How to use Custom Logging in C#

Why Should I Use Custom Logging with IronPDF?

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/custom-logging-custom-logging.cs

IronSoftware.Logger.LoggingMode = IronSoftware.Logger.LoggingModes.Custom;
IronSoftware.Logger.CustomLogger = new CustomLoggerClass("logging");

IronPDF logs will be directed to the custom logger object. The messages remain identical to those in the IronPDF logger; they are relayed to the custom logger. The custom logger implementation determines how to handle the messages. Consider the following custom logger class example.

Custom logging offers several advantages for production applications:

• Centralized Log Management: Integrate IronPDF logs with your existing logging infrastructure
• Enhanced Debugging: Capture detailed information about PDF operations for troubleshooting
• Performance Monitoring: Track rendering times and resource usage
• Error Tracking: Automatically capture and report PDF generation failures
• Compliance: Maintain audit trails for document generation in regulated industries

For applications requiring asynchronous processing, custom logging helps track concurrent PDF operations and identify potential bottlenecks.

What Does a Custom Logger Class Look Like?

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/custom-logging-custom-logging-class.cs

public class CustomLoggerClass : ILogger
{
    private readonly string categoryName;

    public CustomLoggerClass(string categoryName)
    {
        this.categoryName = categoryName;
    }

    public IDisposable BeginScope<TState>(TState state)
    {
        return null;
    }

    public bool IsEnabled(LogLevel logLevel)
    {
        return true;
    }

    public void Log<TState>(LogLevel logLevel, EventId eventId, TState state, Exception exception, Func<TState, Exception, string> formatter)
    {
        if (!IsEnabled(logLevel))
        {
            return;
        }

        // Implement your custom logging logic here.
        string logMessage = formatter(state, exception);

        // You can use 'logLevel', 'eventId', 'categoryName', and 'logMessage' to log the message as needed.
        // For example, you can write it to a file, console, or another destination.

        // Example: Writing to the console
        Console.WriteLine($"[{logLevel}] [{categoryName}] - {logMessage}");
    }
}

This implementation follows the standard Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.ILogger interface, making it compatible with the .NET logging ecosystem. The logger class includes:

• Category Name: Helps identify the source of log messages
• Log Level Filtering: Control which severity levels to capture
• Flexible Output: Route logs to any destination (console, file, database, etc.)
• Exception Handling: Properly format and log exception details
• State Management: Support for structured logging with BeginScope

For advanced scenarios, explore rendering options that affect logging output, especially when dealing with complex HTML conversions or when working with the Chrome rendering engine.

How Does Custom Logging Output Look?

In this example, log messages are prefixed with additional information.

The console output demonstrates how custom logging provides detailed insights into IronPDF's internal operations. You can see:

• Chrome client initialization steps
• Deployment candidate creation
• Native library loading sequences
• Successful component deployment confirmations

This detail level is invaluable when debugging PDF generation issues or optimizing performance. The structured format makes it easy to parse logs programmatically or integrate with log analysis tools.