Pdf with JavaScript via C++

Converting Excel Workbook to PDF

PDF files are widely used to exchange documents between organizations, government sectors, and individuals. It is a standard document format and software developers are often asked to find a way to convert Microsoft Excel files into PDF documents.

Aspose.Cells supports converting Excel files to PDF and maintains high visual fidelity in the conversion.

Direct Conversion

Aspose.Cells for JavaScript via C++ supports conversion from spreadsheets to PDF independently of other software. Simply save an Excel file to PDF using the Workbook class' save(string, SaveFormat) method. The save(string, SaveFormat) method provides the SaveFormat.Pdf enumeration member that converts the native Excel files to PDF format.

Follow the below steps to directly convert the Excel spreadsheets to PDF format:

  1. Instantiate an object of the Workbook class by calling its empty constructor.
  2. You may open/load an existing template file or skip this step if you are creating the workbook from scratch.
  3. Do any work (input data, apply formatting, set formulas, insert pictures or other drawing objects, and so on) on the spreadsheet using Aspose.Cells' APIs.
  4. When the spreadsheet code is complete, call the Workbook class' save(string, SaveFormat) method to save the spreadsheet.

The file format should be PDF so select Pdf (a pre-defined value) from the SaveFormat enumeration to generate the final PDF document.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Aspose.Cells Example</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Convert Excel to PDF Example</h1>
        <input type="file" id="fileInput" accept=".xls,.xlsx,.csv" />
        <button id="runExample">Convert to PDF</button>
        <a id="downloadLink" style="display: none;">Download Result</a>
        <div id="result"></div>
    </body>

    <script src="aspose.cells.js.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        const { Workbook, SaveFormat } = AsposeCells;
        
        AsposeCells.onReady({
            license: "/lic/aspose.cells.enc",
            fontPath: "/fonts/",
            fontList: [
                "arial.ttf",
                "NotoSansSC-Regular.ttf"
            ]
        }).then(() => {
            console.log("Aspose.Cells initialized");
        });

        document.getElementById('runExample').addEventListener('click', async () => {
            const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput');
            if (!fileInput.files.length) {
                document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: red;">Please select an Excel file.</p>';
                return;
            }

            const file = fileInput.files[0];
            const arrayBuffer = await file.arrayBuffer();

            // Instantiate the Workbook object by opening the uploaded Excel file
            const workbook = new Workbook(new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer));

            // Save the document in PDF format
            const outputData = workbook.save(SaveFormat.Pdf);
            const blob = new Blob([outputData], { type: 'application/pdf' });
            const downloadLink = document.getElementById('downloadLink');
            downloadLink.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            downloadLink.download = 'output.pdf';
            downloadLink.style.display = 'block';
            downloadLink.textContent = 'Download PDF File';

            document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: green;">Conversion to PDF completed! Click the download link to get the PDF file.</p>';
        });
    </script>
</html>

Advanced Conversion

You may also opt to use the PdfSaveOptions class to set different attributes for the conversion. Setting different properties of the PdfSaveOptions class gives you control over the print, font, security and compression settings for the output PDF.

The most important property is PdfSaveOptions.compliance which enables you to set the PDF standards compliance level. Currently, you can save to PDF 1.4, PDF 1.5, PDF 1.6, PDF 1.7, PDF/A-1a, PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2a, PDF/A-2b, PDF/A-2u, PDF/A-3a, PDF/A-2ab, and PDF/A-3u formats. Note that with the PDF/A format, an output file size is larger than a regular PDF file size.

Saving Workbook to PDF/A Complied Files

The below-provided code snippet demonstrates how to use the PdfSaveOptions class to save Excel files to PDF/A compliant PDF format.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Aspose.Cells Example</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Create PDF/A from Workbook</h1>
        <input type="file" id="fileInput" accept=".xls,.xlsx,.csv" />
        <button id="runExample">Run Example</button>
        <a id="downloadLink" style="display: none;"></a>
        <div id="result"></div>
    </body>

    <script src="aspose.cells.js.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        const { Workbook, SaveFormat, PdfSaveOptions, PdfCompliance } = AsposeCells;
        
        AsposeCells.onReady({
            license: "/lic/aspose.cells.enc",
            fontPath: "/fonts/",
            fontList: [
                "arial.ttf",
                "NotoSansSC-Regular.ttf"
            ]
        }).then(() => {
            console.log("Aspose.Cells initialized");
        });

        document.getElementById('runExample').addEventListener('click', async () => {
            // Instantiate new workbook
            const workbook = new Workbook();

            // Insert a value into the A1 cell in the first worksheet
            workbook.worksheets.get(0).cells.get(0, 0).value = "Testing PDF/A";

