Suggestion: Option to save document as PDF built into Open XML

I am looking at implementing a feature of saving an XLSX document as PDF and have discovered Open XML does not have this ability.

To achieve this currently, there is a need to implement an additional third party library that will save the XLSX as a PDF file. They vary a lot in quality and reliability.

There would be value in Open XML by having a native ability to save the document as a read only PDF document.

Information

.NET Target: .NET Framework 4.5
DocumentFormat.OpenXml Version: 2.11.3

Repro Add option to change Workbook type to PDF and save

Observed Does not have feature.

Expected

Save docx or xlsx as PDF option

we also need it, Thanks a lot

Agree, it would be good to have some API for creating PDF. I think, then creating an image should be easier. I tried to implement for ShapeCrawler (wrapper for Open-XML-SDK) API to generate an image from a slide, but I haven't even to start :( No idea how proprietary library does it.

I am not sure we would want to include that in this project. That feels like a project that could build on top of the SDK, though

I agree that it wouldn't make sense to have a "save as PDF" in this API set.

Hi, @twsouthwick,@tomjebo, It's very useful if it's possible to build on top of the SDK, currently, if no it, we have to turn back to Office PIA to do that.

Hi,

'Save docx or xlsx as PDF' is a very useful feature, we also need it.

The Open XML SDK is all about three very particular document formats:

WordprocessingDocument, e.g., for Word documents (.docx) and templates (.dotx);
SpreadsheetDocument, e.g., for Excel workbooks (.xlsx) and templates (.xltx); and
PresentationDocument, e.g., for PowerPoint presentations (.pptx) and templates (.potx).

It does not support other file formats such as PDF.

There are several commercial products out there that can transform Open XML documents to PDF. There might also be Open Source solutions.

However, there is also the Microsoft Graph. The beta endpoint can convert DriveItems stored in several file formats into PDF.

Hi,@ThomasBarnekow : which commercial products are your recommendations? If use the Microsoft Graph beta endpoint, the file must be stored in onedirve?

@softboy99 I looked at this several years ago, so any view would be outdated. One leading candidate, though, would be Aspose. However, they also tend to be on the expensive end of the spectrum.

Hi,@ThomasBarnekow : no,Aspose，has tried. There're still many formatting issue causing the pdf different with docx

@softboy Unfortunately, I can't provide any further guidance. You'd need to donyour own market research and evaluate the options. If you wanted to contribute something back to this project, consider sharing your findings. That way, we may point people to those other options.

Hi， @ThomasBarnekow ，If use the Microsoft Graph beta endpoint, the file must be stored in onedirve?

@twsouthwick Please reconsider this issue

Hi @Varorbc, This stack overflow post has a workaround that might work for you. It first extracts a docx to html then converts that html to pdf. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46580718/convert-word-doc-and-docx-format-to-pdf-in-net-core-without-microsoft-office-in#answer-46658645

Hi, @mikeebowen , with your suggested way, there is formating issue, we need the exported pdf looks like fully same as word

The easiest solutions appear to be licensed 3rd party plugins for this use case but the costs can be rather high for these.

https://github.com/gotenberg/gotenberg

This is a better solution that I have found so far.

hi @Varorbc, if use libreoffice, why not use ms office automation on the cloud? there are also formating issues, we need the exported pdf looks like fully same as word

@softboy99 Because the runtime environment is only linux

I put Google Bard (Gemini Pro - PaLM2), Microsoft Bing Chat (Chat GPT 4) and Stackoverflow AI Search to the task. Please see my results below and it may be of value to anyone looking for a place to start implementing their own solution...

Bard

Prompt: "Write me code to transform an OpenXML spreadhseet into a PDF file without any dependencies requiring payment."

Response: Converting an OpenXML spreadsheet directly to a PDF file requires a dependency that can handle PDF generation. While there are several open-source and free PDF generation libraries, they typically involve licensing agreements or specific requirements for commercial use.

One way to achieve this conversion without relying on a paid or restricted dependency is to use a virtual printer that can render the OpenXML spreadsheet to an intermediate format, such as HTML or an image format, and then use a free PDF creation tool to convert the intermediate document to PDF.

Here's a step-by-step approach:

Install a virtual printer: Download and install a free virtual printer like Bullzip PDF Printer. This will allow you to print documents to a virtual PDF file instead of a physical printer.

Convert OpenXML to HTML: Use an OpenXML parsing library or tool to extract the spreadsheet data into HTML format. This can be done programmatically or using a command-line tool like OpenOffice/LibreOffice.

Render HTML to PDF: Use a free PDF creation tool like wkhtmltopdf or LibreOffice to convert the HTML file to PDF. These tools can be installed as binaries or used through a command-line interface.

Here's an example using wkhtmltopdf written in C# code to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class OpenXmlToPdfConverter
{
    private readonly string virtualPrinterName = "Bullzip PDF Printer";

    public async Task ConvertSpreadsheetToPdfAsync(string openXmlFilePath, string pdfFilePath)
    {
        // Extract spreadsheet data to HTML format using OpenXML parsing library
        string htmlContent = await ExtractSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);

        // Convert HTML to PDF using wkhtmltopdf or LibreOffice
        await ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(htmlContent, pdfFilePath);
    }

    private async Task ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(string htmlContent, string pdfFilePath)
    {
        // Use wkhtmltopdf or LibreOffice to convert HTML to PDF
        string wkhtmltopdfCommand = $"wkhtmltopdf --page-size A4 {htmlContent} {pdfFilePath}";
        Process wkhtmltopdfProcess = new Process();
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.FileName = wkhtmltopdfCommand;
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.Start();
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.WaitForExit();

