In this article I will explain with an example, how to generate and download PDF report from database using iTextSharp in ASP.Net with C# and VB.Net.
 
 

Download iTextSharp Library

You can download the iTextSharp library from the following link.
iTextSharp
Note: You will need to add the reference of iTextSharp library in your project.
 
 

Database

For this article I am making use of the Microsoft’s Northwind Database. You can download it from here.
Download and install Northwind Database
 
 

HTML Markup

The HTML Markup consist of following controls:
DropDownList – For selecting name of employee whose report will be generated.
Button – For generating and downloading PDF report.
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlEmployees" runat="server"></asp:DropDownList>
<asp:Button ID="btnReport" runat="server" Text="Generate Report" OnClick="GenerateReport" />
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports iTextSharp.text
Imports iTextSharp.text.pdf
 
 

Populating the Employees DropDownList

Inside the Page Load event handler, the DropDownList is populated with records from Employees Table of Northwind Database.
Note: GetData is a generic function to execute SELECT querie and returns DataTable.
 
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        this.BindEmployeesDropDown();
    }
}
 
private void BindEmployeesDropDown()
{
    ddlEmployees.DataSource = this.GetData("SELECT EmployeeId, (FirstName + ' ' + LastName) Name FROM Employees");
    ddlEmployees.DataTextField = "Name";
    ddlEmployees.DataValueField = "EmployeeId";
    ddlEmployees.DataBind();
}
 
private DataTable GetData(string query)
{
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
    {
        using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter(query, con))
        {
            using (DataTable dt = new DataTable())
            {
                sda.Fill(dt);
                return dt;
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Me.BindEmployeesDropDown()
    End If
End Sub
Private Sub BindEmployeesDropDown()
    ddlEmployees.DataSource = Me.GetData("SELECT EmployeeId, (FirstName + ' ' + LastName) Name FROM Employees")
    ddlEmployees.DataTextField = "Name"
    ddlEmployees.DataValueField = "EmployeeId"
    ddlEmployees.DataBind()
End Sub
 
Private Function GetData(query As String) As DataTable
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As New SqlConnection(constr)
        Using sda As New SqlDataAdapter(query, con)
            Using dt As New DataTable()
                sda.Fill(dt)
                Return dt
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Function
 
 

Generating PDF Report using iTextSharp

Inside the GenerateReport event handler, the record of the Employee report to be generated is fetched based on the Employee ID from the DropDownList.
Then, Header of the report with Logo and name of the company is created and a Horizontal line is drawn which separates out the Header with the Body.
Now, using the Employee record PDF Table is generated and added to an iTextSharp PDF document. The Body of the report contains the Employee details like Photo, Name, Designation and other details.
Finally, the iTextSharp PDF document is downloaded as PDF using Response Stream.
Note: For more details on how to download file in ASP.Net, please refer my article Download File in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
 
C#
protected void GenerateReport(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    DataRow dr = this.GetData("SELECT * FROM EmployeesWHERE EmployeeId = " + ddlEmployees.SelectedItem.Value).Rows[0];
    Document document = new Document(PageSize.A4, 88f, 88f, 10f, 10f);
    using (System.IO.MemoryStream memoryStream = new System.IO.MemoryStream())
    {
        PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(document,memoryStream);
        Phrase phrase = null;
        PdfPCell cell = null;
        PdfPTable table = null;
        BaseColor color = null;
 
        document.Open();
 
        //Header Table
        table = new PdfPTable(2);
        table.TotalWidth = 500f;
        table.LockedWidth = true;
        table.SetWidths(new float[] { 0.3f, 0.7f });
 
        //Company Logo
        cell = this.ImageCell("~/images/northwindlogo.gif", 30f, PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Company Name and Address
        phrase = new Phrase();
        phrase.Add(new Chunk("Microsoft Northwind Traders Company\n\n", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 16, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.RED)));
        phrase.Add(new Chunk("107, Park site,\n", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        phrase.Add(new Chunk("Salt Lake Road,\n", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        phrase.Add(new Chunk("Seattle, USA", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        cell = this.PhraseCell(phrase, PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT);
        cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_TOP;
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Separater Line
        color = new BaseColor(System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.FromHtml("#A9A9A9"));
        this.DrawLine(writer, 25f, document.Top - 79f, document.PageSize.Width - 25f, document.Top - 79f, color);
        this.DrawLine(writer, 25f, document.Top - 80f, document.PageSize.Width - 25f, document.Top - 80f, color);
        document.Add(table);
 
        table = new PdfPTable(2);
        table.HorizontalAlignment = Element.ALIGN_LEFT;
        table.SetWidths(new float[] { 0.3f, 1f });
        table.SpacingBefore = 20f;
 
