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USING IRONPDF FOR JAVA

Java Library PDF Generation (Full Code Example)

Darrius Serrant
Darrius Serrant
Updated:

This article will explore the IronPDF library, a great tool for creating PDFs in Java.

IronPDF: Java PDF Library

IronPDF is a popular Java PDF library that allows developers to easily create PDF documents, PDF forms, digitally sign PDF files, and more. With IronPDF, you can use existing PDF documents as templates to generate new PDF files, store PDF data in databases for future use, convert PDFs into other formats like HTML, and even merge multiple PDFs into one.

IronPDF allows users to add text annotations to PDFs to personalize the files they create. Furthermore, with IronPDF, you can include security settings, such as passwords or watermarks, within your PDFs. It helps to integrate PDF functionalities into Java programs. IronPDF is an extremely versatile and powerful tool for generating PDFs quickly and securely. Let's see how IronPDF can be used to create PDF files.

Generate PDF files using IronPDF

IronPDF is an invaluable tool for creating PDF files. It has all the features you need to quickly convert documents, webpages, and images into stable, secure PDFs that can be shared easily. Let's install IronPDF in this demo program.

Install IronPDF Java PDF library

To install IronPDF Java in a Maven project, you can add the following dependencies to your project's pom.xml file:

<dependencies>
    <!-- Add IronPDF dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
    <!-- Add SLF4J logging dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>
<dependencies>
    <!-- Add IronPDF dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
    <!-- Add SLF4J logging dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>
XML

This will add the IronPDF for Java library and the SLF4J logger that it uses. It is recommended to use the latest version of IronPDF for Java. Once you have added the dependencies, you can run mvn install to install the dependencies in your local repository, and your project will be ready to use IronPDF for Java.

Java Code for Creating PDF documents

This code is written in Java and uses the IronPDF library to convert HTML to a PDF document.

// Import statement for IronPDF Java  
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Define the HTML content to convert into a PDF
        String html = "<!DOCTYPE html>\r\n"
                + "<html>\r\n"
                + "  <head>\r\n"
                + "    <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Popin&display=swap' rel='stylesheet'>\r\n"
                + "    <style>\r\n"
                + "      /* Add CSS styles for the invoice here */\r\n"
                + "      body {\r\n"
                + "        font-family: 'Popin', cursive;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice {\r\n"
                + "        width: 80%;\r\n"
                + "        margin: 0 auto;\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 20px;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "        color: #333;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice h1 {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: center;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info {\r\n"
                + "        display: flex;\r\n"
                + "        justify-content: space-between;\r\n"
                + "        margin-bottom: 20px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info div {\r\n"
                + "        width: 45%;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table {\r\n"
                + "        width: 100%;\r\n"
                + "        border-collapse: collapse;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th, .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 10px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: left;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: right;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td.total {\r\n"
                + "        font-weight: bold;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "    </style>\r\n"
                + "  </head>\r\n"
                + "  <body>\r\n"
                + "    <div class=\"invoice\">\r\n"
                + "      <h1>Invoice</h1>\r\n"
                + "      <div class=\"invoice-info\">\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>From:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Your Company Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>123 Main St</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>To:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Customer Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>456 Park Ave</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "      </div>\r\n"
                + "      <table>\r\n"
                + "        <thead>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Product</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Quantity</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Price</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Total</th>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </thead>\r\n"
                + "        <tbody>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$5.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td colspan=\"3\" class=\"total\">Total:</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td class=\"total\">$20.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </tbody>\r\n"
                + "      </table>\r\n"
                + "    </div>\r\n"
                + "  </body>\r\n"
                + "</html>";

        // Convert HTML to PDF document
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf(html);

        // Save the PDF document to a specified path
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("C://HTMLtoPDF.pdf"));
    }
}
// Import statement for IronPDF Java  
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Define the HTML content to convert into a PDF
        String html = "<!DOCTYPE html>\r\n"
                + "<html>\r\n"
                + "  <head>\r\n"
                + "    <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Popin&display=swap' rel='stylesheet'>\r\n"
                + "    <style>\r\n"
                + "      /* Add CSS styles for the invoice here */\r\n"
                + "      body {\r\n"
                + "        font-family: 'Popin', cursive;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice {\r\n"
                + "        width: 80%;\r\n"
                + "        margin: 0 auto;\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 20px;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "        color: #333;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice h1 {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: center;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info {\r\n"
                + "        display: flex;\r\n"
                + "        justify-content: space-between;\r\n"
                + "        margin-bottom: 20px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info div {\r\n"
                + "        width: 45%;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table {\r\n"
                + "        width: 100%;\r\n"
                + "        border-collapse: collapse;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th, .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 10px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: left;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: right;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td.total {\r\n"
                + "        font-weight: bold;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "    </style>\r\n"
                + "  </head>\r\n"
                + "  <body>\r\n"
                + "    <div class=\"invoice\">\r\n"
                + "      <h1>Invoice</h1>\r\n"
                + "      <div class=\"invoice-info\">\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>From:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Your Company Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>123 Main St</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>To:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Customer Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>456 Park Ave</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "      </div>\r\n"
                + "      <table>\r\n"
                + "        <thead>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Product</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Quantity</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Price</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Total</th>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </thead>\r\n"
                + "        <tbody>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$5.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td colspan=\"3\" class=\"total\">Total:</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td class=\"total\">$20.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </tbody>\r\n"
                + "      </table>\r\n"
                + "    </div>\r\n"
                + "  </body>\r\n"
                + "</html>";