        // Check if the PDF generation was successful
        if (wkhtmltopdfProcess.ExitCode != 0)
        {
            throw new Exception("Failed to convert HTML to PDF using wkhtmltopdf");
        }
    }

    private async Task<string> ExtractSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
    {
        // Use OpenXML parsing library to extract spreadsheet data to HTML format
        // This will require installing and configuring an OpenXML parsing library
        // (e.g., DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
        string htmlContent = await ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);
        return htmlContent;
    }

    private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
    {
        throw new NotImplementedException("This method requires an OpenXML parsing library");
    }
}

To use this class, you would first need to install a virtual printer like Bullzip PDF Printer. Then, you can call the ConvertSpreadsheetToPdfAsync method, passing in the paths to the OpenXML spreadsheet file and the desired PDF file.

This command will convert the HTML file "spreadsheet.html" to a PDF file named "spreadsheet.pdf".

This approach allows you to convert OpenXML spreadsheets to PDF without relying on paid or restricted dependencies, using free tools and libraries.

Prompt: "Implement the function ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync() in C# using an OpenXML open source library to transform a spreadsheet into HTML"

Response: To implement the ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync function using an OpenXML open-source library, you'll need to install and configure a suitable library, such as DocumentFormat.OpenXml. Once installed and configured, you can modify the function to parse the OpenXML spreadsheet and generate the corresponding HTML representation.

Here's an example implementation using DocumentFormat.OpenXml:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text.Html;

private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
{
    // Read the OpenXML spreadsheet file
    using (Stream stream = File.OpenRead(openXmlFilePath))
    {
        // Create an OpenXML workbook object
        SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = new SpreadsheetDocument(stream);

        // Get the first worksheet
        SpreadsheetWorksheet worksheet = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Worksheets.FirstOrDefault();

        // Generate HTML representation of the worksheet
        StringBuilder htmlContent = new StringBuilder();
        htmlContent.Append("<html><body>");

        // Iterate through each row in the worksheet
        foreach (var row in worksheet.Table.Rows)
        {
            htmlContent.Append("<tr>");

            // Iterate through each cell in the row
            foreach (var cell in row.Cells)
            {
                // Extract cell value and format it as HTML
                string cellValue = cell.Value.ToString();
                cellValue = Html.Escape(cellValue);

                // Add cell to the HTML row
                htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td>{0}</td>", cellValue);
            }

            htmlContent.Append("</tr>");
        }

        htmlContent.Append("</body></html>");

        return htmlContent.ToString();
    }
}

This code snippet demonstrates the basic structure for parsing an OpenXML spreadsheet file and generating the corresponding HTML representation. You can further enhance this code by adding more formatting and styling to the generated HTML.

Prompt: "Give me an enhanced example that accurately persists the formatting, styling and culture"

Response Draft 1: To accurately persist the formatting, styling, and culture of the spreadsheet in the generated HTML, you need to carefully extract and apply the corresponding styles and formatting properties from the OpenXML spreadsheet elements to the generated HTML elements. Here's an enhanced example that demonstrates this approach:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text.Html;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
{
    // Read the OpenXML spreadsheet file
    using (Stream stream = File.OpenRead(openXmlFilePath))
    {
        // Create an OpenXML workbook object
        SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = new SpreadsheetDocument(stream);

        // Get the first worksheet
        SpreadsheetWorksheet worksheet = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Worksheets.FirstOrDefault();

        // Initialize HTML string builder
        StringBuilder htmlContent = new StringBuilder();
        htmlContent.Append("<html><head>");

        // Extract worksheet style
        SpreadsheetWorksheetStyle worksheetStyle = worksheet.Style;
        Style style = new Style();
        style.Font = GetFontFromOpenXMLFont(worksheetStyle.Font);
        style.Alignment = GetAlignmentFromOpenXMLAlignment(worksheetStyle.Alignment);
        style.Borders = GetBordersFromOpenXMLBorders(worksheetStyle.Borders);
        style.Fill = GetFillFromOpenXMLFill(worksheetStyle.Fill);

        // Append HTML head with CSS styles
        htmlContent.AppendFormat("<style>");
        htmlContent.AppendFormat("table { border-collapse: collapse; }");
        htmlContent.AppendFormat("th, td { border: 1px solid black; padding: 5px; }");
        htmlContent.AppendFormat(".number { text-align: right; }");
        htmlContent.AppendFormat(".date { text-align: center; }");
        style.ToCss(htmlContent);
        htmlContent.AppendFormat("</style>");

        htmlContent.Append("</head><body>");

        // Generate HTML representation of the worksheet
        foreach (var row in worksheet.Table.Rows)
        {
            htmlContent.Append("<tr");
            if (row.IsHeading)
            {
                htmlContent.AppendFormat(" class=\"heading\"");
            }
            htmlContent.Append(">");

            // Iterate through each cell in the row
            foreach (var cell in row.Cells)
            {
                // Extract cell value and format it as HTML
                string cellValue = cell.Value.ToString();
                cellValue = Html.Escape(cellValue);

                // Apply cell formatting and style
                style.ApplyTo(htmlContent);

                // Handle different cell types
                switch (cell.DataType)
                {
                    case DataType.Number:
                        htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td class=\"number\">{0}</td>", cellValue);
                        break;
                    case DataType.DateTime:
                        DateTime dateTime = cell.Value.ToDateTime();
                        htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td class=\"date\">{0:yyyy-MM-dd}</td>", dateTime);
                        break;
                    default:
                        htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td>{0}</td>", cellValue);
                        break;
                }
            }

            htmlContent.Append("</tr>");
        }

        htmlContent.Append("</body></html>");

        return htmlContent.ToString();
    }
}

This extended code snippet captures the OpenXML spreadsheet's style information and applies it to the generated HTML elements. It also handles different cell types, such as numbers and dates, and applies appropriate formatting. This provides a more accurate representation of the spreadsheet's layout and formatting in the generated HTML.

