How to add header on the first page of a PDF in C# and VB.NET
Syncfusion Essential PDF is a .NET PDF library used to create, read, and edit PDF documents. Using this library, you can add header on the first page of a PDF document in C# and VB.NET.
Steps to add header on the first page of a PDF programmatically:
- Create a new C# console application project.
- Install the Syncfusion.Pdf.WinForms NuGet package as reference to your .NET Framework application from NuGet.org.
- Include the following namespace in the program.cs file.
C#
using Syncfusion.Pdf; using Syncfusion.Pdf.Graphics; using Syncfusion.Pdf.Grid;
VB.NET
Imports Syncfusion.Pdf Imports Syncfusion.Pdf.Graphics Imports Syncfusion.Pdf.Grid
- Use the following code snippet to add header on the first page of the PDF document as follows.
C#
//Create a PDF document
PdfDocument doc = new PdfDocument();
//Add a page
PdfPage page = doc.Pages.Add();
//Adding header
PdfTemplate header = AddHeader(doc, "Syncfusion Essential PDF", "Header and Footer Demo");
//Draw the header in the first page of PDF document
page.Graphics.DrawPdfTemplate(header, new PointF());
//Create a PdfGrid
PdfGrid grid = new PdfGrid();
//Add columns to the data table
DataTable table = new DataTable();
table.Columns.Add("Roll Number", typeof(int));
table.Columns.Add("Name", typeof(string));
table.Columns.Add("Class", typeof(string));
//Add rows to the data table
for (int i = 0; i < 200; i++)
{
table.Rows.Add(i, "Maxim", "III");
}
//Assign data source
grid.DataSource = table;
//Set properties to paginate the grid
PdfGridLayoutFormat format = new PdfGridLayoutFormat();
format.Break = PdfLayoutBreakType.FitPage;
format.Layout = PdfLayoutType.Paginate;
//Draw a grid to the PDF document
grid.Draw(page, new Point(0, (int)header.Height+10), format);
//Save the document
doc.Save("Header.pdf");
//Close the document
doc.Close(true);
//This will open the PDF file so, the result will be seen in default PDF viewer
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("Header.pdf");
VB.NET
'Create a PDF document
Dim doc As New PdfDocument()
'Add a page
Dim page As PdfPage = doc.Pages.Add()
'Adding header
Dim header As PdfTemplate = AddHeader(doc, "Syncfusion Essential PDF", "Header and Footer Demo")
'Draw the header in the first page of PDF document
page.Graphics.DrawPdfTemplate(header, New PointF())
'Create a PdfGrid
Dim grid As New PdfGrid()
'Add columns to the data table
Dim table As New DataTable()
table.Columns.Add("Roll Number", GetType(Integer))
table.Columns.Add("Name", GetType(String))
table.Columns.Add("Class", GetType(String))
'Add rows to the data table
For i As Integer = 0 To 199
table.Rows.Add(i, "Maxim", "III")
Next
'Assign data source
grid.DataSource = table
'Set properties to paginate the grid
Dim format As New PdfGridLayoutFormat()
format.Break = PdfLayoutBreakType.FitPage
format.Layout = PdfLayoutType.Paginate
'Draw a grid to the PDF document
grid.Draw(page, New Point(0, CInt(header.Height) + 10), format)
'Save the document
doc.Save("Header.pdf")
'Close the document
doc.Close(True)
'This will open the PDF file so, the result will be seen in default PDF viewer
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("Header.pdf")
- Add the following code in AddHeader method to create a header.
