Technical FAQs

Having the right file conversion tools in place can make or break an application. Developers frequently face the challenge of managing multiple file types within a consolidated workflow. Without effective conversion tools, users are forced to rely on external applications that compromise both efficiency and security.

Out of all the file formats developers must account for, PDFs remain among the most important. The ability to convert a wide variety of document and image file types into PDF format can provide an application with unmatched versatility. In fact, PDF conversion support is one of the keys to unlocking better workflow performance, security, and collaboration.

5 Reasons to Convert Files to PDF

1. PDF Format is Consistent

Sharing documents and images across different devices and operating systems can sometimes create problems if the recipient lacks the up-to-date software necessary to view the file properly. This is a particular challenge with documents created using Microsoft Word since the formatting could look quite different across different versions of the program. Since PDF files are designed to look the same no matter how they’re being viewed, the format is ideal for sharing. Both documents and images can display equally well as PDFs, so converting files into this format is a quick and easy way to make them accessible for viewing.

2. PDF Files Are Easily Compressed

Sharing large image files can be a challenge for many organizations. High-resolution JPEG or TIFF files are often too large to share over email or web-based applications. Converting them to compressed PDFs is a quick way to reduce file size for easier sharing while still retaining a copy of the original file. Since the compressed version is in PDF format, there is less chance of version confusion when someone needs to access the original source image.

3. PDFs Are Widely Supported

Although PDFs once required specialized viewing software, thanks to JavaScript-based libraries like PDF.js, they can now be viewed by a conventional web browser. For all intents and purposes, this has made PDF a universal file format that can be viewed on any device. Converting a file into PDF ensures that it will be accessible to anyone who is granted access to it, regardless of the device or operating system they’re using.

4. PDFs Offer Security Protections

For many organizations, protecting privacy and confidential information is incredibly important. Converting document and image files into PDF format allows them to take advantage of the standard’s security features. Passwords can be set to authorize viewing and editing access to a file, which not only helps to ensure privacy but also limits who can make changes to a file so version control is easier to maintain. Files can also be converted into PDF/A format for secure archival purposes.

5. PDFs Support Annotation Markups

Most PDF viewing solutions support some form of annotation markups, which allows multiple contributors to make notes and comments on a file. Converting documents or images into a PDF facilitates this collaboration while safely preserving the original version of the file for future reference. Since PDF viewers provide a variety of annotation tools, they offer a great deal of flexibility when it comes to marking up images and documents without having to depend upon specialized software. Image and document files with additional annotation layers can also be converted into flattened PDFs for easier viewing.

Converting Files to PDF Using ImageGear

Accusoft’s ImageGear provides an extensive array of file conversion tools that allow developers to easily save multiple document and image file types into PDF format. With these conversion capabilities built into the back end of their applications, developers can help customers streamline their file management.

Converting Microsoft Documents to PDF

ImageGear supports the conversion of multiple Microsoft Office documents, including Word (DOCX/DOC), Excel (XLSX/XLS), and PowerPoint (PPTX/PPT). The conversion engine supports all text elements, raster images, and graphic shapes for Microsoft Office Open XML and Microsoft Office 97-2003 formats. It can convert the entire document into a PDF as well as any designated page or page ranges. The following examples show how this can be done using C#.

Converting Microsoft Word to PDF

To convert a Microsoft Word document in its entirety, the first step involves loading the ImageGear filters to create the input and output instances: 

ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearOffice.CreateWordFormat());
ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearPDF.CreatePDFFormat());

For the next step, the PDF library needs to be initialized:

ImGearPDF.Initialize();

The ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument method is then used to read all pages of the file:

ImGearDocument igDocument;
using (FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(inputFileName, FileMode.Open,
       FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read))
{
   igDocument = ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(fileStream);
}
Finally, the ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument method is used to save the output PDF: 
using (FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(outputFileName, FileMode.Create,
       FileAccess.ReadWrite))
{
   ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument(igDocument, fileStream, 0,
       ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF, null);
}

Converting Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint to PDF

The process for converting Excel and PowerPoint files follows the same basic format as converting Word files. First, initialize the input, then modify the sample code from above for the appropriate formats.

