How to Convert Razor Views to PDFs Headlessly
The term 'headless rendering' refers to the process of rendering web content without a graphical user interface (GUI) or browser window. While the IronPdf.Extensions.Razor package is very useful, it does not offer headless rendering capabilities. Headless rendering can address the use case gap that the IronPdf.Extensions.Razor package cannot fulfill.
We will utilize the Razor.Templating.Core package to convert from cshtml (Razor Views) to HTML, and then utilize IronPDF to generate PDF documents from it.
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How to Convert Razor Views to PDFs Headlessly
- Download the C# library for converting Razor Views to PDFs in ASP.NET Core Web App
- Create a new Razor View and edit the file to display the data
- Use the
RenderAsyncmethod to convert from Razor View to HTML - Convert HTML to PDF using the
RenderHtmlAsPdfmethod - Download the sample project for a quick start
Install the Razor.Templating.Core package to convert Razor Views to HTML documents in an ASP.NET Core Web App.
# Install the Razor.Templating.Core package using NuGet Package Manager
Install-Package Razor.Templating.Core# Install the Razor.Templating.Core package using NuGet Package Manager
Install-Package Razor.Templating.CoreRender Razor Views to PDFs
You'll need an ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) project to convert Views into PDF files.
Add a View
- Right-click on the "Home" folder. Choose "add" and "Add View."
- Create an empty Razor View and name it "Data.cshtml".
Edit Data.cshtml File
Add the HTML string that you would like to render to PDF:
<table class="table">
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>John Doe</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>Experienced software engineer specializing in web development.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Alice Smith</td>
<td>Project Manager</td>
<td>Seasoned project manager with expertise in agile methodologies.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Michael Johnson</td>
<td>Data Analyst</td>
<td>Skilled data analyst proficient in statistical analysis and data visualization.</td>
</tr>
</table><table class="table">
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>John Doe</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>Experienced software engineer specializing in web development.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Alice Smith</td>
<td>Project Manager</td>
<td>Seasoned project manager with expertise in agile methodologies.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Michael Johnson</td>
<td>Data Analyst</td>
<td>Skilled data analyst proficient in statistical analysis and data visualization.</td>
</tr>
</table>Edit Program.cs File
Inside the "Program.cs" file, add the following code. The code below uses the RenderAsync method from the Razor.Templating.Core library to convert Razor Views to HTML. Secondly, it instantiates the ChromePdfRenderer class and passes the returned HTML string to the RenderHtmlAsPdf 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.
app.MapGet("/PrintPdf", async () =>
{
// Set your IronPDF license key
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "IRONPDF-MYLICENSE-KEY-1EF01";
// Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;
// Render the Razor view to an HTML string
string html = await RazorTemplateEngine.RenderAsync("Views/Home/Data.cshtml");
// Create a new instance of ChromePdfRenderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
// Render the HTML string as a PDF document
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html, "./wwwroot");
// Return the PDF file as a response
return Results.File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "razorViewToPdf.pdf");
});app.MapGet("/PrintPdf", async () =>
{
// Set your IronPDF license key
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "IRONPDF-MYLICENSE-KEY-1EF01";
// Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;
// Render the Razor view to an HTML string
string html = await RazorTemplateEngine.RenderAsync("Views/Home/Data.cshtml");
// Create a new instance of ChromePdfRenderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
// Render the HTML string as a PDF document
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html, "./wwwroot");
// Return the PDF file as a response
return Results.File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "razorViewToPdf.pdf");
});app.MapGet("/PrintPdf", Async Function()
' Set your IronPDF license key
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "IRONPDF-MYLICENSE-KEY-1EF01"
' Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All
' Render the Razor view to an HTML string
Dim html As String = Await RazorTemplateEngine.RenderAsync("Views/Home/Data.cshtml")
' Create a new instance of ChromePdfRenderer
Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
' Render the HTML string as a PDF document
Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html, "./wwwroot")
' Return the PDF file as a response
Return Results.File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "razorViewToPdf.pdf")
End Function)Change The Asset Links
Navigate to the "Views" folder -> "Shared" folder -> "_Layout.cshtml" file. In the link tags, change the "~/" to "./".
This is important because the "~/" does not work well with IronPDF.
Run the Project
This will show you how to run the project and generate a PDF document.
Output PDF
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 an ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) project.
Click here to download the project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is headless rendering?
Headless rendering refers to the process of rendering web content without a graphical user interface (GUI) or browser window.
Can IronPdf.Extensions.Razor perform headless rendering?
No, the IronPdf.Extensions.Razor package does not offer headless rendering capabilities.
What package can be used to convert Razor Views to HTML?
The Razor.Templating.Core package can be used to convert Razor Views to HTML.
How do you convert HTML to a PDF using IronPDF?
You can use the RenderHtmlAsPdf method from the ChromePdfRenderer class to convert HTML to PDF.
Do I need an ASP.NET Core Web App to convert Razor Views to PDFs?
Yes, you need an ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) project to convert Views into PDF files.
How do you add a new Razor View in an ASP.NET Core project?
Right-click on the 'Home' folder, choose 'add', and then 'Add View'. Create an empty Razor View and name it appropriately, such as 'Data.cshtml'.
What should be changed in the _Layout.cshtml file for IronPDF?
Change the '~/' in the link tags to './' as '~/' does not work well with IronPDF.
What is the role of the RenderAsync method?
The RenderAsync method is used to convert Razor Views to an HTML string.
How do you enable detailed logging in IronPDF?
Set IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode to IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All for detailed logging.
Where can I download a sample project for converting Razor Views to PDFs?
You can download the complete code as a zipped file from the IronPDF website and open it in Visual Studio as an ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) project.