Response Draft 2:

Here's an enhanced example that accurately persists the formatting, styling, and culture of the OpenXML spreadsheet in the generated HTML:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Json;
using System.Text.Json.Serialization;

// attribution: https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-plugin-bookshelf (MIT license)
private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
{
    // Read the OpenXML spreadsheet file
    using (Stream stream = File.OpenRead(openXmlFilePath))
    {
        // Create an OpenXML workbook object
        SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = new SpreadsheetDocument(stream);

        // Get the first worksheet
        SpreadsheetWorksheet worksheet = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Worksheets.FirstOrDefault();

        // Generate HTML representation of the worksheet
        StringBuilder htmlContent = new StringBuilder();
        htmlContent.Append("<html><head>");

        // Extract and apply CSS styles from the spreadsheet theme
        foreach (var style in worksheet.Table.Styles)
        {
            // Parse cell style properties
            var styleProperties = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<StyleProperties>(style.Style.InnerXml);

            // Generate CSS declaration for the style
            var cssDeclaration = string.Format(".{0} {{ {1} }}", styleProperties.StyleId, styleProperties.CssRules);

            // Append CSS declaration to HTML head
            htmlContent.Append(cssDeclaration);
        }

        htmlContent.Append("</head><body>");

        // Iterate through each row in the worksheet
        foreach (var row in worksheet.Table.Rows)
        {
            htmlContent.Append("<tr>");

            // Iterate through each cell in the row
            foreach (var cell in row.Cells)
            {
                // Extract cell value, styling properties, and format it as HTML
                string cellValue = cell.Value.ToString();
                CellFormat cellFormat = cell.CellFormat;

                // Apply cell formatting to the HTML cell
                htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td style=\"text-align: {0}, font-size: {1}px\">", cellFormat.HorizontalAlignment, cellFormat.FontSize);

                // Apply conditional formatting rules, if any
                foreach (var rule in cellFormat.ConditionalFormattingRules)
                {
                    // Check if the conditional rule applies to the cell value
                    if (rule.Operator == ConditionalFormattingRule.Operator.Equal && rule.Value == cellValue)
                    {
                        htmlContent.AppendFormat("background-color: {0}, color: {1}", rule.Formatting.BackgroundColor, rule.Formatting.ForegroundColor);
                        break;
                    }
                }

                // Add cell value to the HTML cell
                htmlContent.AppendFormat("{0}</td>", cellValue);
            }

            htmlContent.Append("</tr>");
        }

        htmlContent.Append("</body></html>");

        return htmlContent.ToString();
    }
}

This code snippet goes beyond simply extracting the cell values and formatting them in HTML. It also extracts the CSS styles from the OpenXML spreadsheet theme, applies them to the generated HTML, and manages conditional formatting rules. This ensures that the generated HTML accurately reflects the formatting, styling, and culture of the original spreadsheet.

Response Draft 3:

To accurately persist the formatting, styling, and culture of an OpenXML spreadsheet to HTML, you'll need to parse the OpenXML document's content types, styles, and formatting information and apply them to the corresponding HTML elements.

Here's an enhanced example that incorporates these aspects:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text.Html;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
{
    // Read the OpenXML spreadsheet file
    using (Stream stream = File.OpenRead(openXmlFilePath))
    {
        // Create an OpenXML workbook object
        SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = new SpreadsheetDocument(stream);

        // Get the first worksheet
        SpreadsheetWorksheet worksheet = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Worksheets.FirstOrDefault();

        // Generate HTML representation of the worksheet
        StringBuilder htmlContent = new StringBuilder();
        htmlContent.Append("<html><head><style>");

        // Extract and apply cell styles
        foreach (var style in worksheet.Table.Styles)
        {
            string styleName = style.DefaultName;

            // Extract font and style attributes
            string fontStyle = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.Font.Name;
            string fontSize = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.Font.Size;
            string fontStyle = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.Font.Charset;
            string alignment = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.WrapText;

            // Apply font styles to HTML tags
            htmlContent.AppendFormat("table.{0} {1} {2} {3}", styleName, fontStyle, fontSize, alignment);
        }

        // Extract and apply cell formatting
        foreach (var cell in worksheet.Table.Cells)
        {
            // Extract cell value and format it as HTML
            string cellValue = cell.Value.ToString();
            cellValue = Html.Escape(cellValue);

            // Extract cell formatting attributes
            string cellFormat = cell.CellFormat.TextFormat.Text.Value;
            string cellColor = cell.CellFormat.Fill.FillForeground.Color;

            // Apply formatting to HTML element
            htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td style=\"background-color:{0}">{1}</td>", cellColor, cellValue);
        }

        // Extract and apply culture-specific settings
        SpreadsheetDocumentProperties documentProperties = spreadsheetDocument.Properties.DocumentProperties;
        string cultureName = documentProperties.Language;
        string datePattern = documentProperties.DateFormat;
        string numberPattern = documentProperties.NumberFormat;

        // Apply culture-specific formatting to HTML elements
        htmlContent.AppendFormat("</style></head><body>");
        htmlContent.AppendFormat("<table class=\"{0}\">{1}</table>", cultureName, htmlContent.ToString());
        htmlContent.Append("</body></html>");

        return htmlContent.ToString();
    }
}

This enhanced example extracts and applies formatting, styling, and culture-specific information from the OpenXML spreadsheet to the generated HTML representation. It ensures that the converted HTML accurately reflects the original spreadsheet's visual appearance and cultural context.

