ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies®

16.5. Ensuring Accurate Rendering with PDF

Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) remains the most popular choice for delivering documents over the Internet. The PDF standard helps ensure the faithful rendering and printing of electronic copies. This section shows a few ways of hosting PDF files in ASP.NET pages. To set up a page for this section's example, follow these steps:

1. Add a PDF file to your project.

   These examples use a file named clientquotes.pdf.

2. Add an ASP.NET Web form named pdf.aspx to your project.

16.5.1. Rendering PDF within the browser page

The most common scenario is embedding a PDF page within the current browser window. The Adobe Reader plug-in (assuming that it's installed) replaces the current HTML content and displays the PDF document. Follow these instructions to embed a PDF:

1. From the Toolbox, add an ASP.NET HyperLink control to pdf.aspx.

2. In the Properties window (F4), set the NavigateUrl property to the location of the PDF file — for example, ~/clientquotes.pdf or http://www.kjopc.com/clientquotes.pdf.

3. Set the Text property to Open PDF in this window.

When you click the link at runtime, the generated link opens the PDF file in the browser, leaving the existing browser menu bar and links in place.

16.5.2. Rendering PDF within a new browser page

If you want the PDF to display within the browser but not replace the existing page, follow these steps:

1. From the Toolbox, add an ASP.NET HyperLink control to pdf.aspx.

2. In the Properties window (F4), set the NavigateUrl ...