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

Property	Description
CurrentX	The current X position
CurrentY	The current Y position
FillColor	The color for filling polygons and drawing barcodes
Font	The font name, size, and style used when writing text
Font.FamilyName	The font family name
Font.Embedded	Indicates if the font is embedded into the document; false if it is a built-in font
Font.FontStyle	A flag enumeration value representing the bold, italic, underline and strikeout properties
Font.Size	The size of the font measured in points
Font.Bold	Specifies if the font has the Bold style
Font.Italic	Specifies if the font has the Italic style
Font.Underline	Specifies if the font has the Underline style
Font.Strikeout	Specifies if the font has the Strikeout style
Font.Justify	Specifies if the text is justified when word wrapping
Font.LineSpacing	A multiplier to adjust line spacing; defaults to 1.0
Font.HangingIndent	The amount of indent for word-wrapped lines
Font.ParagraphSpacing	The amount of space between paragraphs measured in points
Font.StretchX	The amount that text is stretched along the X axis
Font.StretchY	The amount that text is stretched along the Y axis
ForeColor	The color for printing text, lines and borders
LineStyle	The style used to draw lines and borders
LineStyle.CapStyle	The style used to draw the end of a line
LineStyle.DashStyle	The dash style used to draw lines and borders
LineStyle.JoinStyle	The style used to draw joined line segments and borders
LineStyle.Width	The pen width when drawing lines and borders
Margins	Gets or sets the current page's margins
MarginOffset	Returns the offset of the left and top margins
Metadata	Returns an object that can be used to get and set the document metadata
PageSize	Returns the size of the current page including margins
PictureAlignment	The alignment of pictures and barcodes in relation to the current position
Position	The current position
ScaleMode	The scaling mode for the coordinates used by all other commands
Size	Returns the size of the current page excluding margins
TextAlignment	The alignment of text in relation to the current position

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

Method	Description
MoveTo	Sets the current X and Y coordinates to the specified position
OffsetTo	Moves the current X and Y coordinates by the specified offset
RegisterFont	Registers a font contained within a file to be able to be used
TextAscent	Returns the distance between the baseline and the top of the highest letters
TextCapHeight	Returns the distance between the baseline and the top of capital letters
TextDescent	Returns the distance between the baseline and the bottom of the lowest letters (j's, etc)
TextHeight	Returns the height of a single line of text, including space between rows (ascent + descent + leading)
TextLeading	Returns the amount of additional line spacing besides the ascent and descent
TextWidth	Returns the width of the specified text
Write	Writes one or more lines of text, leaving the current position positioned after the last character printed
WriteLine	Writes one or more lines of text, leaving the current position below the last line of text

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

Method	Description
BezierTo	Starts or continues a line or polygon around a bezier curve
Circle	Draws a circle at the specified coordinates
CornerTo	Starts or continues a line or polygon around a rounded corner to another coordinate (draws an arc)
FinishLine	Ends the line and draws it
FinishPolygon	Ends a polygon and draws it
LineTo	Starts or continues a line or polygon to another specified coordinate
MoveTo	Sets the current X and Y coordinates to the specified position
OffsetTo	Moves the current X and Y coordinates by the specified offset
Rectangle	Draws a rectangle of the specified size, optionally filling it (with/without border) and/or rounding the corners
RectangleDualOffset	Draws a rectangle of the specified size, and then draws another rectangle inset by a specified amount

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

Method	Description
Barcode	Draws a barcode at the current position of the specified size
BarcodeSize	Returns the default width of a specified barcode
QRCode	Draws a QR code at the current position of the specified size
QRCodeSize	Returns the default size of a specified QR code

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

Setup and miscellaneous commands

Method	Description
AnnotatePage	Can be used to take an existing PDF and overlay drawing actions on top of it
Close	Saves and closes the PDF
GetDirectContent	Returns the underlying iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfContentByte which can be used to perform nearly any drawing action on the PDF
GetDocument	Returns the underlying iTextSharp.text.Document instance
GetWriter	Returns the underlying iTextSharp.text.pdf.iTextPdfWriter instance
NewPage	Creates or appends a new page of the specified size; required before writing to the document
OffsetMargins	Offsets the current margins by a specified amount
PrintAsync	Prints the page to a specified network-attached printer that supports direct PDF printing
SaveState	Saves the current page margins and state of the graphics properties; call Dispose on the returned instance to restore
ToArray	Returns the PDF as a byte array
ToStream	Returns the PDF as a System.IO.MemoryStream

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