I am receiving a strange result when attempting to render a page using Acm. The closest I can tell is that it may have to do with rendering tables or adding cells to tables, however when I get close to trying to narrow down the offending call seems to be thrown elsewhere. Below is the error and stack trace I'm receiving. Should this exception really ever happen? If it is something I am doing, a friendlier message would be appreciated.

[ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Index was out of range. Must be non-negative and less than the size of the collection.
Parameter name: index]
System.Collections.Generic.List`1.get_Item(Int32 index) +14707204
EO.Pdf.Internal.bc.a(kf A_0) +336
EO.Pdf.Internal.i.m() +179
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +354
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmBlock A_0) +104
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.Render(AcmContent[] contents) +189

Hi,

Thanks for the additional information. We are able to locate the error location based on the stack trace you provided but we have not been able to duplicate the error. The error occurs when we try to access our internal "Lines" collection during the layout phase. It might have to do with vertical alignment (which is related to table cell), but whether the AcmText is added through constructor or added later should not matter. In any case, this would look more like a bug on our side other than a code error on your side. So if you can isolate the problem into a test app and send it to us, we will be able to look into and get to the bottom of this.

Thanks!

Also if this helps, I was able to eliminate the error by commenting out a single line of code that applied a stylename to an AcmBlock in the document which only added Padding to it. For example:

AcmBlock container = new AcmBlock();
//container.StyleName = DocumentStyle.AnswerContainer.ToString(); // Commenting out this line made the exception go away.
questionContainer.Children.Add(container);

The style:
AcmStyle answerContainer = new AcmStyle();
answerContainer.Name = DocumentStyle.AnswerContainer.ToString();
answerContainer.Padding = new AcmPadding(new AcmUnit(2));
sheet.Add(answerContainer);

I was also able to eliminate the exception by increasing the padding number.
AcmStyle answerContainer = new AcmStyle();
answerContainer.Name = DocumentStyle.AnswerContainer.ToString();
answerContainer.Padding = new AcmPadding(new AcmUnit(5)); // Increasing the padding number eliminated the exception.
sheet.Add(answerContainer);

I understand and appreciate very well the need of a clear example of where the issue is so that it can be tested and corrected but I'm a little frustrated with this response as this is clearly an issue on your end and I've already spent countless hours trying to even diagnose this issue feeling like my hands are tied. I'm not suggesting that you "try this" and "try that", but help me route out the issue because you understand and have access to your source code. The level of complexity of this issue is significant and the amount of coding I need to do to create a test project is not a small feat, given that it seems to be related to a significant content of the page and related to a number of elements (see my example above). I'd be happy to step through the problem if I had access to the source but I don't. I've given you several examples and a stack trace and that should be a good to help you help me troubleshoot.

Okay, I will try and do so... but like I said, it is seemingly completely random and as I am pulling information from a database to create the document it's going to take significant manual labor to create this issue as it has something to do with the number of elements as well as the configuration of those elements. I'm a little disappointed that your bug has become my problem. I can comment out one part of code and make it work, but it has nothing to do with that code that creates the issue. I can reenable the code and comment out another block and vice versa to make it work but not both. I also can remove one level of nesting that only applies some padding or change the amount of padding and it also will work.

I'm a little confused at why an index out of range issue is so difficult to troubleshoot on your end. Why is it difficult to backtrack from the call and see where there may be a condition that creates a scenario where you may be accessing an index out of bounds? I would be happy to do a net meeting with anyone willing to observe the problem. Spending a good amount of a day (or more) to recreate your bug for you seems like a dismissal of what I'm saying. I'm a seasoned developer and understand when a report creates me "chasing ghosts" but this is not the case here.

public enum DocumentStyle {
Normal,
Cover,
Header,
Heading1,
Heading2,
Heading3,
Heading4,
Heading5,
Question,
QuestionContainer,
Answer,
AnswerContainer,
Label,
PageHeader,
PageFooter,
TextBox,
Signature,
Notes
}

public void ExportTestForm(string fileName) {
PdfDocument document = new PdfDocument();
AcmContent section = new AcmContent();
section.StyleSheet = CreateStyleSheet();
section.StyleName = DocumentStyle.Normal.ToString();
AddHeader(section, "Test Questionnaire");

