How to Convert Views to PDFs in ASPNET

// PersonModel.cs
public class Person
{
    public int ID { get; set; }            // Unique Identifier for each person
    public string Name { get; set; }       // Name of the person
    public string Title { get; set; }      // Job title, e.g., "Software Engineer"
    public string Description { get; set; } // A brief description of the person
}

' PersonModel.cs
Public Class Person
	Public Property ID() As Integer ' -  Unique Identifier for each person
	Public Property Name() As String ' -  Name of the person
	Public Property Title() As String ' -  Job title, e.g., "Software Engineer"
	Public Property Description() As String ' -  A brief description of the person
End Class

// HomeController.cs
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using IronPdf;

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    // Action to display a list of persons
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        var people = new List<Person>
        {
            new Person { ID = 1, Name = "Alice", Title = "Software Engineer", Description = "Expert in C#" },
            new Person { ID = 2, Name = "Bob", Title = "Software Engineer", Description = "Expert in Java" },
            new Person { ID = 3, Name = "Charlie", Title = "Software Engineer", Description = "Expert in Python" }
        };

        return View(people);
    }

    // Action to generate PDF from a view
    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult GeneratePdf()
    {
        // Fetch the view as a string and construct a PDF
        var Renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();                                // Initialize IronPDF's Chrome renderer

        var htmlContent = RenderRazorViewToString("Index");                   // Get HTML content of the view
        var pdf = Renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);                       // Render the content to PDF

        return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "Persons.pdf");         // Return PDF file for download
    }

    // Utility method to render a view to string
    private string RenderRazorViewToString(string viewName)
    {
        using (var sw = new StringWriter())
        {
            var viewResult = ViewEngines.Engines.FindView(ControllerContext, viewName, null);
            var viewContext = new ViewContext(ControllerContext, viewResult.View, ViewData, TempData, sw);
            viewResult.View.Render(viewContext, sw);
            return sw.GetStringBuilder().ToString();
        }
    }
}

' HomeController.cs
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Web.Mvc
Imports IronPdf

Public Class HomeController
	Inherits Controller

	' Action to display a list of persons
	Public Function Index() As ActionResult
		Dim people = New List(Of Person) From {
			New Person With {
				.ID = 1,
				.Name = "Alice",
				.Title = "Software Engineer",
				.Description = "Expert in C#"
			},
			New Person With {
				.ID = 2,
				.Name = "Bob",
				.Title = "Software Engineer",
				.Description = "Expert in Java"
			},
			New Person With {
				.ID = 3,
				.Name = "Charlie",
				.Title = "Software Engineer",
				.Description = "Expert in Python"
			}
		}

		Return View(people)
	End Function

	' Action to generate PDF from a view
	<HttpPost>
	Public Function GeneratePdf() As ActionResult
		' Fetch the view as a string and construct a PDF
		Dim Renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer() ' Initialize IronPDF's Chrome renderer

		Dim htmlContent = RenderRazorViewToString("Index") ' Get HTML content of the view
		Dim pdf = Renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent) ' Render the content to PDF

		Return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "Persons.pdf") ' Return PDF file for download
	End Function

	' Utility method to render a view to string
	Private Function RenderRazorViewToString(ByVal viewName As String) As String
		Using sw = New StringWriter()
			Dim viewResult = ViewEngines.Engines.FindView(ControllerContext, viewName, Nothing)
			Dim viewContext As New ViewContext(ControllerContext, viewResult.View, ViewData, TempData, sw)
			viewResult.View.Render(viewContext, sw)
			Return sw.GetStringBuilder().ToString()
		End Using
	End Function
End Class

<!-- Index.cshtml -->
@model List<Person>
@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Persons List";
}

<h2>Persons List</h2>

<form action="/Home/GeneratePdf" method="post">
  <table>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th>Title</th>
        <th>Description</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      @foreach (var person in Model)
      {
        <tr>
          <td>@person.Name</td>
          <td>@person.Title</td>
          <td>@person.Description</td>
        </tr>
      }
    </tbody>
  </table>
  <button type="submit">Print Persons</button>
</form>

<!-- _Layout.cshtml -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <title>@ViewBag.Title</title>
    @Styles.Render("~/Content/css")
    @Scripts.Render("~/bundles/modernizr")
</head>
<body>
    <div class="navbar">
        <a href="/">Home</a>
        <a href="/Home/Index">Persons</a> <!-- Link to the Persons List Page -->
    </div>
    <div class="container body-content">
        @RenderBody()
    </div>
    @Scripts.Render("~/bundles/jquery")
    @RenderSection("scripts", required: false)
</body>
</html>