanks.

[almeids]

I'm no expert here but I believe a report has to be html to execute  html.  It''s not to be worked around, it's just the way it is; what you are trying to do is a feature of html.

[mimariposa]

Thanks for your prompt reply.So,that leaves me with no option to render the output in PDF.Any thoughts??

[almeids]

Well, I hate to be obvious, but...how about using html?

[mimariposa]

I DID use an HTML element in the report design....but no luck!!I could see the output when the report is run as HTML and not PDF.

[almeids]

No, I meant run to html output format instead of pdf...I prefer pdf too for most purposes but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do...

[mimariposa]

Running the report in HTML would surely help me out in this situation. But the PDF version of the same is a mandatory requirement by the client.

[almeids]

Then either your client needs to understand that they can't have everything, or you need to go to great lengths to grow your own functionality.  What is the intention?  Obviously it's not to display an image of the Google home page in a .pdf document.  If it's interactivity you simply can't (afaik) use PDF, you'll have to go with something else.  If the reason for the PDF requirement is strict formatting needs for printing, or portability, or any of the other PDF advantages and those are absolutely non-negotiable you'll need to take a hybrid approach, something like an interactive (html) view with perhaps a button/link to generate a PDF snapshot.  You'll need at least the SDK and perhaps 3rd party software to capture the iframe content as an image to be included in the PDF version of your report, if that's important.
Sorry if I'm going off track here, I don't understand your client's requirement or rationale, which sounds kind of like "print me a newspaper, but the comics section has to stream the Comedy Channel".