To initialize Excel:

ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearOffice.CreateExcelFormat());

To modify sample’s open file dialog for XLSX/XLS extensions:

ofd.Filter = @"DOCX files (*.docx)|*.docx|XLSX files 
(*.xlsx)|*.xlsx|XLS files (*.xls)|*.xls";

To initialize PowerPoint:

ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearOffice.CreatePowerPointFormat());

To modify sample’s open file dialog for PPTX/PPT extensions:

ofd.Filter = @"DOCX files (*.docx)|*.docx|PPTX files 
(*.pptx)|*.pptx|PPT files (*.ppt)|*.ppt";

Converting an Image File to PDF

ImageGear PDF supports the conversion of multiple image types into PDF format just as easily as it converts documents, but the process looks a bit different in code. After initializing PDF support for ImageGear.NET, the following C# example can be used to load an image file and then save it as a PDF page. The conversion process can be used for any file format that ImageGear supports.

using System;
using System.IO;

using ImageGear.Core;
using ImageGear.Formats;
using ImageGear.Formats.PDF;
using ImageGear.Evaluation;

public void SaveImageAsPDF(string inputFilePathName, string outputFilePathName)
       {
           try
           {
               const int FIRST_PAGE = 0;

               // Initialize evaluation license.
               ImGearEvaluationManager.Initialize();
               ImGearEvaluationManager.Mode = ImGearEvaluationMode.Watermark;

               // Initialize common formats.
               ImageGear.Formats.ImGearCommonFormats.Initialize();

               // Add support for PDF and PS files.
               ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Insert(0, ImGearPDF.CreatePDFFormat());
               ImGearPDF.Initialize();

               // Load required page from a file.
               ImGearPage page = null;
               using (Stream stream = new FileStream(inputFilePathName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
                   page = ImGearFileFormats.LoadPage(stream, FIRST_PAGE);

               // Save page as PDF document to a file.
               using (Stream stream = new FileStream(outputFilePathName, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write))
                   ImGearFileFormats.SavePage(page, stream, FIRST_PAGE, ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF);
           }
           catch (Exception exp)
           {
               // Write error to Console window.
               Console.WriteLine(exp.Message);
           }
           finally
           {
               // Call PDF engine terminating in any case.
               ImGearPDF.Terminate();
           }
       }

Add Conversion Flexibility to Your Application with ImageGear

Accusoft’s ImageGear provides applications with comprehensive conversion, annotation, and viewing support for PDF files. As part of the broader ImageGear collection, it also delivers powerful image processing capabilities and support for multiple document and image file types. These features can help turn any application into a robust document management platform capable of streaming workflows and empowering collaboration.

If you’re ready to see how the SDK will function as part of your development environment, start your free trial and get straight to the code.

Today’s organizations are inundated with a variety of document and image formats on a regular basis. By integrating comprehensive PDF functionality into their applications, developers can provide the tools to manage those files much more easily. Converting files into PDFs makes them easier to share, modify, and annotate without having to worry about compatibility issues across applications.

Simply converting documents or images into searchable PDF files is easy enough, but in many cases, several files need to be merged into a single document or one large file must be split into multiple documents. Accusoft’s ImageGear SDK gives applications the ability to process PDFs programmatically, allowing users to quickly prepare documents for viewing and collaboration.

How to Merge PDF Files with ImageGear Using C#

ImageGear can merge two multi-page PDF documents into a single document. This is especially useful for organizations that have multiple files associated with the same workflow or account, such as loan applications or medical records. The following steps will walk you through the merge PDF process using ImageGear.NET in C#.

Step 1: Initialize PDF Support

Before getting started, you’ll need to initialize PDF support within ImageGear.NET (if you haven’t done so already during deployment). This initialization will allow your application to load, save, and process PDF files.

