cfhtmltopdf

Last updated on Feb 25, 2025 | Also applies to ColdFusion

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ColdFusion functions

ColdFusion functions by category
Functions a-b
1. Abs
2. ACos
3. AddSOAPRequestHeader
4. AddSOAPResponseHeader
5. AjaxLink
6. AjaxOnLoad
7. ApplicationStop
8. ArrayAppend
9. ArrayAvg
10. ArrayClear
11. ArrayContains
12. ArrayContainsNoCase
13. ArrayDelete
14. ArrayDeleteAt
15. ArrayDeleteNoCase
16. ArrayEach
17. ArrayFilter
18. ArrayFind
19. ArrayFindAll
20. ArrayFindAllNoCase
21. ArrayFindNoCase
22. ArrayInsertAt
23. ArrayIsDefined
24. ArrayIsEmpty
25. ArrayLen
26. ArrayMap
27. ArrayMax
28. ArrayMin
29. ArrayNew
30. ArrayPrepend
31. ArrayReduce
32. ArrayResize
33. ArraySet
34. ArraySetMetadata
35. ArraySlice
36. ArraySort
37. ArraySum
38. ArraySwap
39. ArrayToList
40. Asc
41. ASin
42. Atn
43. AuthenticatedContext
44. AuthenticatedUser
45. BinaryDecode
46. BinaryEncode
47. BitAnd
48. BitMaskClear
49. BitMaskRead
50. BitMaskSet
51. BitNot
52. BitOr
53. BitSHLN
54. BitSHRN
55. BitXor
56. BooleanFormat
Functions-c-d
Functions-e-g
Functions-h-im
Functions-in-k
Functions-l
Functions-m-r
Functions-s
Functions-t-z
1. Tan
2. ThreadJoin
3. ThreadTerminate
4. Throw
5. TimeFormat
6. ToBase64
7. ToBinary
8. ToScript
9. ToString
10. Trace
11. Transactionandconcurrency
12. TransactionCommit
13. TransactionRollback
14. TransactionSetSavePoint
15. Trim
16. UCase
17. URLDecode
18. URLEncodedFormat
19. URLSessionFormat
20. Val
21. ValueList
22. VerifyClient
23. Week
24. Wrap
25. WriteDump
26. WriteLog
27. WriteOutput
28. WSGetAllChannels
29. WSGetSubscribers
30. WSPublish
31. WSSendMessage
32. XmlChildPos
33. XmlElemNew
34. XmlFormat
35. XmlGetNodeType
36. XmlNew
37. XmlParse
38. XmlSearch
39. XmlTransform
40. XmlValidate
41. Year
42. YesNoFormat