C#
private static PdfTemplate AddHeader(PdfDocument doc, string title, string description)
{
SizeF rect = new SizeF(doc.Pages[0].GetClientSize().Width, 50);
//Create page template
PdfTemplate header = new PdfTemplate(rect);
PdfFont font = new PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 24);
float doubleHeight = font.Height * 2;
Color activeColor = Color.FromArgb(44, 71, 120);
SizeF imageSize = new SizeF(110f, 35f);
//Locating the logo on the right corner of the drawing surface
PointF imageLocation = new PointF(doc.Pages[0].GetClientSize().Width - imageSize.Width - 20, 5);
PdfSolidBrush brush = new PdfSolidBrush(activeColor);
PdfPen pen = new PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 3f);
font = new PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 16, PdfFontStyle.Bold);
//Set formatting for the text
PdfStringFormat format = new PdfStringFormat();
format.Alignment = PdfTextAlignment.Center;
format.LineAlignment = PdfVerticalAlignment.Middle;
//Draw title
header.Graphics.DrawString(title, font, brush, new RectangleF(0, 0, header.Width, header.Height), format);
brush = new PdfSolidBrush(Color.Gray);
font = new PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 6, PdfFontStyle.Bold);
format = new PdfStringFormat();
format.Alignment = PdfTextAlignment.Left;
format.LineAlignment = PdfVerticalAlignment.Bottom;
//Draw description
header.Graphics.DrawString(description, font, brush, new RectangleF(0, 0, header.Width, header.Height - 8), format);
//Draw some lines in the header
pen = new PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 0.7f);
header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, 0, header.Width, 0);
pen = new PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 2f);
header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, 03, header.Width + 3, 03);
pen = new PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 2f);
header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, header.Height - 3, header.Width, header.Height - 3);
header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, header.Height, header.Width, header.Height);
return header;
}
VB.NET
Private Function AddHeader(ByVal doc As PdfDocument, ByVal title As String, ByVal description As String) As PdfTemplate Dim rect As SizeF = New SizeF(doc.Pages(0).GetClientSize().Width, 50) 'Create page template Dim header As PdfTemplate = New PdfTemplate(rect) Dim font As PdfFont = New PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 24) Dim doubleHeight As Single = font.Height * 2 Dim activeColor As Color = Color.FromArgb(44, 71, 120) Dim imageSize As SizeF = New SizeF(110.0F, 35.0F) 'Locating the logo on the right corner of the Drawing Surface Dim imageLocation As PointF = New PointF(doc.Pages(0).GetClientSize().Width - imageSize.Width - 20, 5) Dim brush As PdfSolidBrush = New PdfSolidBrush(activeColor) Dim pen As PdfPen = New PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 3.0F) font = New PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 16, PdfFontStyle.Bold) 'Set formatting for the text Dim format As PdfStringFormat = New PdfStringFormat() format.Alignment = PdfTextAlignment.Center format.LineAlignment = PdfVerticalAlignment.Middle 'Draw title header.Graphics.DrawString(title, font, brush, New RectangleF(0, 0, header.Width, header.Height), format) brush = New PdfSolidBrush(Color.Gray) font = New PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 6, PdfFontStyle.Bold) format = New PdfStringFormat() format.Alignment = PdfTextAlignment.Left format.LineAlignment = PdfVerticalAlignment.Bottom 'Draw description header.Graphics.DrawString(description, font, brush, New RectangleF(0, 0, header.Width, header.Height - 8), format) 'Draw some lines in the header pen = New PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 0.7F) header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, 0, header.Width, 0) pen = New PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 2.0F) header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, 3, header.Width + 3, 3) pen = New PdfPen(Color.DarkBlue, 2.0F) header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, header.Height - 3, header.Width, header.Height - 3) header.Graphics.DrawLine(pen, 0, header.Height, header.Width, header.Height) Return header End Function
A complete working sample can be downloaded from PDFHeaderSample.zip.
By executing the program, you will get the PDF document as follows. 
Take a moment to peruse the documentation, where you can find adding the headers and footers in a PDF file and other features like adding shapes to PDF, inserting image in a PDF, and drawing text to PDF with code examples.
Refer here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion Essential PDF features.
An online sample link to add headers and footers in all pages of the document.
Note:
Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion® assemblies from the trial setup or the NuGet feed, include a license key in your projects. Refer to the link to learn about generating and registering the Syncfusion® license key in your application to use the components without a trial message.
Conclusion:
I hope you enjoyed learning about how to add header on the first page of a PDF in C# and VB.NET.
You can refer to our Flutter PDF feature tour page to learn about its other groundbreaking features and documentation, and how to quickly get started with configuration specifications. You can also explore our Flutter PDF Flutter PDF examples to understand how to create and manipulate data.
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