Quick answer
Generate PDF reports from SQL Server using Python, pyodbc, pandas and ReportLab. Build plant production summaries, tables, timestamps and reusable PDF outputs.
Architecture: SQL Server → PDF
Code-Based Architecture
SQL Server → PDF
1
SQL Server
Source plant records
dbo.tblEvent2
pyodbc
Connect and query
SELECT ...3
pandas
Prepare report data
DataFrame4
ReportLab
Build PDF document
SimpleDocTemplate5
Tables
Add headers and rows
Table(...)6
PDF File
Save/share report
SQF_Report.pdfSQL Server→pyodbc→pandas→ReportLab→Tables→PDF File
1. Install the PDF library
python -m pip install reportlab2. Prepare report data
# Assume df contains SQL Server records
report_df = df[["DT", "SQF_No", "ChargeNo", "Temp_Act"]].copy()
report_df["DT"] = report_df["DT"].astype(str)3. Create a simple PDF
from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import A4
from reportlab.platypus import SimpleDocTemplate, Paragraph
from reportlab.lib.styles import getSampleStyleSheet pdf = SimpleDocTemplate("SQF_Report.pdf", pagesize=A4)
styles = getSampleStyleSheet()
story = [Paragraph("SQF Production Report", styles["Title"])]
pdf.build(story)4. Add a DataFrame table
from reportlab.platypus import Table, TableStyle
from reportlab.lib import colors rows = [report_df.columns.tolist()] + report_df.astype(str).values.tolist()
table = Table(rows, repeatRows=1)
table.setStyle(TableStyle([ ("BACKGROUND", (0, 0), (-1, 0), colors.lightgrey), ("GRID", (0, 0), (-1, -1), 0.5, colors.grey),
]))
story.append(table)5. Use dated filenames
from datetime import datetime
name = datetime.now().strftime("SQF_Report_%Y%m%d_%H%M%S.pdf")
print(name)6. PDF report checklist
- Title and generation timestamp
- Source database/report filter
- Readable column widths and page layout
- Output folder exists and is writable
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Python library can create PDF reports?
ReportLab is a widely used Python library for programmatic PDF generation.
Can pandas write PDF directly?
pandas does not provide a general DataFrame-to-PDF writer; use a PDF library or another document/reporting layer.
Should PDF reports use the same cleaned DataFrame as Excel?
Yes. Reusing one validated DataFrame helps keep Excel and PDF outputs consistent.