ColdFusion tags

ColdFusion tag summary
ColdFusion tags by category
1. Application framework tags
  1. cfapplication
  2. cfassociate
  3. cferror
  4. cfimport
  5. cfinterface
  6. cflock
  7. cfscript
  8. cfthread
2. Communications tags
3. Database manipulation tags
4. Data output tags
  1. cfchart
5. Debugging tags
  1. cfdump
  2. cftimer
  3. cftrace
6. Exception handling tags
  1. cfcatch
  2. cferror
  3. cffinally
  4. cfrethrow
  5. cfthrow
  6. cftry
7. Extensibility tags
  1. cfchart
  2. cfchartdata
  3. cfchartseries
  4. cfcollection
  5. cfcomponent
  6. cfexecute
  7. cfftp
  8. function
  9. cfindex
  10. cfinterface
  11. cfinvoke
  12. cfinvokeargument
  13. cfobject
  14. cfproperty
  15. cfreport
  16. cfreportparam
  17. cfreturn
  18. cfsearch
  19. cfsharepoint
  20. cfspreadsheet
  21. cfwddx
  22. cfxml
8. File management tags
  1. cfdirectory
  2. cffile
  3. cffileupload
  4. cfftp
  5. cfzip
  6. cfzipparam
9. Flow-control tags
  1. cfabort
  2. cfbreak
  3. cfcase
  4. cfcontinue
  5. cfdefaultcase
  6. cfelse
  7. cfelseif
  8. cfexecute
  9. cfexit
  10. cfif
  11. cfinclude
  12. cflocation
  13. cfloop
  14. cfrethrow
  15. cfswitch
  16. cfthrow
  17. cftry
10. Forms tags
  1. cfapplet
  2. cfcalendar
  3. cffileupload
  4. cfform
  5. cfformgroup
  6. cfformitem
  7. cfgrid
  8. cfgridcolumn
  9. cfgridrow
  10. cfgridupdate
  11. cfinput
  12. cfpdf
  13. cfpdfform
  14. cfpdfformparam
  15. cfpdfparam
  16. cfpdfsubform
  17. cfselect
  18. cfslider
  19. cftextarea
  20. cftree
  21. cftreeitem
11. Internet Protocol tags
  1. cfajaximport
  2. cfajaxproxy
  3. cfftp
  4. cffeed
  5. cfimap
  6. cfhttp
  7. cfhttpparam
  8. cfldap
  9. cfmail
  10. cfmailparam
  11. cfmailpart
  12. cfpop
  13. cfsprydataset
12. Page processing tags
  1. cfcache
  2. cfcontent
  3. cfflush
  4. cfheader
  5. cfhtmlhead
  6. cfinclude
  7. cfprocessingdirective
  8. cfsetting
  9. cfsilent
13. Security tags
14. Variable manipulation tags
  1. cfcookie
  2. cfdump
  3. cfparam
  4. cfregistry
  5. cfsavecontent
  6. cfschedule
  7. cfset
  8. cfsetting
15. Other tags
  1. cfimage
  2. cflog
  3. cfregistry
Tags a-b
Tags c
Tags f
Tags g-h
1. cfgraph
2. cfgraphdata
3. cfgrid
4. cfgridcolumn
5. cfgridrow
6. cfgridupdate
7. cfheader
8. cfhtmlhead
9. cfhtmltopdf
10. cfhtmltopdfitem
11. cfhttp
12. cfhttpparam
Tags i
1. cfif
2. cfimage
3. cfimap
4. cfimapfilter
5. cfimpersonate
6. cfimport
7. cfinclude
8. cfindex
9. cfinput
10. cfinsert
11. cfinterface
12. cfinvoke
13. cfinvokeargument
Tags j-l
Tags m-o
Tags p-q
1. cfparam
2. cfpdf
3. cfpdfform
4. cfpdfformparam
5. cfpdfparam
6. cfpdfsubform
7. cfpod
8. cfpop
9. cfpresentation
10. cfpresentationslide
11. cfpresenter
12. cfprint
13. cfprocessingdirective
14. cfprocparam
15. cfprocresult
16. cfprogressbar
17. cfproperty
18. cfquery
19. cfqueryparam
Tags r-s
1. cfregistry
2. cfreport
3. cfreportparam
4. cfrethrow
5. cfreturn
6. cfsavecontent
7. cfschedule
8. cfscript
9. cfsearch
10. cfselect
11. cfservlet
12. cfservletparam
13. cfset
14. cfsetting
15. cfsharepoint
16. cfsilent
17. cfslider
18. cfspreadsheet
19. cfsprydataset
20. cfstoredproc
21. cfswitch
Tags t
1. cftable
2. cftextarea
3. cftextinput
4. cfthread
5. cfthrow
6. cftimer
7. cftooltip
8. cftrace
9. cftransaction
10. cftree
11. cftreeitem
12. cftry
Tags u-z
1. cfupdate
2. cfwddx
3. cfwebsocket
4. cfwindow
5. cfxml
6. cfzip
7. cfzipparam

