There are many reasons why PDF is the most commonly used document format in the world. For one, its level of compatibility is unmatched — PDFs can be viewed with perfect fidelity on PC, Mac, Linux, web browsers, and mobile platforms with no problems whatsoever. Add to this its print quality and immutability, and you have a clear go-to choice when it comes to convenience.

Turning now to the matter of conversion, however, you start to run into some problems. There is no clear and simple means by which you can directly create a PDF from HTML code with Java. Instead, a whole process of parsing and rendering must first be performed, which is about as much fun as it sounds. So how can we achieve the high quality results that we require without wasting a ton of development hours on the problem?

Today, we will be looking at how to accomplish this quickly and easily through the use of an API. After just a few simple setup steps, we will be able to perform a variety of useful functions relating to easing the transition between HTML and PDF:

• HTML document to PDF.
• HTML string to PDF.
• URL to PDF.
• Editing PDFs.

One particularly important goal for these operations will be to maintain a high level of accuracy when making the transition between the two formats. Advanced design elements including CSS, Javascript, and images will all be preserved post-conversion. One detail to bear in mind, images should be included as absolute URLs or in base 64 inline form.

#java #api #html #pdf #conversion