            // Define PdfSaveOptions
            const pdfSaveOptions = new PdfSaveOptions();

            // Set the compliance type
            pdfSaveOptions.compliance = PdfCompliance.PdfA1b;

            // Save the file to PDF with options
            const outputData = workbook.save(SaveFormat.Pdf, pdfSaveOptions);
            const blob = new Blob([outputData], { type: 'application/pdf' });
            const downloadLink = document.getElementById('downloadLink');
            downloadLink.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            downloadLink.download = 'output.pdf';
            downloadLink.style.display = 'block';
            downloadLink.textContent = 'Download PDF/A File';

            document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: green;">PDF/A created successfully! Click the download link to get the file.</p>';
        });
    </script>
</html>

Set the PDF Creation Time

With the PdfSaveOptions class, you can get or set the PDF creation time. The following code demonstrates the use of PdfSaveOptions.createdTime property to set the creation time of the PDF file.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Aspose.Cells Example</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Convert Excel to PDF Example</h1>
        <input type="file" id="fileInput" accept=".xls,.xlsx,.csv" />
        <button id="runExample">Convert to PDF</button>
        <a id="downloadLink" style="display: none;">Download Result</a>
        <div id="result"></div>
    </body>

    <script src="aspose.cells.js.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        const { Workbook, PdfSaveOptions, SaveFormat, Utils } = AsposeCells;
        
        AsposeCells.onReady({
            license: "/lic/aspose.cells.enc",
            fontPath: "/fonts/",
            fontList: [
                "arial.ttf",
                "NotoSansSC-Regular.ttf"
            ]
        }).then(() => {
            console.log("Aspose.Cells initialized");
        });

        document.getElementById('runExample').addEventListener('click', async () => {
            const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput');
            if (!fileInput.files.length) {
                document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: red;">Please select an Excel file.</p>';
                return;
            }

            const file = fileInput.files[0];
            const arrayBuffer = await file.arrayBuffer();
            
            // Instantiating a Workbook object from uploaded file
            const workbook = new Workbook(new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer));
            
            // Create an instance of PdfSaveOptions
            const options = new PdfSaveOptions();
            options.createdTime = new Date();
            
            // Save the workbook to PDF format while passing the object of PdfSaveOptions
            const outputData = workbook.save(SaveFormat.Pdf, options);
            const blob = new Blob([outputData], { type: 'application/pdf' });
            const downloadLink = document.getElementById('downloadLink');
            downloadLink.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            downloadLink.download = 'output.pdf';
            downloadLink.style.display = 'block';
            downloadLink.textContent = 'Download PDF File';
            
            document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: green;">PDF created successfully! Click the download link to get the file.</p>';
        });
    </script>
</html>

Set ContentCopyForAccessibility option

With the PdfSaveOptions class, you can get or set the PDF PdfSecurityOptions.accessibilityExtractContent option to control the content access in the converted PDF.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8" />
        <title>Aspose.Cells Example - Convert to PDF with Security Options</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Convert Excel to PDF with Security Options</h1>
        <input type="file" id="fileInput" accept=".xls,.xlsx,.csv" />
        <button id="runExample">Convert to PDF</button>
        <a id="downloadLink" style="display: none;"></a>
        <div id="result"></div>
    </body>

    <script src="aspose.cells.js.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        const { Workbook, SaveFormat, PdfSaveOptions, PdfSecurityOptions, Utils } = AsposeCells;
        
        AsposeCells.onReady({
            license: "/lic/aspose.cells.enc",
            fontPath: "/fonts/",
            fontList: [
                "arial.ttf",
                "NotoSansSC-Regular.ttf"
            ]
        }).then(() => {
            console.log("Aspose.Cells initialized");
        });

        document.getElementById('runExample').addEventListener('click', async () => {
            const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput');
            const resultDiv = document.getElementById('result');
            if (!fileInput.files.length) {
                resultDiv.innerHTML = '<p style="color: red;">Please select an Excel file.</p>';
                return;
            }

            const file = fileInput.files[0];
            const arrayBuffer = await file.arrayBuffer();

            // Instantiating a Workbook object by opening the Excel file through the file stream
            const workbook = new Workbook(new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer));

            // Create an instance of PdfSaveOptions
            const pdfSaveOpt = new PdfSaveOptions();

            // Create an instance of PdfSecurityOptions
            const securityOptions = new PdfSecurityOptions();

            // Set AccessibilityExtractContent to false (converted from setAccessibilityExtractContent(false))
            securityOptions.accessibilityExtractContent = false;

            // Set the security option in the PdfSaveOptions (converted from setSecurityOptions)
            pdfSaveOpt.securityOptions = securityOptions;

