Skip to main content
Skip table of contents

How to add a shading pattern to a custom shape?

I have drawn an equilateral triangle as follows using iText


canvas.setColorStroke(BaseColor.BLACK);
int x = start.getX();
int y = start.getY();
canvas.moveTo(x,y);
canvas.lineTo(x + side,y);
canvas.lineTo(x + (side/2), (float)(y+(side*Math.sin(convertToRadian(60)))));
canvas.closePathStroke();

I wish to add a multi color gradient in this shape i.e. fill it with shading comprising of BaseColor.PINK and BaseColor.BLUE. I just can't find a way to do this with iText.

Posted on StackOverflow on Oct 27, 2014 by RaghaveShukla

I've created an example called ShadedFill that fills the triangle you are drawing using a shading pattern that goes from pink to blue as shown in the shaded_fill.pdf PDF:

Shaded fill

Shaded fill

PdfContentByte canvas = writer.getDirectContent();
float x = 36;
float y = 740;
float side = 70;
PdfShading axial = PdfShading.simpleAxial(writer, x, y,
        x + side, y, BaseColor.PINK, BaseColor.BLUE);
PdfShadingPattern shading = new PdfShadingPattern(axial);
canvas.setShadingFill(shading);
canvas.moveTo(x,y);
canvas.lineTo(x + side, y);
canvas.lineTo(x + (side / 2), (float)(y + (side * Math.sin(Math.PI / 3))));
canvas.closePathFillStroke();

As you can see, you need to create a PdfShading object. I created an axial shading that varies from pink to blue from the coordinate (x, y) to the coordinate (x + side, y). With this axial shading, you can create a PdfShadingPattern that can be used as a parameter of the setShadingFill() method to set the fill color for the canvas.

Click this link if you want to see how to answer this question in iText 7.

JavaScript errors detected

Please note, these errors can depend on your browser setup.

If this problem persists, please contact our support.