        //Employee Details
        cell = this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("Employee Record", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 12, Font.UNDERLINE, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        cell.Colspan = 2;
        cell.PaddingBottom = 30f;
        table.AddCell(cell);
        cell = this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        cell.Colspan = 2;
        cell.PaddingBottom = 30f;
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Photo
        cell = this.ImageCell(string.Format("~/photos/{0}.jpg", dr["EmployeeId"]), 25f, PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Name
        phrase = new Phrase();
        phrase.Add(new Chunk(dr["TitleOfCourtesy"] + " " + dr["FirstName"] + " " + dr["LastName"] + "\n", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 10, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        phrase.Add(new Chunk("(" + dr["Title"].ToString() + ")", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        cell = this.PhraseCell(phrase, PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT);
        cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_MIDDLE;
        table.AddCell(cell);
        document.Add(table);
 
        this.DrawLine(writer, 160f, 80f, 160f, 690f, BaseColor.BLACK);
        this.DrawLine(writer, 115f, document.Top - 200f, document.PageSize.Width - 100f, document.Top - 200f, BaseColor.BLACK);
 
        table = new PdfPTable(2);
        table.SetWidths(new float[] { 0.5f, 2f });
        table.TotalWidth = 340f;
        table.LockedWidth = true;
        table.SpacingBefore = 20f;
        table.HorizontalAlignment = Element.ALIGN_RIGHT;
 
        //Employee Id
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("Employee code:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("000" + dr["EmployeeId"], FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        cell = this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        cell.Colspan = 2;
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10f;
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
 
        //Address
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("Address:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        phrase = new Phrase(new Chunk(dr["Address"] + "\n", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        phrase.Add(new Chunk(dr["City"] + "\n", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        phrase.Add(new Chunk(dr["Region"] + " " + dr["Country"] + " " + dr["PostalCode"], FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)));
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(phrase, PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        cell = this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        cell.Colspan = 2;
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10f;
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Date of Birth
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("Date of Birth:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8,Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(Convert.ToDateTime(dr["BirthDate"]).ToString("dd  MMMM,yyyy"), FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        cell = this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        cell.Colspan = 2;
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10f;
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Phone
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("Phone Number:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(dr["HomePhone"] + " Ext: " + dr["Extension"], FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        cell = this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER);
        cell.Colspan = 2;
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10f;
        table.AddCell(cell);
 
        //Addtional Information
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase("Addtional Information:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT));
        table.AddCell(this.PhraseCell(new Phrase(dr["Notes"].ToString(), FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_JUSTIFIED));
        document.Add(table);
        document.Close();
 
        byte[] bytes = memoryStream.ToArray();
        memoryStream.Close();
 
        Response.Clear();
        Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
        Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=Employee.pdf");
        Response.Buffer = true;
        Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
        Response.BinaryWrite(bytes);
        Response.End();
        Response.Close();
    }
}
 
private void DrawLine(PdfWriter writer, float x1, float y1, float x2, float y2, BaseColor color)
{
    PdfContentByte contentByte  = writer.DirectContent;
    contentByte.SetColorStroke(color);
    contentByte.MoveTo(x1, y1);
    contentByte.LineTo(x2, y2);
    contentByte.Stroke();
}
 
private PdfPCell PhraseCell(Phrase phrase, int align)
{
    PdfPCell cell = new PdfPCell(phrase);
    cell.BorderColor = BaseColor.WHITE;
    cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_TOP;
    cell.HorizontalAlignment = align;
    cell.PaddingBottom = 2f;
    cell.PaddingTop = 0f;
    return cell;
}
 
private PdfPCell ImageCell(string path, float scale, int align)
{
    Image image = Image.GetInstance(HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(path));
    image.ScalePercent(scale);
    PdfPCell cell = new PdfPCell(image);
    cell.BorderColor = BaseColor.WHITE;
    cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_TOP;
    cell.HorizontalAlignment = align;
    cell.PaddingBottom = 0f;
    cell.PaddingTop = 0f;
    return cell;
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub GenerateReport(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
    Dim dr As DataRow =  Me.GetData("SELECT * FROM EmployeesWHERE EmployeeId = " + ddlEmployees.SelectedItem.Value).Rows(0)
    Dim document As New Document(PageSize.A4, 88.0F, 88.0F, 10.0F, 10.0F)
    Using memoryStream As New System.IO.MemoryStream()
        Dim writer As PdfWriter = PdfWriter.GetInstance(document, memoryStream)
        Dim phrase As Phrase = Nothing
        Dim cell As PdfPCell = Nothing
        Dim table As PdfPTable = Nothing
        Dim color__1 As BaseColor = Nothing
 
        document.Open()
 
        'Header Table
        table = New PdfPTable(2)
        table.TotalWidth = 500.0F
        table.LockedWidth = True
        table.SetWidths(New Single() {0.3F, 0.7F})
 
        'Company Logo
        cell = Me.ImageCell("~/images/northwindlogo.gif", 30.0F, PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Company Name and Address
        phrase =  New Phrase()
        phrase.Add(New Chunk("Microsoft Northwind Traders Company" & vbLf & vbLf, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 16, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.RED)))
        phrase.Add(New Chunk("107, Park site," & vbLf, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        phrase.Add(New Chunk("Salt Lake Road," & vbLf, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        phrase.Add(New Chunk("Seattle, USA", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(phrase, PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT)
        cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_TOP
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Separater Line
        color__1 = New BaseColor(System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.FromHtml("#A9A9A9"))
        Me.DrawLine(writer, 25.0F, document.Top - 79.0F, document.PageSize.Width - 25.0F, document.Top - 79.0F, color__1)
        Me.DrawLine(writer, 25.0F, document.Top - 80.0F, document.PageSize.Width - 25.0F, document.Top - 80.0F, color__1)
        document.Add(table)
 
        table = New PdfPTable(2)
        table.HorizontalAlignment = Element.ALIGN_LEFT
        table.SetWidths(New Single() {0.3F, 1.0F})
        table.SpacingBefore = 20.0F
 
