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Quick Overview
jsPDF is a client-side JavaScript library for generating PDF documents. It allows developers to create PDFs dynamically in the browser without relying on server-side processing, making it useful for applications that require on-the-fly PDF generation or offline functionality.
Pros
- Pure JavaScript implementation, no server-side dependencies
- Works in both browser and Node.js environments
- Supports a wide range of PDF features, including text, images, and vector graphics
- Active community and regular updates
Cons
- Limited support for complex layouts and advanced PDF features
- Performance can be slow for large or complex documents
- Font support is limited compared to server-side PDF generation libraries
- Learning curve can be steep for more advanced use cases
Code Examples
- Creating a simple PDF with text:
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");
- Adding an image to a PDF:
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.addImage("path/to/image.jpg", "JPEG", 15, 40, 180, 160);
doc.save("image.pdf");
- Creating a table in a PDF:
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
import "jspdf-autotable";
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.autoTable({
head: [["Name", "Email", "Country"]],
body: [
["David", "david@example.com", "Sweden"],
["Castille", "castille@example.com", "Spain"],
],
});
doc.save("table.pdf");
Getting Started
- Install jsPDF using npm:
npm install jspdf
- Import and use jsPDF in your JavaScript file:
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello jsPDF!", 10, 10);
doc.save("hello.pdf");
- For more advanced features like tables, install additional plugins:
npm install jspdf-autotable
Then import and use the plugin as shown in the table example above.
Competitor Comparisons
Client-side JavaScript PDF generation for everyone.
Pros of jsPDF
- Well-established library with a large user base
- Extensive documentation and community support
- Wide range of features for PDF generation
Cons of jsPDF
- Larger file size due to comprehensive feature set
- May have a steeper learning curve for beginners
- Some users report occasional rendering inconsistencies
Code Comparison
jsPDF example:
var doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text('Hello world!', 10, 10);
doc.save('a4.pdf');
Note: As both repositories mentioned in the prompt are the same (parallax/jsPDF), there isn't a different code example to compare. The code snippet above demonstrates a basic usage of jsPDF.
Additional Notes
Since the comparison is between the same repository (parallax/jsPDF), there aren't distinct differences to highlight. jsPDF is a popular JavaScript library for generating PDFs in the browser. It offers a wide range of features, including text insertion, image embedding, and various formatting options.
The library is actively maintained and has a large community, which contributes to its ongoing development and support. While it's powerful and versatile, some users may find simpler alternatives more suitable for basic PDF generation tasks.
Client/server side PDF printing in pure JavaScript
Pros of pdfmake
- More declarative API, making it easier to create complex layouts
- Built-in support for tables, lists, and other advanced formatting
- Better handling of page breaks and content flow
Cons of pdfmake
- Larger file size and potentially slower performance for simple documents
- Less flexibility for low-level PDF manipulation
- Steeper learning curve for basic usage
Code Comparison
pdfmake:
var docDefinition = {
content: [
{ text: 'Hello, World!', style: 'header' },
{ text: 'This is a paragraph.', margin: [0, 20, 0, 0] }
]
};
pdfMake.createPdf(docDefinition).download();
jsPDF:
var doc = new jsPDF();
doc.setFontSize(22);
doc.text('Hello, World!', 10, 10);
doc.setFontSize(16);
doc.text('This is a paragraph.', 10, 30);
doc.save('document.pdf');
Both libraries offer PDF generation capabilities, but pdfmake provides a more structured approach to document creation, while jsPDF offers more low-level control. pdfmake excels at creating complex layouts with less code, whereas jsPDF is more suitable for simple documents or when fine-grained control over PDF elements is required.