After creating a new “Console Application” and adding the required assembly reference and resources, you can use the following code snippet to load and save PDF files.

using System.IO;
using ImageGear.Formats;
using ImageGear.Formats.PDF;
using ImageGear.Evaluation;
namespace MyPDFProject
{
    class Program
    {
        public void Initialize()
        {
            // Initialize evaluation license.
            ImGearEvaluationManager.Initialize();
            ImGearEvaluationManager.Mode = ImGearEvaluationMode.Watermark;
            // Initialize common formats.
            ImGearCommonFormats.Initialize();
            // Add support for PDF files.
            ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Insert(0, ImGearPDF.CreatePDFFormat());
            ImGearPDF.Initialize();
        }
        public void Terminate()
        {
            // Dispose of support for PDF files.
            ImGearPDF.Terminate();
        }
        public void LoadAndSave(string fileIn, string fileOut)
        {
            ImGearPDFDocument igPDFDocument = null;
            try
            {
                // Load the PDF document.
                using (FileStream inStream = new FileStream(fileIn, FileMode.Open))
                    igPDFDocument = (ImGearPDFDocument)ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(inStream, 0, (int)ImGearPDFPageRange.ALL_PAGES);
                // Save the PDF document to a new file.
                ImGearPDFSaveOptions pdfOptions = new ImGearPDFSaveOptions();
                using (FileStream outStream = new FileStream(fileOut, FileMode.Create))
                    ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument(igPDFDocument, outStream, 0, ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF, pdfOptions);
            }
            finally
            {
                igPDFDocument?.Dispose();
            }
        }
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Program myProgram = new Program();
            myProgram.Initialize();
            myProgram.LoadAndSave(@"C:\PATHTOPDF\FILENAME.pdf", @"C:\PATHTOPDF\NEWNAME.pdf");
            myProgram.Terminate();
        }
    }
}

       

Step 2: Set the Merge PDF Parameters

You will need to determine what order the documents will be combined in and set the page numeration for the new document.

Step 3: Merge the PDF Documents

Once you’ve identified the files you want to merge and the order they should go in, you can use the “MergePdfDocuments” command to assemble the new PDF file. Here’s what the code snippet looks like in C#:

        // Merges two PDF document into a third PDF document.
        public void Merge(string fileInFirst, string fileInSecond, string fileOut)
        {
            // ImageGear uses zero-based page numbers.
            const int FIRST_PAGE_INDEX = 0;
            ImGearPDFDocument igPDFDocumentFirst = null;
            ImGearPDFDocument igPDFDocumentSecond = null;
            ImGearPDFDocument igPDFDocumentResult = null;
            try
            {
                // Load the source PDF documents.
                using (FileStream inStream = new FileStream(fileInFirst, FileMode.Open))
                    igPDFDocumentFirst = (ImGearPDFDocument)ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(inStream, 0, (int)ImGearPDFPageRange.ALL_PAGES);
                using (FileStream inStream = new FileStream(fileInSecond, FileMode.Open))
                    igPDFDocumentSecond = (ImGearPDFDocument)ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(inStream, 0, (int)ImGearPDFPageRange.ALL_PAGES);
                // Create the resulting PDF document.
                igPDFDocumentResult = new ImGearPDFDocument();
                // Copy all pages of first document into resulting PDF document.
                for (int pageIndex = FIRST_PAGE_INDEX; pageIndex < igPDFDocumentFirst.Pages.Count; pageIndex++)
                    igPDFDocumentResult.Pages.Add(igPDFDocumentFirst.Pages[pageIndex].Clone());
                // Copy all pages of second document into resulting PDF document.
                for (int pageIndex = FIRST_PAGE_INDEX; pageIndex < igPDFDocumentSecond.Pages.Count; pageIndex++)
                    igPDFDocumentResult.Pages.Add(igPDFDocumentSecond.Pages[pageIndex].Clone());
                // Save the resulting PDF document to a new file.
                ImGearPDFSaveOptions pdfOptions = new ImGearPDFSaveOptions();
                using (FileStream outStream = new FileStream(fileOut, FileMode.Create))
                    ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument(igPDFDocumentResult, outStream, 0, ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF, pdfOptions);
            }
            finally
            {
                igPDFDocumentFirst?.Dispose();
                igPDFDocumentSecond?.Dispose();
                igPDFDocumentResult?.Dispose();
            }
        }
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Program myProgram = new Program();
            myProgram.Initialize();
            myProgram.Merge(@"C:\PATHTOPDF\FIRSTFILENAME.pdf", @"C:\PATHTOPDF\SECONDFILENAME.pdf", @"C:\PATHTOPDF\NEWNAME.pdf");
            myProgram.Terminate();
        }

