simple_pdf

Overview

simple_pdf provides HTML-to-PDF conversion for Eiffel applications using multiple rendering engines. Convert HTML strings, files, or URLs to PDF with full control over page size, orientation, and margins.

All Windows binaries are bundled - no separate installation required. Choose between wkhtmltopdf (default, bundled) or Chrome/Edge (best CSS support) for rendering.

API Integration

simple_pdf is part of the simple_* API hierarchy:

FOUNDATION_API (core utilities: json, uuid, base64, validation, etc.)
       ↑
SERVICE_API (services: jwt, smtp, sql, cors, cache, websocket, pdf)
       ↑
APP_API (full application stack)

Using via SERVICE_API or APP_API

If your project uses simple_service_api or simple_app_api, you automatically have access to simple_pdf - no additional ECF entry needed:

local
    api: SERVICE_API
    doc: SIMPLE_PDF_DOCUMENT
do
    create api.make
    -- Using convenience method
    doc := api.html_to_pdf (build_report_html)
    -- Or get the PDF generator for more control
    doc := api.new_pdf.page ("Letter").landscape.from_html (report_html)
    if doc.is_valid then
        doc.save_to_file ("report.pdf")
    end
end

Standalone Installation

For projects that only need PDF functionality:

<library name="simple_pdf" location="$SIMPLE_EIFFEL/simple_pdf/simple_pdf.ecf"/>

Quick Start

Installation

<library name="simple_pdf" location="$SIMPLE_EIFFEL/simple_pdf/simple_pdf.ecf"/>

Basic Usage

local
    pdf: SIMPLE_PDF
    doc: SIMPLE_PDF_DOCUMENT
do
    create pdf.make
    doc := pdf.from_html ("<h1>Hello World</h1>")
    doc.save_to_file ("output.pdf")
end

With Page Settings (Traditional)

create pdf.make
pdf.set_page_size ("Letter")
pdf.set_orientation ("Landscape")
pdf.set_margins ("1in")

doc := pdf.from_url ("https://example.com")
doc.save_to_file ("website.pdf")

Fluent API

Chain configuration calls for concise, readable code:

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.page ("Letter").landscape.margin_all ("1in").from_url ("https://example.com")
doc.save_to_file ("website.pdf")

Fluent API

The fluent API allows chaining configuration calls in a single expression:

Fluent Features

Fluent API Examples

Basic report with Letter size, landscape:

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.page ("Letter").landscape.from_html (report_html)
doc.save_to_file ("report.pdf")

Website capture with custom margins:

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.page ("A4").portrait.margin_all ("15mm").from_url ("https://example.com")

Using Chrome for complex CSS:

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.with_chrome.page ("Letter").margins ("1in", "1in", "0.75in", "0.75in").from_html (styled_html)

Document with different top/bottom margins:

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.page ("A4").margin_top ("30mm").margin_bottom ("20mm").margin_left ("25mm").margin_right ("25mm").from_file ("template.html")

Quick A4 portrait (defaults):

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.from_html ("<h1>Simple PDF</h1>")  -- Uses A4 portrait by default

Comparison

Traditional (5 lines):

create pdf.make
pdf.set_page_size ("Letter")
pdf.set_orientation ("Landscape")
pdf.set_margin_top ("25mm")
pdf.set_margin_bottom ("25mm")
doc := pdf.from_html (report_html)

Fluent (2 lines):

create pdf.make
doc := pdf.page ("Letter").landscape.margins ("25mm", "25mm", "20mm", "20mm").from_html (report_html)

Features

Using Chrome for Best CSS

-- Chrome/Edge provides best CSS rendering
create pdf.make_with_engine (create {SIMPLE_PDF_CHROME})
doc := pdf.from_html (complex_css_html)
doc.save_to_file ("styled.pdf")

Text Extraction

local
    reader: SIMPLE_PDF_READER
    text: STRING
do
    create reader.make
    if reader.is_available then
        text := reader.extract_text ("document.pdf")
        -- Or specific pages
        text := reader.extract_pages ("document.pdf", 1, 5)
    end
end

Engine Availability Check

local
    engines: SIMPLE_PDF_ENGINES
do
    create engines
    print (engines.report)
    -- Shows which engines are available
end

API Reference

SIMPLE_PDF (Main API)

Conversion Features

Page Settings

Engine Management

SIMPLE_PDF_DOCUMENT (Result Object)

SIMPLE_PDF_READER (Text Extraction)

Architecture

SIMPLE_PDF_ENGINE (deferred)
    |-- SIMPLE_PDF_WKHTMLTOPDF (default, bundled)
    |-- SIMPLE_PDF_CHROME (Chrome/Edge headless)

SIMPLE_PDF (main API - delegates to engine)
SIMPLE_PDF_DOCUMENT (result object)
SIMPLE_PDF_READER (text extraction via pdftotext)
SIMPLE_PDF_ENGINES (availability reporter)

Bundled Binaries

Binary Sources

Updating Binaries

wkhtmltopdf: Download from GitHub releases, extract and replace wkhtmltopdf.exe, wkhtmltox.dll in bin/.

Poppler: Download from poppler-windows, extract Library/bin/ contents to bin/.

Note: wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6 (2020) is the final release. No longer actively maintained but stable and widely used.