            // Save the workbook to PDF format while passing the PdfSaveOptions
            const outputData = workbook.save(SaveFormat.Pdf, pdfSaveOpt);
            const blob = new Blob([outputData], { type: 'application/pdf' });
            const downloadLink = document.getElementById('downloadLink');
            downloadLink.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            downloadLink.download = 'outFile.pdf';
            downloadLink.style.display = 'block';
            downloadLink.textContent = 'Download PDF File';

            resultDiv.innerHTML = '<p style="color: green;">Conversion completed successfully! Click the download link to get the PDF file.</p>';
        });
    </script>
</html>

Export Custom properties to PDF

With the PdfSaveOptions class, you can export the custom properties in the source workbook to the PDF. PdfCustomPropertiesExport enumerator is provided for specifying the way by which properties are exported. These properties can be observed in Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on File and then properties option as shown in the following image. Template file “sourceWithCustProps.xlsx”  can be downloaded here for testing and output PDF file “outSourceWithCustProps” is available here for analysis.

todo:image_alt_text

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Aspose.Cells Example</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Convert Excel to PDF with Custom Properties</h1>
        <input type="file" id="fileInput" accept=".xls,.xlsx,.csv" />
        <button id="runExample">Run Example</button>
        <a id="downloadLink" style="display: none;">Download Result</a>
        <div id="result"></div>
    </body>

    <script src="aspose.cells.js.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        const { Workbook, SaveFormat, PdfSaveOptions, PdfCustomPropertiesExport } = AsposeCells;
        
        AsposeCells.onReady({
            license: "/lic/aspose.cells.enc",
            fontPath: "/fonts/",
            fontList: [
                "arial.ttf",
                "NotoSansSC-Regular.ttf"
            ]
        }).then(() => {
            console.log("Aspose.Cells initialized");
        });

        document.getElementById('runExample').addEventListener('click', async () => {
            const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput');
            if (!fileInput.files.length) {
                document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: red;">Please select an Excel file.</p>';
                return;
            }

            const file = fileInput.files[0];
            const arrayBuffer = await file.arrayBuffer();

            // Instantiating a Workbook object by opening the uploaded Excel file
            const workbook = new Workbook(new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer));

            // Create an instance of PdfSaveOptions
            const pdfSaveOptions = new PdfSaveOptions();

            // Set CustomPropertiesExport property to PdfCustomPropertiesExport.Standard
            pdfSaveOptions.customPropertiesExport = PdfCustomPropertiesExport.Standard;

            // Save the workbook to PDF format while passing the object of PdfSaveOptions
            const outputData = workbook.save(SaveFormat.Pdf, pdfSaveOptions);

            const blob = new Blob([outputData], { type: 'application/pdf' });
            const downloadLink = document.getElementById('downloadLink');
            downloadLink.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
            downloadLink.download = 'outSourceWithCustProps.pdf';
            downloadLink.style.display = 'block';
            downloadLink.textContent = 'Download PDF File';

            document.getElementById('result').innerHTML = '<p style="color: green;">PDF generated successfully! Click the download link to get the PDF file.</p>';
        });
    </script>
</html>

Conversion Attributes

We work to enhance the conversion features with each new release. Aspose.Cell’s Excel to PDF conversion still has a couple of limitations. MapChart is not supported when converting to PDF format. Also, some drawing objects are not supported well.

The table that follows lists all features that are fully or partially supported when exporting to PDF using Aspose.Cells. This table is not final and does not cover all the spreadsheet attributes but it does identify those features that are not supported or partially supported for conversion to PDF.

Document Element Attribute Supported Notes
Alignment   Yes  
Background settings   Yes  
Border Color Yes  
Border Line style Yes  
Border Line width Yes  
Cell Data   Yes  
Comments   Yes  
Conditional Formatting   Yes  
Document Properties   Yes  
Drawing Objects   Partially Shadow and 3-D effects for drawing objects are not supported well; WordArt and SmartArt are partially supported.
Font Size Yes  
Font Color Yes  
Font Style Yes  
Font Underline Yes  
Font Effects Yes
Images   Yes  
Hyperlink   Yes  
Charts   Partially MapChart is not supported.
Merged Cells   Yes  
Page Break   Yes  
Page Setup Header/Footer Yes  
Page Setup Margins Yes  
Page Setup Page Orientation Yes  
Page Setup Page Size Yes  
Page Setup Print Area Yes  
Page Setup Print Titles Yes  
Page Setup Scaling Yes  
Row Height/Column Width   Yes  
RTL (Right to Left) Language   Yes  

Advance topics

Convert Excel to CSV, TSV and Txt with JavaScript via C++ HTML with JavaScript via C++