CFML Reference

Cloud services

CFML Reference User Guide
ColdFusion functions
ColdFusion tags
1. ColdFusion tag summary
2. ColdFusion tags by category
  1. Application framework tags
    1. cfapplication
    2. cfassociate
    3. cferror
    4. cfimport
    5. cfinterface
    6. cflock
    7. cfscript
    8. cfthread
  2. Communications tags
  3. Database manipulation tags
  4. Data output tags
    1. cfchart
  5. Debugging tags
    1. cfdump
    2. cftimer
    3. cftrace
  6. Exception handling tags
    1. cfcatch
    2. cferror
    3. cffinally
    4. cfrethrow
    5. cfthrow
    6. cftry
  7. Extensibility tags
    1. cfchart
    2. cfchartdata
    3. cfchartseries
    4. cfcollection
    5. cfcomponent
    6. cfexecute
    7. cfftp
    8. function
    9. cfindex
    10. cfinterface
    11. cfinvoke
    12. cfinvokeargument
    13. cfobject
    14. cfproperty
    15. cfreport
    16. cfreportparam
    17. cfreturn
    18. cfsearch
    19. cfsharepoint
    20. cfspreadsheet
    21. cfwddx
    22. cfxml
  8. File management tags
    1. cfdirectory
    2. cffile
    3. cffileupload
    4. cfftp
    5. cfzip
    6. cfzipparam
  9. Flow-control tags
    1. cfabort
    2. cfbreak
    3. cfcase
    4. cfcontinue
    5. cfdefaultcase
    6. cfelse
    7. cfelseif
    8. cfexecute
    9. cfexit
    10. cfif
    11. cfinclude
    12. cflocation
    13. cfloop
    14. cfrethrow
    15. cfswitch
    16. cfthrow
    17. cftry
  10. Forms tags
    1. cfapplet
    2. cfcalendar
    3. cffileupload
    4. cfform
    5. cfformgroup
    6. cfformitem
    7. cfgrid
    8. cfgridcolumn
    9. cfgridrow
    10. cfgridupdate
    11. cfinput
    12. cfpdf
    13. cfpdfform
    14. cfpdfformparam
    15. cfpdfparam
    16. cfpdfsubform
    17. cfselect
    18. cfslider
    19. cftextarea
    20. cftree
    21. cftreeitem
  11. Internet Protocol tags
    1. cfajaximport
    2. cfajaxproxy
    3. cfftp
    4. cffeed
    5. cfimap
    6. cfhttp
    7. cfhttpparam
    8. cfldap
    9. cfmail
    10. cfmailparam
    11. cfmailpart
    12. cfpop
    13. cfsprydataset
  12. Page processing tags
    1. cfcache
    2. cfcontent
    3. cfflush
    4. cfheader
    5. cfhtmlhead
    6. cfinclude
    7. cfprocessingdirective
    8. cfsetting
    9. cfsilent
  13. Security tags
  14. Variable manipulation tags
    1. cfcookie
    2. cfdump
    3. cfparam
    4. cfregistry
    5. cfsavecontent
    6. cfschedule
    7. cfset
    8. cfsetting
  15. Other tags
    1. cfimage
    2. cflog
    3. cfregistry
3. Tags a-b
4. Tags c
5. Tags f
6. Tags g-h
  1. cfgraph
  2. cfgraphdata
  3. cfgrid
  4. cfgridcolumn
  5. cfgridrow
  6. cfgridupdate
  7. cfheader
  8. cfhtmlhead
  9. cfhtmltopdf
  10. cfhtmltopdfitem
  11. cfhttp
  12. cfhttpparam
7. Tags i
  1. cfif
  2. cfimage
  3. cfimap
  4. cfimapfilter
  5. cfimpersonate
  6. cfimport
  7. cfinclude
  8. cfindex
  9. cfinput
  10. cfinsert
  11. cfinterface
  12. cfinvoke
  13. cfinvokeargument
8. Tags j-l
9. Tags m-o
10. Tags p-q
  1. cfparam
  2. cfpdf
  3. cfpdfform
  4. cfpdfformparam
  5. cfpdfparam
  6. cfpdfsubform
  7. cfpod
  8. cfpop
  9. cfpresentation
  10. cfpresentationslide
  11. cfpresenter
  12. cfprint
  13. cfprocessingdirective
  14. cfprocparam
  15. cfprocresult
  16. cfprogressbar
  17. cfproperty
  18. cfquery
  19. cfqueryparam
11. Tags r-s
  1. cfregistry
  2. cfreport
  3. cfreportparam
  4. cfrethrow
  5. cfreturn
  6. cfsavecontent
  7. cfschedule
  8. cfscript
  9. cfsearch
  10. cfselect
  11. cfservlet
  12. cfservletparam
  13. cfset
  14. cfsetting
  15. cfsharepoint
  16. cfsilent
  17. cfslider
  18. cfspreadsheet
  19. cfsprydataset
  20. cfstoredproc
  21. cfswitch
12. Tags t
  1. cftable
  2. cftextarea
  3. cftextinput
  4. cfthread
  5. cfthrow
  6. cftimer
  7. cftooltip
  8. cftrace
  9. cftransaction
  10. cftree
  11. cftreeitem
  12. cftry
13. Tags u-z
  1. cfupdate
  2. cfwddx
  3. cfwebsocket
  4. cfwindow
  5. cfxml
  6. cfzip
  7. cfzipparam
CFML Reference
1. Reserved words and variables
2. Ajax JavaScript functions
3. ColdFusion ActionScript functions
4. ColdFusion mobile functions
5. Application.cfc reference
6. Script functions implemented as CFCs
7. ColdFusion Flash Form style reference
8. ColdFusion event gateway reference
9. ColdFusion C++ CFX Reference
10. ColdFusion Java CFX reference
11. WDDX JavaScript Objects
Cloud services

<cfhtmltopdf> creates high quality PDF output from a text block containing CFML and HTML using the PDF Service Manager.

