In this article I will explain with an example, how to export GridView to PDF with custom columns widths using iTextSharp in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
For exporting GridView to PDF iTextSharp library is used.
 
 

Download iTextSharp Library

You can download the iTextSharp library from the following link.
iTextSharp
Note: You will need to add the reference of iTextSharp library in your project.
 
 

Database

For this article I am making use of the Microsoft’s Northwind Database. You can download it from here.
Download and install Northwind Database
 
 

HTML Markup

The HTML Markup consists of following controls:
GridView – For displaying data.

Columns

GridView consists of three BoundField columns.
 

Properties

AllowPaging – For enabling paging in the GridView control.
 

Events

The GridView has been assigned with an OnPageIndexChanging event handler.
 
RadioButtonList – For capturing user input.
The RadioButtonList consists of two ListItem.
Button – For exporting GridView data to PDF.
The Button has been assigned with an OnClick event handler.
<asp:GridView ID="gvCustomers" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false"
    AllowPaging="true" OnPageIndexChanging="OnPaging">
    <Columns>
        <asp:BoundField ItemStyle-Width="200px" DataField="CustomerID" HeaderText="Customer Id" />
        <asp:BoundField ItemStyle-Width="100px" DataField="City" HeaderText="City" />
        <asp:BoundField ItemStyle-Width="50px" DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
<br />
<asp:RadioButtonList ID="rbPaging" runat="server">
    <asp:ListItem Text="Yes" Value="true">Print Current Page</asp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem Text="No" Value="false" Selected="True">Print All Pages</asp:ListItem>
</asp:RadioButtonList>
<br />
<asp:Button ID="btnExportPDF" runat="server" Text="Export To PDF" OnClick="ExportToPDF" />
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Configuration;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Configuration
Imports iTextSharp.text
Imports iTextSharp.text.pdf
 
 

Binding the GridView

Inside the Page_Load event handler, the BindGrid method is called.

BindGrid

Inside the BindGrid method, GridView is populated with records fetched from the Customers Table of the Northwind database.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        this.BindGrid();
    }
}
 
private void BindGrid()
{
    string query = "SELECT CustomerID, City, Country FROM Customers";
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
    {
        using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter(query, con))
        {
            using (DataTable dt = new DataTable())
            {
                sda.Fill(dt);
                gvCustomers.DataSource = dt;
                gvCustomers.DataBind();
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Me.BindGrid()
    End If
End Sub
 
Private Sub BindGrid()
    Dim query As String = "SELECT CustomerID, City, Country FROM Customers"
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(constr)
        Using sda As SqlDataAdapter = New SqlDataAdapter(query, con)
            Using dt As DataTable = New DataTable()
                sda.Fill(dt)
                gvCustomers.DataSource = dt
                gvCustomers.DataBind()
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 

Implement Paging in GridView

Inside the OnPageIndexChanging event handler, the PageIndex property of the GridView is updated with the new Page Number which was clicked.
Finally, the GridView is populated using the BindGrid method which in-turn displays the new GridView page.
C#
protected void OnPaging(object sender, GridViewPageEventArgs e)
{
    gvCustomers.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex;
    this.BindGrid();
} 
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub OnPaging(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewPageEventArgs)
    gvCustomers.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex
    Me.BindGrid()
End Sub
 
 

Exporting GridView to PDF

When Export button is clicked, the AllowPaging property of the GridView is set based on the RadioButton selection and the BindGrid method is called.
Then, the PdfPTable class object is created and new table is created.
A FOR EACH loop is executed over the GridView columns and the content of GridView HeaderRow cells are set to the dynamically created cell using PdfPCell object.
The Width and BackgroundColor are also set and each cell is added to the Table.
Another FOR EACH loop is executed over the GridView columns and a check is performed if the RowType is DataRow.
And all the contents of DataRow cells are set to each cell and added to Table.
Then, the Document class object is created for creating PDF document and its properties are set.
After that the Response class properties are set.
1. Content-Disposition – It is a response header indicating, the download file is an attachment and allows setting the file name.
Note: For more details on Content-Disposition header, please refer What is Content Disposition Header in ASP.Net.
 
