Create Word (DOCX) or PDF files in ASP.NET Core

GemBox.Document is a standalone .NET component that's ideal for web applications because of its fast performance and thread safety when working with multiple DocumentModel objects.

With GemBox.Document you can build web applications that target ASP.NET Core 2.0 - 5.0. The following live demos show how you can create web apps that generate Word and PDF files and download them to your browser.

To use GemBox.Document, simply install the GemBox.Document package with NuGet or add the following package reference in the project file.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">

    <PropertyGroup>
        <TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>
    </PropertyGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="GemBox.Document" Version="*" />
    </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Create Word or PDF files in ASP.NET Core MVC

The following example shows how you can create an ASP.NET Core MVC application that:

  1. Imports data from a web form into a Word document using the Mail Merge process.
  2. Creates a file of a specified format like DOCX or PDF.
  3. Downloads the generated file with a FileStreamResult.
Importing data from Razor view and generating DOCX file in ASP.NET Core MVC application
Screenshot of submitted web form and created Word document
@model InvoiceModel

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>GemBox.Document in ASP.NET Core MVC application</title>
    <link rel="icon" href="~/favicon.ico" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="~/lib/bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="~/css/site.css" />
</head>
<body>
    <header>
        <nav class="navbar border-bottom box-shadow mb-3">
            <div class="container">
                <a class="navbar-brand" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Index">Home</a>
            </div>
        </nav>
    </header>

    <div class="container">
        <main class="pb-3 row">
            <h1 class="display-4 p-3">Invoice generator [Razor View]</h1>
            <div class="col-lg-6">
                <form asp-action="Download">
                    <div class="form-group">Number: <input asp-for="Number" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Date: <input asp-for="Date" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Company: <input asp-for="Company" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Address: <input asp-for="Address" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Name: <input asp-for="Name" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">
                        Format:
                        <div class="row">
                            @foreach (string format in Model.FormatMappingDictionary.Select(item => item.Key))
                            {
                                <div class="col-3">
                                    <div class="form-check form-check-inline">
                                        <input asp-for="Format" class="form-check-input" type="radio" id="@format" value="@format">
                                        <label for="@format" class="form-check-label">@format</label>
                                    </div>
                                </div>
                            }
                        </div>
                    </div>
                    <div class="form-group"><input type="submit" value="Create" class="btn btn-primary" /></div>
                </form>
            </div>
        </main>
    </div>

    <footer class="footer border-top text-muted">
        <div class="container">&copy; GemBox Ltd. — All rights reserved.</div>
    </footer>
</body>
</html>
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using DocumentCoreMvc.Models;
using GemBox.Document;

namespace DocumentCoreMvc.Controllers
{
    public class HomeController : Controller
    {
        private readonly IWebHostEnvironment environment;

        public HomeController(IWebHostEnvironment environment)
        {
            this.environment = environment;

            // If using Professional version, put your serial key below.
            ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");
        }

        public IActionResult Index()
        {
            return View(new InvoiceModel());
        }

        public FileStreamResult Download(InvoiceModel model)
        {
            // Load template document.
            var path = Path.Combine(this.environment.ContentRootPath, "%#InvoiceWithFields.docx%");
            var document = DocumentModel.Load(path);

            // Execute mail merge process.
            document.MailMerge.Execute(model);

            // Save document in specified file format.
            var stream = new MemoryStream();
            document.Save(stream, model.Options);

            // Download file.
            return File(stream, model.Options.ContentType, $"OutputFromView.{model.Format.ToLower()}");
        }

        [ResponseCache(Duration = 0, Location = ResponseCacheLocation.None, NoStore = true)]
        public IActionResult Error()
        {
            return View(new ErrorViewModel() { RequestId = Activity.Current?.Id ?? HttpContext.TraceIdentifier });
        }
    }
}