Example using open source gotenberg github API

Prompt: "Give me an example using the open source gotenberg github API to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF which also accurately persists the formatting, styling and culture"

To convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF using the open-source Gotenberg GitHub API, you can follow these steps:

1. Install Gotenberg: Download and install the Gotenberg Docker image from the official repository:

Bash docker pull gotenberg/gotenberg

2. Create a Virtual Printer: Install a virtual printer like Bullzip PDF Printer to convert the intermediate HTML to PDF.

3. Convert OpenXML to HTML: Use the Gotenberg API to convert the OpenXML spreadsheet to HTML format. You can use the gotenberg-js-client library or curl to interact with the API.

JavaScript

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
const Gotenberg = require('gotenberg-js-client');

const api = new Gotenberg('http://localhost:3000');

const openXmlFilePath = './spreadsheet.xlsx';
const pdfFilePath = './spreadsheet.pdf';

api.html(openXmlFilePath)
.then(htmlContent => {
  // Convert HTML to PDF using wkhtmltopdf or LibreOffice
  // Use wkhtmltopdf or LibreOffice to convert HTML to PDF
  string wkhtmltopdfCommand = $"wkhtmltopdf --page-size A4 {htmlContent} {pdfFilePath}";
  Process wkhtmltopdfProcess = new Process();
  wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.FileName = wkhtmltopdfCommand;
  wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
  wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
  wkhtmltopdfProcess.Start();
  wkhtmltopdfProcess.WaitForExit();

  // Check if the PDF generation was successful
  if (wkhtmltopdfProcess.ExitCode != 0)
  {
    throw new Exception("Failed to convert HTML to PDF using wkhtmltopdf");
  }
});

4. Convert HTML to PDF: Use a tool like wkhtmltopdf or LibreOffice to convert the generated HTML to a PDF file.

Prompt: "Give me an example in C# using the open source gotenberg github API to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF which also accurately persists the formatting, styling and culture"

Response Draft 1: To convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF using the open-source Gotenberg GitHub API in C#, you'll need to install the following dependencies:

1. Newtonsoft.Json: For parsing JSON responses from the Gotenberg API 2. System.Net.Http: For making HTTP requests to the Gotenberg API 3. DocumentFormat.OpenXml: For parsing OpenXML spreadsheet files 4. System.Threading.Tasks: For asynchronous programming

Here's an example implementation in C#:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Net.Http;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

public class OpenXmlToPdfConverter
{
    private const string gotenbergUrl = "http://localhost:3000"; // Replace with the Gotenberg API URL if it's not running locally

    private async Task ConvertSpreadsheetToPdfAsync(string openXmlFilePath, string pdfFilePath)
    {
        // Extract spreadsheet data to HTML format using OpenXML parsing library
        string htmlContent = await ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);

        // Convert HTML to PDF using Gotenberg API and wkhtmltopdf
        await ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(htmlContent, pdfFilePath, gotenbergUrl);
    }

    private async Task<string> ExtractSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
    {
        // Read the OpenXML spreadsheet file
        using (Stream stream = File.OpenRead(openXmlFilePath))
        {
            // Create an OpenXML workbook object
            SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = new SpreadsheetDocument(stream);

            // Get the first worksheet
            SpreadsheetWorksheet worksheet = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Worksheets.FirstOrDefault();

            // Generate HTML representation of the worksheet
            StringBuilder htmlContent = new StringBuilder();
            htmlContent.Append("<html><head><style>");

            // Extract and apply cell styles
            foreach (var style in worksheet.Table.Styles)
            {
                string styleName = style.DefaultName;

                // Extract font and style attributes
                string fontStyle = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.Font.Name;
                string fontSize = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.Font.Size;
                string fontStyle = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.Font.Charset;
                string alignment = style.StyleDefinitions.Style.WrapText;

                // Apply font styles to HTML tags
                htmlContent.AppendFormat("table.{0} {1} {2} {3}", styleName, fontStyle, fontSize, alignment);
            }

            // Extract and apply cell formatting
            foreach (var cell in worksheet.Table.Cells)
            {
                // Extract cell value and format it as HTML
                string cellValue = cell.Value.ToString();
                cellValue = Html.Escape(cellValue);

                // Extract cell formatting attributes
                string cellFormat = cell.CellFormat.TextFormat.Text.Value;
                string cellColor = cell.CellFormat.Fill.FillForeground.Color;

                // Apply formatting to HTML element
                htmlContent.AppendFormat("<td style=\"background-color:{0}">{1}</td>", cellColor, cellValue);
            }

            // Extract and apply culture-specific settings
            SpreadsheetDocumentProperties documentProperties = spreadsheetDocument.Properties.DocumentProperties;
            string cultureName = documentProperties.Language;
            string datePattern = documentProperties.DateFormat;
            string numberPattern = documentProperties.NumberFormat;

            // Apply culture-specific formatting to HTML elements
            htmlContent.AppendFormat("</style></head><body>");
            htmlContent.AppendFormat("<table class=\"{0}\">{1}</table>", cultureName, htmlContent.ToString());
            htmlContent.Append("</body></html>");

            return htmlContent.ToString();
        }
    }

    private async Task ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(string htmlContent, string pdfFilePath, string gotenbergUrl)
    {
        // Construct the Gotenberg API request payload
        var apiRequest = new {
            html = htmlContent
        };

