[Solved] iTextSharp PDF file Error: we cannot open this file Something went wrong

Hi Mehram,

remove the dlFabric.DataBind() line from the lnkPdf_Click event handler.

Please refer below sample.

HTML

<asp:DataList ID="dlFabric" runat="server" RepeatDirection="Horizontal" RepeatColumns="1">
    <HeaderTemplate>
        <table>
            <tr>
                <th>S. #</th>
                <th>Artical #</th>
                <th>Stock Qty</th>
            </tr>
    </HeaderTemplate>
    <ItemTemplate>
        <tr>
            <td><asp:Label ID="lblSNo" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("row_num") %>'></asp:Label></td>
            <td><asp:Label ID="lblArticalNo" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("articalno") %>'></asp:Label></td>
            <td><asp:Label ID="lblBalanceQty" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("BalanceQty") %>'></asp:Label></td>
        </tr>
    </ItemTemplate>
    <FooterTemplate>
        </table>
    </FooterTemplate>
</asp:DataList>
<asp:Button ID="lnkPdf" runat="server" Text="Export to Pdf" OnClick="btnExport_Click" />

Namespaces

C#

using System.IO;
using System.Data;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
using iTextSharp.text.html.simpleparser;

VB.Net

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Data
Imports iTextSharp.text
Imports iTextSharp.text.pdf
Imports iTextSharp.text.html.simpleparser

Code

C#

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        DataTable dt = new DataTable();
        dt.Columns.AddRange(new DataColumn[3] { new DataColumn("row_num"), new DataColumn("articalno"), new DataColumn("BalanceQty") });
        dt.Rows.Add(1, "1441", "1234");
        dt.Rows.Add(2, "1567", "1896");
        dt.Rows.Add(3, "1571", "1347");
        dt.Rows.Add(4, "1231", "1977");
        dt.Rows.Add(5, "1571", "1347");
        dt.Rows.Add(6, "1571", "1347");
        dlFabric.DataSource = dt;
        dlFabric.DataBind();
    }
}

protected void btnExport_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=Panel.pdf");
    Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
    StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
    HtmlTextWriter hw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw);
    dlFabric.RenderControl(hw);
    StringReader sr = new StringReader(sw.ToString());
    Document pdfDoc = new Document(PageSize.A4, 10f, 10f, 100f, 0f);
    HTMLWorker htmlparser = new HTMLWorker(pdfDoc);
    PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, Response.OutputStream);
    pdfDoc.Open();
    htmlparser.Parse(sr);
    pdfDoc.Close();
    Response.Write(pdfDoc);
    Response.End();
}

VB.Net

Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Dim dt As DataTable = New DataTable()
        dt.Columns.AddRange(New DataColumn(2) {New DataColumn("row_num"), New DataColumn("articalno"), New DataColumn("BalanceQty")})
        dt.Rows.Add(1, "1441", "1234")
        dt.Rows.Add(2, "1567", "1896")
        dt.Rows.Add(3, "1571", "1347")
        dt.Rows.Add(4, "1231", "1977")
        dt.Rows.Add(5, "1571", "1347")
        dt.Rows.Add(6, "1571", "1347")
        dlFabric.DataSource = dt
        dlFabric.DataBind()
    End If
End Sub
 
Protected Sub btnExport_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Response.ContentType = "application/pdf"
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=Panel.pdf")
    Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache)
    Dim sw As StringWriter = New StringWriter()
    Dim hw As HtmlTextWriter = New HtmlTextWriter(sw)
    dlFabric.RenderControl(hw)
    Dim sr As StringReader = New StringReader(sw.ToString())
    Dim pdfDoc As Document = New Document(PageSize.A4, 10.0F, 10.0F, 100.0F, 0.0F)
    Dim htmlparser As HTMLWorker = New HTMLWorker(pdfDoc)
    PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, Response.OutputStream)
    pdfDoc.Open()
    htmlparser.Parse(sr)
    pdfDoc.Close()
    Response.Write(pdfDoc)
    Response.End()
End Sub

Screenshot