selectPDF doesnt save PDF from HTML string

Question

I am trying to save html from the page to pdf using SelectPDF for VB.NET. I pass from webpage json with html to save, get it on server side. It looks like converter converts html successfully (no error thrown), but it breaks on the saving part.

Javascript:

      var dataToSend = JSON.stringify({ 'html': $("#content").html() });
                $.ajax({
                    url: "/leaderboards/pdf.aspx",
                    type: 'POST',
                    data: dataToSend,
                    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
                    success: function (data) {
                        $("#dialog").dialog("close");
                        console.log(data);
                    },
                    error: function (errorText) {
                        console.log(errorText);
                    }
                });

pdf.aspx

Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    Try
        Dim jsonString = New StreamReader(Request.InputStream).ReadToEnd()
        Dim jsonObj As JObject = JObject.Parse(jsonString)
        Dim html As String = jsonObj.Item("html")


        If html.Length > 0 Then
            html = "<html><body>" & html & "</body></html>"


            ' read parameters from the webpage
            Dim webPageWidth As Integer = 1024
            Dim webPageHeight As Integer = 0


            ' instantiate a html to pdf converter object
            Dim converter As New HtmlToPdf()

            ' create a new pdf document converting an url
            Dim doc As PdfDocument = converter.ConvertHtmlString(html, Request.Url.AbsoluteUri)
            ' save pdf document

            ' !!! code breaks here with exception: Unable to evaluate expression.!!!
            doc.Save(Response, False, "C:\MyProject\Pdf\Sample.pdf")

            ' close pdf document
            doc.Close()
        Else

            Response.Write("No Data")
        End If
    Catch ex As Exception
        Response.Write("Error :" + ex.Message)
    End Try

End Sub

If I change the line that breaks the code to

doc.Save("C:\MyProject\Pdf\Sample.pdf")

I have empty PDF saved in that location. I also tried to save string with html, but were not successful e.g:

 html = "<html><body>hello world</body></html>"

Is it possible to save PDF with this SelectPDF library from the string that represents html? If yes, any pointer why I am getting error "doc.Save(Response, False, "C:\MyProject\Pdf\Sample.pdf")"? Thank you

WebDev3r · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-31 14:03:26Z

2

The method call doc.Save(Response, False, "C:\MyProject\Pdf\Sample.pdf") should not be used if you need to just save the pdf document on the disk. The purpose of doc.Save(Response, False, "Sample.pdf") is to send the PDF to the browser and suggest a download name (Sample.pdf - no path).

To save the PDF on disk, simply use doc.Save("C:\MyProject\Pdf\Sample.pdf").

Run a simple test and make sure it works fine:

Dim html as String = "<html><body>hello world</body></html>"
Dim doc As PdfDocument = converter.ConvertHtmlString(html, "")
doc.Save("C:\MyProject\Pdf\Sample.pdf")

After you are sure the conversion runs fine with simple html (should not be a problem), check to see what html and baseUrl you are sending to the conversion method ConvertHtmlString. Log them into a file. See if they are what you expect.

Since you are using javascript, that might take some time to load, so try to enter a delay before the conversion: http://selectpdf.com/docs/ConversionDelay.htm

It will be something like this:

' specify the number of seconds the conversion is delayed
converter.Options.MinPageLoadTime = 2

answered Mar 31, 2016 at 14:03

WebDev3r

762 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

2 Comments

kaplievabell Over a year ago

Thank you very much! Adding converter.Options.MinPageLoadTime = 2 helped!

B.Balamanigandan Over a year ago

How could I convert this PDF file to byte array instead of saving into a physical file. Kindly assist me.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

selectPDF doesnt save PDF from HTML string

1 Answer 1

2 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related