Generate ID Card in PDF using User Input Image and Data from a Tkinter Window in Python ReportLab

Interactive Google Colab Practice Notebook

Practice building interactive Tkinter forms, selecting photo files, passing GUI inputs (`StringVar`), and generating PDF student ID cards with ReportLab directly inside Google Colab.

View on GitHub

Generating PDF ID card by using user input data & image through Tkinter window using ReportLab

Tkinter Window to Take User Inputs 🔝

We need five input fields from the user to create the ID card:

s_name: Student name
s_id: Student ID
s_class: Student class
s_gender: Student gender
s_filename: File path of the student's photo

We use tk.StringVar() to capture form inputs and pass them to the main canvas script. The submit button destroys the window instance via command=lambda: my_w.destroy() to release execution control to the canvas builder.

GUI Input Module: tk_id_input.py

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog
from PIL import Image, ImageTk

my_w = tk.Tk()
my_w.geometry("400x350") 

s_name = tk.StringVar(value='Kalu')
s_id = tk.StringVar(value='16')
s_class = tk.StringVar(value='Four')
s_gender = tk.StringVar(value='Female')
s_filename = ''

l1 = tk.Label(my_w, text='Name', font=22, width=8, fg='blue')
l1.grid(row=0, column=0, padx=1, pady=10)
e1 = tk.Entry(my_w, font=22, width=8, textvariable=s_name)
e1.grid(row=0, column=1, padx=1, pady=10)

l2 = tk.Label(my_w, text='ID', font=22, width=8, fg='blue')
l2.grid(row=0, column=2, padx=1, pady=10, sticky='w')
e2 = tk.Entry(my_w, font=22, textvariable=s_id, width=8)
e2.grid(row=0, column=3, padx=1, pady=10, sticky='w')

l3 = tk.Label(my_w, text='Class', font=22, width=8, fg='blue')
l3.grid(row=1, column=0, padx=1, pady=10)
e3 = tk.Entry(my_w, font=22, textvariable=s_class, width=8)
e3.grid(row=1, column=1, padx=1, pady=10)

l4 = tk.Label(my_w, text='Gender', font=22, width=8, fg='blue')
l4.grid(row=1, column=2, padx=1, pady=10, sticky='w')
e4 = tk.Entry(my_w, font=22, textvariable=s_gender, width=8)
e4.grid(row=1, column=3, padx=1, pady=10, sticky='w')

b1 = tk.Button(my_w, text='Select Image', font=22, command=lambda: upload_file())
b1.grid(row=2, column=0, columnspan=2)

def upload_file():
    global img, s_filename
    f_types = [('Jpg Files', '*.jpg'), ('Png Files', '*.png')]
    s_filename = filedialog.askopenfilename(filetypes=f_types)
    if s_filename:
        img = ImageTk.PhotoImage(file=s_filename)
        b4 = tk.Button(my_w, image=img)
        b4.grid(row=2, column=2, columnspan=2)

b2 = tk.Button(my_w, text='Submit', font=22, command=lambda: my_w.destroy())
b2.grid(row=3, column=1, padx=10, pady=10)

my_w.mainloop()

Creating the ID Card Using Inputs 🔝

We import the canvas template from ID Card Part 1 to maintain layout consistency:

from tk_id_card_temp import my_temp # import the template
from tk_id_input import s_name, s_id, s_class, s_gender, s_filename # Tkinter inputs

Since these variables are StringVar() instances, we call their get() method to retrieve string inputs before passing them into ReportLab draw methods.

Main File: tk_id_card_main.py

from pathlib import Path
from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
from reportlab.lib.units import inch
from tk_id_card_temp import my_temp
from tk_id_input import s_name, s_id, s_class, s_gender, s_filename

output_dir = Path('output')
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
my_path = output_dir / 'tkinter_id_card.pdf'

c = canvas.Canvas(str(my_path), pagesize=(400, 300))
c = my_temp(c)

if s_filename:
    c.drawImage(s_filename, 2.2 * inch, 0.7 * inch)

c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 1)
c.setFont("Helvetica", 20)
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.7 * inch, str(s_id.get()))
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 1.3 * inch, s_name.get())
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.9 * inch, s_class.get())
c.drawString(0.5 * inch, 0.5 * inch, s_gender.get())

c.showPage()
c.save()
print(f"ID Card generated: {my_path}")

Template File: tk_id_card_temp.py

from reportlab.lib.units import inch

def my_temp(c):
    c.translate(inch, inch)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 14)
    c.setStrokeColorRGB(0.1, 0.8, 0.1)
    c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 1)
    
    # Watermark
    c.rotate(35)
    c.setFillColorCMYK(0, 0, 0, 0.08)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 100)
    c.drawString(-1.1 * inch, -0.5 * inch, "SAMPLE")
    c.rotate(-35)
    
    c.setFillColorRGB(1, 0, 0)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 25)
    c.drawRightString(1.7 * inch, 2.3 * inch, 'Identity Card')
    
    c.setFillColorRGB(0, 0, 0)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 24)
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 1.7 * inch, 'ID:')
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 1.3 * inch, 'Name:')
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 0.9 * inch, 'Class:')
    c.drawRightString(0.3 * inch, 0.5 * inch, 'Gender:')
    c.drawRightString(4.0 * inch, -0.5 * inch, 'Signature')
    
    c.line(-1.1, -0.7 * inch, 5 * inch, -0.7 * inch)
    c.setFont("Helvetica", 8)
    c.setFillColorRGB(1, 0, 0)
    c.drawString(0, -0.9 * inch, "\u00A9 plus2net.com")
    
    return c

Practical Uses of Interactive Desktop PDF Generation

Integrating Desktop GUI frameworks (like Tkinter, PyQt, or CustomTkinter) with ReportLab provides several operational benefits:

Desktop Form-to-PDF Workflows: Allow office staff to type student metadata and browse local photos without needing full web server setups.
On-Demand Student Registration: Instantly preview and generate official student ID cards right at administrative desks upon enrollment.
Input Validation & File Browsing: Enforce valid input formats and file extension filtering (JPEG, PNG) using standard OS file dialogs before invoking ReportLab builders.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Tkinter Event Loop Blocking: Placing long-running ReportLab generation code directly inside the main GUI thread without destroying or hiding the Tk window can freeze the UI. Always trigger destruction or handle generation asynchronously.
Reading Unassigned File Paths: If the user submits the form before selecting an image file using filedialog.askopenfilename(), `s_filename` remains an empty string. Wrap `c.drawImage` calls in a check for valid non-empty file paths.
Accessing `StringVar` Directly: Passing `s_id` directly to `c.drawString()` passes the Tkinter variable object rather than the string value. Always call `.get()` (e.g. `str(s_id.get())`).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How do I clear form fields after generating a PDF?
A: Set `s_name.set('')`, `s_id.set('')`, etc., inside a reset button callback instead of calling `my_w.destroy()`.

Q: Can I run Tkinter GUI applications in Google Colab?
A: Standard Tkinter GUI windows require a local X11 display. In headless environments like Google Colab, input form data can be simulated using Google Colab form widgets or Python dictionaries.

User Inputs from Tkinter to Create ID Card