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3. CSHTML to PDF (MVC Core)

How to Convert Views to PDFs in ASP.NET Core MVC

by Chaknith Bin

A View is a component in the ASP.NET framework used for generating HTML markup in web applications. It is a part of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, commonly used in ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Core MVC applications. Views are responsible for presenting data to the user by rendering HTML content dynamically.

ASP.NET Core Web App MVC (Model-View-Controller) is a web application provided by Microsoft for building web applications using ASP.NET Core.

• Model: The Model represents data and business logic, manages data interactions, and communicates with data sources.
• View: The View presents the user interface, focuses on displaying data, and renders information to the user.
• Controller: The Controller handles user input, responds to requests, communicates with the Model, and orchestrates interactions between the Model and the View.

IronPdf simplifies the process of creating PDF files from Views within an ASP.NET Core MVC project. This makes PDF generation easy and direct in ASP.NET Core MVC.

IronPDF Extension Package

The IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core package is an extension of the main IronPdf package. Both the IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core and IronPdf packages are needed to render Views to PDF documents in a ASP.NET Core MVC.

Install-Package IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core

Install with NuGet

Install-Package IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core

nuget.org/packages/IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core/

Render Views to PDFs

You'll need an ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) project to convert Views into PDF files.

Add a Model Class

• Navigate to the "Models" folder
• Create a new C# class file named "Person." This class will act as a model to represent individual data. Use the following code snippet:

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/cshtml-to-pdf-mvc-core-model.cs

namespace ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Models
{
    public class Person
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public string Title { get; set; }
        public string Description { get; set; }
    }
}

Namespace ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Models
	Public Class Person
		Public Property Id() As Integer
		Public Property Name() As String
		Public Property Title() As String
		Public Property Description() As String
	End Class
End Namespace

Edit the Controller

Navigate to the "Controllers" folder and open the "HomeController" file. We are going to make changes only to the HomeController and add the "Persons" action. Please refer to the code below for guidance:

The code below first instantiates the ChromePdfRenderer class, passing an IRazorViewRenderer, the path to our "Persons.cshtml," and the List that contains the required data to the RenderRazorViewToPdf method. Users can utilize RenderingOptions to access a range of features, such as adding custom text, including HTML headers and footers in the resulting PDF, defining custom margins, and applying page numbers.

using IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using System.Diagnostics;
using ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Models;

namespace ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Controllers
{
    public class HomeController : Controller
    {
        private readonly ILogger<HomeController> _logger;
        private readonly IRazorViewRenderer _viewRenderService;
        private readonly IHttpContextAccessor _httpContextAccessor;
        public HomeController(ILogger<HomeController> logger, IRazorViewRenderer viewRenderService, IHttpContextAccessor httpContextAccessor)
        {
            _logger = logger;
            _viewRenderService = viewRenderService;
            _httpContextAccessor = httpContextAccessor;
        }

        public IActionResult Index()
        {
            return View();
        }

        public async Task<IActionResult> Persons()
        {

            var persons = new List<Person>
            {
            new Person { Name = "Alice", Title = "Mrs.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Bob", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Charlie", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" }
            };

            if (_httpContextAccessor.HttpContext.Request.Method == HttpMethod.Post.Method)
            {

                ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

                // Render View to PDF document
                PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderRazorViewToPdf(_viewRenderService, "Views/Home/Persons.cshtml", persons);

                Response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "inline");

                // Output PDF document
                return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "viewToPdfMVCCore.pdf");
            }
            return View(persons);
        }

        public IActionResult Privacy()
        {
            return View();
        }

        [ResponseCache(Duration = 0, Location = ResponseCacheLocation.None, NoStore = true)]
        public IActionResult Error()
        {
            return View(new ErrorViewModel { RequestId = Activity.Current?.Id ?? HttpContext.TraceIdentifier });
        }
    }
}

using IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using System.Diagnostics;
using ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Models;

namespace ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Controllers
{
    public class HomeController : Controller
    {
        private readonly ILogger<HomeController> _logger;
        private readonly IRazorViewRenderer _viewRenderService;
        private readonly IHttpContextAccessor _httpContextAccessor;
        public HomeController(ILogger<HomeController> logger, IRazorViewRenderer viewRenderService, IHttpContextAccessor httpContextAccessor)
        {
            _logger = logger;
            _viewRenderService = viewRenderService;
            _httpContextAccessor = httpContextAccessor;
        }

        public IActionResult Index()
        {
            return View();
        }

        public async Task<IActionResult> Persons()
        {

            var persons = new List<Person>
            {
            new Person { Name = "Alice", Title = "Mrs.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Bob", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Charlie", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" }
            };

            if (_httpContextAccessor.HttpContext.Request.Method == HttpMethod.Post.Method)
            {

                ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

                // Render View to PDF document
                PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderRazorViewToPdf(_viewRenderService, "Views/Home/Persons.cshtml", persons);

                Response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "inline");

                // Output PDF document
                return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "viewToPdfMVCCore.pdf");
            }
            return View(persons);
        }

        public IActionResult Privacy()
        {
            return View();
        }

        [ResponseCache(Duration = 0, Location = ResponseCacheLocation.None, NoStore = true)]
        public IActionResult Error()
        {
            return View(new ErrorViewModel { RequestId = Activity.Current?.Id ?? HttpContext.TraceIdentifier });
        }
    }
}

Imports IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core
Imports Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc
Imports System.Diagnostics
Imports ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Models

Namespace ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample.Controllers
	Public Class HomeController
		Inherits Controller

		Private ReadOnly _logger As ILogger(Of HomeController)
		Private ReadOnly _viewRenderService As IRazorViewRenderer
		Private ReadOnly _httpContextAccessor As IHttpContextAccessor
		Public Sub New(ByVal logger As ILogger(Of HomeController), ByVal viewRenderService As IRazorViewRenderer, ByVal httpContextAccessor As IHttpContextAccessor)
			_logger = logger
			_viewRenderService = viewRenderService
			_httpContextAccessor = httpContextAccessor
		End Sub

		Public Function Index() As IActionResult
			Return View()
		End Function

		Public Async Function Persons() As Task(Of IActionResult)

'INSTANT VB NOTE: The local variable persons was renamed since Visual Basic will not allow local variables with the same name as their enclosing function or property:
			Dim persons_Conflict = New List(Of Person) From {
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Alice",
					.Title = "Mrs.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				},
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Bob",
					.Title = "Mr.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				},
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Charlie",
					.Title = "Mr.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				}
			}

			If _httpContextAccessor.HttpContext.Request.Method = HttpMethod.Post.Method Then

				Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()

				' Render View to PDF document
				Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderRazorViewToPdf(_viewRenderService, "Views/Home/Persons.cshtml", persons_Conflict)

				Response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "inline")

				' Output PDF document
				Return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "viewToPdfMVCCore.pdf")
			End If
			Return View(persons_Conflict)
		End Function

		Public Function Privacy() As IActionResult
			Return View()
		End Function

		<ResponseCache(Duration := 0, Location := ResponseCacheLocation.None, NoStore := True)>
		Public Function [Error]() As IActionResult
			Return View(New ErrorViewModel With {.RequestId = If(Activity.Current?.Id, HttpContext.TraceIdentifier)})
		End Function
	End Class
End Namespace

After using the RenderRazorToPdf method, you'll receive a PdfDocument object that's open to further enhancements and modifications. You have the flexibility to convert the PDF to PDFA or PDFUA formats, add your digital signature to the generated PDF, or merge and split PDF documents as needed. Additionally, the library allows you to rotate pages, insert annotations or bookmarks, and imprint unique watermarks onto your PDF files.

Add a View

• Right-click on the newly added Person action and select "Add View."

• Choose "Razor View" for the new Scaffolded item.

• Select the "List" template and the "Person" model class.

This will create a .cshtml file named "Persons."

• Navigate to the "Views" folder -> "Home" folder -> "Persons.cshtml" file.

To add a button that invokes the "Persons" action, use the code below:

@using (Html.BeginForm("Persons", "Home", FormMethod.Post))
{
    <input type="submit" value="Print Person" />
}

@using (Html.BeginForm("Persons", "Home", FormMethod.Post))
{
    <input type="submit" value="Print Person" />
}

Add a Section to the Top Navigation Bar

• In the same "Views" folder navigate to the "Shared" folder -> _Layout.cshtml. Place the "Person" navigation item after "Home".

Make sure the value for the asp-action attribute matches exactly with our file name, which in this case is "Persons".