        // Send the HTML to Gotenberg and receive the PDF content
        var httpClient = new HttpClient();
        var response = await httpClient.PostAsync($"{gotenbergUrl}/html/pdf", new StringContent(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(apiRequest), Encoding.UTF8, "application/json

Response Draft 2: To convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF using the open-source Gotenberg GitHub API in C#, you can follow these steps:

1. Install Gotenberg: Download and install the Gotenberg Docker image from the official repository: docker pull gotenberg/gotenberg

2. Create a Virtual Printer: Install a virtual printer like Bullzip PDF Printer to convert the intermediate HTML to PDF.

3. Convert OpenXML to HTML: Use the Gotenberg API to convert the OpenXML spreadsheet to HTML format. You can use the GotenbergSharpApiClient library to interact with the API.

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class OpenXmlToPdfConverter
{
    private readonly string openXmlFilePath = "./spreadsheet.xlsx";
    private readonly string pdfFilePath = "./spreadsheet.pdf";
    private readonly string gotenbergUrl = "http://localhost:3000"; // Replace with the Gotenberg API URL

    public async Task ConvertSpreadsheetToPdfAsync()
    {
        // Extract spreadsheet data to HTML format using OpenXML parsing library
        string htmlContent = await ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync();

        // Convert HTML to PDF using Gotenberg API
        await ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(htmlContent);
    }

    private async Task ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(string htmlContent)
    {
        // Use Gotenberg API to convert HTML to PDF
        string gotenbergRequestUrl = $"{gotenbergUrl}/html?html={htmlContent}";
        HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();

        HttpResponseMessage response = await httpClient.GetAsync(gotenbergRequestUrl);
        if (response.StatusCode != HttpStatusCode.OK)
        {
            throw new Exception("Failed to convert HTML to PDF using Gotenberg API");
        }

        byte[] pdfBytes = await response.Content.ReadAsByteArrayAsync();
        File.WriteAllBytes(pdfFilePath, pdfBytes);
    }

    private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync()
    {
        // Use OpenXML parsing library to extract spreadsheet data to HTML format
        // This will require installing and configuring an OpenXML parsing library
        // (e.g., DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
        string htmlContent = await ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);
        return htmlContent;
    }

    // Implement the `ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync` function using an OpenXML open-source library to transform a spreadsheet into HTML
}

4. Convert HTML to PDF: Use the Gotenberg API to convert the generated HTML to a PDF file.

public async Task ConvertHtmlToPDFAsync(string htmlContent)
{
    // Use Gotenberg API to convert HTML to PDF
    string gotenbergRequestUrl = $"{gotenbergUrl}/html?html={htmlContent}";
    HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();

    HttpResponseMessage response = await httpClient.GetAsync(gotenbergRequestUrl);
    if (response.StatusCode != HttpStatusCode.OK)
    {
        throw new Exception("Failed to convert HTML to PDF using Gotenberg API");
    }

    byte[] pdfBytes = await response.Content.ReadAsByteArrayAsync();
    File.WriteAllBytes(pdfFilePath, pdfBytes);
}

5. Test: Run the OpenXmlToPdfConverter class to convert the OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF.

Response Draft 3: Sure, here's an example in C# using the open-source Gotenberg GitHub API to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF which also accurately persists the formatting, styling, and culture:

// Use code with caution: https://bard.google.com/faq#coding
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Net.Http;

// attribution: https://github.com/Huachao/azure-content/blob/master/articles/machine-learning/machine-learning-retrain-models-programmatically.md
public class OpenXmlToPdfConverterWithGotenberg
{
    private readonly string gotenbergApiUrl = "http://localhost:3000/api/html";
    private readonly string virtualPrinterName = "Bullzip PDF Printer";

    public async Task ConvertSpreadsheetToPdfAsync(string openXmlFilePath, string pdfFilePath)
    {
        // Convert OpenXML to HTML format using Gotenberg API
        string htmlContent = await ConvertOpenXmlToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);

        // Convert HTML to PDF using virtual printer
        await ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(htmlContent, pdfFilePath);
    }

    private async Task ConvertOpenXmlToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
    {
        // Extract spreadsheet data to HTML format using OpenXML parsing library
        string htmlContent = await ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);

        // Send HTML content to Gotenberg API for conversion
        using (var client = new HttpClient())
        {
            var request = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Post, gotenbergApiUrl);
            request.Content = new StringContent(htmlContent, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

            HttpResponseMessage response = await client.SendAsync(request);

            if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
            {
                // Gotenberg response contains additional metadata about the conversion
                string metadata = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
                Console.WriteLine(metadata);
            }
            else
            {
                throw new Exception("Failed to convert HTML to PDF using Gotenberg");
            }
        }
    }

    private async Task ConvertHtmlToPdfAsync(string htmlContent, string pdfFilePath)
    {
        // Use virtual printer to convert HTML to PDF
        string wkhtmltopdfCommand = $"wkhtmltopdf --page-size A4 {htmlContent} {pdfFilePath}";
        Process wkhtmltopdfProcess = new Process();
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.FileName = wkhtmltopdfCommand;
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.Start();
        wkhtmltopdfProcess.WaitForExit();

        // Check if the PDF generation was successful
        if (wkhtmltopdfProcess.ExitCode != 0)
        {
            throw new Exception("Failed to convert HTML to PDF using wkhtmltopdf");
        }
    }

    private async Task<string> ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(string openXmlFilePath)
    {
        // Use OpenXML parsing library to extract spreadsheet data to HTML format
        // This will require installing and configuring an OpenXML parsing library
        // (e.g., DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
        string htmlContent = await ProcessSpreadsheetToHtmlAsync(openXmlFilePath);
        return htmlContent;
    }
}

To use this class, you would first need to install and configure a virtual printer like Bullzip PDF Printer. Then, you can call the ConvertSpreadsheetToPdfAsync method, passing in the paths to the OpenXML spreadsheet file and the desired PDF file.

