losLab Software

Transforming RTF Files into PDF: A Guide for Delphi, C# & VB.Net Developers

In the world of document processing, converting Rich Text Format (RTF) files to Portable Document Format (PDF) is a common task. This conversion ensures the document’s layout remains consistent across different platforms. This guide provides detailed solutions for efficient RTF to PDF conversion using our PDF developer library in Delphi, C# and VB.Net. By following this guide, you can seamlessly transform RTF files into PDF documents while maintaining high fidelity to the original content. Let’s walk through the process step-by-step.

Problem Statement

The primary challenge here is to convert an RTF file into a PDF file while ensuring that the formatting and layout of the original document are preserved. This involves:

1. Loading the RTF file.
2. Setting up a virtual device context for rendering.
3. Printing the RTF content to the virtual device context.
4. Saving the rendered content as a PDF file.

Steps to Achieve the Goal

1. Initialize the Environment:
   • Load the losLab PDF Library.
   • Load the RTF file into a rich text control.
2. Set Up the Device Context:
   • Create a virtual device context that mimics the dimensions of an A4 page.
   • Calculate the necessary scaling to fit the content within the PDF page.
3. Process the RTF Content:
   • Use the virtual device context to format and print the RTF content.
   • Capture the printed content and create a new PDF page from it.
4. Save the PDF Document:
   • Save the generated PDF pages to disk.
   • Handle multiple pages by looping through the RTF content and creating new PDF documents as needed.

Delphi Code Example

Below is a Delphi implementation that demonstrates the conversion of an RTF file to a PDF file using the our PDF Library,
The following uses the DLL version of the PDF development library (A Pascal source code version is also available for Delphi):
[crayon-6712283d8cb0e969399114/]

C# Code Example

Below is a C# implementation that achieves the same functionality as the Delphi example.
[crayon-6712283d8cb17407976648/]

Explanation and Justification

• Initialization: Both the Delphi and C# versions initialize the losLab PDF Library DLL edition. The RTF file is loaded into a rich text control (RichEdit in Delphi and RichTextBox in C#).
• Device Context Setup: The device context is set up to simulate an A4 page size, ensuring the content fits appropriately when rendered.
• Content Processing: The PrintRtfBox function (or method) formats the RTF content and prints it to the device context. This method calculates the required dimensions and calls the appropriate Windows API to handle the text formatting.
• PDF Generation: The loop in both examples processes the RTF content page by page, creating new PDF documents as necessary. Each page is saved to disk and then removed from memory to manage resources efficiently.
• Completion Notification: After processing all pages, a message box informs the user that the conversion is complete.

By adhering to these steps, we ensure a reliable and accurate transformation of RTF files into PDF documents, leveraging the capabilities of losLab PDF Library. This approach guarantees that the original formatting and layout are preserved, resulting in professional-quality PDF outputs.

VisualBasic.Net RTF to PDF Example

In addition, we also provide a VB.Net implementation, which has the same functionality as the Delphi and C# examples:
[crayon-6712283d8cb1a521949998/]