I am currently developing an application in APEX 5.0 to view and possibly annotate PDF files.
I'm not sure if this is viable so I'll present my ideal vision and ask for comments or suggestions.
I currently have an application to view PDF files from an internal server. I have a classic report based on a query that produces a URL pointing to the document.
There is a link column in the report associated with a dynamic action to display the document in an iframe.
I would like to extend the application to:
1) In addition to displaying the document, automatically insert the PDF into a table as a BLOB file
2) Allow the user to annotate the PDF and store the updated BLOB in the table
I realize that the second item would require an external application and most likely also require the user to manually save and attach the annotated file.
I'd like to make the process as seamless as possible with the ideal (and probably unattainable) being to simply save the annotated file and have it automatically attach.
I ultimately want to end up with a table that has a BLOB for the original document and one for the annotated copy.
Any suggestions you might have for the APEX file manipulation and annotation tool as well as how to integrate the tool into the APEX application would be greatly appreciated.
Alternatively, if you don't think this sounds line a viable plan I'd like to hear that too.
Thanks.