This is my AI generated version using Microsoft Bing Chat

Bing Chat

Prompt: "Write me code to transform an OpenXML spreadhseet into a PDF file in C# without any dependencies requiring payment."

Response: Sure, here is a simple C# code snippet that uses the DocumentFormat.OpenXml and iTextSharp libraries to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet (.xlsx) into a PDF file. Please note that this is a basic example and might not work for complex spreadsheets.

// AI-generated code. Review and use carefully. [More info on FAQ]: https://www.bing.com/new#faq
using System;
using System.IO;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string excelFilePath = @"path\to\your\spreadsheet.xlsx";
        string pdfFilePath = @"path\to\output\file.pdf";

        ConvertExcelToPdf(excelFilePath, pdfFilePath);
    }

    public static void ConvertExcelToPdf(string excelFilePath, string pdfFilePath)
    {
        // Open the Excel file
        using (SpreadsheetDocument doc = SpreadsheetDocument.Open(excelFilePath, false))
        {
            var workbookPart = doc.WorkbookPart;
            var sheet = (Sheet)workbookPart.Workbook.Sheets.ChildElements[0];
            var worksheetPart = (WorksheetPart)workbookPart.GetPartById(sheet.Id);
            var rows = worksheetPart.Worksheet.Descendants<Row>();

            // Create a new PDF document
            Document pdfDoc = new Document();
            PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, new FileStream(pdfFilePath, FileMode.Create));
            pdfDoc.Open();

            // Iterate over the rows in the sheet and add them to the PDF
            foreach (var row in rows)
            {
                string rowText = "";
                foreach (var cell in row.Elements<Cell>())
                {
                    rowText += GetCellValue(doc, cell) + " ";
                }
                pdfDoc.Add(new Paragraph(rowText));
            }

            pdfDoc.Close();
        }
    }

    public static string GetCellValue(SpreadsheetDocument doc, Cell cell)
    {
        string value = cell.CellValue.InnerXml;
        if (cell.DataType != null && cell.DataType.Value == CellValues.SharedString)
        {
            return doc.WorkbookPart.SharedStringTablePart.SharedStringTable.ChildElements[Int32.Parse(value)].InnerText;
        }
        return value;
    }
}

This script reads an OpenXML spreadsheet file, iterates over the rows in the first sheet, and writes each row to a new line in a PDF document. Cells in the same row are separated by spaces. The resulting PDF is saved as ‘output.pdf’.

Please note that this script requires the DocumentFormat.OpenXml and iTextSharp .NET libraries. You can install them using NuGet:

Install-Package DocumentFormat.OpenXml
Install-Package iTextSharp

This code does not handle things like multiple sheets, cell formatting, images, etc. If you need to handle these, you might need a more sophisticated library or tool, some of which may not be free. Also, please make sure to handle exceptions in your production code. This is just a simple example to get you started.

Prompt: "Give me a another free example using a library which can handle multiple sheets, cell formatting, images, etc"

Response: I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find a free library that can convert OpenXML spreadsheets to PDF with support for multiple sheets, cell formatting, images, etc. in C#. Most libraries with these capabilities are commercial products.

However, you can use the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel library which is part of Microsoft Office and can be used for free if you have a license for Microsoft Office. Here is an example of how you can use it:

// AI-generated code. Review and use carefully. [More info on FAQ]: https://www.bing.com/new#faq
using Excel = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel;

public void SaveAsPdf(string excelFilePath, string pdfFilePath)
{
    var excelApp = new Excel.Application();
    var workbook = excelApp.Workbooks.Open(excelFilePath);
    workbook.ExportAsFixedFormat(Excel.XlFixedFormatType.xlTypePDF, pdfFilePath);
    workbook.Close(false);
    excelApp.Quit();
}

This code opens an Excel file, then saves it as a PDF file. It supports multiple sheets, cell formatting, images, etc. because it uses Excel itself to perform the conversion [1] (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5499562/excel-to-pdf-c-sharp-library)

Please note that this approach requires Microsoft Office to be installed on the machine where the code is running, and it may not be suitable for a server environment due to Office’s licensing restrictions and user interface requirements. Also, please make sure to handle exceptions in your production code. This is just a simple example to get you started.

If you need a solution that works without Microsoft Office, you may need to consider commercial libraries. Some of them offer free trials or free tiers, which might be sufficient depending on your needs. [1] (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3651880/save-open-xml-as-pdf) [2] (https://products.aspose.com/cells/net/conversion/xlsx-to-pdf/) [3] (https://www.gemboxsoftware.com/spreadsheet/examples/c-sharp-convert-excel-to-pdf/404) [4] (https://products.groupdocs.com/conversion/net/xml-to-pdf/)

Example using open source gotenberg github API

Prompt: "Give me an example using the open source gotenberg github API to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to PDF which also accurately persists the formatting, styling and culture"

Response Sure, here’s an example of how you might use the Gotenberg API in C# to convert an OpenXML spreadsheet to a PDF. This example uses the HttpClient class to send a MultipartFormDataContent request.

