Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF in Docker container

GemBox.Presentation can be used inside docker containers that are running .NET Docker images.

To use Docker, you must first install Docker Desktop. After that, you can containerize your .NET application.

Visual Studio container tool for adding Docker to existing .NET Core project
Screenshot of Visual Studio container tool

The following is a project file for the .NET Core application with added Docker support.

View on GitHub 
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net7.0</TargetFramework>
    <DockerDefaultTargetOS>Linux</DockerDefaultTargetOS>
    <DockerfileContext>.</DockerfileContext>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="GemBox.Presentation" Version="*" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.VisualStudio.Azure.Containers.Tools.Targets" Version="1.17.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="HarfBuzzSharp.NativeAssets.Linux" Version="*" />
    <PackageReference Include="SkiaSharp.NativeAssets.Linux" Version="*" />
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

To configure or customize a Docker image, you'll need to edit the Dockerfile.

When creating PDF files, the font files need to be present in the container. The official Linux images for .NET won't have any fonts installed. So, you'll need to copy the necessary font files to the Linux container, or install a font package like ttf-mscorefonts-installer, or add them as Private Fonts.

The following example shows how you can create PPTX and PDF files from Docker containers and configure Docker images with Dockerfile.

Generated PowerPoint presentation (PPTX format) and PDF file from Docker container
Screenshot of PowerPoint and PDF files created with Docker container
View on GitHub 
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/runtime:7.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:7.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY ["PresentationDocker.csproj", ""]
RUN dotnet restore "./PresentationDocker.csproj"
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/."
RUN dotnet build "PresentationDocker.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build

FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "PresentationDocker.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish

FROM base AS final

# Update package sources to include supplemental packages (contrib archive area).
RUN sed -i 's/main/main contrib/g' /etc/apt/sources.list

# Downloads the package lists from the repositories.
RUN apt-get update

# Install font configuration.
RUN apt-get install -y fontconfig

# Install Microsoft TrueType core fonts.
RUN apt-get install -y ttf-mscorefonts-installer

# Or install Liberation TrueType fonts.
# RUN apt-get install -y fonts-liberation

# Or some other font package...

WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "PresentationDocker.dll"]
using System.IO;
using GemBox.Presentation;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        // Create new presentation.
        var presentation = new PresentationDocument();

        // Create new slide.
        var slide = presentation.Slides.AddNew(SlideLayoutType.Blank);

        // Add sample text.
        var shape = slide.Content.AddShape(ShapeGeometryType.Rectangle, 120, 120, 250, 150);
        shape.Format.Outline.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Black));
        shape.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromHsl(0, 0, 240));

        var run = shape.Text.AddParagraph().AddRun("Lorem Ipsum");
        run.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Red));
        run.Format.Bold = true;

        run = shape.Text.AddParagraph().AddRun("Lorem Ipsum");
        run.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Green));
        run.Format.Italic = true;

        run = shape.Text.AddParagraph().AddRun("Lorem Ipsum");
        run.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Blue));
        run.Format.UnderlineStyle = UnderlineStyle.Single;

        // Add sample image.
        using (var stream = File.OpenRead("%#Dices.png%"))
            slide.Content.AddPicture(PictureContentType.Png, stream, 480, 200, 240, 180);

        // Save presentation in PPTX and PDF format.
        presentation.Save("output.pptx");
        presentation.Save("output.pdf");
    }
}
Imports System.IO
Imports GemBox.Presentation

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        ' Create new presentation.
        Dim presentation As New PresentationDocument()

        ' Create new slide.
        Dim slide = presentation.Slides.AddNew(SlideLayoutType.Blank)

        ' Add sample text.
        Dim shape = slide.Content.AddShape(ShapeGeometryType.Rectangle, 120, 120, 250, 150)
        shape.Format.Outline.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Black))
        shape.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromHsl(0, 0, 240))

        Dim run = shape.Text.AddParagraph().AddRun("Lorem Ipsum")
        run.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Red))
        run.Format.Bold = True

        run = shape.Text.AddParagraph().AddRun("Lorem Ipsum")
        run.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Green))
        run.Format.Italic = True

        run = shape.Text.AddParagraph().AddRun("Lorem Ipsum")
        run.Format.Fill.SetSolid(Color.FromName(ColorName.Blue))
        run.Format.UnderlineStyle = UnderlineStyle.Single

        ' Add sample image.
        Using stream = File.OpenRead("%#Dices.png%")
            slide.Content.AddPicture(PictureContentType.Png, stream, 480, 200, 240, 180)
        End Using

        ' Save presentation in PPTX and PDF format.
        presentation.Save("output.pptx")
        presentation.Save("output.pdf")
    End Sub
End Module

Limitations on Linux or macOS

You can use the full functionality of GemBox.Presentation 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.

See also

Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF file on Azure from .NET Core application

Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF file on Azure from .NET Core application

Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF file on Linux / macOS from .NET Core application

Create PowerPoint (PPTX) or PDF file on Linux / macOS from .NET Core application

Next steps

GemBox.Presentation is a .NET component that enables you to read, write, edit, convert, and print presentation files from your .NET applications using one simple API.

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Published: November 27, 2020 | Modified: December 20, 2022 | Author: Mario Zorica