Streamlining PDF Generation with IronPDF: Milan Jovanović's In-Depth Review

In a recent video, Microsoft MVP Milan Jovanović took on the challenge of creating a dynamic PDF report using HTML templates and the powerful Razor syntax from ASP.NET Core. His solution of choice? IronPDF—a feature-rich C# library designed for seamless HTML-to-PDF conversion, which he described as a game-changer for developers looking for an efficient document generation tool.

Milan's approach centered around building a PDF report for an invoice using Razor templates. "We're going to generate a PDF report for an invoice," Milan began. He utilized an invoice factory service that, with the help of the Bogus library, dynamically generated fake invoices. Each invoice contained key information like the invoice number, issue date, due date, customer address, and seller details. Initially, Milan demonstrated the generation of a report with just 10 line items but later scaled it to show how IronPDF handles multi-page reports effortlessly.

One of the standout features Milan highlighted was the ease of integrating Razor views with ASP.NET Core Web APIs. While Razor syntax is typically native to MVC applications, Milan walked through converting an MVC Razor view into an HTML string within a Web API environment. "Razor views allow us to pass a strongly typed model, like our invoice contract, and then access its properties directly in the view," Milan explained.

After setting up the Razor view, Milan turned to the IronPDF library to convert the generated HTML string into a polished PDF. The simplicity of IronPDF's installation via NuGet and its intuitive API made it a preferred choice. "You can generate your PDF document with just one line of code," Milan said, demonstrating how IronPDF's ChromePdfRenderer handled the HTML-to-PDF conversion effortlessly.

Milan praised IronPDF's robust feature set, noting that the library supports advanced capabilities such as exporting to PDF/A format, digitally signing documents, and merging multiple PDFs. He also appreciated the extensive documentation provided by IronPDF, which streamlined his learning curve and allowed him to focus on more intricate features like styling the PDF report with TailwindCSS. By leveraging Tailwind's utility classes, Milan showed how to control every aspect of the report's design, from font sizes to layout using Flexbox.

"TailwindCSS gave me the flexibility to stylize the Razor view just the way I wanted," Milan explained, as he rendered an invoice report that included seller details, customer information, and an array of line items. He even demonstrated how to format data, such as dates and currency values, directly within the Razor view.

One of the most impressive moments came when Milan scaled the report to 100 line items, producing a multi-page PDF with automatic page breaks—a critical feature for large reports. "IronPDF handles complex HTML templates incredibly well, even with Flexbox layouts," Milan noted, underscoring how well the library performed with intricate designs.

Jacob Mellor, CTO of Iron Software, echoed Milan's enthusiasm. "IronPDF stays on the bleeding edge of technology, supporting modern web standards like Flexbox and Razor templating," Jacob commented. "Many competing products are stuck in the past, but with IronPDF, if the latest browsers support it, we probably do too."

Milan's video review not only demonstrated IronPDF's seamless integration with ASP.NET Core but also showcased the library's versatility for developers working with dynamic HTML templates. Whether generating reports, invoices, or other documents, Milan found IronPDF to be a reliable and powerful tool, backed by clear documentation and an active support team.

Conclusion:

Milan Jovanović's exploration of IronPDF highlights its role as a vital tool for developers seeking efficient and modern PDF generation solutions. With its cutting-edge support for HTML templates, Razor syntax, and CSS styling frameworks like TailwindCSS, IronPDF empowers developers to create highly customizable, dynamic documents with minimal effort.