Please note that this is a basic example and does not include error handling or other best practices for production code. You’ll need to adjust it to fit your specific needs.

// AI-generated code. Review and use carefully. [More info on FAQ]: https://www.bing.com/new#faq
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var filePath = @"path\to\your\spreadsheet.xlsx";
        var apiEndpoint = "http://localhost:3000/convert/office";

        using var client = new HttpClient();
        using var content = new MultipartFormDataContent();
        using var fileStream = File.OpenRead(filePath);
        using var streamContent = new StreamContent(fileStream);
        content.Add(streamContent, "files", Path.GetFileName(filePath));

        var response = await client.PostAsync(apiEndpoint, content);

        if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
        {
            var pdfBytes = await response.Content.ReadAsByteArrayAsync();
            await File.WriteAllBytesAsync("converted.pdf", pdfBytes);
            Console.WriteLine("Conversion successful. PDF saved as 'converted.pdf'.");
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"Conversion failed. Status code: {response.StatusCode}");
        }
    }
}

This code will send a POST request to the Gotenberg API with your OpenXML spreadsheet as a file in the request body. If the conversion is successful, the API will return the converted PDF as a byte array, which is then written to a file named ‘converted.pdf’.

Please make sure to replace "path\to\your\spreadsheet.xlsx" with the actual path to your OpenXML spreadsheet, and "http://localhost:3000/convert/office" with the actual endpoint of your Gotenberg API.

Regarding the accurate persistence of formatting, styling, and culture, Gotenberg uses LibreOffice for office conversions, which does a good job of preserving these aspects. However, there may be some differences due to the inherent differences between the OpenXML and PDF formats. If you encounter any issues, you may need to adjust the formatting in your original spreadsheet or look into other conversion options.

Remember to install the necessary packages and dependencies before running the code. Also, please note that this code is synchronous and will block the calling thread until the task is complete. For better performance, consider making it asynchronous.

This is another version provided by Stackoverflow AI Search

Stackoverflow AI Search

Prompt: "Write me code to transform an OpenXML spreadhseet into a PDF file without any dependencies requiring payment."

Response: To transform an OpenXML spreadsheet into a PDF file without any dependencies requiring payment, you can use the iTextSharp library. Here's an example of how you can achieve this in C#:

// This AI is an experiment. Responses can vary in accuracy and may not represent our (Stackoverflow's) views.
using System.IO;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;

// attributions
// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3651880/save-open-xml-as-pdf
// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7290528/generating-pdf-from-openxml
public void ConvertOpenXmlToPdf(string inputFilePath, string outputFilePath)
{
    using (SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = SpreadsheetDocument.Open(inputFilePath, false))
    {
        WorkbookPart workbookPart = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart;
        WorksheetPart worksheetPart = workbookPart.WorksheetParts.First();

        // Create a new PDF document
        Document pdfDoc = new Document();

        // Create a PDF writer
        PdfWriter pdfWriter = PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, new FileStream(outputFilePath, FileMode.Create));

        // Open the PDF document
        pdfDoc.Open();

        // Iterate through each row and cell in the worksheet
        foreach (Row row in worksheetPart.Worksheet.Descendants<Row>())
        {
            foreach (Cell cell in row.Descendants<Cell>())
            {
                // Get the cell value and add it to the PDF document
                string cellValue = cell.CellValue.InnerText;
                pdfDoc.Add(new Paragraph(cellValue));
            }
        }

        // Close the PDF document
        pdfDoc.Close();
    }
}

In this example, we use the SpreadsheetDocument class from the DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging namespace to open the OpenXML spreadsheet. We then iterate through each row and cell in the worksheet and add the cell values to the PDF document using the iTextSharp library.

Note that you will need to install the DocumentFormat.OpenXml and iTextSharp NuGet packages in your project for this code to work.

This solution does not require any third-party components that require payment. However, please note that iTextSharp is licensed under the Affero General Public License (AGPL) and may have certain restrictions depending on your use case. Make sure to review and comply with the license terms when using the library in your project.

Prompt: "Give me an enhanced example that accurately persists the formatting, styling and culture"

Response: Unfortunately, we aren’t able to locate any information about this topic on Stack Overflow. You can try asking a question on Stack Overflow or try again.

Prompt: "Write me code to transform an OpenXML spreadhseet into a PDF file that accurately persists the formatting, styling and culture"

Response: To accurately persist the formatting, styling, and culture when transforming an OpenXML spreadsheet into a PDF file, you can utilize the DocumentFormat.OpenXml library along with the iTextSharp library. Here's an example of how you can achieve this in C#:

// This AI is an experiment. Responses can vary in accuracy and may not represent our (Stackoverflow's) views.
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging;
using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
using System.IO;

// attributions
// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1012547/creating-excel-document-with-openxml-sdk-2-0
// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/824056/openxml-sdk-spreadsheet-starter-kits
// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2372731/convert-open-xml-excel-files-to-html
public void ConvertOpenXmlToPdf(string inputFilePath, string outputFilePath)
{
    using (SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = SpreadsheetDocument.Open(inputFilePath, false))
    {
        WorkbookPart workbookPart = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart;
        WorksheetPart worksheetPart = workbookPart.WorksheetParts.First();

        // Create a new PDF document
        Document pdfDoc = new Document();

        // Create a PDF writer
        PdfWriter pdfWriter = PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, new FileStream(outputFilePath, FileMode.Create));

        // Open the PDF document
        pdfDoc.Open();

        // Get the stylesheet from the workbook
        Stylesheet stylesheet = workbookPart.WorkbookStylesPart.Stylesheet;