AcmText instructions = new AcmText("This is a test questionnaire.");
AcmParagraph paragraph = new AcmParagraph(instructions);
section.Children.Add(paragraph);

AcmBlock container = new AcmBlock();
container.Style.Padding = new AcmPadding(0);
AcmLineInfo borderStyle = new AcmLineInfo(AcmLineStyle.Solid, System.Drawing.Color.Black, new AcmUnit(1));
container.Style.Border.Top = borderStyle;

for (var i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
AcmBlock questionContainer = AddQuestionTest(container, String.Format("Question {0}:", i), true);
AcmBlock answerContainer = new AcmBlock();
answerContainer.StyleName = DocumentStyle.AnswerContainer.ToString();
AcmText text = new AcmText();
text.StyleName = DocumentStyle.Answer.ToString();
text.Style.Margin.Bottom = 0.20f;
answerContainer.Children.Add(text);
questionContainer.Children.Add(answerContainer);
}

section.Children.Add(container);
System.Drawing.SizeF pageSize = new System.Drawing.SizeF(8.5f, 11f);
AcmPadding pageMargin = new AcmPadding(0.75f, 0.75f, 0.75f, 0.75f);
AcmPageLayout layout = new AcmPageLayout(pageSize, pageMargin);
AcmRender renderer = new AcmRender(document, layout);
renderer.Render(section);
document.Save(fileName);
}

AcmBlock AddQuestionTest(AcmContent section, string questionText, bool includeBorder = true) {
AcmBlock container = new AcmBlock();
if (includeBorder) {
AcmLineInfo borderStyle = new AcmLineInfo(AcmLineStyle.Solid, System.Drawing.Color.Black, new AcmUnit(1));
container.Style.Border.Bottom = borderStyle;
container.Style.Border.Left = borderStyle;
container.Style.Border.Right = borderStyle;
}
container.Style.Padding = new AcmPadding(new AcmUnit(3));
AcmText text = new AcmText(questionText);
text.StyleName = DocumentStyle.Question.ToString();
section.Children.Add(container);
return container;
}

private AcmText AddHeader(AcmContent section, string headerText) {
AcmContent content = new AcmBlock();
content.StyleName = DocumentStyle.Header.ToString();
AcmText heading = new AcmText(headerText);
heading.StyleName = DocumentStyle.Heading1.ToString();
content.Children.Add(heading);
section.Children.Add(content);
return heading;
}

AcmStyleSheet CreateStyleSheet() {

AcmStyleSheet sheet = new AcmStyleSheet();

AcmStyle normal = new AcmStyle();
normal.Name = DocumentStyle.Normal.ToString();
normal.FontSize = 10;
normal.FontName = "Arial";
normal.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Left;
normal.VerticalAlign = AcmVerticalAlign.Top;
normal.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
sheet.Add(normal);

AcmStyle cover = new AcmStyle();
cover.Name = DocumentStyle.Cover.ToString();
cover.FontName = "Arial";
cover.FontSize = 10;
cover.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Center;
cover.FontSize = 22;
cover.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
cover.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
sheet.Add(cover);

AcmStyle header = new AcmStyle();
header.Name = DocumentStyle.Header.ToString();
header.BackgroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(200, 200, 200);
header.Padding = new AcmPadding(new AcmUnit(4));
header.Margin = new AcmPadding(0, 0, 0, new AcmUnit(14));
header.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Center;
header.VerticalAlign = AcmVerticalAlign.Middle;
sheet.Add(header);

AcmStyle heading1 = new AcmStyle();
heading1.Name = DocumentStyle.Heading1.ToString();
heading1.FontSize = 13;
heading1.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
heading1.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
sheet.Add(heading1);

AcmStyle heading2 = new AcmStyle();
heading2.Name = DocumentStyle.Heading2.ToString();
heading2.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Left;
heading2.FontSize = 13;
heading2.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
heading2.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
heading2.Margin.Top = new AcmUnit(16);
heading2.Margin.Bottom = new AcmUnit(8);
heading2.Border.Bottom = new AcmLineInfo(AcmLineStyle.Solid, System.Drawing.Color.Black, 0.1f);
sheet.Add(heading2);

