How to Create PDF Files With C Source Code

Creating Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files with an application written in the C programming language could potentially involve many hours of deciphering Adobe's documentation. But, at least one open source (free) project has done that work already to produce a library with which your C programs can link to create PDF files.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Visual C++, Express (or Full) edition
• Haru PDF library from libharu.org
• Zlib DLL file (a dependency of the Haru library) from zlib.net

Instructions

1. Download the Haru Free PDF Library from Libharu.org. Select the libharu-<version>-vc6.zip file for download, which is under the "Windows Binaries" heading. Download a dependency of the Haru library, the Zlib, from the Zlib link in this article's Resources section.

2. Create a new Visual C++ Windows32 Console Application.
   Enter "pdfmkr" for the project's name and "C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Desktop\pdfmkr" for its location. Do not check the "Create directory" checkbox.

3. Install the library files: unzip the libharu-2.1.0-vc6.zip and zlib123-dll.zip files to the default locations assigned by your unzipping application.

   Copy the libhpdf.lib and libhpdf.exp files from the lib subfolder of the unzipped libharu zip file, to C:\Users\<YourUserName>\Desktop\pdfmkr\pdfmkr.

4. Copy the zdll.lib, zdll.exp and zdll.def files from the unzipped Zlib's lib subfolder to the same destination folder referenced in Step 3. Also, copy the zlib1.dll file from the _root_ folder (not the lib subfolder) of the Zlib unzipped folder, to Step 3's destination folder.

5. Copy the header files to where the Visual C++ compiler can find them: copy all header (file extension *.h) files from the libharu "include" subfolder, to the same folder from Step 3. Copy all Zlib header files from the Zlib "include" subfolder, to Step 3's destination folder.

6. Create references to the lib files you just copied so the Visual C++ linker can actually see them: in the Visual C++ IDE, select "View>Property Manager." In the Property Manager window, right-click "pdfmkr" and select "Properties." Expose the "Linker>Input" node by clicking "Configuration Properties," then "Linker." In the "Additional Dependencies" row, enter the names of the library files you just copied: "zdll.lib" and "libhpdf.lib" (but not the DLL file).

7. Paste the following source code into the Visual C++ code window:

   //////////////////////////////////////////////
   #include "stdafx.h"
   #include <stdlib.h>
   #include <stdio.h>
   #include <string.h>
   #include <setjmp.h>
   #include "hpdf.h"

   jmp_buf env;

   #ifdef HPDF_DLL
   void __stdcall
   #else
   void
   #endif
   cbHandleErr (HPDF_STATUS errNum,
   HPDF_STATUS detail_num,
   void *userinfo)
   {
   printf ("ERROR: errNum=%04X, detail_num=%u\n", (HPDF_UINT)errNum,
   (HPDF_UINT)detail_num);
   longjmp(env, 1);
   }

   const char fname [] = "myPDF.PDF";

   int main (int argc, char **argv)
   {
   HPDF_Doc objPDF;
   HPDF_Page pdfPage;
   HPDF_Font font;
   HPDF_REAL pageHeight;

   objPDF = HPDF_New (cbHandleErr, NULL);
   if (!objPDF) {
   printf ("Can't create PdfDoc object\n");
   return 1;
   }

   if (setjmp(env)) {
   HPDF_Free (objPDF);
   return 1;
   }

   /* Create pdfPage */
   pdfPage = HPDF_AddPage (objPDF);
   pageHeight = HPDF_Page_GetHeight (pdfPage);

   /* Put some text on pdfPage */
   font = HPDF_GetFont (objPDF, "Times-Roman", NULL);
   HPDF_Page_SetFontAndSize (pdfPage, font, 24);
   HPDF_Page_BeginText (pdfPage);
   HPDF_Page_TextOut (pdfPage, 20, pageHeight-75, "My first PDF"); //yes
   HPDF_Page_EndText (pdfPage);
   HPDF_SaveToFile (objPDF, fname);
   HPDF_Free (objPDF);

   return 0;
   }

   //////////////////////////////////////////////

8. Press F5 to compile and run the program. Look for the output file, myPDF.PDF, in the folder referenced in Step 3.

Tips & Warnings

• For Step 3, install all lib and *.h files from the Zlib and libhpdf zip files to the folder containing your project's stdafx.h header file. That's where Visual C++ looks for include and library files when building an app in debug/development mode. If you don't see stdafx.h in the folder mentioned in Step 3, use Windows Explorer to search for it.

References

• LibHaru Documentation
• ZLib Home Site
• Microsoft Visual C++

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Haru Library Documentation Example Programs
• Zlib Home Page