        // Iterate through each row in the worksheet
        foreach (Row row in worksheetPart.Worksheet.Descendants<Row>())
        {
            // Create a new PDF table row
            PdfPRow pdfRow = new PdfPRow();

            // Iterate through each cell in the row
            foreach (Cell cell in row.Descendants<Cell>())
            {
                // Get the cell value
                string cellValue = GetCellValue(cell);

                // Get the cell style
                CellFormat cellFormat = (CellFormat)stylesheet.CellFormats.ElementAt((int)cell.StyleIndex.Value);
                CellFormatValue cellFormatValue = GetCellFormatValue(workbookPart, cellFormat);

                // Create a new PDF table cell
                PdfPCell pdfCell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(cellValue));

                // Apply the cell style to the PDF cell
                ApplyCellStyle(pdfCell, cellFormatValue);

                // Add the PDF cell to the PDF row
                pdfRow.AddCell(pdfCell);
            }

            // Add the PDF row to the PDF document
            pdfDoc.Add(pdfRow);
        }

        // Close the PDF document
        pdfDoc.Close();
    }
}

private string GetCellValue(Cell cell)
{
    if (cell.DataType != null && cell.DataType.Value == CellValues.SharedString)
    {
        SharedStringTablePart sharedStringPart = cell.WorksheetPart.GetPartsOfType<SharedStringTablePart>().FirstOrDefault();
        if (sharedStringPart != null)
        {
            return sharedStringPart.SharedStringTable.ElementAt(int.Parse(cell.CellValue.Text)).InnerText;
        }
    }
    else
    {
        return cell.CellValue.Text;
    }

    return null;
}

private CellFormatValue GetCellFormatValue(WorkbookPart workbookPart, CellFormat cellFormat)
{
    CellFormatValue cellFormatValue = new CellFormatValue();

    // Get the font style
    if (cellFormat.FontId != null)
    {
        Font font = (Font)workbookPart.WorkbookStylesPart.Stylesheet.Fonts.ElementAt((int)cellFormat.FontId.Value);
        cellFormatValue.FontSize = (double)font.FontSize.Val;
        cellFormatValue.FontColor = font.Color.Rgb;
        cellFormatValue.FontName = font.FontName.Val;
    }

    // Get the fill style
    if (cellFormat.FillId != null)
    {
        Fill fill = (Fill)workbookPart.WorkbookStylesPart.Stylesheet.Fills.ElementAt((int)cellFormat.FillId.Value);
        PatternFill patternFill = fill.PatternFill;
        if (patternFill != null && patternFill.ForegroundColor != null)
        {
            cellFormatValue.BackgroundColor = patternFill.ForegroundColor.Rgb;
        }
    }

    return cellFormatValue;
}

private void ApplyCellStyle(PdfPCell pdfCell, CellFormatValue cellFormatValue)
{
    // Apply font style
    Font font = FontFactory.GetFont(cellFormatValue.FontName, (float)cellFormatValue.FontSize, BaseColor.BLACK);
    pdfCell.Phrase.Font = font;

    // Apply fill style
    if (cellFormatValue.BackgroundColor != null)
    {
        int red = Convert.ToInt32(cellFormatValue.BackgroundColor.Substring(2, 2), 16);
        int green = Convert.ToInt32(cellFormatValue.BackgroundColor.Substring(4, 2), 16);
        int blue = Convert.ToInt32(cellFormatValue.BackgroundColor.Substring(6, 2), 16);
        pdfCell.BackgroundColor = new BaseColor(red, green, blue);
    }
}

public class CellFormatValue
{
    public double FontSize { get; set; }
    public string FontColor { get; set; }
    public string FontName { get; set; }
    public string BackgroundColor { get; set; }
}

In this code example, we use the DocumentFormat.OpenXml library to read the formatting and styling information from the OpenXML spreadsheet. We traverse through each row and cell, extracting the cell values and associated formatting information. We then use the iTextSharp library to create a PDF document and apply the formatting and styling information to the corresponding PDF cells.

Make sure to install the DocumentFormat.OpenXml and iTextSharp NuGet packages in your project for this code to work.

The GetCellValue function retrieves the cell value, taking into consideration shared strings. The GetCellFormatValue function retrieves the font style and fill style of the given cell. The ApplyCellStyle function applies the retrieved styling information to the PDF cell.

Please note that the code provided above does not handle all possible formatting and styling options of OpenXML spreadsheets. You may need to extend it further based on your specific requirements.

Additionally, for accurately persisting the culture, you can consider using the CultureInfo class available in .NET to

Hi， @tauheedul ,we need docx most than xlsx

Hi， @tauheedul ,we need docx most than xlsx

Try using similar prompts to the one I used except replace openxml spreadsheet to openxml word document and it may help.

Hi, we also need a way to convert Word and Excel documents into PDF format using OpenXML because we don't want to use Interrop API anymore. It's a shame such functions don't already exist.

Any official solution ?

@tauheedul your posts about your questions with various chat gpts doesn't really add to the conversation. It would be like detailing what you did to find something on stack overflow/google/bing/etc. An analysis of the code or (even better) a validated code snippet would have actually added value.

As I've said, OpenXML->PDF is out of scope for this project. Feel free to start a project that aims to solve that and we'd be happy to link to it and work with you to add functionality from the openxml side.

Hi @twsouthwick. Although the samples weren't complete they proposed ideas and third party tools that could be a viable solution with a basic demonstration of how it could work. I understand your feedback and will consider this. Thank you.

dotnet / Open-XML-SDK