AcmStyle heading3 = new AcmStyle();
heading3.Name = DocumentStyle.Heading3.ToString();
heading3.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Left;
heading3.FontSize = 13;
heading3.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
heading3.Margin.Top = new AcmUnit(14);
heading3.Margin.Bottom = new AcmUnit(8);
sheet.Add(heading3);

AcmStyle heading4 = new AcmStyle();
heading4.Name = DocumentStyle.Heading4.ToString();
heading4.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Left;
heading4.FontSize = 11;
heading4.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
heading4.Margin.Top = new AcmUnit(12);
heading4.Margin.Bottom = new AcmUnit(8);
sheet.Add(heading4);

AcmStyle heading5 = new AcmStyle();
heading5.Name = DocumentStyle.Heading5.ToString();
heading5.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
heading4.Margin.Top = new AcmUnit(6);
heading4.Margin.Bottom = new AcmUnit(2);
sheet.Add(heading5);

AcmStyle question = new AcmStyle();
question.Name = DocumentStyle.Question.ToString();
question.HorizontalAlign = AcmHorizontalAlign.Left;
question.FontSize = 9;
question.LineHeight = new AcmUnit(9);
question.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
sheet.Add(question);

AcmStyle questionContainer = new AcmStyle();
questionContainer.Name = DocumentStyle.QuestionContainer.ToString();
questionContainer.BackgroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(200, 200, 200);
questionContainer.Padding = new AcmPadding(new AcmUnit(1));
sheet.Add(questionContainer);

AcmStyle answerContainer = new AcmStyle();
answerContainer.Name = DocumentStyle.AnswerContainer.ToString();
answerContainer.Padding = new AcmPadding(new AcmUnit(6));
sheet.Add(answerContainer);

AcmStyle signature = new AcmStyle();
signature.Name = DocumentStyle.Signature.ToString();
signature.FontName = "Brush Script MT";
signature.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Italic;
signature.FontSize = 15;
sheet.Add(signature);

AcmStyle label = new AcmStyle();
label.Name = DocumentStyle.Label.ToString();
label.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Bold;
label.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(185, 185, 185);
sheet.Add(label);

AcmStyle answer = new AcmStyle();
answer.Name = DocumentStyle.Answer.ToString();
answer.FontStyle = System.Drawing.FontStyle.Regular;
sheet.Add(answer);

AcmStyle notes = new AcmStyle();
notes.Name = DocumentStyle.Notes.ToString();
notes.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.Red;
sheet.Add(notes);

AcmStyle pageHeader = new AcmStyle();
pageHeader.Name = DocumentStyle.PageHeader.ToString();
pageHeader.FontSize = 8;
pageHeader.FontName = "Arial";
pageHeader.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(100, 100, 100);
sheet.Add(pageHeader);

AcmStyle pageFooter = new AcmStyle();
pageFooter.Name = DocumentStyle.PageFooter.ToString();
pageFooter.FontSize = 8;
pageFooter.FontName = "Arial";
pageFooter.ForegroundColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(100, 100, 100);
sheet.Add(pageFooter);

return sheet;
}

Do you have an ETA on this? This is seriously holding up our project. The reason we went with your company was the claim for great customer support and claim to object quality. I would very much appreciate your prompt assistance in resolving this. Thank you.

Thank you very much!!! I appreciate the promptness of the fix.

Great thank you. I can do that. Any plans on updating the nuget package?

I downloaded the new build and it was working much better initially, but apparently the problem has not been fully fixed. I'm hoping I don't need to troubleshoot and build another test case for you.

[ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Index was out of range. Must be non-negative and less than the size of the collection.
Parameter name: index]
System.Collections.Generic.List`1.get_Item(Int32 index) +14707204
EO.Pdf.Internal.bc.a(kg A_0) +272
EO.Pdf.Internal.i.m() +179
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +354
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmContent A_0) +249
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.a(AcmBlock A_0) +104
EO.Pdf.Acm.AcmRender.Render(AcmContent[] contents) +189