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How to Convert Razor Pages to PDFs in ASP.NET Core Web App

by Chaknith Bin

A Razor Page is a file with a .cshtml extension that combines C# and HTML to generate web content. In ASP.NET Core, Razor Pages are a simpler way to organize code for web applications, making them a good fit for simple pages that are read-only or do simple data input.

An ASP.NET Core Web App is a web application built using ASP.NET Core, a cross-platform framework for developing modern web applications.

IronPDF simplifies the process of creating PDF files from Razor Pages within an ASP.NET Core Web App project. This makes PDF generation easy and direct in ASP.NET Core Web Apps.

How to Convert Razor Pages to PDFs in ASP.NET Core Web App

  1. Download the C# library for converting Razor pages to PDFs in ASP.NET Core Web App
  2. Add a model class for the data
  3. Create a new Razor Page and edit the ".cshtml" file to display the data
  4. Edit the ".cs" file and use the RenderRazorToPdf method
  5. Download the sample project for a quick start

IronPDF Extension Package

The IronPdf.Extensions.Razor package is an extension of the main IronPdf package. Both the IronPdf.Extensions.Razor and IronPdf packages are needed to render Razor Pages to PDF documents in a ASP.NET Core Web App.

Install-Package IronPdf.Extensions.Razor
C# NuGet Library for PDF

Install with NuGet

Install-Package IronPdf.Extensions.Razor
nuget.org/packages/IronPdf.Extensions.Razor/

Render Razor Pages to PDFs

You'll need an ASP.NET Core Web App project to convert Razor pages into PDF files.

Create a Model Class

  • Create a new folder in the project and name it "Models."
  • Add a standard C# class to the folder and name it "Person." This class will serve as a model for individual data. Use the following code snippet:
:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/cshtml-to-pdf-razor-model.cs
namespace RazorPageSample.Models
{
    public class Person
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public string Title { get; set; }
        public string Description { get; set; }
    }
}
Namespace RazorPageSample.Models
	Public Class Person
		Public Property Id() As Integer
		Public Property Name() As String
		Public Property Title() As String
		Public Property Description() As String
	End Class
End Namespace
VB   C#

Add a Razor Page

Add an empty Razor Page to the "Pages" folder and name it "persons.cshtml."

  • Modify the newly-created "Persons.cshtml" file using the code sample provided below.

The code below is for displaying the information in the browser.

@page
@using RazorPageSample.Models;
@model RazorPageSample.Pages.PersonsModel
@{
}

<table class="table">
    <tr>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th>Title</th>
        <th>Description</th>
    </tr>
    @foreach (var person in ViewData ["personList"] as List<Person>)
    {
        <tr>
            <td>@person.Name</td>
            <td>@person.Title</td>
            <td>@person.Description</td>
        </tr>
    }
</table>

<form method="post">
    <button type="submit">print</button>
</form>
@page
@using RazorPageSample.Models;
@model RazorPageSample.Pages.PersonsModel
@{
}

<table class="table">
    <tr>
        <th>Name</th>
        <th>Title</th>
        <th>Description</th>
    </tr>
    @foreach (var person in ViewData ["personList"] as List<Person>)
    {
        <tr>
            <td>@person.Name</td>
            <td>@person.Title</td>
            <td>@person.Description</td>
        </tr>
    }
</table>

<form method="post">
    <button type="submit">print</button>
</form>
HTML

Next, the code below first instantiates the ChromePdfRenderer class. Passing this to the RenderRazorToPdf method is sufficient to convert this Razor Page to a PDF document.

The user has full access to the features available in RenderingOptions. These features include the ability to apply page numbers to the generated PDF, set custom margins, and add custom text as well as HTML headers and footers.

  • Open the dropdown for the "Persons.cshtml" file to see the "Persons.cshtml.cs" file.
  • Modify the "Persons.cshtml.cs" with the code below.

Please note
The PDF document can be viewed in the browser using the following code: File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf"). However, downloading the PDF after viewing it in the browser results in a damaged PDF document.

using IronPdf.Razor.Pages;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.RazorPages;
using RazorPageSample.Models;

namespace RazorPageSample.Pages
{
    public class PersonsModel : PageModel
    {
        [BindProperty(SupportsGet = true)]
        public List<Person> persons { get; set; }

        public void OnGet()
        {
            persons = new List<Person>
            {
            new Person { Name = "Alice", Title = "Mrs.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Bob", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Charlie", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" }
            };

            ViewData ["personList"] = persons;
        }
        public IActionResult OnPostAsync()
        {
            persons = new List<Person>
            {
            new Person { Name = "Alice", Title = "Mrs.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Bob", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Charlie", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" }
            };

            ViewData ["personList"] = persons;

            ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

            // Render Razor Page to PDF document
            PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderRazorToPdf(this);

            Response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "inline");

            return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "razorPageToPdf.pdf");