namespace DocumentCoreMvc.Models
{
    public class InvoiceModel
    {
        public int Number { get; set; } = 1;
        public DateTime Date { get; set; } = DateTime.Today;
        public string Company { get; set; } = "ACME Corp.";
        public string Address { get; set; } = "240 Old Country Road, Springfield, United States";
        public string Name { get; set; } = "Joe Smith";
        public string Format { get; set; } = "DOCX";
        public SaveOptions Options => this.FormatMappingDictionary[this.Format];
        public IDictionary<string, SaveOptions> FormatMappingDictionary => new Dictionary<string, SaveOptions>()
        {
            ["DOCX"] = new DocxSaveOptions(),
            ["HTML"] = new HtmlSaveOptions() { EmbedImages = true },
            ["RTF"] = new RtfSaveOptions(),
            ["TXT"] = new TxtSaveOptions(),
            ["PDF"] = new PdfSaveOptions(),
            ["XPS"] = new XpsSaveOptions(),
            ["XML"] = new XmlSaveOptions(),
            ["BMP"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Bmp),
            ["PNG"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Png),
            ["JPG"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Jpeg),
            ["GIF"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Gif),
            ["TIF"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Tiff)
        };
    }
}

Create Word or PDF files in ASP.NET Core Razor Pages

The following example shows how you can create an ASP.NET Core Razor Pages application that:

  1. Imports data from a web form into a Word document using Find and Replace operations.
  2. Creates a file of a specified format like DOCX or PDF.
  3. Downloads the generated file with a FileContentResult.
Importing data from Razor page and generating PDF file in ASP.NET Core Razor Pages application
Screenshot of submitted web form and created PDF document
@page
@model IndexModel

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <title>GemBox.Document in ASP.NET Core Razor Pages application</title>
    <link rel="icon" href="~/favicon.ico" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="~/lib/bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="~/css/site.css" />
</head>
<body>
    <header>
        <nav class="navbar border-bottom box-shadow mb-3">
            <div class="container">
                <a class="navbar-brand" asp-page="/Index">Home</a>
            </div>
        </nav>
    </header>

    <div class="container">
        <main class="pb-3 row">
            <h1 class="display-4 p-3">Invoice generator [Razor Page]</h1>
            <div class="col-lg-6">
                <form method="post">
                    <div class="form-group">Number: <input asp-for="Invoice.Number" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Date: <input asp-for="Invoice.Date" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Company: <input asp-for="Invoice.Company" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Address: <input asp-for="Invoice.Address" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">Name: <input asp-for="Invoice.Name" class="form-control" /></div>
                    <div class="form-group">
                        Format:
                        <div class="row">
                            @foreach (string format in Model.Invoice.FormatMappingDictionary.Select(item => item.Key))
                            {
                                <div class="col-3">
                                    <div class="form-check form-check-inline">
                                        <input asp-for="Invoice.Format" class="form-check-input" type="radio" id="@format" value="@format">
                                        <label for="@format" class="form-check-label">@format</label>
                                    </div>
                                </div>
                            }
                        </div>
                    </div>
                    <div class="form-group"><input type="submit" value="Create" class="btn btn-primary" /></div>
                </form>
            </div>
        </main>
    </div>

    <footer class="footer border-top text-muted">
        <div class="container">&copy; GemBox Ltd. — All rights reserved.</div>
    </footer>
</body>
</html>
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.RazorPages;
using DocumentCorePages.Models;
using GemBox.Document;

namespace DocumentCorePages.Pages
{
    public class IndexModel : PageModel
    {
        private readonly IWebHostEnvironment environment;

        [BindProperty]
        public InvoiceModel Invoice { get; set; }

        public IndexModel(IWebHostEnvironment environment)
        {
            this.environment = environment;
            this.Invoice = new InvoiceModel();

            // If using Professional version, put your serial key below.
            ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");
        }

        public void OnGet() { }

        public FileContentResult OnPost()
        {
            // Load template document.
            var path = Path.Combine(this.environment.ContentRootPath, "%#InvoiceWithPlaceholders.docx%");
            var document = DocumentModel.Load(path);

            // Execute find and replace operations.
            document.Content.Replace("{{Number}}", this.Invoice.Number.ToString("0000"));
            document.Content.Replace("{{Date}}", this.Invoice.Date.ToString("d MMM yyyy HH:mm"));
            document.Content.Replace("{{Company}}", this.Invoice.Company);
            document.Content.Replace("{{Address}}", this.Invoice.Address);
            document.Content.Replace("{{Name}}", this.Invoice.Name);