        'Employee Details
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("Employee Record", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 12, Font.UNDERLINE, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        cell.Colspan = 2
        cell.PaddingBottom = 30.0F
        table.AddCell(cell)
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        cell.Colspan = 2
        cell.PaddingBottom = 30.0F
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Photo
        cell = Me.ImageCell(String.Format("~/photos/{0}.jpg", dr("EmployeeId")), 25.0F, PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Name
        phrase = New Phrase()
        phrase.Add(New Chunk(dr("TitleOfCourtesy").ToString & " " + dr("FirstName").ToString & " " + dr("LastName").ToString, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 10, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        phrase.Add(New Chunk("(" + dr("Title").ToString() + ")", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(phrase, PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT)
        cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_MIDDLE
        table.AddCell(cell)
        document.Add(table)
 
        Me.DrawLine(writer, 160.0F, 80.0F, 160.0F, 690.0F, BaseColor.BLACK)
        Me.DrawLine(writer, 115.0F, document.Top - 200.0F, document.PageSize.Width - 100.0F, document.Top - 200.0F, BaseColor.BLACK)
 
        table = New PdfPTable(2)
        table.SetWidths(New Single() {0.5F, 2.0F})
        table.TotalWidth = 340.0F
        table.LockedWidth = True
        table.SpacingBefore = 20.0F
        table.HorizontalAlignment = Element.ALIGN_RIGHT
 
        'Employee Id
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("Employee code:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("000" + dr("EmployeeId"), FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        cell.Colspan = 2
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10.0F
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
 
        'Address
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("Address:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        phrase = New Phrase(New Chunk(dr("Address").ToString, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        phrase.Add(New Chunk(dr("City").ToString + vbLf, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        phrase.Add(New Chunk(dr("Region").ToString + " " + dr("Country").ToString + " " + dr("PostalCode").ToString, FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)))
        table.AddCell(PhraseCell(phrase, PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        cell.Colspan = 2
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10.0F
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Date of Birth
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("Date of Birth:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(Convert.ToDateTime(dr("BirthDate")).ToString("dd  MMMM,yyyy"), FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        cell.Colspan = 2
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10.0F
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Phone
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("Phone Number:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(dr("HomePhone") + " Ext: " + dr("Extension"), FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        cell = Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(), PdfPCell.ALIGN_CENTER)
        cell.Colspan = 2
        cell.PaddingBottom = 10.0F
        table.AddCell(cell)
 
        'Addtional Information
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase("Addtional Information:", FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.BOLD, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_LEFT))
        table.AddCell(Me.PhraseCell(New Phrase(dr("Notes").ToString(), FontFactory.GetFont("Arial", 8, Font.NORMAL, BaseColor.BLACK)), PdfPCell.ALIGN_JUSTIFIED))
        document.Add(table)
        document.Close()
 
        Dim bytes As Byte() = memoryStream.ToArray()
        memoryStream.Close()
 
        Response.Clear()
        Response.ContentType = "application/pdf"
        Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition","attachment; filename=Employee.pdf")
        Response.Buffer = True
        Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache)
        Response.BinaryWrite(bytes)
        Response.End()
        Response.Close()
    End Using
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub DrawLine(writer As PdfWriter, x1 As Single, y1 As Single, x2 As Single, y2 As Single, color As BaseColor)
    Dim contentByte As PdfContentByte = writer.DirectContent
    contentByte.SetColorStroke(color)
    contentByte.MoveTo(x1, y1)
    contentByte.LineTo(x2, y2)
    contentByte.Stroke()
End Sub
 
Private Function PhraseCell(phrase As Phrase, align As Integer) As PdfPCell
    Dim cell As New PdfPCell(phrase)
    cell.BorderColor = BaseColor.WHITE
    cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_TOP
    cell.HorizontalAlignment = align
    cell.PaddingBottom = 2.0F
    cell.PaddingTop = 0.0F
    Return cell
End Function
 
Private Function ImageCell(path As String, scale As Single, align As Integer) As PdfPCell
    Dim image As Image = Image.GetInstance(HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(path))
    image.ScalePercent(scale)
    Dim cell As New PdfPCell(image)
    cell.BorderColor = BaseColor.WHITE
    cell.VerticalAlignment = PdfPCell.ALIGN_TOP
    cell.HorizontalAlignment = align
    cell.PaddingBottom = 0.0F
    cell.PaddingTop = 0.0F
    Return cell
End Function
 
 

Screenshot

ITextSharp: Download PDF Report from database in ASP.Net
 
 

Demo

View Demo
 
 

Downloads

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