Convert Word document to PDF in ASP.NET Core Web API

28 Oct 20256 minutes to read

Syncfusion^® DocIO is a .NET Core Word library used to create, read, edit, and convert Word documents programmatically without Microsoft Word or interop dependencies. Using this library, you can convert a Word document to PDF in ASP.NET Core Web API.

Steps to convert Word document to PDF in programmatically:

The below steps illustrate convert a simple Word document to PDF in ASP.NET Core Web API.

Step 1: Create a new C# ASP.NET Core Web API project.

Step 2: Install the Syncfusion.DocIORenderer.Net.Core NuGet package as a reference to your project from NuGet.org.

NOTE

Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion^® assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, you also have to add “Syncfusion.Licensing” assembly reference and include a license key in your projects. Please refer to this link to know about registering Syncfusion^® license key in your application to use our components.

Step 3: Add a new API controller empty file in the project.

Step 4: Include the following namespaces in the ValuesController.cs file.

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Syncfusion.DocIO;
using Syncfusion.DocIO.DLS;
using Syncfusion.DocIORenderer;
using Syncfusion.Pdf;

Step 5: Add a new action method ConvertWordToPdf in ValuesController.cs and include the below code snippet to Convert Word document to PDF and download it.

C#

[HttpGet]
[Route("api/ConvertWordToPdf")]
public IActionResult ConvertWordToPdf()
{
    try
    {
        var fileDownloadName = "Output.pdf";
        const string contentType = "application/pdf";
        var stream = ConvertWordDocumentToPdf();
        stream.Position = 0;
        return File(stream, contentType, fileDownloadName);
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        return BadRequest("Error occurred while converting Word to PDF: " + ex.Message);
    }
}

Step 6: Implement the ConvertWordDocumentToPdf method in ValuesController.cs.

C#

public static MemoryStream ConvertWordDocumentToPdf()
{
    //Loads the existing Word document.
    using (WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument(Path.GetFullPath("Data/Template.docx")))
    {
        using (DocIORenderer render = new DocIORenderer())
        {
            PdfDocument pdfDocument = render.ConvertToPDF(wordDocument);
            //Create the MemoryStream to save the converted PDF.      
            MemoryStream pdfStream = new MemoryStream();
            //Save the converted PDF document to MemoryStream.
            pdfDocument.Save(pdfStream);
            pdfStream.Position = 0;
            //Download PDF document in the browser.
            return pdfStream;
        }
    }
}

Step 7: Build the project.

Click on Build → Build Solution or press Ctrl+Shift+B to build the project.

Step 8: Run the project.

Click the Start button (green arrow) or press F5 to run the app.

A complete working sample is available on GitHub.

Steps for accessing the Web API using HTTP requests

Step 1: Create a console application.

NOTE

Ensure your ASP.NET Core Web API is running on the specified port before running this client. Adjust the port number if your Web API runs on a different port (check the ASP.NET Core app’s launch settings).

Step 2: Add the below code snippet in the Program.cs file for accessing the Web API using HTTP requests.

This method sends a GET request to the Web API endpoint to retrieve and save the converted PDF document.

C#

// Create an HttpClient instance
using (HttpClient client = new HttpClient())
{
    try
    {
        // Send a GET request to a URL
        HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync("https://localhost:7240/api/Values/api/ConvertWordToPdf");

        // Check if the response is successful
        if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
        {
            // Read the content as a string
            Stream responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStreamAsync();
            FileStream fileStream = File.Create("../../../Output/Output.pdf");
            responseBody.CopyTo(fileStream);
            fileStream.Close();
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("HTTP error status code: " + response.StatusCode);
        }
    }
    catch (HttpRequestException e)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Request exception: " + e.Message);
    }
}

Step 3: Build the project.

Click on Build → Build Solution or press Ctrl+Shift+B to build the project.

Step 4: Run the project.

Click the Start button (green arrow) or press F5 to run the app.

A complete working sample is available on GitHub.

Upon executing the program, the PDF will be generated as follows.

Click here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion^® Word library (DocIO) features.

An online sample link to convert Word document to PDF in ASP.NET Core.