After merging your files into a new document, you can begin working with the resulting PDF using ImageGear’s other PDF features:

• Compressing PDF files
• Set PDF security features
• Manage PDF metadata
• Add watermarks to PDF
• Edit PDF content
• Extract text from PDF

How to Split PDF Files with ImageGear Using C#

While the merge PDF command is used to combine multiple documents into a new, single PDF file, the split PDF command saves pages from an existing document as a separate document. A three-page PDF file, for instance, can be broken into three, single-page PDF documents.

Once you’ve initialized PDF support for ImageGear.NET, you can split a PDF document by following a few simple steps:

Step 1: Read the PDF into a System.IO.Stream Object

This allows ImageGear to read the stream using ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(FILE NAME) command.

Step 2: Determine PDF Page Count

The ImGearPDFDocument.Pages property provides access to the document’s page array, which can then be used to assemble a new document.

Step 3: Create a New PDF Document

The ImGearPDFDocument object can be used to create an empty PDF document that will serve as the destination file for the split pages.

Step 4: Insert Pages into the New Document

The InsertPages command takes specific pages from the source document (the PDF you’re splitting), and inserts them into the destination document. After the pages are inserted, you can save the new PDF to disk or memory. Keep in mind that the original document will still contain all pages, so splitting it into two documents will require you to create two new documents.

Here is a what splitting a single PDF document into several single-page PDF documents looks like in C#:

public void Split(string fileIn, string directoryOut)
        {
            // ImageGear uses zero-based page numbers.
            const int FIRST_PAGE = 0;
            // Ensure output directory exists.
            if (!System.IO.Directory.Exists(directoryOut))
                Directory.CreateDirectory(directoryOut);
            // Load the source PDF document.
            using (FileStream inStream = new FileStream(fileIn, FileMode.Open))
            {
                using (ImGearPDFDocument igPDFDocument = ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(inStream, FIRST_PAGE, (int)ImGearPDFPageRange.ALL_PAGES) as ImGearPDFDocument)
                {
                    // Write each page in source PDF document to a separate PDF file.
                    for (int pageIndex = FIRST_PAGE; pageIndex < igPDFDocument.Pages.Count; pageIndex++)
                    {
                        // Construct the output filepath.
                        string outputFileName = string.Format("{0}_{1}.pdf", Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(fileIn), pageIndex + 1);
                        string outputPath = System.IO.Path.Combine(directoryOut, outputFileName);
                        // Create a new empty PDF document.
                        using (ImGearPDFDocument igPDFDocumentResult = new ImGearPDFDocument())
                        {
                            // Insert page into new PDF document.
                            igPDFDocumentResult.InsertPages((int)ImGearPDFPageNumber.BEFORE_FIRST_PAGE, igPDFDocument, pageIndex, 1, ImGearPDFInsertFlags.DEFAULT);
                            // Save new PDF document to file.
                            igPDFDocumentResult.Save(outputPath, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF, FIRST_PAGE, FIRST_PAGE, 1, ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE);
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Program myProgram = new Program();
            myProgram.Initialize();
            myProgram.Split(@"C:\PATHTOPDF\FILENAME.pdf", @"C:\PATHTOPDF\OUTPUTDIRECTORY");
            myProgram.Terminate();
        }

Enhance Your PDF Capabilities with ImageGear

Accusoft’s ImageGear SDK provides a broad range of document and image processing functions beyond the ability to split and merge PDFs. Whether you need powerful file conversion capabilities, multi-language OCR support, or image cleanup, correction, and transformation functions, ImageGear integrations can enhance your application’s performance and versatility. 

Learn more about the ImageGear collection of SDKs and see how they can help you shorten your development cycle and get your innovative products to market faster.

