IronPDF Quickstart Guide

Updated: September 17, 2026

Install IronPDF and create your first PDF in just five minutes. With its simple API, you can convert HTML, DOCX, images, and more into pixel-perfect PDFs.

1. Prerequisites

.NET Framework 4.6.2+ OR .NET Core 3.1+ OR .NET 5+
Visual C++ Redistributable (for Windows).

2. Install IronPDF

Standard IronPDF installation runs locally. If you want to deploy on Docker/microservices, check out Remote Engine Mode Guide.

1Install IronPDF with NuGet Package Manager
PM > Install-Package IronPdf
```
Install-Package IronPdf
```

2Copy and run this code snippet.

IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer
       .StaticRenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Hello World</p>")
       .SaveAs("pixelperfect.pdf");

IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer
       .StaticRenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Hello World</p>")
       .SaveAs("pixelperfect.pdf");

Dim Renderer = New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()
Renderer.StaticRenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Hello World</p>").SaveAs("pixelperfect.pdf")

Dim Renderer = New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()
Renderer.StaticRenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Hello World</p>").SaveAs("pixelperfect.pdf")

3Deploy to test on your live environment

Start using IronPDF in your project today with a free trial

NuGet Package Manager

DLL Download

Go to the IronPDF NuGet library:

In Solution Explorer, right-click on References
Select 'Manage NuGet Packages' > 'Browse' > Search IronPDF

PM > Install-Package IronPdf

Install-Package IronPdf

Download IronPDF DLL package
Unzip the ZIP file for your OS to a location within your Solution directory
In Visual Studio Solution Explorer, right-click on 'Dependencies'
'Add Project Reference' > Select 'Browse' to include all the DLLs extracted from the zip.

Platform-specific Guides

3. Apply License Key

When you purchase IronPDF licenses or choose to start with a 30-day trial, a license key will be sent to your email. Copy the key and add it at the start of your app.

IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-IRONPDF-LICENSE-KEY";

IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-IRONPDF-LICENSE-KEY";

Imports IronPdf

IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-IRONPDF-LICENSE-KEY"

Imports IronPdf

IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-IRONPDF-LICENSE-KEY"

4. Create Your First PDF

Add this at the top of your .cs file.

using IronPdf;

using IronPdf;

Imports IronPdf

Imports IronPdf

Create a Blank PDF

Convert HTML String to PDF

Convert DOCX to PDF

The simplest way to create a PDF object uses just the width and height. This PdfDocument constructor creates a blank PDF, ready for customization.

using IronPdf;

PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(270, 270);
pdf.SaveAs("blankPage.pdf");

using IronPdf;

PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument(270, 270);
pdf.SaveAs("blankPage.pdf");

Imports IronPdf

Dim pdf As New PdfDocument(270, 270)
pdf.SaveAs("blankPage.pdf")

Imports IronPdf

Dim pdf As New PdfDocument(270, 270)
pdf.SaveAs("blankPage.pdf")

Using ChromePdfRenderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf method, you can transform any HTML (including HTML5) into a PDF using the embedded Chromium engine.

using IronPdf;

IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer
       .StaticRenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Hello World</p>")
       .SaveAs("string-to-pdf.pdf");

using IronPdf;

IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer
       .StaticRenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Hello World</p>")
       .SaveAs("string-to-pdf.pdf");

Convert Word documents to PDF with the DocxToPdfRenderer class, you can render DOCX files directly into customizable PDFs for seamless integration into .NET apps.

using IronPdf;

DocxToPdfRenderer renderer = new DocxToPdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderDocxAsPdf("Modern-chronological-resume.docx");
pdf.SaveAs("pdfFromDocx.pdf");

using IronPdf;

DocxToPdfRenderer renderer = new DocxToPdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderDocxAsPdf("Modern-chronological-resume.docx");
pdf.SaveAs("pdfFromDocx.pdf");

Imports IronPdf

Private renderer As New DocxToPdfRenderer()
Private pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderDocxAsPdf("Modern-chronological-resume.docx")
pdf.SaveAs("pdfFromDocx.pdf")

Imports IronPdf

Private renderer As New DocxToPdfRenderer()
Private pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderDocxAsPdf("Modern-chronological-resume.docx")
pdf.SaveAs("pdfFromDocx.pdf")

5. More Advanced Examples

In addition to straightforward PDF creation and conversion, IronPDF also offers more powerful PDF customization options.

Add Headers and Footers

Redact Text

Merge PDFs

Create text headers or footers by instantiating TextHeaderFooter, adding your text, and attaching it to the PDF.

using IronPdf;

ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World!</h1>");

// Create text header
TextHeaderFooter textHeader = new TextHeaderFooter
{
    CenterText = "This is the header!",
};

// Create text footer
TextHeaderFooter textFooter = new TextHeaderFooter
{
    CenterText = "This is the footer!",
};

// Add text header and footer to the PDF
pdf.AddTextHeaders(textHeader);
pdf.AddTextFooters(textFooter);

pdf.SaveAs("addTextHeaderFooter.pdf");

using IronPdf;

ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World!</h1>");

// Create text header
TextHeaderFooter textHeader = new TextHeaderFooter
{
    CenterText = "This is the header!",
};

// Create text footer
TextHeaderFooter textFooter = new TextHeaderFooter
{
    CenterText = "This is the footer!",
};

// Add text header and footer to the PDF
pdf.AddTextHeaders(textHeader);
pdf.AddTextFooters(textFooter);

pdf.SaveAs("addTextHeaderFooter.pdf");

Imports IronPdf

Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World!</h1>")

' Create text header
Dim textHeader As New TextHeaderFooter With {
    .CenterText = "This is the header!"
}

' Create text footer
Dim textFooter As New TextHeaderFooter With {
    .CenterText = "This is the footer!"
}