            // Save document in specified file format.
            using var stream = new MemoryStream();
            document.Save(stream, this.Invoice.Options);

            // Download file.
            return File(stream.ToArray(), this.Invoice.Options.ContentType, $"OutputFromPage.{this.Invoice.Format.ToLower()}");
        }
    }
}

namespace DocumentCorePages.Models
{
    public class InvoiceModel
    {
        public int Number { get; set; } = 1;
        public DateTime Date { get; set; } = DateTime.Today;
        public string Company { get; set; } = "ACME Corp.";
        public string Address { get; set; } = "240 Old Country Road, Springfield, United States";
        public string Name { get; set; } = "Joe Smith";
        public string Format { get; set; } = "PDF";
        public SaveOptions Options => this.FormatMappingDictionary[this.Format];
        public IDictionary<string, SaveOptions> FormatMappingDictionary => new Dictionary<string, SaveOptions>()
        {
            ["DOCX"] = new DocxSaveOptions(),
            ["HTML"] = new HtmlSaveOptions() { EmbedImages = true },
            ["RTF"] = new RtfSaveOptions(),
            ["TXT"] = new TxtSaveOptions(),
            ["PDF"] = new PdfSaveOptions(),
            ["XPS"] = new XpsSaveOptions(),
            ["XML"] = new XmlSaveOptions(),
            ["BMP"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Bmp),
            ["PNG"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Png),
            ["JPG"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Jpeg),
            ["GIF"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Gif),
            ["TIF"] = new ImageSaveOptions(ImageSaveFormat.Tiff)
        };
    }
}

Host and deploy ASP.NET Core

GemBox.Document is licensed per individual developer, and the licenses include a royalty-free deployment. You can feel free to build an unlimited number of applications and deploy or distribute them to an unlimited number of services, servers, or end-user machines with no extra cost.

GemBox.Document licenses are compatible with SaaS or PaaS solutions, as long as they don't offer similar or competing functionality to our component, or expose our features through an API for use by an unlicensed third party. For more information, please check the EULA.

Create PNG, JPG, or XPS files on Windows

GemBox.Document supports saving to XPS and image formats (like PNG and JPG) on applications that target .NET Core 3.1 or .NET 5.0.

However, these features currently work only on Windows. In other words, besides .NET Core Runtime, you also need a .NET Windows Desktop Runtime installed on the server.

To export an XPS or image file in an ASP.NET Core application, add the following framework reference in the project file.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">

    <PropertyGroup>
        <TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>
    </PropertyGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="GemBox.Document" Version="*" />
    </ItemGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
        <FrameworkReference Include="Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App.Wpf" />
    </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Also, enable the following compatibility switch with the AppContext class.

public class Startup
{
    public Startup(IConfiguration configuration)
    {
        Configuration = configuration;

        // Add compatibility switch.
        AppContext.SetSwitch("Switch.System.Windows.Media.ShouldRenderEvenWhenNoDisplayDevicesAreAvailable", true);
    }

    public IConfiguration Configuration { get; }

    // This method gets called by the runtime. Use this method to add services to the container.
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        // ...
    }

    // This method gets called by the runtime. Use this method to configure the HTTP request pipeline.
    public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
    {
        // ...
    }
}

Or you can enable that compatibility switch by adding the following runtimeconfig.template.json file to your project.

{
  "configProperties": {
    "Switch.System.Windows.Media.ShouldRenderEvenWhenNoDisplayDevicesAreAvailable": true
  }
}

Limitations on Linux or macOS

You can use the full functionality of GemBox.Document on Unix systems, but with the following exceptions:

These features currently have WPF dependencies which means they require a .NET Windows Desktop Runtime. However, we do have plans for providing cross-platform support for them in future releases.

Want more?

Next example GitHub

Check the next example or select an example from the menu. You can also download our examples from the GitHub.

Like it?

Download Buy

If you want to try the GemBox.Document yourself, you can download the free version. It delivers the same performance and set of features as the professional version, but with some operations limited. To remove the limitation, you need to purchase a license.

Published: December 13, 2018 | Modified: March 7, 2021 | Author: Marko Kozlina