A JavaScript PDF generation library for Node and the browser
Pros of PDFKit
- More comprehensive and feature-rich API for PDF generation
- Better support for complex layouts and advanced PDF features
- Active development and maintenance
Cons of PDFKit
- Steeper learning curve due to more complex API
- Larger file size and potentially slower performance for simple PDFs
Code Comparison
jsPDF:
var doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");
PDFKit:
const doc = new PDFDocument();
doc.pipe(fs.createWriteStream('output.pdf'));
doc.text("Hello world!", 100, 100);
doc.end();
Key Differences
- jsPDF is more lightweight and easier to use for simple PDF generation tasks
- PDFKit offers more control over PDF structure and content
- jsPDF is primarily client-side, while PDFKit is typically used server-side
- PDFKit has better support for advanced features like forms and annotations
Use Cases
- jsPDF: Quick client-side PDF generation, simple reports, and basic documents
- PDFKit: Complex layouts, server-side PDF generation, and feature-rich documents
Community and Ecosystem
- jsPDF has a larger user base and more third-party plugins
- PDFKit has a smaller but active community with regular updates
PDF Reader in JavaScript
Pros of pdf.js
- Robust PDF rendering capabilities, allowing viewing PDFs directly in web browsers
- Extensive browser compatibility and wide adoption, including integration in Firefox
- Active development with regular updates and a large community
Cons of pdf.js
- Primarily focused on PDF viewing rather than creation or manipulation
- Larger file size and potentially higher resource usage for simple PDF tasks
- Steeper learning curve for basic PDF operations
Code Comparison
pdf.js (viewing a PDF):
pdfjsLib.getDocument('document.pdf').promise.then(function(pdf) {
pdf.getPage(1).then(function(page) {
var scale = 1.5;
var viewport = page.getViewport({ scale: scale });
// Render page on canvas
});
});
jsPDF (creating a PDF):
var doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text('Hello world!', 10, 10);
doc.save('document.pdf');
Summary
pdf.js excels in PDF rendering and viewing, making it ideal for applications that need to display PDFs in web browsers. It offers broad compatibility and is actively maintained. However, it may be overkill for simple PDF creation tasks.
jsPDF, on the other hand, is more focused on PDF generation and manipulation. It's lightweight and easier to use for basic PDF creation, but lacks the advanced viewing capabilities of pdf.js.
Choose pdf.js for comprehensive PDF viewing solutions, and jsPDF for straightforward PDF generation and manipulation tasks.
📄 Create PDF files using React
Pros of react-pdf
- Seamless integration with React applications
- Declarative approach to PDF generation
- Built-in support for complex layouts and styling
Cons of react-pdf
- Limited to React ecosystem
- Steeper learning curve for developers unfamiliar with React
Code Comparison
react-pdf:
import { Document, Page, Text, View, StyleSheet } from '@react-pdf/renderer';
const MyDocument = () => (
<Document>
<Page>
<View>
<Text>Hello, World!</Text>
</View>
</Page>
</Document>
);
jsPDF:
import jsPDF from 'jspdf';
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text('Hello, World!', 10, 10);
doc.save('document.pdf');
Key Differences
- react-pdf uses a declarative, component-based approach, while jsPDF uses an imperative API
- react-pdf is specifically designed for React applications, whereas jsPDF is framework-agnostic
- react-pdf offers more advanced layout and styling options out of the box
- jsPDF has a simpler API and may be easier for beginners to pick up quickly
Use Cases
- Choose react-pdf for React-based applications requiring complex PDF layouts
- Opt for jsPDF for simpler PDF generation needs or when working outside the React ecosystem
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A library to generate PDFs in JavaScript.
You can catch me on twitter: @MrRio or head over to my company's website for consultancy.
jsPDF is now co-maintained by yWorks - the diagramming experts.
Live Demo | Documentation
Install
Recommended: get jsPDF from npm:
npm install jspdf --save
# or
yarn add jspdf
Alternatively, load it from a CDN:
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jspdf/2.5.1/jspdf.umd.min.js"></script>
Or always get latest version via unpkg
<script src="https://unpkg.com/jspdf@latest/dist/jspdf.umd.min.js"></script>
The dist
folder of this package contains different kinds of files:
- jspdf.es.*.js: Modern ES2015 module format.
- jspdf.node.*.js: For running in Node. Uses file operations for loading/saving files instead of browser APIs.
- jspdf.umd.*.js: UMD module format. For AMD or script-tag loading.
- polyfills*.js: Required polyfills for older browsers like Internet Explorer. The es variant simply imports all
required polyfills from
core-js
, the umd variant is self-contained.
Usually it is not necessary to specify the exact file in the import statement. Build tools or Node automatically figure out the right file, so importing "jspdf" is enough.
Usage
Then you're ready to start making your document:
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
// Default export is a4 paper, portrait, using millimeters for units
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");
If you want to change the paper size, orientation, or units, you can do:
// Landscape export, 2Ã4 inches
const doc = new jsPDF({
orientation: "landscape",
unit: "in",
format: [4, 2]
});
doc.text("Hello world!", 1, 1);
doc.save("two-by-four.pdf");
Running in Node.js
const { jsPDF } = require("jspdf"); // will automatically load the node version
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf"); // will save the file in the current working directory
Other Module Formats
AMD
require(["jspdf"], ({ jsPDF }) => {
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");
});
Globals
const { jsPDF } = window.jspdf;
const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");
Optional dependencies
Some functions of jsPDF require optional dependencies. E.g. the html
method, which depends on html2canvas
and,
when supplied with a string HTML document, dompurify
. JsPDF loads them dynamically when required
(using the respective module format, e.g. dynamic imports). Build tools like Webpack will automatically create separate
chunks for each of the optional dependencies. If your application does not use any of the optional dependencies, you
can prevent Webpack from generating the chunks by defining them as external dependencies:
// webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
// ...
externals: {
// only define the dependencies you are NOT using as externals!
canvg: "canvg",
html2canvas: "html2canvas",
dompurify: "dompurify"
}
};
In Vue CLI projects, externals can be defined via the configureWebpack
or chainWebpack properties of the vue.config.js
file
(needs to be created, first, in fresh projects).
