Create or Add Table In PDF using C#

Creating Table using C#

Tables are important when working with PDF documents. They provide great features for displaying information in a systematic manner. The Aspose.PDF namespace contains classes named Table, Cell, and Row which provides functionality for creating tables when generating PDF documents from scratch.

The following code snippet also work with Aspose.PDF.Drawing library.

Table can be created by creating object of Table Class.

Aspose.Pdf.Table table = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();

Adding Table in Existing PDF Document

To add a table to an existing PDF file with Aspose.PDF for .NET, take the following steps:

Load the source file.
Initialize a table and set its columns and rows.
Set table setting (we’ve set the borders).
Populate table.
Add the table to a page.
Save the file.

The following code snippets show how to add text in an existing PDF file.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

// Load source PDF document
Aspose.Pdf.Document doc = new Aspose.Pdf.Document(dataDir+ "AddTable.pdf");
// Initializes a new instance of the Table
Aspose.Pdf.Table table = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
// Set the table border color as LightGray
table.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, .5f, Aspose.Pdf.Color.FromRgb(System.Drawing.Color.LightGray));
// Set the border for table cells
table.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, .5f, Aspose.Pdf.Color.FromRgb(System.Drawing.Color.LightGray));
// Create a loop to add 10 rows
for (int row_count = 1; row_count < 10; row_count++)
{
    // Add row to table
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row = table.Rows.Add();
    // Add table cells
    row.Cells.Add("Column (" + row_count + ", 1)");
    row.Cells.Add("Column (" + row_count + ", 2)");
    row.Cells.Add("Column (" + row_count + ", 3)");
}
// Add table object to first page of input document
doc.Pages[1].Paragraphs.Add(table);
dataDir = dataDir + "document_with_table_out.pdf";
// Save updated document containing table object
doc.Save(dataDir);

ColSpan and RowSpan in Tables

Aspose.PDF for .NET provides ColSpan property to merge the columns in a table and RowSpan property to merge the rows.

We use ColSpan or RowSpan property on the Cell object which creates the table cell. After applying the required properties the created cell can be added to the table.

public static void AddTable_RowColSpan()
{
    // Load source PDF document
    Aspose.Pdf.Document pdfDocument = new Aspose.Pdf.Document();
    pdfDocument.Pages.Add();

    // Initializes a new instance of the Table
    Aspose.Pdf.Table table = new Aspose.Pdf.Table
    {
        // Set the table border color as LightGray
        Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, .5f, Color.Black),
        // Set the border for table cells
        DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, .5f, Color.Black)
    };

    // Add 1st row to table
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row1 = table.Rows.Add();
    for (int cellCount = 1; cellCount <5; cellCount++)
    {
        // Add table cells
        row1.Cells.Add($"Test 1 {cellCount}");
    }

    // Add 2nd row to table
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row2 = table.Rows.Add();
    row2.Cells.Add($"Test 2 1");
    var cell = row2.Cells.Add($"Test 2 2");
    cell.ColSpan = 2;
    row2.Cells.Add($"Test 2 4");

    // Add 3rd row to table
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row3 = table.Rows.Add();
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 3 1");
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 3 2");
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 3 3");
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 3 4");

    // Add 4th row to table
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row4 = table.Rows.Add();
    row3.Cells.Add("Test 4 1");
    cell = row3.Cells.Add("Test 4 2");
    cell.RowSpan = 2;
    row3.Cells.Add("Test 4 3");
    row3.Cells.Add("Test 4 4");


    // Add 5th row to table
    row4 = table.Rows.Add();
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 5 1");
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 5 3");
    row4.Cells.Add("Test 5 4");

    // Add table object to first page of input document
    pdfDocument.Pages[1].Paragraphs.Add(table);

    // Save updated document containing table object
    doc.Save(Path.Combine(_dataDir, "document_with_table_out.pdf"));
}

The result of the execution code below is the table depicted on the following image:

ColSpan and RowSpan demo

Working with Borders, Margins and Padding

Please note that it also supports the feature to set border style, margins and cell padding for tables. Before going into more technical details, it’s important to understand the concepts of border, margins and padding which are presented below in a diagram:

Borders, margins and padding

In the above figure, you can see that the borders of table, row and cell overlap. Using Aspose.PDF, a table can have margins and cells can have paddings. To set cell margins, we have to set cell padding.

