How to Generate PDF in C# (.NET 5) using PDFSharp

Install and Setup

Before getting into the code, the speaker highlights that setting up the environment for PDFsharp can be quite challenging. They explain that three NuGet packages must be installed before working with PDFsharp NuGet Package Details. The first package is PDFsharp itself, which may generate a warning that it may not match with .NET due to its older version. The other two packages are System.Drawing.Common and System.Text.Encoding.CodePages.

The speaker emphasizes that all three packages must be installed before working with PDFsharp; otherwise, the code will throw an error. They explain that the System.Text.Encoding.CodePages package is especially important as it provides the encoding support necessary for generating PDF files. The speaker also notes that failure to install the packages correctly could be difficult to troubleshoot. Teams looking to avoid this multi-package setup entirely can follow the PDFsharp to IronPDF migration guide for a step-by-step transition.

Creating a PDF File

Next, the speaker presents a simple console application that uses PDFsharp to generate a PDF file. They explain that before using the library, the using statements for PDFsharp Drawing and PDFsharp PDF must be declared. The speaker then presents the code to generate the PDF file, which involves creating a new document, adding a new page, and drawing the text on the page.

using PdfSharp.Drawing;
using PdfSharp.Pdf;

namespace PdfSharpExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a new PDF document
            PdfDocument document = new PdfDocument();
            // Add a new page
            PdfPage page = document.AddPage();
            // Prepare to draw on the page
            XGraphics gfx = XGraphics.FromPdfPage(page);
            // Define a font
            XFont font = new XFont("Verdana", 20, XFontStyle.Bold);

            // Draw a string to the page
            gfx.DrawString("Hello, PDFsharp!", font, XBrushes.Black,
                new XRect(0, 0, page.Width, page.Height),
                XStringFormats.Center);

            // Save the document
            const string filename = "HelloWorld.pdf";
            document.Save(filename);  
        }
    }
}

using PdfSharp.Drawing;
using PdfSharp.Pdf;

namespace PdfSharpExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a new PDF document
            PdfDocument document = new PdfDocument();
            // Add a new page
            PdfPage page = document.AddPage();
            // Prepare to draw on the page
            XGraphics gfx = XGraphics.FromPdfPage(page);
            // Define a font
            XFont font = new XFont("Verdana", 20, XFontStyle.Bold);

            // Draw a string to the page
            gfx.DrawString("Hello, PDFsharp!", font, XBrushes.Black,
                new XRect(0, 0, page.Width, page.Height),
                XStringFormats.Center);

            // Save the document
            const string filename = "HelloWorld.pdf";
            document.Save(filename);  
        }
    }
}

The speaker notes that the code for generating the PDF file can be adjusted to include more complex features, such as adding images (see how to convert images to PDF with IronPDF), tables, and charts. They also explain that PDFsharp provides various features for working with fonts, including embedding fonts in the PDF file.

The speaker explains the importance of setting up the environment correctly by installing the necessary NuGet packages and registering a provider for System.Text.Encoding. They also present a simple console application that uses PDFsharp to generate a PDF file and demonstrate how the code can be adjusted to include more complex features. The video is an excellent resource for anyone interested in generating PDF files using C# and PDFsharp.

Creating Lists and More Complex Items

In the second part of the video, the speaker begins by introducing a more complex example of creating a PDF document. He emphasizes that it is pointless to have an empty PDF document and proceeds to explain how to create a new page using the PDFSharp library. He notes that the process is similar to creating things in Excel or PowerPoint add-ins, and that once the page is created, it works with a reference that does not require the invocation of another method.

The speaker then introduces the XGraphics variable, which provides methods to draw things like text, lines, and images — functionality that IronPDF handles through its text and image stamping API without requiring manual coordinate calculations. The XFont variable is also introduced as a means of setting up a font for use in the PDF document. The speaker notes that the font can be generated somewhere else, but that it is useful to set it up globally if there is a more complex arrangement.

Next, the speaker discusses the DrawString method, which writes text into the PDF file. He notes that the complex part of the method is determining where the text will be drawn and explains the various parameters involved, such as the font, color, and boundaries of where the text might align. He also explains the use of the XBrushes variable to set the color of the text.

Which Library Should You Choose?

In conclusion, the speaker emphasizes the importance of being familiar with Microsoft Office add-ins when working with PDFSharp and offers his own course on the topic. He also notes that the library is highly versatile and can be used to create a wide range of PDF documents, from simple text documents to more complex ones with images, graphics, and custom layouts.

What Is IronPDF?

IronPDF is a C# PDF library for creating, editing, and manipulating PDF documents. It ships as a single NuGet package — Install-Package IronPdf — and integrates with .NET applications without requiring additional dependency setup.

PDFsharp provides solid low-level drawing control and ships under a permissive MIT license — two genuine strengths that have made it a staple in many .NET projects. Where teams often hit friction is when requirements grow beyond coordinate-based rendering into areas like HTML-to-PDF conversion, digital signatures, or document encryption. IronPDF is a commercially supported library that addresses those scenarios as first-class operations, with professional support and an API surface designed around common document-generation workflows including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript rendering.

Features

One of the key features of IronPDF is its ability to convert HTML to PDF using IronPDF, making it straightforward to create PDF documents from web pages. HTML-to-PDF conversion is outside PDFsharp's current scope — it operates at the coordinate-drawing level — so teams needing that capability typically add a separate rendering library or evaluate IronPDF's built-in Chromium engine.

IronPDF also includes support for digital signatures and PDF encryption with password protection, which is crucial for sensitive documents that require secure handling. PDFsharp is not designed to address these security scenarios, so teams with compliance or document-protection requirements often find this a natural inflection point for evaluating IronPDF.

IronPDF provides a broader feature set and a more comprehensive support offering compared to PDFsharp, covering HTML rendering, encryption, and digital signatures in a single NuGet package. It is a commercial product, however, so teams whose requirements fit within PDFsharp's coordinate-drawing model — and who do not need HTML conversion or built-in security features — may prefer PDFsharp's MIT-licensed, open-source approach.

Beyond license cost, total project cost includes the developer hours spent assembling separate rendering libraries, managing coordinate-based page layouts for complex documents, and troubleshooting the multi-package setup that PDFsharp requires. For teams evaluating cost over a multi-year project lifecycle, these integration and maintenance costs frequently eclipse the difference between open-source and commercial licensing.

Ready to see how IronPDF fits into your workflow? Download a free 30-day trial to test every feature covered in this comparison.