In Angular projects, externals can be defined using custom webpack builders.
In React (create-react-app
) projects, externals can be defined by either using
react-app-rewired or ejecting.
TypeScript/Angular/Webpack/React/etc. Configuration:
jsPDF can be imported just like any other 3rd party library. This works with all major toolkits and frameworks. jsPDF also offers a typings file for TypeScript projects.
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
You can add jsPDF to your meteor-project as follows:
meteor add jspdf:core
Polyfills
jsPDF requires modern browser APIs in order to function. To use jsPDF in older browsers like Internet Explorer, polyfills are required. You can load all required polyfills as follows:
import "jspdf/dist/polyfills.es.js";
Alternatively, you can load the prebundled polyfill file. This is not recommended, since you might end up loading polyfills multiple times. Might still be nifty for small applications or quick POCs.
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jspdf/2.5.1/polyfills.umd.js"></script>
Use of Unicode Characters / UTF-8:
The 14 standard fonts in PDF are limited to the ASCII-codepage. If you want to use UTF-8 you have to integrate a custom font, which provides the needed glyphs. jsPDF supports .ttf-files. So if you want to have for example Chinese text in your pdf, your font has to have the necessary Chinese glyphs. So, check if your font supports the wanted glyphs or else it will show garbled characters instead of the right text.
To add the font to jsPDF use our fontconverter in /fontconverter/fontconverter.html. The fontconverter will create a js-file with the content of the provided ttf-file as base64 encoded string and additional code for jsPDF. You just have to add this generated js-File to your project. You are then ready to go to use setFont-method in your code and write your UTF-8 encoded text.
Alternatively you can just load the content of the *.ttf file as a binary string using fetch
or XMLHttpRequest
and
add the font to the PDF file:
const doc = new jsPDF();
const myFont = ... // load the *.ttf font file as binary string
// add the font to jsPDF
doc.addFileToVFS("MyFont.ttf", myFont);
doc.addFont("MyFont.ttf", "MyFont", "normal");
doc.setFont("MyFont");
Advanced Functionality
Since the merge with the yWorks fork there are a lot of new features. However, some of them are API breaking, which is why there is an API-switch between two API modes:
- In "compat" API mode, jsPDF has the same API as MrRio's original version, which means full compatibility with plugins. However, some advanced features like transformation matrices and patterns won't work. This is the default mode.
- In "advanced" API mode, jsPDF has the API you're used from the yWorks-fork version. This means the availability of all advanced features like patterns, FormObjects, and transformation matrices.
You can switch between the two modes by calling
doc.advancedAPI(doc => {
// your code
});
// or
doc.compatAPI(doc => {
// your code
});
JsPDF will automatically switch back to the original API mode after the callback has run.
Support
Please check if your question is already handled at Stackoverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/jspdf.
Feel free to ask a question there with the tag jspdf
.
Feature requests, bug reports, etc. are very welcome as issues. Note that bug reports should follow these guidelines:
- A bug should be reported as an mcve
- Make sure code is properly indented and formatted (Use ``` around code blocks)
- Provide a runnable example.
- Try to make sure and show in your issue that the issue is actually related to jspdf and not your framework of choice.
Contributing
jsPDF cannot live without help from the community! If you think a feature is missing or you found a bug, please consider if you can spare one or two hours and prepare a pull request. If you're simply interested in this project and want to help, have a look at the open issues, especially those labeled with "bug".
You can find information about building and testing jsPDF in the contribution guide
Credits
- Big thanks to Daniel Dotsenko from Willow Systems Corporation for making huge contributions to the codebase.
- Thanks to Ajaxian.com for featuring us back in 2009. (Internet Archive Wayback Machine reference)
- Our special thanks to GH Lee (sphilee) for programming the ttf-file-support and providing a large and long sought after feature
- Everyone else that's contributed patches or bug reports. You rock.
License (MIT)
Copyright (c) 2010-2021 James Hall, https://github.com/MrRio/jsPDF (c) 2015-2021 yWorks GmbH, https://www.yworks.com/
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
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