Borders

To set the borders of Table, Row and Cell objects, use the Table.Border, Row.Border and Cell.Border properties. Cell borders can also be set using the Table or Row class’ DefaultCellBorder property. All border related properties discussed above are assigned an instance of the Row class, which is created by calling its constructor. The Row class has many overloads that take almost all the parameters required to customize the border.

Margins or Padding

Cell padding can be managed using the Table class’ DefaultCellPadding property. All padding related properties are assigned an instance of the MarginInfo class that takes information about the Left, Right, Top and Bottom parameters to create custom margins.

In the following example, the width of the cell border is set to 0.1 point, the width of the table border is set to 1 point and cell padding is set to 5 points.

Margin and Border in PDF Table

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

// Instntiate the Document object by calling its empty constructor
Document doc = new Document();
Page page = doc.Pages.Add();
// Instantiate a table object
Aspose.Pdf.Table tab1 = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
// Add the table in paragraphs collection of the desired section
page.Paragraphs.Add(tab1);
// Set with column widths of the table
tab1.ColumnWidths = "50 50 50";
// Set default cell border using BorderInfo object
tab1.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 0.1F);
// Set table border using another customized BorderInfo object
tab1.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 1F);
// Create MarginInfo object and set its left, bottom, right and top margins
Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo margin = new Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo();
margin.Top = 5f;
margin.Left = 5f;
margin.Right = 5f;
margin.Bottom = 5f;
// Set the default cell padding to the MarginInfo object
tab1.DefaultCellPadding = margin;
// Create rows in the table and then cells in the rows
Aspose.Pdf.Row row1 = tab1.Rows.Add();
row1.Cells.Add("col1");
row1.Cells.Add("col2");
row1.Cells.Add();
TextFragment mytext = new TextFragment("col3 with large text string");
// Row1.Cells.Add("col3 with large text string to be placed inside cell");
row1.Cells[2].Paragraphs.Add(mytext);
row1.Cells[2].IsWordWrapped = false;
// Row1.Cells[2].Paragraphs[0].FixedWidth= 80;
Aspose.Pdf.Row row2 = tab1.Rows.Add();
row2.Cells.Add("item1");
row2.Cells.Add("item2");
row2.Cells.Add("item3");
dataDir = dataDir + "MarginsOrPadding_out.pdf";
// Save the Pdf
doc.Save(dataDir);

To create table with rounded corner, use the BorderInfo class’ RoundedBorderRadius value and set the table corner style to round.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();
Aspose.Pdf.Table tab1 = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();

GraphInfo graph = new GraphInfo();
graph.Color = Aspose.Pdf.Color.Red;
// Create a blank BorderInfo object
BorderInfo bInfo = new BorderInfo(BorderSide.All, graph);
// Set the border a rounder border where radius of round is 15
bInfo.RoundedBorderRadius = 15;
// Set the table Corner style as Round.
tab1.CornerStyle = Aspose.Pdf.BorderCornerStyle.Round;
// Set the table border information
tab1.Border = bInfo;

Appling Different AutoFit Settings to a Table

When creating a table using a visual agent such as Microsoft Word, you will often find yourself using one of the AutoFit options to automatically size the table to the desired width. For instance you can use the AutoFit to Window option to fit the table to the width of the page and the AutoFit to Contents option to allow each cell to grow or shrink to accommodate its contents.

By default Aspose.Pdf inserts a new table using ColumnAdjustment with Customized value. The table will size to the available width on the page. To change the sizing behavior on such a table or an existing table you can call Table.autoFit(int) method. This method accepts an AutoFitBehavior enumeration which defines what type of auto fitting is applied to the table.

As in Microsoft Word, an autofit method is actually a shortcut which applies different properties to the table all at once. These properties are actually what give the table the observed behavior. We will discuss these properties for each autofit option. We will use the following table and apply the different auto fit settings as a demonstration:

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

// Instntiate the Pdf object by calling its empty constructor
Document doc = new Document();
// Create the section in the Pdf object
Page sec1 = doc.Pages.Add();

// Instantiate a table object
Aspose.Pdf.Table tab1 = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
// Add the table in paragraphs collection of the desired section
sec1.Paragraphs.Add(tab1);

// Set with column widths of the table
tab1.ColumnWidths = "50 50 50";
tab1.ColumnAdjustment = ColumnAdjustment.AutoFitToWindow;

// Set default cell border using BorderInfo object
tab1.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 0.1F);

// Set table border using another customized BorderInfo object
tab1.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 1F);
// Create MarginInfo object and set its left, bottom, right and top margins
Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo margin = new Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo();
margin.Top = 5f;
margin.Left = 5f;
margin.Right = 5f;
margin.Bottom = 5f;

