Generating PDF reports from Oracle APEX

What the PDF engine actually does

• True pagination — content flows across pages correctly, with page breaks that respect group boundaries instead of splitting a group mid-page.
• Report/Page Header & Footer, Group Header/Footer, Detail bands — the same band vocabulary Oracle Reports Builder used, so a subtotal-per-group invoice or statement layout is a first-class case, not a workaround.
• 16 element types on the canvas — Text, Field, Image, Line, Rectangle, Chart, Crosstab, Barcode/QR, Subreport, and more — all render into the PDF exactly as designed.
• Custom fonts — upload a .ttf/.otf once and it's embedded directly into every PDF that uses it (Enterprise plan).
• Recursive subreports with parent → child parameter mapping, for master/detail documents like an invoice with line items.

Calling it from an APEX button

Register apexreporter-client.js once as a File URL (Shared Components → JavaScript), then a Dynamic Action's Execute JavaScript Code:

ApexReporter.run({
  baseUrl: "https://your-reporter-host:4000",
  report: "eabe5c46-ace5-49fc-9bb8-0e4dd8c8db07",
  format: "pdf",
  parameters: { P_DEPTNO: $v("P1_DEPTNO") },
  target: "_blank",
  apiKey: "your-report-api-key"
});

target: "download" forces a file download instead of opening in a new tab. Any number of parameters can be passed, matched against Parameters defined on the report. Full setup (registering the script, the service-caller API key, CORS) is on the installation guide.

Common PDF use cases

• Invoices and statements with line-item detail and running subtotals — see the invoice reporting guide.
• Certificates and single-record documents, printed on demand from a form page.
• Multi-page operational reports with group headers, delivered on a schedule — see scheduled reports.
• Government or compliance forms that must match an exact printed layout every time.