How to open a PDF in a new tab or download a PDF document using AJAX Call?

The Syncfusion Essential® PDF is a .NET PDF library used to create, read, and edit PDF documents. Using this library, you can open a PDF in a new tab or download a PDF document using the AJAX Call.

Steps to open a PDF in a new tab or download PDF using the AJAX call programmatically:

1. Create a new ASP.NET MVC application project.

2. Install the Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet.Mvc5  NuGet package as a reference to your .NET Framework application from 
3. A default controller with the name HomeController.cs gets added to the creation of the ASP.NET MVC project. Include the following namespaces in that HomeController.cs file.

C#

using Syncfusion.Pdf;
using Syncfusion.Pdf.Graphics;
using System.Drawing;

VB.NET

Imports Syncfusion.Pdf
Imports Syncfusion.Pdf.Graphics
Imports System.Drawing

4. Add a following code in the index.cshtml for open a PDF in new tab or download the PDF using the Ajax Call.

   <div class="jumbotron">
       <div style="font-size:17px; margin-bottom:10px">
           Open new browser window
           <input type="checkbox" value="newWindow" name="browser" />
       </div>
       <input type="submit" value="Generate PDF" class="Button" id="btn1" />
       <script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.3/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
    
       <script type="text/javascript">
           $('#btn1').click(function () {
    
               var httpreadtype = new Array();
               $('input[name="browser"]:checked').each(function () {
                   httpreadtype.push(this.value);
               });
    
               $.ajax({
                   url: '/Home/GeneratePDF',
                   type: "POST",
                   responseType: 'arraybuffer',
                   success: function (data) {
                       var atobData = atob(data);
                       var num = new Array(atobData.length);
                       for (var i = 0; i < atobData.length; i++) {
                           num[i] = atobData.charCodeAt(i);
                       }
                       var pdfData = new Uint8Array(num);
    
                       //var blob = new Blob([pdfData], { type: 'text/plain' });
                       blob = new Blob([pdfData], { type: 'application/pdf;base64' });
                       var url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
    
                       //Open a new tab.
                       if (httpreadtype.length > 0)
                           window.open(url);
                       else {
                           //Download the file.
                           var a = document.createElement('a');
                           a.href = url;
                           a.download = 'File.pdf';
                           a.click();
                       }
                   }
               });
           });
   </script>
   </div>
   

5. Add a new action method named GeneratePDF in HomeController.cs and include the following code sample to create a PDF using C#.

C#

public ActionResult GeneratePDF()
{
    //Create a new PdfDocument
    PdfDocument document = new PdfDocument();
 
    //Add a page to the document
    PdfPage page = document.Pages.Add();
 
    //Create Pdf graphics for the page
    PdfGraphics graphics = page.Graphics;
 
    //Create a solid brush
    PdfBrush brush = new PdfSolidBrush(Color.Black);
 
    //Set the font
    PdfFont font = new PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 20f);
 
    //Draw the text
    graphics.DrawString("Hello world!", font, brush, new PointF(20, 20));
 
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream);
 
    Response.Clear();
    Response.ClearContent();
    Response.Write(Convert.ToBase64String(stream.ToArray()));
    Response.Flush();
    Response.End();
    return View();
}

VB.NET

Public Function GeneratePDF() As ActionResult
'Create a new PdfDocument
Dim document As PdfDocument = New PdfDocument()
 
'Add a page to the document
Dim page As PdfPage = document.Pages.Add()
 
'Create Pdf graphics for the page
Dim graphics As PdfGraphics = page.Graphics
 
'Create a solid brush
Dim brush As PdfBrush = New PdfSolidBrush(Color.Black)
 
'Set the font
Dim font As PdfFont = New PdfStandardFont(PdfFontFamily.Helvetica, 20F)
 
'Draw the text
graphics.DrawString("Hello world!", font, brush, new PointF(20, 20))
 
Dim stream As MemoryStream = New MemoryStream()
document.Save(stream)
Response.Clear()
Response.ClearContent()
Response.Write(Convert.ToBase64String(stream.ToArray()))
Response.Flush()
Response.End()
return View()
End Function

A complete working sample can be downloaded from PdfSample_AjaxCall.zip.

By executing the program, you will get the PDF document as follows.

Refer to this link to explore a rich set of Syncfusion Essential® PDF features.

See Also:

Create a PDF file in Xamarin

Create a PDF file in ASP.NET MVC

Create a PDF file in WPF

Create a PDF file in Windows Forms

Create a PDF file in ASP.NET Core

Download a PDF file using Ajax Call