Convert HTML to PDF
-
Thank you! Yes, I could try! I have all the html code store into a QString html_page variable.
What is the fastest way to convert it to QTextDocument?
QTextDocument doc; doc.setHtml(html_page );The web page is formatted to fit in a A4 format as it is.
I couldn't find any simple code to understand how to use QPdfWriter, by the way!@Marcus-Barnet setHTML() is a way to go.
QPdfWriter operates as usual printer, difference is that it produces well formed PDF document.The way to do it is use QTextDocument::drawContents() method, like on the printer. You might need to take care of setting the resolution of the "printer" and so on (when you notice that image is scaled up/down, etc, my usual setting is 300dpi).
If that works then it works and you have less work.
It it does not... Like @JonB said, only cumbersome solutions like webkit or QtWebEngine.On that note I fully endorse your decision of using lightweight webkit over a heavy cow of web engine. For this particular task should suffice.
But I hope you don't have to use any of them. -
@Marcus-Barnet
Be aware thatQTextDocument's support for HTML is "limited". To that subset specified by Qt.When you talk about
Unfortunately, I can't get rid of the HTML part since the webpage is formatted in a very specific way.
it makes me think you may need full, unadulterated HTML support. Like that in a web browser.
You can use the older Qt webkit that you mention. However, that is no longer supplied with Qt, and you'll likely have to build it yourself. If you do not want to do that, are you aware that Qt replaced that with Qt WebEngine, which can also be used to display a web page and print it, including to PDF?
@JonB said in Convert HTML to PDF:
@Marcus-Barnet
Be aware thatQTextDocument's support for HTML is "limited". To that subset specified by Qt.When you talk about
Unfortunately, I can't get rid of the HTML part since the webpage is formatted in a very specific way.
it makes me think you may need full, unadulterated HTML support. Like that in a web browser.
You can use the older Qt webkit that you mention. However, that is no longer supplied with Qt, and you'll likely have to build it yourself. If you do not want to do that, are you aware that Qt replaced that with Qt WebEngine, which can also be used to display a web page and print it, including to PDF?
Yes, it's for this reason that I skipped the QTextDocument months ago.
I remember that someone in this forum (may be you) told me that is supports only a limited set of HTML tags while my webpage is highly formatted.I do not think I have the skills to be able to build my myself the package, may be I should try Qt WebEngine, I need to check if there is any code example about that on google.
-
@JonB said in Convert HTML to PDF:
@Marcus-Barnet
Be aware thatQTextDocument's support for HTML is "limited". To that subset specified by Qt.When you talk about
Unfortunately, I can't get rid of the HTML part since the webpage is formatted in a very specific way.
it makes me think you may need full, unadulterated HTML support. Like that in a web browser.
You can use the older Qt webkit that you mention. However, that is no longer supplied with Qt, and you'll likely have to build it yourself. If you do not want to do that, are you aware that Qt replaced that with Qt WebEngine, which can also be used to display a web page and print it, including to PDF?
Yes, it's for this reason that I skipped the QTextDocument months ago.
I remember that someone in this forum (may be you) told me that is supports only a limited set of HTML tags while my webpage is highly formatted.I do not think I have the skills to be able to build my myself the package, may be I should try Qt WebEngine, I need to check if there is any code example about that on google.
@Marcus-Barnet
Note that @artwaw has just posted before you. He suggests thatQPdfWriter(didn't yet exist when I did my stuff for this a few years ago) is preferable to WebKit/Engine, on the cumbersome-ness front. He may well know what he is talking about! But forQTextDocumentI'm not sure it will support the raw HTML you seem to have? Maybe @artwaw will comment further? -
@Marcus-Barnet
Note that @artwaw has just posted before you. He suggests thatQPdfWriter(didn't yet exist when I did my stuff for this a few years ago) is preferable to WebKit/Engine, on the cumbersome-ness front. He may well know what he is talking about! But forQTextDocumentI'm not sure it will support the raw HTML you seem to have? Maybe @artwaw will comment further?@JonB /me will.
It all depends on the document. Supported subset is documented here: https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/richtext-html-subset.htmlIf that doesn't work, well... Further up I posted links to binaries of QtWebkit, just download and put into your Qt tree. As for printing - I'd need about half an hour to dig out how I did it with webkit in the past.
-
@JonB said in Convert HTML to PDF:
@Marcus-Barnet
Be aware thatQTextDocument's support for HTML is "limited". To that subset specified by Qt.When you talk about
Unfortunately, I can't get rid of the HTML part since the webpage is formatted in a very specific way.
it makes me think you may need full, unadulterated HTML support. Like that in a web browser.
You can use the older Qt webkit that you mention. However, that is no longer supplied with Qt, and you'll likely have to build it yourself. If you do not want to do that, are you aware that Qt replaced that with Qt WebEngine, which can also be used to display a web page and print it, including to PDF?
Yes, it's for this reason that I skipped the QTextDocument months ago.
