The question about generating RTF files using Java

[Sami Kent]

In the project I'm working on, PDF and RTF files are generated programmatically using iText Java API.
There's a very special element required in the output files. The following steps tell you how to create manually it in MS Word.

1. Go to "View"->"Header and Footer".
2. Insert a "textbox" into the header area.
3. Insert a picture into this textbox.
4. Move this textbox out of the header area, and put it on the left-hand side of the document.
Resize the picture so it runs from the top to the bottom on the page.
5. Therefore this left-side picture bar will show up on every page of this document since it's created in the header.
And it magically sits out of the header area.

I've achieved this element for PDF files using "WaterMark" object of the iText API. Unfortunately, iText documentation explicitly
claims it doesn't support WaterMark in RTF files.

I tried to post this question in the maillist of iText and got the answer that there's no plan to support this feature for RTF
files in the near future.

I've ever thought about Jfor, another Java API for generating RTF file, which I believed could be more powerful than iText to handle RTF
files since iText was originally designed to handle PDF files and does have too much interest on RTF. But Jfor requires a
XSL-FO input and I don't even know how to represent my required element in a XSL-FO.

I've also checked Jakarta POI, unfortunately, the component for handling RTF is still "in the early stages of development".
(Actually, they are still recruiting volunteer developers for this Open Source project).

Is there anybody here having encountered the similar problem before?

Any ideas and clues to help achieve this element are very welcome regardless of what APIs.
If I didn't make myself clear or any further information required, please shoot me an email at [e-mail]