Shane32.EasyPDF 5.1.1

Shane32.EasyPDF

Basic setup

1. Create a new instance with one of the constructors:

// Create a PDF file which will be saved to a byte array via ToArray() or ToStream()
var pdf = new PDFWriter();

// Create a PDF file at the specified path on the hard drive
var pdf = new PDFWriter(filename);

// Create a PDF file that will write to the specified Stream
var pdf = new PDFWriter(stream);

2. Set the desired scaling mode

pdf.ScaleMode = ScaleModes.Inches;  // points, inches and hundredths are supported; hundredths are default

3. Add a new page via NewPage()

pdf.NewPage(PaperKind.Letter, false);        // create a Letter sized page in portrait mode
pdf.NewPage(11, 17, true);                   // create a 11" x 17" page in landscape mode
pdf.NewPage(PaperKind.Letter, false, 1, 1);  // create a Letter sized page with 1" margins

4. Add drawing instructions

pdf.WriteLine("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog");

5. Save the result and/or close the document

var data = pdf.ToArray();   // supported only by the default constructor
pdf.Close();

Properties

Note that drawing coordinates are always specified or returned based on the current ScaleMode setting, and coordinate (0, 0) is the top-left corner of the page/margin. Pen widths, font sizes, and paragraph spacing are always specified in points.

Methods

Note that most methods may be chained, allowing to adjust position and execute a command in one line of code.

Example:

pdf.MoveTo(1, 1).WriteLine("Hello there!");
pdf.OffsetTo(0, 0.5f).WriteLine("Added a half inch gap between the lines");

Text drawing commands

Note that all text dimension methods account for StretchX, StretchY and LineSpacing appropriately.

Examples below:

// Write "Hello world!" and advance to the next line
pdf.WriteLine("Hello world!");

// Write "Hello world!" except with "world" in red
pdf.Write("Hello ");
pdf.ForeColor = Color.Red;
pdf.Write("world");
pdf.ForeColor = Color.Black;
pdf.WriteLine("!");
pdf.CurrentX = 0;  // reposition cursor; otherwise it would be underneath the exclamation mark

// Center a header on the page
pdf.TextAlignment = TextAlignment.CenterTop;
pdf.Font = new Font(StandardFonts.Times, 20);
pdf.MoveTo(pdf.Size.Width / 2, 0.5f).WriteLine("Hello there!");

// Write a paragraph of text over 4" of horizontal space with justification
pdf.Font.Justify = true;
pdf.WriteLine("Hello there!  The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.  Did you know that?", 4);

Note that by default, all system fonts are registered and can be used (embedded) into the PDF. There are 5 standard fonts available to PDF files which do not require embedding; they are Times, Helvetica, Courier, Symbol and ZapfDingbats.

Picture drawing commands

There is a single command, PaintPicture which can print a ITextImage instance to the PDF file. Pictures are positioned according to the PictureAlignment property.

The following sample shows how to load a picture from an embedded resource and adds it to the PDF:

// get the embedded resource
var assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
var resourceName = "SampleProject.MyImage.jpg";
using var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName)
    ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Could not find resource");
// read all bytes from stream into byte array
var bytes = new byte[stream.Length];
if (stream.Read(bytes, 0, bytes.Length) != bytes.Length)
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Could not read resource");
// create image from byte array - supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF
var image = iTextSharp.text.Image.GetInstance(bytes);
// add the image to the pdf, scaled to 3" in width
pdf.PictureAlignment = PictureAlignment.LeftTop;
pdf.ScaleMode = ScaleModes.Inches;
pdf.PaintPicture(image, width: 3f);

Line drawing commands

Note that once a line or polygon has begun, any call to a method other than LineTo, CornerTo, BezierTo, FinishLine or FinishPolygon will implicitly call FinishLine to draw the line on the page.

Lines will be 0.1 points in width if not specified by the LineStyle.Width property.

Barcode / QR code commands

Barcodes are positioned according to the PictureAlignment property and colored via the FillColor property.

Setup and miscellaneous commands

Credits

Glory to Jehovah, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, creator of Heaven and Earth, who through his Son Jesus Christ, has reedemed me to become a child of God. -Shane32