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F# PDF Library (Full Tutorial)

ByChaknith Bin

March 14, 2023

Updated  June 1, 2025

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This tutorial will guide you through the steps of how to create and edit PDF files in F# using IronPDF. All you will need is Visual Studio installed and an F# project.

To see how to use IronPDF with C# see this guide.

To see how to use IronPDF with VB.NET see this guide.

Install the F# PDF Library

Install via NuGet Package Manager

In Visual Studio, right-click on your project solution explorer and select "Manage NuGet Packages...". From there simply search for IronPDF and install the latest version. Click OK to any dialog boxes that come up. This will work in any .NET Project.

Install via NuGet Package Manager Console

You may also choose to add IronPDF through the package manager console which can be done with this command:

Install-Package IronPdf

Install Directly in the .fsproj

Another option is to paste the following ItemGroup into your .fsproj file:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="IronPdf" Version="*" />
</ItemGroup>

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="IronPdf" Version="*" />
</ItemGroup>

Install via DLL

Alternatively, the IronPDF DLL can be downloaded and manually installed to the project or GAC from https://ironpdf.com/packages/IronPdf.zip

Remember to add this statement to the top of any .fs class file using IronPDF:

open IronPdf

open IronPdf

Create a PDF from HTML with F

Begin by opening the IronPDF library within your namespace using open. After that, create a ChromePdfRenderer object and pass an HTML string into its RenderHtmlAsPdf method. If you already have an HTML file ready, you can pass the file path string as a parameter to RenderHtmlFileAsPdf.

HTML String to PDF in F

open IronPdf

let html = "<p>Hello World</p>"

// Initialize the PDF Renderer
let renderer = ChromePdfRenderer()

// Render HTML as PDF
let pdf = html |> renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf

// Save the PDF document
pdf.SaveAs("document.pdf") |> ignore

open IronPdf

let html = "<p>Hello World</p>"

// Initialize the PDF Renderer
let renderer = ChromePdfRenderer()

// Render HTML as PDF
let pdf = html |> renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf

// Save the PDF document
pdf.SaveAs("document.pdf") |> ignore

HTML File to PDF in F

open IronPdf

let htmlFilePath = "C:/designs/html/layout.html"

// Initialize the PDF Renderer
let renderer = ChromePdfRenderer()

// Render HTML file as PDF
let pdf = htmlFilePath |> renderer.RenderHtmlFileAsPdf

// Save the PDF document
pdf.SaveAs("document.pdf") |> ignore

open IronPdf

let htmlFilePath = "C:/designs/html/layout.html"

// Initialize the PDF Renderer
let renderer = ChromePdfRenderer()

// Render HTML file as PDF
let pdf = htmlFilePath |> renderer.RenderHtmlFileAsPdf

// Save the PDF document
pdf.SaveAs("document.pdf") |> ignore

Advanced IronPDF F# Template

Here is a more advanced example of creating a function that will format and style a PDF from a URL based on some rules and procedures:

open IronPdf

let CreateCompanyStandardDocument (url : string) =

    // Setup Render Options with desired settings
    let renderOptions = ChromePdfRenderOptions(
        CssMediaType = Rendering.PdfCssMediaType.Screen,
        EnableJavaScript = true,
        PrintHtmlBackgrounds = true,
        InputEncoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8,
        MarginTop = 0.39,
        MarginBottom = 0.38,
        MarginLeft = 0.39,
        MarginRight = 0.38
    )

    // Create Header Template for the PDF
    let companyStyleHeader = HtmlHeaderFooter()
    companyStyleHeader.HtmlFragment <- "<img src='https://ironsoftware.com/img/svgs/ironsoftware-logo-black.svg'>"
    companyStyleHeader.DrawDividerLine <- true

    // Apply the header to the Render Options
    renderOptions.HtmlHeader <- companyStyleHeader

    // Initialize Renderer with customized options
    let renderer = ChromePdfRenderer(RenderingOptions = renderOptions)

    // Generate PDF from URL without additional styles
    let htmlPdfWithoutStyle = url |> renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf

    // Add the styled header to the PDF document
    htmlPdfWithoutStyle.AddHtmlHeaders companyStyleHeader |> ignore

    // Return the created PDF document
    htmlPdfWithoutStyle

let IronPdfUrlToPdf (url : string) =
    // Create a styled PDF document from the given URL
    let pdf = url |> CreateCompanyStandardDocument

    // Save the PDF document to the file system
    pdf.SaveAs("document.pdf") |> ignore

// Set your IronPDF License Key
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey <- "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY_HERE"

// Example usage: Convert the given URL to a PDF document
IronPdfUrlToPdf "https://ironpdf.com/"

open IronPdf

let CreateCompanyStandardDocument (url : string) =

    // Setup Render Options with desired settings
    let renderOptions = ChromePdfRenderOptions(
        CssMediaType = Rendering.PdfCssMediaType.Screen,
        EnableJavaScript = true,
        PrintHtmlBackgrounds = true,
        InputEncoding = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8,
        MarginTop = 0.39,
        MarginBottom = 0.38,
        MarginLeft = 0.39,
        MarginRight = 0.38
    )

    // Create Header Template for the PDF
    let companyStyleHeader = HtmlHeaderFooter()
    companyStyleHeader.HtmlFragment <- "<img src='https://ironsoftware.com/img/svgs/ironsoftware-logo-black.svg'>"
    companyStyleHeader.DrawDividerLine <- true

    // Apply the header to the Render Options
    renderOptions.HtmlHeader <- companyStyleHeader

    // Initialize Renderer with customized options
    let renderer = ChromePdfRenderer(RenderingOptions = renderOptions)

    // Generate PDF from URL without additional styles
    let htmlPdfWithoutStyle = url |> renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf

    // Add the styled header to the PDF document
    htmlPdfWithoutStyle.AddHtmlHeaders companyStyleHeader |> ignore

    // Return the created PDF document
    htmlPdfWithoutStyle

let IronPdfUrlToPdf (url : string) =
    // Create a styled PDF document from the given URL
    let pdf = url |> CreateCompanyStandardDocument

    // Save the PDF document to the file system
    pdf.SaveAs("document.pdf") |> ignore

// Set your IronPDF License Key
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey <- "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY_HERE"

// Example usage: Convert the given URL to a PDF document
IronPdfUrlToPdf "https://ironpdf.com/"

Chaknith Bin

  Chat with engineering team now

Software Engineer

Chaknith works on IronXL and IronBarcode. He has deep expertise in C# and .NET, helping improve the software and support customers. His insights from user interactions contribute to better products, documentation, and overall experience.