HTML to PDF Printer API Usage

This document explains how to use the HTML to PDF Printer API provided in the app.py file of the Multidialogo repository.

Overview

The HTML to PDF Printer is a Python web application that converts HTML documents into PDF files. It utilizes the Flask web framework to create an API endpoint that accepts HTML content and returns a PDF file.

Prerequisites

Before using this API, ensure you have the following installed:

• Python 3.x
• Flask
• pdfkit (for converting HTML to PDF)
• wkhtmltopdf (a command-line tool used by pdfkit)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Multidialogo/html-to-pdf-printer.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd html-to-pdf-printer

3. Install the required Python packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Ensure wkhtmltopdf is installed on your system. You can download it from wkhtmltopdf.org and follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Running the Application

To run the application, execute the following command:

python src/app.py

This will start the Flask server, which listens for requests on http://127.0.0.1:5000.

Docker quick start

docker compose build

docker compose run --rm test

docker compose run --rm app

API Endpoint

Convert HTML to PDF

• URL: /convert
• Method: POST
• Content-Type: application/json
• Accept: application/pdf

Request Body

The request body should follow the JSON API format, structured as follows:

{
  "data": {
    "attributes": {
      "htmlBody": "<h1>Hello, World!</h1>",
      "outputFilename": "example.pdf"
    }
  }
}

• htmlBody: A string containing the HTML content to be converted to PDF.
• outputFilename (optional): A string specifying the name of the output PDF file. If not provided, a default filename will be used.

Example Request Using curl

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5000/convert \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "data": {
    "attributes": {
      "htmlBody": "<h1>Hello, World!</h1>",
      "outputFilename": "example.pdf"
    }
  }
}'

Response

On success, the server responds with a PDF file. The response will have the following headers:

• Content-Type: application/pdf
• Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="output.pdf" (or the provided outputFilename)

Example Response

The response will be a PDF file download containing the converted HTML.

Error Handling

If there is an error during the conversion process, the API will respond with a JSON object structured in dot notation as follows:

{
  "errors": {
    "title": "Error Title",
    "detail": "Error message describing the issue."
  }
}

• errors.title: A string summarizing the error type.
• errors.detail: A string providing a detailed description of the error.

Conclusion

The HTML to PDF Printer API is a simple and effective way to convert HTML documents into PDF files using a RESTful API. By following the instructions above, you can easily integrate this functionality into your applications.