The WebKit implementation for <cfhtmltopdf> is referred as PDFG (acronym of PDF Generator) which is shipped as part of the Jetty installer. The component running inside the Jetty server is referred as the service manager, which takes request for PDF conversion from one or many ColdFusion server/s.

The WebKit implementation for <cfhtmltopdf>:

Encapsulates the PDF conversion library.
Performs HTML to PDF conversion in process.

The enhanced PDF engine in ColdFusion, version 2.0, is a powerful tool for converting HTML to high-quality PDF standards. It supports HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, allowing developers to create complex layouts and designs easily. The engine is particularly useful for generating professional-looking PDF documents without requiring extra coding beyond standard HTML usage.

View Enhanced PDF 2.0 in ColdFusion for more information.

Note:

ColdFusion (2025 release) updates to PDFg service

In this release, ColdFusion has introduced IP based filtering on the Jetty side. The ipaccess module has been enabled in the start.ini file. In the etc folder of Jetty server, add the jetty-ipaccess.xml file. In this file there are two sets, "white" and "black", which will allow and block the specified IPs respectively.

When you generate a PDF using HTML or CFML, you have to ensure that XSS vulnerabilities cannot be exploited. Hence, you must take relevant measures to protect your system against such vulnerabilities. Also, note that ColdFusion provides encoding functions for XSS protection. See the following functions:

History

ColdFusion (2025 release): The cfhtmltopdf tag supports the pre-filling of PDF forms, though the preview experience may vary by browser. Adobe Acrobat and Firefox handle pre-filled forms as expected, while Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge might show differences. These discrepancies occur because Chrome and Edge use custom PDF viewers that may not fully support certain dynamic features or JavaScript interactions within PDF forms.
ColdFusion (2016 release) Update 3 - Added the attribute language.

Syntax

encryption = "AES_128|RC4_40|RC4_128|RC4_128M|None"
source = "URL|pathname absolute or relative to web root"
destination = "filename"

conformance="PDF 2.0 supports the creation of PDF/A-1a or PDF/A-3a conformant files, as well as other PDF/A subformats."
language="language name"
marginBottom = "number"
marginLeft = "number"
marginRight = "number"
marginTop = "number"
name = "output variable name"
orientation = "portrait|landscape"
overwrite = "yes|no"
ownerPassword = "password"
pageHeight = "page height in inches(default)"
pageType = "page type"
pageWidth = "page width in inches(default)"
permissions = "permission list"
saveAsName = "PDF filename"
unit = "in|cm"
userPassword = "password"

HTML and CFML code

</cfhtmltopdf>

Attributes

Attribute	Req/Opt	Default	Description
encryption	Optional	none	AES_128 RC4_40 RC4_128 RC4_128M None
source	Required		URL of the source HTML document. In ColdFusion 11, an HTTP URL auto-redirects to an HTTPS URL. In ColdFusion 2016, enter the HTTPS URL manually as there will be no auto-redirects from HTTP to HTTPS.
conformance	Optional		The supported PDF/A conformance levels are PDF/A-1a, PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2a, PDF/A-2b, PDF/A-2u, PDF/A-3a, PDF/A-3b and PDF/A-3u. For more information, view Enhanced PDF 2.0 in ColdFusion.
destination	Optional		Pathname of a file to contain the PDF output. If you omit the destination attribute, ColdFusion displays the output in the browser.
language	Optional	English	Document language.
marginBottom	Optional		Bottom margin in inches (default) or centimeters. To specify the bottom margin in centimeters, include the unit=cm attribute.
marginLeft	Optional		Left margin in inches (default) or centimeters. To specify the left margin in centimeters, include the unit=cm attribute.
marginRight	Optional		Right margin in inches (default) or centimeters. To specify the right margin in centimeters, include the unit=cm attribute.
marginTop	Optional		Top margin in inches (default) or centimeters. To specify the top margin in centimeters, include the unit=cm attribute.
name	Optional		Name of an existing variable into which the tag stores the PDF.
orientation	Optional	portrait	Page orientation: portrait landscape
overwrite	Optional	no	Specifies whether ColdFusion overwrites an existing file. Used in conjunction with the destination attribute.
ownerPassword	Optional		Specifies the owner password. Cannot be same as userPassword.
pageHeight	Optional		Page height in inches (default) or centimeters. This attribute is only valid if pagetype=custom. To specify page height in centimeters, include the unit=cm attribute.
pageType	Optional	letter	Page type into which ColdFusion generates the report: legal: 8.5 inches x 14 inches. letter: 8.5 inches x 11 inches. A4: 8.27 inches x 11.69 inches. A5: 5.81 inches x 8.25 inches. B4: 9.88 inches x 13.88 inches. B5: 7 inches x 9.88 inches. B4-JIS: 10.13 inches x 14.31 inches. B5-JIS: 7.19 inches x 10.13 inches. custom: custom height and width. If you specify custom , also specify the pageHeight and pageWidth attributes, can optionally specify margin attributes and whether the units are inches or centimeters.
pageWidth	Optional		Page width in inches (default) or centimeters. This attribute is only valid if pageType=custom. To specify page width in centimeters, include the unit=cm attribute.
permissions	Optional		(format="PDF" only) Sets one or more of the following permissions: AllowPrinting AllowModifyContents AllowCopy AllowModifyAnnotations AllowFillIn AllowScreenReaders AllowAssembly AllowDegradedPrinting AllowSecure All None Separate multiple permissions with commas.
saveAsName	Optional		The filename that appears in the SaveAs dialog when a user saves a PDF file written to the browser.
unit	Optional	in	Default unit for the pageHeight, pageWidth, and margin attributes: in: inches. cm: centimeters.
userPassword	Optional		Specifies a user password. Cannot be same as ownerPassword.

