How to create and download PDF file in ASP.NET Core [C#]?

PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format used to display the document with the same formatting, independent of application software, hardware, and operating system. Syncfusion’s .NET Core PDF library is used to create, read, and edit PDF documents programmatically. Using this library, you can create and download PDF files in ASP.NET Core using C#.

Steps to create and download PDF file programmatically in ASP.NET Core using C#:

1. Create a new C# ASP.NET Core Web Application project.  

2. Select the Web Application pattern (Model-View-Controller) for the project. 

   3. Install the Syncfusion.Pdf.Net.Core NuGet package as a reference to your ASP.NET Core application       from NuGet.org.

4. A default controller with the name HomeController.cs gets added on the creation of the ASP.NET Core project. Include the following namespaces in that HomeController.cs file.

C#

using Syncfusion.Pdf;
using Syncfusion.Pdf.Graphics;
using Syncfusion.Drawing;
using System.IO;

5. A default action method named Index will be present in HomeController.cs. Right-click on the Index method and select Go to View, where you will be directed to its associated view page Index.cshtml.
6. Add a new button in the index.cshtml as shown below.

CSHTML

@{Html.BeginForm("CreatePDFDocument", "Home", FormMethod.Get);
    {
        <div>
            <input type="submit" value="Create and download PDF document" style="width:250px;height:27px" />
        </div>
    }
    Html.EndForm();
}

7. Add a new action method CreatePDFDocument in HomeController.cs and include the below code snippet to create the PDF file and download it in C#. 

C#

//Create a new PDF document.
PdfDocument document = new PdfDocument();
 
//Add a page to the document.
PdfPage page = document.Pages.Add();
 
//Create PDF graphics for the page.
PdfGraphics graphics = page.Graphics;
 
//Set the standard font.
PdfFont font = new PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 20);
 
//Draw the text.
graphics.DrawString("Hello World!", font, PdfBrushes.Black, new PointF(0, 0));
 
//Saving the PDF to the MemoryStream.
MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
document.Save(stream);
 
//Set the position as '0'.
stream.Position = 0;
 
//Defining the ContentType for pdf file.
string contentType = "application/pdf";
 
//Define the file name.
string fileName = "Sample.pdf";
 
//Creates a FileContentResult object by using the file contents, content type, and file name.
return File(stream, contentType, fileName);

By executing the program, the webpage will be loaded as the below,

After clicking the button “Create and download PDF document”, you will get the following output document.

A complete working ASP.NET Core example can be downloaded from Create-and-download-PDF-file.zip.

Take a moment to peruse the documentation, where you can find other options like drawing right-to-left text and multi-column text, consuming TrueType fonts, Standard fonts, and CJK fonts. Also, the features like PDF form filling, extract text or images from PDF and protect PDF documents with code examples.

Refer here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion® .NET Core PDF features.

An online sample link to generate a Hello world PDF document.

See Also:

Create a PDF file in ASP.NET MVC

Create a PDF file in ASP.NET Web Forms

Create a PDF file in Blazor

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning about how to create and download PDF files in ASP.NET Core [C#].

You can refer to our ASP.NET Core PDF feature tour page to know about its other groundbreaking feature representations and documentation, and how to quickly get started for configuration specifications. You can also explore our ASP.NET Core PDF Example to understand how to create and manipulate data.

For current customers, you can check out our components from the License and Downloads page. If you are new to Syncfusion®, you can try our 30-day free trial to check out our other controls.

If you have any queries or require clarifications, please let us know in the comments section below. You can also contact us through our support forums, Direct-Trac, or feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!