Finally, Document object is written to the Response which initiates the File download operation.
C#
protected void ExportToPDF(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    gvCustomers.AllowPaging = Convert.ToBoolean(rbPaging.SelectedItem.Value);
    this.BindGrid();
 
    //Create a table.
    PdfPTable table = new PdfPTable(gvCustomers.Columns.Count);
 
    //Set the column widths.
    int[] widths = new int[gvCustomers.Columns.Count];
    int i = 0;
    foreach (DataControlField column in gvCustomers.Columns)
    {
        widths[i] = (int)gvCustomers.Columns[i].ItemStyle.Width.Value;
        string cellText = Server.HtmlDecode(gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells[i].Text);
        PdfPCell cell = new PdfPCell(new Phrase(cellText));
        cell.BackgroundColor = new BaseColor(System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.FromHtml("#008000"));
        table.AddCell(cell);
        i++;
    }
    table.SetWidths(widths);
 
    //Transfer rows from GridView to table.
    foreach (GridViewRow row in gvCustomers.Rows)
    {
        if (row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
        {
            int column = 0;
            foreach (DataControlField cell in gvCustomers.Columns)
            {
                string cellText = Server.HtmlDecode(row.Cells[column].Text);
                table.AddCell(new PdfPCell(new Phrase(cellText)));
                column++;
            }
        }
    }
 
    //Create the PDF Document.
    using (Document pdfDoc = new Document(PageSize.A4, 10f, 10f, 10f, 0f))
    {
        using (PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc,Response.OutputStream))
        {
            pdfDoc.Open();
            pdfDoc.Add(table);
            pdfDoc.Close();
            Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
            Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.pdf");
            Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
            Response.Write(pdfDoc);
            Response.End();
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub ExportToPDF(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    gvCustomers.AllowPaging = Convert.ToBoolean(rbPaging.SelectedItem.Value)
    Me.BindGrid()
 
    'Create a table.
    Dim table As PdfPTable = New PdfPTable(gvCustomers.Columns.Count)
 
    'Set the column widths.
    Dim widths As Integer() = New Integer(gvCustomers.Columns.Count - 1) {}
    Dim i As Integer = 0
    For Each column As DataControlField In gvCustomers.Columns
        widths(i) = CInt(gvCustomers.Columns(i).ItemStyle.Width.Value)
        Dim cellText As String = Server.HtmlDecode(gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells(i).Text)
        Dim cell As PdfPCell = New PdfPCell(New Phrase(cellText))
        cell.BackgroundColor = New BaseColor(System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.FromHtml("#008000"))
        table.AddCell(cell)
        i += 1
    Next
    table.SetWidths(widths)
 
    'Transfer rows from GridView to table.
    For Each row As GridViewRow In gvCustomers.Rows
        If row.RowType = DataControlRowType.DataRow Then
            Dim column As Integer = 0
            For Each cell As DataControlField In gvCustomers.Columns
                Dim cellText As String = Server.HtmlDecode(row.Cells(column).Text)
                table.AddCell(New PdfPCell(New Phrase(cellText)))
                column += 1
            Next
        End If
    Next
 
    'Create the PDF Document.
    Using pdfDoc As Document = New Document(PageSize.A4, 10.0F, 10.0F, 10.0F, 0F)
        Using PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc,Response.OutputStream)
            pdfDoc.Open()
            pdfDoc.Add(table)
            pdfDoc.Close()
            Response.ContentType = "application/pdf"
            Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.pdf")
            Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache)
            Response.Write(pdfDoc)
            Response.End()
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 

Error

The following error occurs when you tries to render a control such as GridView to HTML using the RenderControl method.
Server Error in '/ASP.Net' Application.
Control gvCustomers of type 'GridView' must be placed inside a form tag with runat=server.
Description:An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.Exception Details:System.Web.HttpException: Control 'gvCustomers ' of type 'GridView' must be placed inside a form tag with runat=server.
 

Solution

The solution to this problem is to override VerifyRenderingInServerForm event handler.
For more details please refer my article, Exception - Control GridView1 of type GridView must be placed inside a form tag with runat server.
 
 

Screenshots

The Form

Export ASP.Net GridView to PDF with Custom Columns Widths using iTextSharp
 

Current page

Export ASP.Net GridView to PDF with Custom Columns Widths using iTextSharp
 

All pages

Export ASP.Net GridView to PDF with Custom Columns Widths using iTextSharp
 
 

Demo

View Demo
 
 

Downloads

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