Note: <cfhtmltopdfItem> is added to support adding header/footer/pagebreak in the generated PDF. See The new <cfhtmltopdfitem> tag.

Refer to the kb doc Differences between cfdocument and cfhtmltopdf for more information.

Limitation: If you use cfhtmltopdf to convert an HTML page, that contains a form, to PDF, the resultant PDF will not contain the form fields. This is a limitation of the PDFg service, if PDFg is configured to run as a service. If you run PDFg from the command line, then the form fields will work as expected.

Examples

The following example shows the most basic usage of <cfhtmltopdf>, to create a PDF from CFML code, returning a PDF for display:

This is a test <cfoutput>#now()#</cfoutput>

</cfhtmltopdf>

<cfhtmltopdf>
This is a test <cfoutput>#now()#</cfoutput>
</cfhtmltopdf>

The following example shows the most basic usage of <cfhtmltopdf>, to create a PDF from content returned from a URL, returning a PDF for display:

<cfhtmltopdf source="http://www.google.com/" />

The following example shows using options to control height, width, and save the content to a file instead of for display. The file is saved (by default) into the same directory as the template containing the code:

<cfhtmltopdf

destination="usage_example.pdf" overwrite="yes"

source="http://www.google.com/"

unit="in" pageheight="8" pagewidth="4"

pagetype="custom" />

<cfhtmltopdf
  destination="usage_example.pdf" overwrite="yes"
  source="http://www.google.com/"
  unit="in" pageheight="8" pagewidth="4"
  pagetype="custom" />

The following example shows how you can set margins, and also adds code to display the resulting file to the user using CFContent:

<cfhtmltopdf destination="usage_example2.pdf"

source="http://www.google.com" overwrite="true"

orientation="portrait" pagetype="A4" margintop="1" marginbottom="1"

marginleft="1" marginright="1" />

<cfhtmltopdf destination="usage_example2.pdf"
  source="http://www.google.com" overwrite="true"  
  orientation="portrait"  pagetype="A4" margintop="1" marginbottom="1" 
  marginleft="1" marginright="1" />
 
<cfcontent file="#getdirectoryfrompath(getbasetemplatepath())#usage_example2.pdf" type="application/pdf" >

The following example shows how you can protect the PDF, requiring the user to enter a password to open the file:

<cfhtmltopdf destination="usage_example3.pdf "

source="http://www.google.com" overwrite="true"

orientation="portrait" pagetype="A4" margintop="1" marginbottom="1"

marginleft="1" marginright="1" ownerpassword="owner" userpassword="user"

encryption="RC4_128" permissions="AllowPrinting,AllowCopy" />

<cfhtmltopdf destination="usage_example3.pdf " 
  source="http://www.google.com" overwrite="true"
  orientation="portrait"  pagetype="A4" margintop="1" marginbottom="1"
  marginleft="1" marginright="1" ownerpassword="owner" userpassword="user"
  encryption="RC4_128" permissions="AllowPrinting,AllowCopy" />

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cfhtmltopdf

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See Also

Syntax

Attributes

Examples

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