' Add text header and footer to the PDF
pdf.AddTextHeaders(textHeader)
pdf.AddTextFooters(textFooter)

pdf.SaveAs("addTextHeaderFooter.pdf")

Imports IronPdf

Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World!</h1>")

' Create text header
Dim textHeader As New TextHeaderFooter With {
    .CenterText = "This is the header!"
}

' Create text footer
Dim textFooter As New TextHeaderFooter With {
    .CenterText = "This is the footer!"
}

' Add text header and footer to the PDF
pdf.AddTextHeaders(textHeader)
pdf.AddTextFooters(textFooter)

pdf.SaveAs("addTextHeaderFooter.pdf")

Redact text with ease using RedactTextOnAllPages to remove a phrase across the entire document.

using IronPdf;

PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("novel.pdf");

// Redact 'Alaric' phrase from all pages
pdf.RedactTextOnAllPages("Alaric");

pdf.SaveAs("redacted.pdf");

using IronPdf;

PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("novel.pdf");

// Redact 'Alaric' phrase from all pages
pdf.RedactTextOnAllPages("Alaric");

pdf.SaveAs("redacted.pdf");

Imports IronPdf

Private pdf As PdfDocument = PdfDocument.FromFile("novel.pdf")

' Redact 'Alaric' phrase from all pages
pdf.RedactTextOnAllPages("Alaric")

pdf.SaveAs("redacted.pdf")

Imports IronPdf

Private pdf As PdfDocument = PdfDocument.FromFile("novel.pdf")

' Redact 'Alaric' phrase from all pages
pdf.RedactTextOnAllPages("Alaric")

pdf.SaveAs("redacted.pdf")

Merge two PDF files in C# with the Merge method. Use ReplaceTextOnAllPages on any PdfDocument, new or imported, to swap old text with new.

using IronPdf;

ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>.NET6</h1>");

string oldText = ".NET6";
string newText = ".NET7";

// Replace text on all pages
pdf.ReplaceTextOnAllPages(oldText, newText);

pdf.SaveAs("replaceText.pdf");

using IronPdf;

ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>.NET6</h1>");

string oldText = ".NET6";
string newText = ".NET7";

// Replace text on all pages
pdf.ReplaceTextOnAllPages(oldText, newText);

pdf.SaveAs("replaceText.pdf");

Imports IronPdf

Private renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()

Private pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>.NET6</h1>")

Private oldText As String = ".NET6"
Private newText As String = ".NET7"

' Replace text on all pages
pdf.ReplaceTextOnAllPages(oldText, newText)

pdf.SaveAs("replaceText.pdf")

Imports IronPdf

Private renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()

Private pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>.NET6</h1>")

Private oldText As String = ".NET6"
Private newText As String = ".NET7"

' Replace text on all pages
pdf.ReplaceTextOnAllPages(oldText, newText)

pdf.SaveAs("replaceText.pdf")

Quick Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Missing Visual C++ Runtime	Install Visual C++ Redistributable - both x86 and x64 versions required for the Chrome engine
License not recognized	Verify with `IronPdf.License.IsLicensed` property. Ensure license is applied before any IronPDF operations
Slow first render	Call `IronPdf.Installation.Initialize()` at startup to pre-initialize rendering engines
Linux/Docker dependencies	Set `Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = true` for automatic dependency installation

Next Steps

Edit PDFsSee features Organize PDFsSee features Sign & Secure PDFsSee features

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install IronPDF?

You can install IronPDF using the NuGet Package Manager or by downloading the DLL package. The installation guides detail the steps for each method to ensure smooth setup.

What are the prerequisites for using IronPDF?

IronPDF requires .NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 3.1+, or .NET 5+. Additionally, the Visual C++ Redistributable is required for Windows.

How can I convert an HTML string to a PDF using IronPDF?

IronPDF uses the `ChromePdfRenderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf` method to transform HTML, including HTML5, into a PDF efficiently using Chromium rendering.

Can IronPDF work with Docker environments?

Yes, IronPDF can be deployed on Docker or microservices architecture. Check out the Remote Engine Mode Guide available on the IronPDF documentation site for more details.

How can I create a blank PDF using IronPDF?

You can create a blank PDF by initializing a `PdfDocument` with width and height, which sets up a blank document ready for customization.

What additional PDF customization options does IronPDF offer?

IronPDF provides various customization features such as adding headers and footers, redacting text, and merging PDFs to fit diverse project needs.

How do I apply a license key in IronPDF?

A license key is sent to your email upon purchasing an IronPDF license or starting a trial. Insert this key at the start of your application using `IronPdf.License.LicenseKey`.

How can I troubleshoot issues with IronPDF?

Common issues like missing Visual C++ Runtime or unrecognized licenses have specific solutions such as installing required components or verifying license application early in code execution.

Can IronPDF convert DOCX files to PDF?

Yes, with IronPDF's `DocxToPdfRenderer` class, you can seamlessly convert DOCX files to PDF, enhancing the integration capabilities of your .NET applications.

What is the easiest way to merge PDF files using IronPDF?

To merge PDFs, use the `Merge` method provided by IronPDF. It allows you to easily combine multiple documents in C# applications.

Curtis Chau

Chat with engineering team now

Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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Total downloads: 21,105,021

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Install with NuGet

Version: 2026.9

PM > Install-Package IronPdf

nuget.org/packages/IronPdf/

In Solution Explorer, right-click References, Manage NuGet Packages
Select Browse and search "IronPdf"
Select the package and install

Download DLL

Version: 2026.9

or download Windows Installer here.

Download and unzip IronPDF to a location such as ~/Libs within your Solution directory
In Visual Studio Solution Explorer, right click References. Select Browse, "IronPdf.dll"

Licenses from $999