---
layout: docs
title: Convert HTML Files
permalink: dev/adr/0007_convert_html_files
---

# {{ page.title }}

## Context and Problem Statement

How can HTML documents be converted into a PDF file that looks as much
as possible like the original?

It would be nice to have a java-only solution. But if an external tool
has a better outcome, then an external tool is fine, too.

Since Docspell is free software, the tools must also be free.


## Considered Options

* [pandoc](https://pandoc.org/) external command
* [wkhtmltopdf](https://wkhtmltopdf.org/) external command
* [Unoconv](https://github.com/unoconv/unoconv) external command

Native (firefox) view:

<div class="thumbnail">
  <img src="./img/example-html-native.jpg" title="Native view of an HTML example file">
</div>

Note: the example html is from
[here](https://www.sparksuite.com/open-source/invoice.html).

I downloaded the HTML file to disk together with its resources (using
*Save as...* in the browser).


### Pandoc

<div class="thumbnail">
  <img src="./img/example-html-pandoc-latex.jpg" title="Pandoc (Latex) HTML->PDF">
</div>

<div class="thumbnail">
  <img src="./img/example-html-pandoc-html.jpg" title="Pandoc (html) HTML->PDF">
</div>

Not showing the version using `context` pdf-engine, since it looked
very similiar to the latex variant.


### wkhtmltopdf

<div class="thumbnail">
  <img src="./img/example-html-wkhtmltopdf.jpg" title="wkhtmltopdf HTML->PDF">
</div>


### Unoconv


<div class="thumbnail">
  <img src="./img/example-html-unoconv.jpg" title="Unoconv HTML->PDF">
</div>


## Decision Outcome

wkhtmltopdf.

It shows the best results.