        // Convert HTML to PDF document
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf(html);

        // Save the PDF document to a specified path
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("C://HTMLtoPDF.pdf"));
    }
}
JAVA
  • The first step is to apply a license key using the setLicenseKey method. The key is passed as a string argument; in this case, "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY" should be replaced with the actual license key.
  • The next step is to set a log path using the setLogPath method. This is where the log file for the IronPDF engine will be saved. In this case, it is set to "C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log".
  • The main method is defined, and a PdfDocument object is created by calling the renderHtmlAsPdf method, passing in a string of HTML as the argument. This will convert the HTML to a PDF and store it in the myPdf object.
  • The final step is to save the myPdf object to a file using the saveAs method. The file location is passed as an argument in the form of a Paths object, in this case, "HTMLtoPDF.pdf".

Here you can see the output of the above program where a PDF file is created using the IronPDF Java PDF library.

Java Library PDF Generation (Full Code Example), Figure 1: The output PDF file from an HTML string The output PDF file from an HTML string

Create PDF file from URL

IronPDF can render web pages into PDFs from a variety of sources, including local networks and external servers.

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class UrlToPdfExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Convert a webpage to a PDF by specifying the URL
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com");

        // Save the PdfDocument to a file
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("url.pdf"));
    }
}
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class UrlToPdfExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Convert a webpage to a PDF by specifying the URL
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com");

        // Save the PdfDocument to a file
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("url.pdf"));
    }
}
JAVA
  • The PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf method is specifically designed for this purpose and accepts a string containing the URL of the web page to be converted. The method retrieves the HTML content of the web page and transforms it into a PDF document. IronPDF preserves the appearance of all web components while making interactive features (links, form fields, etc.) functional.

The results are below:

Java Library PDF Generation (Full Code Example), Figure 2: The output PDF file from a URL The output PDF file from a URL

Summary

In conclusion, IronPDF is a valuable Java library with many features for creating and manipulating PDF files. Whether you need to digitally sign a PDF document, fill out PDF forms, or perform other tasks, IronPDF makes it easy to do so with minimal coding.

With its free trial available and flexible pricing options starting at $749, IronPDF is a cost-effective solution for developers looking to add PDF functionality to their projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Java library for handling PDFs?

IronPDF is a Java library that allows developers to create, manipulate, and convert PDF documents easily. It supports features like form filling, digital signatures, annotations, and more.

How can I install a PDF library in my Java Maven project?

To install IronPDF in a Maven project, add the IronPDF dependency and the SLF4J logging dependency to your project's pom.xml file. Then, run 'mvn install' to download and install the dependencies.

What are the main features of a PDF library for Java?

IronPDF for Java can create PDFs, fill forms, apply digital signatures, convert HTML to PDF, merge PDFs, and more. It also includes security features like password protection and watermarks.

How do I convert HTML content to a PDF using a Java library?

You can convert HTML content to a PDF using the 'PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf' method from IronPDF, which takes the HTML string as input and outputs a PDF document.

Can a Java library convert a webpage URL into a PDF?

Yes, IronPDF can convert a webpage URL into a PDF using the 'PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf' method, which retrieves the HTML content of the web page and transforms it into a PDF document.

Is there a free trial available for a Java PDF library?

Yes, IronPDF offers a free trial to test its features before purchasing. The trial can be accessed through their corporate trial license page.

Can I use a Java library to add annotations to PDFs?

IronPDF supports adding text annotations to PDFs, allowing you to personalize or comment on the files you create or manipulate.

Does a Java library support merging multiple PDF files?

Yes, IronPDF can merge multiple PDF files into one document, providing an easy way to consolidate documents.

What are the security features available in a Java PDF library?

IronPDF offers security features such as password protection and watermarks to ensure your PDFs are secure and protected.

What are the pricing options for a Java PDF library?

IronPDF offers flexible pricing options starting at the lite license level, making it a cost-effective solution for developers.

Darrius Serrant
Darrius Serrant
  Chat with engineering team now
Full Stack Software Engineer (WebOps)

Darrius Serrant holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Miami and works as a Full Stack WebOps Marketing Engineer at Iron Software. Drawn to coding from a young age, he saw computing as both mysterious and accessible, making it the perfect medium for creativity and problem-solving.

At Iron Software, Darrius enjoys creating new things and simplifying complex concepts to make them more understandable. As one of our resident developers, he has also volunteered to teach students, sharing his expertise with the next generation.

For Darrius, his work is fulfilling because it is valued and has a real impact.

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