I remember that someone in this forum (may be you) told me that is supports only a limited set of HTML tags while my webpage is highly formatted.I do not think I have the skills to be able to build my myself the package, may be I should try Qt WebEngine, I need to check if there is any code example about that on google.
@Marcus-Barnet Got it. Not overly complicated.
I write this under the assumption that you do not need to display the page.
Once you have QtWebkit installed, you take QWebPage, usualQWebPage page;or something.Important concept with webkit is that (in our context) page manipulation like printing is not done on QWebPage object but on frames. Each QWebPage has at least one frame accessible via mainFrame() method. That is the key.
So, to set the content we do
page->mainFrame()->setHtml(QString html);
To print, we need to setup the printer (plot twist! NOT QPdfWriter) and simply callpage->mainFrame()->print(QPrinter *printer);
To print to pdf from QPrinter you need to call during the setupQPrinter::setOutputFormat(QPrinter::PdfFormat);andQPrinter::setOutputFileName(QString fname);Documentation is here:
https://qtwebkit.github.io/doc/qtwebkit/qwebpage.html
https://qtwebkit.github.io/doc/qtwebkit/qwebframe.htm
https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qprinter.htmlAt least that's what I did in my last project and I have to say it worked rather well.
The reason I opt so often towards QtWebkit is that for solutions like this it is really lightweight and fast. Say, for headless processing or static html. For full fledged web applications it might be not enough but for like the above? Ideal.
Have fun!
Edit: I corrected calls to QWebFrame methods since I forgot that mainFrame() returns pointer.
-
Thank you a lot! I'll check everything this evening and I'll let you know if it worked!
-
You can do the same as @artwaw's approach of using PDF printer from
QWebEnginePage. Absolutely nothing wrong with QtWebKitQWebPage. Just I don't compile anything Qt, just so you know if you have any compile problems.@JonB side note and part explanation: for me QWebEngine is a no go on Windows as it requires Microsoft environment. I never managed to set it up properly, for some reason I saw my programs working well on mingw failing to compile I checked no further. Call me spoiled but...
-
https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qtwebengine-webenginewidgets-html2pdf-example.html
does this one help? -
Thank you to all, guys, for your support!
Unfortunately, I think using qtwebkit requires some skills, since I downloaded this one: https://download.qt.io/snapshots/ci/qtwebkit/5.212/latest/qtwebkit/qtwebkit-Windows-Windows_10-MSVC2019-Windows-Windows_10-X86_64.7z and I got a folder that I moved to my QT directory:
C:\Qt\5.15.0\qtwebkit-Windows-Windows_10-MSVC2019-Windows-Windows_10-X86_64 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> . 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> .. 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> bin 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> include 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> lib 24/09/2020 14:15 <DIR> mkspecs 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> qmland I do not know how to proceed from this step. I tried to search on the forum, but I didn't found any topic about this (only one, but it was for Linux while I'm on Windows 10).
My current program uses msvc2019_64.I can't understand how I can build this package.
-
Thank you to all, guys, for your support!
Unfortunately, I think using qtwebkit requires some skills, since I downloaded this one: https://download.qt.io/snapshots/ci/qtwebkit/5.212/latest/qtwebkit/qtwebkit-Windows-Windows_10-MSVC2019-Windows-Windows_10-X86_64.7z and I got a folder that I moved to my QT directory:
C:\Qt\5.15.0\qtwebkit-Windows-Windows_10-MSVC2019-Windows-Windows_10-X86_64 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> . 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> .. 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> bin 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> include 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> lib 24/09/2020 14:15 <DIR> mkspecs 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> qmland I do not know how to proceed from this step. I tried to search on the forum, but I didn't found any topic about this (only one, but it was for Linux while I'm on Windows 10).
My current program uses msvc2019_64.I can't understand how I can build this package.
@Marcus-Barnet It should be already build. Just reopen QtCreator and add
Qt += webkitin your .pro file.
I have alsoQt += webkitwidgetsbut I don't think you need them.At any rate you can then do
#include <QWebPage>in the header files. -
where should I copy the files contained in the archive I downloaded?
This is the path where my qmake is:
C:\Qt\5.15.0\msvc2019_64\bin\qmake.exeshould I copy the content of:
C:\Qt\5.15.0\qtwebkit-Windows-Windows_10-MSVC2019-Windows-Windows_10-X86_64 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> . 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> .. 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> bin 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> include 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> lib 24/09/2020 14:15 <DIR> mkspecs 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> qmlin this directory?
C:\Qt\5.15.0\msvc2019_64 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> . 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> .. 29/07/2020 10:15 <DIR> bin 19/07/2020 21:34 <DIR> doc 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> include 19/07/2020 21:39 <DIR> lib 19/07/2020 21:34 <DIR> mkspecs 19/07/2020 21:34 <DIR> phrasebooks 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> plugins 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> qml 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> resources 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> translationsSorry for the stupid question, but I can't understand how to use these files.
Usually, in linux, there is /src and /lib folders that you can pass as parameter to the compiler. -
where should I copy the files contained in the archive I downloaded?
