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Integration Guide

Generate PDFs from HTML, URLs, or Markdown in 5 minutes.

Providers​

The PDF Generator supports multiple rendering engines.

Step 1: Install Package​

dotnet add package PrimusSaaS.PdfGenerator

Step 2: Configure in Program.cs​

using Primus.PdfGenerator;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddPrimusPdfGenerator(opts => {
    // Bind configuration
    builder.Configuration.GetSection("PrimusPdfGenerator").Bind(opts);
    
    // Explicitly set provider if not in appsettings
    opts.Provider = PdfProvider.Playwright;
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.MapControllers();
app.Run();

Step 3: Configure appsettings.json​

{
  "PrimusPdfGenerator": {
    "Provider": "Playwright",
    "TimeoutSeconds": 30,
    "Headless": true,
    "DefaultFormat": "A4",
    "DefaultMargins": {
      "Top": "20mm",
      "Bottom": "20mm",
      "Left": "20mm",
      "Right": "20mm"
    }
  }
}
Configuration Notes​
  • Provider: Playwright (requires Playwright dependencies installed)
  • TimeoutSeconds: Max time to wait for rendering

Step 4: Create PDF Controller​

Create Controllers/ReportController.cs:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Primus.PdfGenerator;

namespace YourApp.Controllers;

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class ReportController : ControllerBase
{
    private readonly IPdfGenerator _pdf;

    public ReportController(IPdfGenerator pdf)
    {
        _pdf = pdf;
    }

    [HttpPost("generate")]
    public async Task<IActionResult> GenerateReport([FromBody] ReportRequest request)
    {
        var html = $@"
            <html>
            <body>
                <h1>{request.Title}</h1>
                <p>{request.Content}</p>
            </body>
            </html>";

        var options = new PdfOptions { Format = PdfPageFormat.A4 };
        var pdf = await _pdf.GenerateFromHtmlAsync(html, options);
        
        return File(pdf, "application/pdf", "report.pdf");
    }

    [HttpGet("screenshot")]
    public async Task<IActionResult> ScreenshotUrl([FromQuery] string url)
    {
        var pdf = await _pdf.GenerateFromUrlAsync(url, new PdfOptions
        {
            Format = PdfPageFormat.Letter,
            Landscape = true
        });
        
        return File(pdf, "application/pdf", "screenshot.pdf");
    }
}

public record ReportRequest(string Title, string Content);

Step 5: Test Endpoints​

# Generate from HTML
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/report/generate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Test Report", "content": "Hello World"}' \
  --output report.pdf

# Capture URL
curl "http://localhost:5000/api/report/screenshot?url=https://example.com" \
  --output screenshot.pdf

Provider 2: Puppeteer​

Step 1: Install Package​

dotnet add package PrimusSaaS.PdfGenerator

Step 2: Configure in Program.cs​

builder.Services.AddPrimusPdfGenerator(opts => {
    opts.Provider = PdfProvider.Puppeteer;
    // ...
});

Step 3: Configure appsettings.json​

{
  "PrimusPdfGenerator": {
    "Provider": "Puppeteer"
  }
}

Step 4 & 5​

(Reuse Controller and Test commands)

Configuration Reference​

PDF Generator Options​

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
ProviderPdfProviderPlaywrightRendering engine
HeadlessbooltrueRun browser in headless mode
TimeoutSecondsint30Render timeout
ChromiumPathstringnullCustom browser path

Examples​

Example 1: Custom Headers/Footers​

var options = new PdfOptions
{
    DisplayHeaderFooter = true,
    HeaderTemplate = "<div style='font-size:10px;'>Confidential</div>",
    FooterTemplate = "<div style='font-size:10px;'>Page <span class='pageNumber'></span></div>"
};

Troubleshooting​

Issue: Browser missing​

Error: Executable doesn't exist

Solution:

  1. For Playwright: pwsh bin/Debug/net8.0/playwright.ps1 install
  2. For Puppeteer: Ensure Chrome/Chromium is installed or downloaded.