How to Convert XML to PDF Using the Apryse Server SDK

XML is fantastic for data interchange like financial transactions or medical records, but it has no clear visual representation that’s easily readable to a human. Converting XML to PDF means transforming structured XML data into a formatted, human-readable PDF document, typically by mapping XML elements to a template. To get from a .xml file to a meaningful PDF, you usually have two choices:

With the Apryse Server SDK, you can go the template route for this document generation task by designing a DOCX file and then using JSON to map the data to that layout.

This blog will look at how to do this using the Apryse Server SDK in Python and look at some commonly asked questions.

The Apryse Server SDK is optimized for JSON because JSON is the universal language of modern web data. To bridge the gap, we first need to convert our XML to JSON to make it truly usable.

Note: XML often includes attributes and nested tags that can be a bit redundant. When converting to JSON, your goal is to create a clean hierarchy that matches your document’s logical sections such as a "Customer" object containing an array of "Invoices".

Just like in our blog on generating a PDF from a CSV File, we’ll use the weather data for US cities. I’ve converted the CSV to XML using an online converter, and here’s an example of what it looks like when opened in Notepad.

Now that we have our XML, we need to convert it to JSON. By doing a quick online search, you can find a number of XML to JSON converters. Or you can write your own script.

Here’s the same data converted to JSON. This example shows the data for Alabama. As part of the conversion, we’ve restructured it, removed unwanted data, and created just what we needed. You’ll need to do the same with your data for what you need.

Now that our data is in JSON format, create a DOCX file with a table and use double curly braces {{ }} to mark where the data should go.

Loops: Use {{#rows}} and {{/rows}} to tell the engine: "Repeat this row for every city in my XML." Remember to use {{endloop}} to mark the end of the loop. Loops can also be nested.

Styling: Want the temperature to be Red if it’s over 90 degrees? You can handle conditional formatting or simply style the tag itself in the template. The SDK respects your fonts, margins, and colors perfectly.

Here’s the DOCX file with the tags set up.

Now that both the JSON data and the template are done, we’re ready to let the Apryse engine handle building the PDF for us. You don't even need Word installed on your server as this is a high-performance, standalone process.

Note: In this example, we’re using Python to handle the task, but this can be done in other languages as well such as C#, C++, Java, and more.

The following code creates a template from your DOCX file and then loads the JSON data file (day-3-01-2016-stringified_by-state.json). It fills in the template and saves the final file as a PDF.

Now here’s a look at the final file as a PDF with some weather data for Alabama and Alaska.

Just like converting CSV to PDF, we can handle this using Fluent for a way that involves less coding. Fluent is a document automation platform that simplifies report creation with minimal coding and allows users to design and manage data-driven Microsoft Office templates at scale to generate dynamic documents such as PDFs or Word files.

Key Features

Can I handle very large XML files?

Yes. For large files, you can stream the XML parsing and generate the JSON in chunks. The Apryse engine is built for server-side performance and can handle high-volume document generation with a low memory usage.

What about complex nested loops?

Apryse supports nested loops. If your XML has Regions -> States -> Cities -> Districts, you can nest your {{#loop}} tags in your DOCX file to create nested tables or indented lists.

Do I need to worry about fonts?

As long as the font used in your DOCX file is available to the server SDK (or embedded), the PDF will look identical to the template design.

As we’ve seen, turning XML into a PDF isn’t as difficult as it seems. By using JSON as your data bridge and DOCX as your layout template, you can turn a complex coding task into a simple, maintainable workflow.

The Apryse Server SDK gives you the power to generate these documents at scale while maintaining total control over your data security and sovereignty. It also has many other benefits and features, such as digital signatures, redaction, and annotation that you can then use with your PDFs.

Try the Apryse Server SDK with a free trial or check out the documentation.

Contact our sales team or join the Apryse Discord community for any questions.