// Set the default cell padding to the MarginInfo object
tab1.DefaultCellPadding = margin;

// Create rows in the table and then cells in the rows
Aspose.Pdf.Row row1 = tab1.Rows.Add();
row1.Cells.Add("col1");
row1.Cells.Add("col2");
row1.Cells.Add("col3");
Aspose.Pdf.Row row2 = tab1.Rows.Add();
row2.Cells.Add("item1");
row2.Cells.Add("item2");
row2.Cells.Add("item3");

dataDir = dataDir + "AutoFitToWindow_out.pdf";
// Save updated document containing table object
doc.Save(dataDir);

Get Table Width

Sometimes, it is required to get table width dynamically. Aspose.PDF.Table class has a method GetWidth for the purpose. For example, you have not set table columns width explicitly and set ColumnAdjustment to AutoFitToContent. In this case you can get table width as following.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// Create a new document
Document doc = new Document();
// Add page in document
Page page = doc.Pages.Add();
// Initialize new table
Table table = new Table
{
    ColumnAdjustment = ColumnAdjustment.AutoFitToContent
};
// Add row in table
Row row = table.Rows.Add();
// Add cell in table
Cell cell = row.Cells.Add("Cell 1 text");
cell = row.Cells.Add("Cell 2 text");
// Get table width
Console.WriteLine(table.GetWidth());

Add SVG Image to Table Cell

Aspose.PDF for .NET supports the feature to add a table cell into a PDF file. While creating a table, it is possible to add text or images into the cells. Furthermore, the API also offers the feature to convert SVG files to PDF format. Using a combination of these features, it is possible to load an SVG image and add it into a table cell.

The following code snippet shows the steps for creating a table instance and adding an SVG image inside a table cell.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

// Instantiate Document object
Document doc = new Document();
// Create an image instance
Aspose.Pdf.Image img = new Aspose.Pdf.Image();
// Set image type as SVG
img.FileType = Aspose.Pdf.ImageFileType.Svg;
// Path for source file
img.File = dataDir + "SVGToPDF.svg";
// Set width for image instance
img.FixWidth = 50;
// Set height for image instance
img.FixHeight = 50;
// Create table instance
Aspose.Pdf.Table table = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
// Set width for table cells
table.ColumnWidths = "100 100";
// Create row object and add it to table instance
Aspose.Pdf.Row row = table.Rows.Add();
// Create cell object and add it to row instance
Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell = row.Cells.Add();
// Add textfragment to paragraphs collection of cell object
cell.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("First cell"));
// Add another cell to row object
cell = row.Cells.Add();
// Add SVG image to paragraphs collection of recently added cell instance
cell.Paragraphs.Add(img);
// Create page object and add it to pages collection of document instance
Page page = doc.Pages.Add();
// Add table to paragraphs collection of page object
page.Paragraphs.Add(table);

dataDir = dataDir + "AddSVGObject_out.pdf";
// Save PDF file
doc.Save(dataDir);

Using HTML Tags inside Table

Sometimes you can come up with a requirement to import database contents that have some HTML tags and then import the content to the Table object. When importing the content, it should be rendered the HTML tags accordingly inside PDF document. We have enhanced ImprotDataTable() method, in order to achieve such requirement as follows:

Please take into account that using of HTML Tags inside table element increases document generation time, as API needs to process HTML Tags accordingly and render them in the output PDF document.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

DataTable dt = new DataTable("Employee");
dt.Columns.Add("data", System.Type.GetType("System.String"));

DataRow dr = dt.NewRow();
dr[0] = "<li>Department of Emergency Medicine: 3400 Spruce Street Ground Silverstein Bldg Philadelphia PA 19104-4206</li>";
dt.Rows.Add(dr);
dr = dt.NewRow();
dr[0] = "<li>Penn Observation Medicine Service: 3400 Spruce Street Ground Floor Donner Philadelphia PA 19104-4206</li>";
dt.Rows.Add(dr);
dr = dt.NewRow();
dr[0] = "<li>UPHS/Presbyterian - Dept. of Emergency Medicine: 51 N. 39th Street . Philadelphia PA 19104-2640</li>";
dt.Rows.Add(dr);