<header>
    <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-sm navbar-toggleable-sm navbar-light bg-white border-bottom box-shadow mb-3">
        <div class="container-fluid">
            <a class="navbar-brand" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample</a>
            <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target=".navbar-collapse" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent"
                    aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
                <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
            </button>
            <div class="navbar-collapse collapse d-sm-inline-flex justify-content-between">
                <ul class="navbar-nav flex-grow-1">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">Home</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Persons">Person</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Privacy">Privacy</a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </nav>
</header>

<header>
    <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-sm navbar-toggleable-sm navbar-light bg-white border-bottom box-shadow mb-3">
        <div class="container-fluid">
            <a class="navbar-brand" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">ViewToPdfMVCCoreSample</a>
            <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target=".navbar-collapse" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent"
                    aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
                <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
            </button>
            <div class="navbar-collapse collapse d-sm-inline-flex justify-content-between">
                <ul class="navbar-nav flex-grow-1">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">Home</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Persons">Person</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Privacy">Privacy</a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </nav>
</header>

Edit Program.cs File

We will be registering the IHttpContextAccessor and IRazorViewRenderer interface to the dependecy injection (DI) container. Please check the code below for your reference.

using IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ViewFeatures;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add services to the container.
builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();

builder.Services.AddSingleton<IHttpContextAccessor, HttpContextAccessor>();
builder.Services.AddSingleton<ITempDataProvider, CookieTempDataProvider>();

// Register IRazorViewRenderer here
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IRazorViewRenderer, RazorViewRenderer>();

var app = builder.Build();

// Configure the HTTP request pipeline.
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
    // The default HSTS value is 30 days. You may want to change this for production scenarios, see https://aka.ms/aspnetcore-hsts.
    app.UseHsts();
}

app.UseHttpsRedirection();
app.UseStaticFiles();

app.UseRouting();

app.UseAuthorization();

app.MapControllerRoute(
    name: "default",
    pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");

app.Run();

using IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ViewFeatures;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add services to the container.
builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();

builder.Services.AddSingleton<IHttpContextAccessor, HttpContextAccessor>();
builder.Services.AddSingleton<ITempDataProvider, CookieTempDataProvider>();

// Register IRazorViewRenderer here
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IRazorViewRenderer, RazorViewRenderer>();

var app = builder.Build();

// Configure the HTTP request pipeline.
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
    // The default HSTS value is 30 days. You may want to change this for production scenarios, see https://aka.ms/aspnetcore-hsts.
    app.UseHsts();
}

app.UseHttpsRedirection();
app.UseStaticFiles();

app.UseRouting();

app.UseAuthorization();

app.MapControllerRoute(
    name: "default",
    pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");

app.Run();

Imports IronPdf.Extensions.Mvc.Core
Imports Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ViewFeatures

Private builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args)

' Add services to the container.
builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews()

builder.Services.AddSingleton(Of IHttpContextAccessor, HttpContextAccessor)()
builder.Services.AddSingleton(Of ITempDataProvider, CookieTempDataProvider)()

' Register IRazorViewRenderer here
builder.Services.AddSingleton(Of IRazorViewRenderer, RazorViewRenderer)()

Dim app = builder.Build()

' Configure the HTTP request pipeline.
If Not app.Environment.IsDevelopment() Then
	app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error")
	' The default HSTS value is 30 days. You may want to change this for production scenarios, see https://aka.ms/aspnetcore-hsts.
	app.UseHsts()
End If

app.UseHttpsRedirection()
app.UseStaticFiles()

app.UseRouting()

app.UseAuthorization()

app.MapControllerRoute(name:= "default", pattern:= "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}")

app.Run()

Run the Project

This will show you how to run the project and generate a PDF document.

Download ASP.NET Core MVC Project

You can download the complete code for this guide. It comes as a zipped file that you can open in Visual Studio as a ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) project.

Click here to download the project.

Chaknith Bin

Software Engineer

Chaknith is the Sherlock Holmes of developers. It first occurred to him he might have a future in software engineering, when he was doing code challenges for fun. His focus is on IronXL and IronBarcode, but he takes pride in helping customers with every product. Chaknith leverages his knowledge from talking directly with customers, to help further improve the products themselves. His anecdotal feedback goes beyond Jira tickets and supports product development, documentation and marketing, to improve customer’s overall experience.When he isn’t in the office, he can be found learning about machine learning, coding and hiking.