            // View output PDF on broswer
            return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf");
        }
    }
}
using IronPdf.Razor.Pages;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.RazorPages;
using RazorPageSample.Models;

namespace RazorPageSample.Pages
{
    public class PersonsModel : PageModel
    {
        [BindProperty(SupportsGet = true)]
        public List<Person> persons { get; set; }

        public void OnGet()
        {
            persons = new List<Person>
            {
            new Person { Name = "Alice", Title = "Mrs.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Bob", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Charlie", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" }
            };

            ViewData ["personList"] = persons;
        }
        public IActionResult OnPostAsync()
        {
            persons = new List<Person>
            {
            new Person { Name = "Alice", Title = "Mrs.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Bob", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" },
            new Person { Name = "Charlie", Title = "Mr.", Description = "Software Engineer" }
            };

            ViewData ["personList"] = persons;

            ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

            // Render Razor Page to PDF document
            PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderRazorToPdf(this);

            Response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "inline");

            return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "razorPageToPdf.pdf");

            // View output PDF on broswer
            return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf");
        }
    }
}
Imports IronPdf.Razor.Pages
Imports Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc
Imports Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.RazorPages
Imports RazorPageSample.Models

Namespace RazorPageSample.Pages
	Public Class PersonsModel
		Inherits PageModel

		<BindProperty(SupportsGet := True)>
		Public Property persons() As List(Of Person)

		Public Sub OnGet()
			persons = New List(Of Person) From {
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Alice",
					.Title = "Mrs.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				},
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Bob",
					.Title = "Mr.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				},
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Charlie",
					.Title = "Mr.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				}
			}

			ViewData ("personList") = persons
		End Sub
		Public Function OnPostAsync() As IActionResult
			persons = New List(Of Person) From {
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Alice",
					.Title = "Mrs.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				},
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Bob",
					.Title = "Mr.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				},
				New Person With {
					.Name = "Charlie",
					.Title = "Mr.",
					.Description = "Software Engineer"
				}
			}

			ViewData ("personList") = persons

			Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()

			' Render Razor Page to PDF document
			Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderRazorToPdf(Me)

			Response.Headers.Add("Content-Disposition", "inline")

			Return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "razorPageToPdf.pdf")

			' View output PDF on broswer
			Return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf")
		End Function
	End Class
End Namespace
VB   C#

The RenderRazorToPdf method returns a PdfDocument object that can undergo additional processing and editing. You can export the PDF as PDFA or PDFUA, apply a digital signature to the rendered PDF document, or merge and split PDF documents. The method also allows you to rotate pages, add annotations or bookmarks, and stamp custom watermarks onto your PDF.

Add a Section to the Top Navigation Bar

  • Navigate to the Pages folder -> Shared folder -> _Layout.cshtml. Place the "Person" navigation item after "Home".

Make sure the value for the asp-page attribute matches exactly with our file name, which in this case is "Persons".

<header>
    <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-sm navbar-toggleable-sm navbar-light bg-white border-bottom box-shadow mb-3">
        <div class="container">
            <a class="navbar-brand" asp-area="" asp-page="/Index">RazorPageSample</a>
            <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target=".navbar-collapse" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent"
                    aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
                <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
            </button>
            <div class="navbar-collapse collapse d-sm-inline-flex justify-content-between">
                <ul class="navbar-nav flex-grow-1">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-page="/Index">Home</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-page="/Persons">Person</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-page="/Privacy">Privacy</a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </nav>
</header>
<header>
    <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-sm navbar-toggleable-sm navbar-light bg-white border-bottom box-shadow mb-3">
        <div class="container">
            <a class="navbar-brand" asp-area="" asp-page="/Index">RazorPageSample</a>
            <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target=".navbar-collapse" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent"
                    aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
                <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
            </button>
            <div class="navbar-collapse collapse d-sm-inline-flex justify-content-between">
                <ul class="navbar-nav flex-grow-1">
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-page="/Index">Home</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-page="/Persons">Person</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link text-dark" asp-area="" asp-page="/Privacy">Privacy</a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </nav>
</header>
HTML

Run the Project

This will show you how to run the project and generate a PDF document.

Execute ASP.NET Core Web App Project

Download ASP.NET Core Web App Project

You can download the complete code for this guide. It comes as a zipped file that you can open in Visual Studio as a ASP.NET Core Web App project.

Click here to download the project.

Chaknith Bin

Software Engineer

Chaknith is the Sherlock Holmes of developers. It first occurred to him he might have a future in software engineering, when he was doing code challenges for fun. His focus is on IronXL and IronBarcode, but he takes pride in helping customers with every product. Chaknith leverages his knowledge from talking directly with customers, to help further improve the products themselves. His anecdotal feedback goes beyond Jira tickets and supports product development, documentation and marketing, to improve customer’s overall experience.When he isn’t in the office, he can be found learning about machine learning, coding and hiking.