To comply with federal anti-money laundering/anti-terrorist laws and regulations, the USPS analyzes images of cleared postal money orders to detect possible suspicious activity. Because there are no required standards for the image formats, when the Federal Reserve initiates the digital process and issues the electronic image of the money order, the USPS must be able to read the multiple formats as well as convert the files to a standard format for analysis. Each money order is made up of two images, one each for the front and back. 

PDFs are everywhere. Vice calls them “the world’s most important file format,” and that’s not far off the mark. The sheer number of documents converted to, from, and often back to PDFs is astounding. The hard truth? They’re also frustrating to work with. Start a Google search with the word “convert” and three of the top five results involve PDFs. 

While this portable document format lives up to its namesake by making it easy for users to attach and send documents across their organizations, PDFs often run into problems when it comes to conversion, collaboration, and communication. While many tools offer piecemeal PDF functionality, they lack a complete cadre of critical capabilities, in turn forcing software engineers to use multiple software solutions for seemingly simple tasks. 

ImageGear offers a different take on the standard software development kit (SDK) designed to help developers maximize their PDF potential. Here’s how it works. 

The Value of PDF Conversion

While PDF conversion is one of the top sought-after functionalities, there’s another area that’s often overlooked: modifying the characteristics of PDFs on-screen. With companies now handling PDFs from multiple sources that may include everything from computer-generated form data to handwritten information and images, it’s no surprise that staff encounter a wide variety of viewing issues.

ImageGear PDF helps solve these problems by allowing users to call the shots on PDF content at scale with features such as:

• Conversion
• Metadata Management
• Content and Font Editing
• Text Extraction
• PDF Watermarking
• Container, Dictionary, and Layer Creation
• 3D Asset Modification

ImageGear PDF also helps improve document processing with document cleanup and advanced optical character recognition (OCR). With the ability to encrypt and decrypt entire images (or part of an image), automatic ImageClean correction of white text blocks, borders, and inverted images, plus intelligent re-sizing, any PDF can be cleaned and made more readable for the user. 

OCR support for almost any document type is also a benefit. This includes those produced on typewriters, dot-matrix printers, ink-jet printers, laser printers, and photocopied, scanned, and faxed documents. ImageGear PDF helps users control and customize multiple PDF variables, making it a fully functional PDF conversion solution for your application.

PDF Pain Points

One of the biggest PDF frustrations? The inability to break apart and combine PDF documents. Let’s imagine you have a massive legal PDF or in-depth medical file. In these circumstances, professionals only need a portion of the PDF, but without the right tools they’re stuck sending entire files when all they need is a single page. In other cases, employees might have a host of related PDFs that are part of the same project, but can’t be easily combined to save space and time.

ImageGear PDF has you covered with the ability to easily delete or insert PDF pages, render pages in a single PDF, split a PDF, merge two or more PDFs into a single file, or even merge specific pages from two or more PDFs into a single PDF. This not only makes a massive difference in time spent working with PDF documents, it helps reduce unnecessary storage and transmission of multiple files. 

Convert PDF: Multiple File Formats for Conversion

Conversion is critical for PDF success. Instead of creating complexity by forcing end-users to stick with original file formats, implementing an SDK with cutting-edge conversion empowers corporate consistency and saves on storage space. ImageGear PDF supports a host of common file formats for conversion including Microsoft Office, JPEG 2000, CAD, and SVG.

Of course, no feature forward PDF framework is complete without robust annotation, redaction, and commenting capabilities. These features make it easy for other users to see exactly what’s been changed, when, and why, along with providing a critical, auditable paper trail to meet evolving compliance and regulatory standards.

PDF Functionality for Your Application

Best of all, ImageGear isn’t designed to replace your current software, but integrate alongside existing workflows. Rather than adding another application to already-overloaded IT arsenals, straightforward SDK integration means everything happens within your own application, making it easy for everyone to find exactly what they’re looking for within familiar territory. Need help jumpstarting your SDK deployment? Check out our full list of ImageGear .NET samples for ASP.NET, CAD, OCR support, and more.

PDFs remain eternally popular and continually frustrating. Solve for document viewing, split and merge, and conversion issues and streamline employee efforts with ImageGear.