Create PDF in memory instead of physical file

Question

How do one create PDF in memorystream instead of physical file using itextsharp.

The code below is creating actual pdf file.

Instead how can I create a byte[

Answer 1

I've never used iTextPDF before but it sounded interesting so I took upon the challenge and did some research on my own. Here's how to stream the PDF document via memory.

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    ShowPdf(CreatePDF2());
}

private byte[] CreatePDF2()
{
    Document doc = new Document(PageSize.LETTER, 50, 50, 50, 50);

    using (MemoryStream output = new MemoryStream())
    {
        PdfWriter wri = PdfWriter.GetInstance(doc, output);
        doc.Open();

        Paragraph header = new Paragraph("My Document") {Alignment = Element.ALIGN_CENTER};
        Paragraph paragraph = new Paragraph("Testing the iText pdf.");
        Phrase phrase = new Phrase("This is a phrase but testing some formatting also. \nNew line here.");
        Chunk chunk = new Chunk("This is a chunk.");

        doc.Add(header);
        doc.Add(paragraph);
        doc.Add(phrase);
        doc.Add(chunk);

        doc.Close();
        return output.ToArray();
    }

}

private void ShowPdf(byte[] strS)
{
    Response.ClearContent();
    Response.ClearHeaders();
    Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
    Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=" + DateTime.Now);

    Response.BinaryWrite(strS);
    Response.End();
    Response.Flush();
    Response.Clear();
}