This is the path where my qmake is:
C:\Qt\5.15.0\msvc2019_64\bin\qmake.exeshould I copy the content of:
C:\Qt\5.15.0\qtwebkit-Windows-Windows_10-MSVC2019-Windows-Windows_10-X86_64 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> . 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> .. 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> bin 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> include 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> lib 24/09/2020 14:15 <DIR> mkspecs 08/06/2021 22:50 <DIR> qmlin this directory?
C:\Qt\5.15.0\msvc2019_64 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> . 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> .. 29/07/2020 10:15 <DIR> bin 19/07/2020 21:34 <DIR> doc 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> include 19/07/2020 21:39 <DIR> lib 19/07/2020 21:34 <DIR> mkspecs 19/07/2020 21:34 <DIR> phrasebooks 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> plugins 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> qml 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> resources 19/07/2020 21:36 <DIR> translationsSorry for the stupid question, but I can't understand how to use these files.
Usually, in linux, there is /src and /lib folders that you can pass as parameter to the compiler.@Marcus-Barnet yes. exactly there, all folders' content to the respective folders.
-
thank you, I did as you suggested and now I get no errors when I try to call QWebPage.
Later, this evening, I will try to use it for the PDF and I will update you.
-
I tried to convert the html to pdf, it works fine even if this process doesn't include a PNG image which is included in the HTML page.
Unfortunately, this image is very important since it is a logo which must be included also in the PDF file. (I use the <img> tag to insert the image)
Is there any specific reason for not including the image?Moreover, I noticed that the table borders are displayed in grey color while they should be black.
This is the code I'm using:``` QWebPage page; page.mainFrame()->setHtml(html_scheda); QPrinter printer(QPrinter::HighResolution); printer.setOrientation(QPrinter::Portrait); printer.setOutputFormat(QPrinter::PdfFormat); printer.setPaperSize(QPrinter::A4); printer.setPageMargins(QMarginsF(5, 5, 5, 5)); QString fileName = "C:/folder/test.pdf"; printer.setOutputFileName(fileName); page.mainFrame()->print(&printer); -
I tried to convert the html to pdf, it works fine even if this process doesn't include a PNG image which is included in the HTML page.
Unfortunately, this image is very important since it is a logo which must be included also in the PDF file. (I use the <img> tag to insert the image)
Is there any specific reason for not including the image?Moreover, I noticed that the table borders are displayed in grey color while they should be black.
This is the code I'm using:``` QWebPage page; page.mainFrame()->setHtml(html_scheda); QPrinter printer(QPrinter::HighResolution); printer.setOrientation(QPrinter::Portrait); printer.setOutputFormat(QPrinter::PdfFormat); printer.setPaperSize(QPrinter::A4); printer.setPageMargins(QMarginsF(5, 5, 5, 5)); QString fileName = "C:/folder/test.pdf"; printer.setOutputFileName(fileName); page.mainFrame()->print(&printer);@Marcus-Barnet from documentation:
External objects referenced in the content are located relative to baseUrl.I'd search in that direction. -
@Marcus-Barnet from documentation:
External objects referenced in the content are located relative to baseUrl.I'd search in that direction.@artwaw said in Convert HTML to PDF:
@Marcus-Barnet from documentation:
External objects referenced in the content are located relative to baseUrl.I'd search in that direction.The problem is that the logo is loaded from the network, so I do not know what kind of base_url I should specify.
This is the HTML where I load the picture:
html_scheda = "<table align=\"center\" border=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 21cm; height: 29 cm;\"> <tbody> <tr> <td style=\"width: 100%;\"> <table border=\"0\" style=\"height: 146px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"> <tbody> <tr style=\"height: 0px;\"> <td style=\"width: 50%; height: 146px; text-align: center;\" rowspan=\"4\"><img width=\"200\" align=\"center\" src=\"http://www.robo-dyne.com/pics/pump_logo.png\" alt=\"\" /></td>What should I use as baseurl in this situation?
-
We had the same problem and while webkit is viable option it does not support everything we needed.
We tried a few options, but the best result was produced with using chrome:
It can do it in headless mode
google-chrome --headless --disable-gpu --print-to-pdf=file1.pdf http://www.example.com/So if you could make sure chrome is installed on your system, this would be an approach I recommend.
-
Does this work also on Windows?
Even if I would prefer to use QT functionalities to export the PDF.
-
Does this work also on Windows?
Even if I would prefer to use QT functionalities to export the PDF.
@Marcus-Barnet
I will throw this in. I do not know if it is right/will help, but....I previously suggested you use the supported/supplied Qt WebEngine, not Qt WebKit. But for whatever reason you have gone down the WebKit route :) I do not compile anything Qt (Linux). For Windows I do not know whether you have to compile or whether you download already-built. I gather WebEngine requires MSVC, not MinGW, but that seems to be what you are using anyway.
Web Engine uses the chromium engine. From @AlexMaly's post, I'm thinking/hoping this would do the necessary "chrome" facility for you, and access external URLs without problem?
You would have to check. I leave you with this possibility....