Document doc = new Document();
doc.Pages.Add();
// Initializes a new instance of the Table
Aspose.Pdf.Table tableProvider = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
//Set column widths of the table
tableProvider.ColumnWidths = "400 50 ";
// Set the table border color as LightGray
tableProvider.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 0.5F, Aspose.Pdf.Color.FromRgb(System.Drawing.Color.LightGray));
// Set the border for table cells
tableProvider.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, 0.5F, Aspose.Pdf.Color.FromRgb(System.Drawing.Color.LightGray));
Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo margin = new Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo();
margin.Top = 2.5F;
margin.Left = 2.5F;
margin.Bottom = 1.0F;
tableProvider.DefaultCellPadding = margin;

tableProvider.ImportDataTable(dt, false, 0, 0, 3, 1, true);

doc.Pages[1].Paragraphs.Add(tableProvider);
doc.Save(dataDir + "HTMLInsideTableCell_out.pdf");

Insert a Page Break between rows of table

As a default behavior, when creating a table inside a PDF file, the table flows to subsequent pages when it reaches tables Bottom margin. However, we may have a requirement to forcefully insert page break when a certain number of rows are added for table. The following code snippet shows the steps to insert page break when 10 rows are added for the table.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

// Instantiate Document instance
Document doc = new Document();
// Add page to pages collection of PDF file
doc.Pages.Add();
// Create table instance
Aspose.Pdf.Table tab = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
// Set border style for table
tab.Border = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, Aspose.Pdf.Color.Red);
// Set default border style for table with border color as Red
tab.DefaultCellBorder = new Aspose.Pdf.BorderInfo(Aspose.Pdf.BorderSide.All, Aspose.Pdf.Color.Red);
// Specify table columsn widht
tab.ColumnWidths = "100 100";
// Create a loop to add 200 rows for table
for (int counter = 0; counter <= 200; counter++)
{
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row = new Aspose.Pdf.Row();
    tab.Rows.Add(row);
    Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell1 = new Aspose.Pdf.Cell();
    cell1.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("Cell " + counter + ", 0"));
    row.Cells.Add(cell1); Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell2 = new Aspose.Pdf.Cell();
    cell2.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("Cell " + counter + ", 1"));
    row.Cells.Add(cell2);
    // When 10 rows are added, render new row in new page
    if (counter % 10 == 0 && counter != 0) row.IsInNewPage = true;
}
// Add table to paragraphs collection of PDF file
doc.Pages[1].Paragraphs.Add(tab);

dataDir = dataDir + "InsertPageBreak_out.pdf";
// Save the PDF document
doc.Save(dataDir);

Render a Table on New Page

By default, paragraphs are added to a Page object’s Paragraphs collection. However, it is possible to render a table on a new page instead of directly after the previously added paragraph level object on the page.

Sample: How to Render a Table on New Page using C#

To render table on a new page, use the IsInNewPage property in the BaseParagraph class. The following code snippet shows how.

// For complete examples and data files, please go to https://github.com/aspose-pdf/Aspose.PDF-for-.NET
// The path to the documents directory.
string dataDir = RunExamples.GetDataDir_AsposePdf_Tables();

Document doc = new Document();
PageInfo pageInfo = doc.PageInfo;
Aspose.Pdf.MarginInfo marginInfo = pageInfo.Margin;

marginInfo.Left = 37;
marginInfo.Right = 37;
marginInfo.Top = 37;
marginInfo.Bottom = 37;

pageInfo.IsLandscape = true;

Aspose.Pdf.Table table = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
table.ColumnWidths = "50 100";
// Added page.
Page curPage = doc.Pages.Add();
for (int i = 1; i <= 120; i++)
{
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row = table.Rows.Add();
    row.FixedRowHeight = 15;
    Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell1 = row.Cells.Add();
    cell1.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("Content 1"));
    Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell2 = row.Cells.Add();
    cell2.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("HHHHH"));
}
Aspose.Pdf.Paragraphs paragraphs = curPage.Paragraphs;
paragraphs.Add(table);
/********************************************/
Aspose.Pdf.Table table1 = new Aspose.Pdf.Table();
table.ColumnWidths = "100 100";
for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    Aspose.Pdf.Row row = table1.Rows.Add();
    Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell1 = row.Cells.Add();
    cell1.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("LAAAAAAA"));
    Aspose.Pdf.Cell cell2 = row.Cells.Add();
    cell2.Paragraphs.Add(new TextFragment("LAAGGGGGG"));
}
table1.IsInNewPage = true;
// I want to keep table 1 to next page please...
paragraphs.Add(table1);
dataDir = dataDir + "IsNewPageProperty_Test_out.pdf";
doc.Save(dataDir);

Extract Table from PDF Document