react-native-pdf-lib

Purpose

This library's purpose is to fill the gap that currently exists in the React Native ecosystem for PDF creation and editing. It aims to provide an easy, simple, and consistent API for both creating new and editing existing PDF documents in React Native. This library supports Android devices >= API 18, and iOS devices >= iOS 8.0.

Thanks

This library would not be possible without the following projects:

• https://github.com/galkahana/PDF-Writer is used for handling PDFs on iOS. (The static binaries for v3.6 are built with hummus-ios-build).
• https://github.com/TomRoush/PdfBox-Android is used for handling PDFs on Android.

Alternatives

Create PDFs from HTML: https://github.com/christopherdro/react-native-html-to-pdf

React Native Version

If you're using React Native >= 60, you want to use v1.0.0 of this library. If you're using React Native <= 59, you want to use v0.2.1 of this library.

Mostly automatic installation

See here for manual installation instructions (manual installation should not be necessary).

1. $ npm install react-native-pdf-lib --save
2. $ react-native link react-native-pdf-lib
3. For Android, add the following to your app's build.gradle file:

   android {
     ...
     dexOptions {
         jumboMode = true
     }
     ...
   }
   

Getting started

Create a New PDF Document

// Import from 'react-native-pdf-lib'
import PDFLib, { PDFDocument, PDFPage } from 'react-native-pdf-lib';

// Create a PDF page with text and rectangles
const page1 = PDFPage
  .create()
  .setMediaBox(200, 200)
  .drawText('You can add text and rectangles to the PDF!', {
    x: 5,
    y: 235,
    color: '#007386',
  })
  .drawRectangle({
    x: 25,
    y: 25,
    width: 150,
    height: 150,
    color: '#FF99CC',
  })
  .drawRectangle({
    x: 75,
    y: 75,
    width: 50,
    height: 50,
    color: '#99FFCC',
  });

// Create a PDF page with text and images
const jpgPath = // Path to a JPG image on the file system...
const pngPath = // Path to a PNG image on the file system...
const page2 = PDFPage
  .create()
  .setMediaBox(250, 250)
  .drawText('You can add JPG images too!')
  .drawImage(jpgPath, 'jpg', {
     x: 5,
     y: 125,
     width: 200,
     height: 100,
  })
  .drawImage(pngPath, 'png', {
     x: 5,
     y: 25,
     width: 200,
     height: 100,
  });

// Create a new PDF in your app's private Documents directory
const docsDir = await PDFLib.getDocumentsDirectory();
const pdfPath = `${docsDir}/sample.pdf`;
PDFDocument
  .create(pdfPath)
  .addPages(page1, page2)
  .write() // Returns a promise that resolves with the PDF's path
  .then(path => {
    console.log('PDF created at: ' + path);
    // Do stuff with your shiny new PDF!
  });

Modify an Existing PDF Document

// Import from 'react-native-pdf-lib'
import PDFLib, { PDFDocument, PDFPage } from 'react-native-pdf-lib';

// Modify first page in document
const page1 = PDFPage
  .modify(0)
  .drawText('This is a modification on the first page!', {
    x: 5,
    y: 235,
    color: '#F62727',
  })
  .drawRectangle({
    x: 150,
    y: 150,
    width: 50,
    height: 50,
    color: '#81C744',
  });

// Modify second page in document
const jpgPath = // in iOS Path to a JPG image on the file system... in Android path to the assert
const pngPath = // in iOS Path to a PNG image on the file system... in Android path to the assert
const page2 = PDFPage
  .modify(1)
  .drawText('You can add images to modified pages too!')
  .drawImage(
    jpgPath,
    'jpg',
    {
      x: 5,
      y: 125,
      width: 200,
      height: 100,
      source: 'assets' // 'assets' to get image from Android assets 'path' to get image from imagePath
    }
  )
  .drawImage(
    pngPath,
    'png',
    {
      x: 5,
      y: 25,
      width: 200,
      height: 100,
      source: 'path' // 'assets' to get image from Android assets 'path' to get image from imagePath
    }
   );

// Create a PDF page to add to document
const page3 = PDFPage
  .create()
  .setMediaBox(200, 200)
  .drawText('You can add new pages to a modified PDF as well!', {
    x: 5,
    y: 235,
    color: '#007386',
  });

const existingPDF = 'path/to/existing.pdf';
PDFDocument
  .modify(existingPDF)
  .modifyPages(page1, page2)
  .addPage(page3)
  .write() // Returns a promise that resolves with the PDF's path
  .then(path => {
    console.log('PDF modified at: ' + path);
  });

Using custom fonts

The library includes Times New Roman as the default font. For using other fonts, you must include any of them like this.

1. If you dont already have some folder for your assets, create one ('./assets/fonts' for example)
2. Ensure your TTF file is named the same as the internal font "Full Name" so it works both on iOS and Android (more on this here https://medium.com/react-native-training/react-native-custom-fonts-ccc9aacf9e5e)
3. Copy the TTF file on the ./assets/fonts folder
4. Edit your package.json and tell react-native about your new assets folder like this:

  "rnpm": {
    "assets": [
      "./assets/fonts"
    ]
  }

5. Run react-native link (so the font will be bundled with your app's assets).

This way, you could start using your shiny custom font on your PDF's like this:

const page1 = PDFPage.create()
  .setMediaBox(200, 200)
  .drawText("This text is using the font Franklin Gothic Medium!", {
    x: 5,
    y: 235,
    color: "#F62727",
    fontName: "Franklin Gothic Medium"
  });

Measuring text

Measuring some text can be very useful, for example for centering some title, etc.

return PDFLib.measureText(
  "My Centered Title",
  "Franklin Gothic Medium",
  14
).then(result => {
  console.log("The text size is: ", result);
});

Manual installation

iOS

1. In XCode, in the project navigator, right click Libraries ➜ Add Files to [your project's name]
2. Go to node_modules ➜ react-native-pdf-lib and add RNPdfLib.xcodeproj
3. In XCode, in the project navigator, select your project. Add libRNPdfLib.a to your project's Build Phases ➜ Link Binary With Libraries
4. Run your project (Cmd+R)<

Android

1. Open up android/app/src/main/java/[...]/MainActivity.java

• Add import com.reactlibrary.PdfLibPackage; to the imports at the top of the file
• Add new PdfLibPackage() to the list returned by the getPackages() method

2. Append the following lines to android/settings.gradle:

   include ':react-native-pdf-lib'
   project(':react-native-pdf-lib').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir, 	'../node_modules/react-native-pdf-lib/android')
   

3. Insert the following lines inside the dependencies block in android/app/build.gradle:

     compile project(':react-native-pdf-lib')
   

4. For Android, add the following to your app's build.gradle file:

   android {
     ...
     // Add this section:
     dexOptions {
         jumboMode = true
     }
     ...
   }