📄 Generate PDFs Without a Visualforce Page

🌟 Spring ’26 introduces a new way to make PDFs directly from Apex using a new static method Blob.toPdf() — no Visualforce page needed! This is a major shift from previous patterns where Visualforce (with renderAs="pdf") was almost always required to generate a PDF document.

What this means for you:

You can create a PDF purely with Apex logic.
You don’t have to create and maintain Visualforce templates (unless you want rich styling).
It works well inside triggers, batch jobs, or automation.
You can attach the PDF to a record as a File (using ContentVersion).

💡 How Blob.toPdf() Works (Basic Concept)

Instead of rendering a Visualforce page and calling .getContentAsPDF(), you now take an HTML string in code and convert it to PDF directly using:

Blob pdfBlob = Blob.toPdf(htmlContent);

That’s it — Salesforce uses the underlying Visualforce PDF rendering engine under the hood, but you do not need a .page file any more.

🛠️ Example: Create and Attach a PDF to a Record

This example shows how to generate a PDF with HTML and save it as a Salesforce File on an Account record:

public class PdfGeneratorService {

    public static void generateAndAttachPdf(Id recordId) {
        // 1. Build HTML
        String htmlContent = '<html><body>'
            + '<h1>Account Report</h1>'
            + '<p>This PDF was created using Spring 26 Blob.toPdf()</p>'
            + '</body></html>';

        // 2. Convert to PDF Blob
        Blob pdf = Blob.toPdf(htmlContent);

        // 3. Create ContentVersion to save as File
        ContentVersion cv = new ContentVersion();
        cv.Title = 'AccountReport.pdf';
        cv.PathOnClient = 'AccountReport.pdf';
        cv.VersionData = pdf;
        cv.FirstPublishLocationId = recordId;
        insert cv;
    }
}

You could call it from Execute Anonymous:

PdfGeneratorService.generateAndAttachPdf('001XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX');

✔️ This saves the PDF as a Salesforce File linked to the specified record.

📜 But What About Visualforce? Still Useful

Even though Apex-only PDF generation is now available, Visualforce pages with renderAs="pdf" still work and may still be useful for:

Complex layouts with sophisticated HTML + CSS
Templates that non-developers update easily
Scenarios where page preview matters before generating a file

So Visualforce isn’t going away — it’s just no longer the only tool for PDF creation.

Here’s how a classic Visualforce PDF page still looks (for reference):

<apex:page renderAs="pdf" controller="InvoiceController">
    <h1>Invoice</h1>
    <p>Customer: {!CustomerName}</p>
    <!-- more layout here -->
</apex:page>

🧠 Summary: Spring ’26 PDF Story

🚀 New & Modern

✔️ Blob.toPdf() lets you generate PDFs directly in Apex

✔️ No Visualforce page required

✔️ Better for automation and backend generation

📜 Classic & Still Valid

✔️ Visualforce PDF pages (renderAs="pdf") still work for rich templates and UI scenarios

📌 Quick Tip for Spring ’26 Adoption

If your app needs automated PDF generation (in triggers, queues, flows), prefer Blob.toPdf().
If your app needs rich templates or previewable pages, keep using Visualforce or mix both approaches.
Test in a sandbox first after the Spring ’26 rollout to ensure compatibility.

#Salesforce #pdfGeneration #LWC #LightningExperience #lightningWebComponent #Apex

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