WebToPDF Components and Deployment

This article applies to Windows 64, Linux x86_64 and MacARM version of Datalogics Adobe PDF Library (APDFL) 21. Feature availability, component filenames, file sizes, and deployment requirements may differ on other platforms or in other APDFL versions.

Description

WebToPDF converts web pages and HTML content to PDF. It supports web content that uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it useful for producing PDFs from web-based documents and layouts.

Applications can use this feature to create PDF versions of online content, HTML reports, or documents generated from web templates.

WebToPDF is provided through a separate installer and is added to an APDFL installation when this capability is needed.

Samples

In an installation with WebToPDF, the sample is located at:
CPlusPlus\Sample_Source\DocumentConversion\ConvertWebToPDF\ConvertWebToPDF.cpp

It renders a web page to PDF. The investigation used self-contained HTML with CSS and JavaScript to avoid dependence on a live website.

Public sample (github): ConvertWebToPDF

Files

Paths are relative to the SDK root. Sizes are uncompressed file lengths, rounded to two decimal places. Sizes and savings may vary by SDK build.

Windows

These files comprise the WebToPDF plug-in, server and helper programs, and Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) payload. The locales directory in the inspected installation contains only en-US.pak. Other installer versions or additional locales change the total.

Linux x86_64

Symbolic links belonging to this component:

• CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi → CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi.21.0.4
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi.21.0.4 → CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi.21.0.4.0

A displayed size of 0.00 MB denotes a nonempty file smaller than the two-decimal rounding threshold; exact byte counts are retained in the evidence inventory.

MacARM

Omitting the Feature When Unused

Windows

If WebToPDF is unused, its separate installer can be left uninstalled. In a deployment that already includes the feature, omit all listed WebToPDF and CEF files together, provided no other retained product component uses them. The combined saving is 333.61 MB.

With the complete payload absent, tested PDF opening, text extraction, rendering, saving, reopening, and library shutdown succeeded with matching results. PDFs previously produced by WebToPDF remained usable. Positive HTML conversion produced a readable one-page PDF.

Linux x86_64

When web conversion is not needed, WebToPDF can remain uninstalled. In an installation that contains it, omit the following complete payload, provided it is not reused by another application capability:

• CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi.21.0.4
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi.21.0.4.0
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/WebToPDFServer
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/chrome_100_percent.pak
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/chrome_200_percent.pak
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/icudtl.dat
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/libEGL.so
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/libGLESv2.so
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/libcef.so
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/libvk_swiftshader.so
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/libvulkan.so.1
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/locales
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/resources.pak
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/v8_context_snapshot.bin
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/vk_swiftshader_icd.json
• CPlusPlus/Binaries/webtopdf_helper

This saves 298.40 MB. With the listed exclusive components absent, APDFL initialization, PDF opening, text extraction, rendering, saving, reopening, and termination succeeded on the tested inputs. Word counts, rendered-image hashes, and document measurements matched the corresponding baseline. A PDF previously generated from HTML also remained usable. Separate tests omitted only the plug-in, only the server, or only `libcef.so`; ordinary PDF operations succeeded in each case.

Keep the standard APDFL libraries and resources. The CEF file `icudtl.dat` belongs to this payload; it is distinct from the shared APDFL ICU library families, which remain required by the retained SDK.

Mac ARM

Native ARM64 tests established successful feature use before omission. With the components listed below absent, APDFL initialization, PDF opening, text extraction, rendering, saving, reopening, and termination succeeded for the tested documents. Extracted text and rendered pixels matched the corresponding baseline, including PDFs previously produced by the optional features. The successful HTML-conversion baseline ran from Terminal because the restricted execution environment prevented the bundled browser from registering with macOS.

Exact tested runtime omission list:

• CPlusPlus/Binaries/DL210WebToPDF.ppi` (entire directory)

Runtime payload savings: 256.40 MB. Development headers and samples are not included in this figure.

The bundle uses the main APDFL frameworks, including `DL210pdfsettings.framework` and `DL210ARE.framework`. Those frameworks are not exclusive WebToPDF files. Preserve the entire browser application structure when WebToPDF is installed; copying only the top-level plug-in executable omits its conversion engine. The separate package also contains resource directories that overlap the main SDK. Removing the main fonts, CMaps, Unicode resources, or color profiles is not part of omitting WebToPDF.

Application considerations

Windows

Remove unconditional WebToPDF calls when the feature is omitted. For optional installation, check the WebToPDF function table and the result of WebToPDFInitialize. A present plug-in does not establish readiness: missing server or CEF files caused initialization failure. The APIs expose diagnostics for these failures. Complete final WebToPDFShutdown before APDFL termination when the feature has been used.

Retain APDFL's icuuc78.dll and icudt78.dll; they are distinct from Chromium's icudtl.dat. Retain other core dependencies and required font, CMap, Unicode, and color-profile resources. Validate the final product's retained workflows in an isolated deployment.

Linux x86_64

Check the WebToPDF HFT before invoking its APIs. Then check `WebToPDFInitialize()` and conversion results. A present plug-in does not guarantee a usable server: omitting the server or CEF caused initialization to fail. Avoid unconditional conversion calls when this installer is not part of the deployment.

Keep executable permissions and the server/helper runtime layout intact when the feature is used, and provide its required Linux system libraries. The tested host completed HTML/CSS/JavaScript conversion over a headless SSH session. Other runtime environments and remote websites can have additional requirements.

Perform WebToPDF cleanup and call `WebToPDFShutdown()` before terminating APDFL, following the installed header guidance. Keep generated PDFs independently of the conversion runtime.

MacARM

Obtain the table with `ASExtensionMgrGetHFT(ASAtomFromString(WebToPDFHFTName), WebToPDFHFTVersion)` and check it before any WebToPDF call. Check `WebToPDFInitialize()`, then inspect the `WebToPDFResultCode` and `WebToPDFGetLastError()` for conversion failures. A present table does not prove that the helper process or Chromium can start. `WebToPDFTerminate()` ends a session; the installed headers additionally require `WebToPDFShutdown()` at final end-of-life before unloading the plug-in or terminating APDFL. Preserve bundle signing and relative loader paths, and distinguish helper launch, IPC, loading, and file-access failures from missing-feature errors. In this release, the tested conversion-info page count was zero despite a successful one-page PDF; reopening the PDF confirmed its actual page count and text.

Removing files alone is insufficient if application startup or a document workflow unconditionally calls the feature. Feature availability, feature initialization, and successful completion of a requested operation are separate checks.

How to Get Additional Help

Contact Datalogics Tech Support 

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