HOW TO: Generate PDF Output On-the-fly

Solution

Solution 1: Use an open-source .NET PDF library. Sample list:

• ASP.NET FO PDF at SourceForge.net - generates XSL-FO from DataTable to render PDF
• iTextSharp at SourceForge.net
  • Examples and Tutorial: http://itextsharp.sourceforge.net/
  • Also see this article: Create PDF on the fly with .NET and iTextSharp by Valerio Fornito, DoPostBack.com
• PDFCreator at GotDotNet - design PDF document visually using Visual Studio IDE
• Report.NET at SourceForge.net

Solution 2: Use a commercial .NET PDF library. Sample list:

• ABCpdf .NET by WebSupergoo - free license also available
• Apoc XSL-FO by Chive Software - generates PDF using XSL-FO
• Aspose.Pdf by Aspose
• DynamicPDF by ceTe Software
• PDF4NET by O2 Solutions
• PDFLib by PDFLib GmbH
• TallPDF.NET by TallComponents - able to create PDF documents either programmatically using an object model or from XML.
  • Tutorial: Create and manipulate PDF documents - 100% .NET by Frank Rem (CodeProject.com)
• XMLPDF by Visual Programming - converts XML to PDF

Solution 3: Use activePDF WebGrabber to convert any URL output to PDF on-the-fly.

Solution 4: Use a report generator like Crystal Reports or SQL Server Reporting Services to render to PDF.

• How to Create PDF from ASP.NET pages by Edward Tanquay (DeveloperFusion.com) - using Crystal Reports
• Crystal Reports: Add Professional Quality Reports to Your Application with Visual Studio .NET by Andrew Brust (MSDN Magazine)

Related Resources

• XSL FO Tutorial at RenderX
• Definitive XSL-FO by G. Ken Holman
• XSL-FO: Making XML Look Good in Print by Dave Pawson