Migrate PDF Library from .NET Framework to .NET Core

24 Jul 20264 minutes to read

This section describes the changes to consider when migrating the Syncfusion^® .NET PDF library from .NET Framework to .NET Core. .NET Core is the recommended target for all new and existing applications, offering cross-platform support, improved performance, and long-term support from Microsoft.

NuGet Packages

The following table lists the NuGet package mappings when migrating from .NET Framework to .NET Standard 2.0 / .NET Core.

Packages targeting .NET Framework	Packages targeting .NET Standard 2.0 / .NET Core
Syncfusion.Pdf.WinForms Syncfusion.Pdf.Wpf Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet.Mvc5	Syncfusion.Pdf.Net.Core

Class Changes

Missing classes	Alternate classes
PdfLoadedDocument(String)	You can open the document as a stream from the file system using PdfLoadedDocument(Stream) .
PdfLoadedDocument(String, String)	You can open an encrypted document as a stream or byte array with a password using PdfLoadedDocument(Stream, String) or PdfLoadedDocument(Byte[], String) .
PdfLoadedDocument(String, Boolean)	You can open a corrupted PDF document as a stream or byte array using PdfLoadedDocument(Stream, Boolean) or PdfLoadedDocument(Byte[], Boolean) .
PdfBitmap(String)	PdfBitmap(Stream)
PdfBitmap(String, Boolean)	PdfBitmap(Stream, Boolean)
TextLines	TextLineCollection Sample link: Here
PdfBitmap	PdfTiffImage Sample link: Here
XPSToPdfConverter	XPSToPdfConverter Sample link: Here
PdfCompressionOptions	PdfCompressionOptions Sample link: Here
PdfFileLinkAnnotation	Not supported
PdfLaunchAction	Not supported
PdfJavaScriptAction – Add or modify JavaScript actions on an existing PDF document.	Not supported
PdfDocumentAnalyzer(String)	You can check whether an existing PDF document is corrupted using PdfDocumentAnalyzer(Stream) .
PdfUsedFont	Not supported
ImageExportSettings	Not supported
PdfBarcodeException	BarcodeException
HtmlToPdfResult	Not supported
PdfRichMediaContent(String, PdfRichMediaContentType)	PdfRichMediaContent(String, Stream, String, PdfRichMediaContentType)
PdfAngleMeasurementAnnotation(PointF[])	Not supported
PdfCertificateDistinguishedName	Not supported
GraphicsStateData	Not supported
PdfConfig	Not supported
TextData	TextLineCollection Sample link: Here
PdfMetafile	Not supported
PdfMetafileLayoutFormat	PdfLayoutFormat
XFdfDocument	Not supported

Method Changes

Missing methods	Alternate methods
ExtractText(out TextLines textLines)	ExtractText(out TextLineCollection textLineCollection) Sample link: Here
ExtractImages()	ExtractImages
ExportAsImage()	ExportAsImage() Sample link: Here
Redactions.Add(PdfRedaction)	AddRedaction(PdfRedaction). Additionally, call PdfLoadedDocument.Redact() to execute the redaction. Sample link: Here
ToImage()	ToImage()
Barcode.ToImage(SizeF size)	Barcode.ToImage(SizeF size) Sample link: Here
Split()	Not supported due to .NET Core framework limitations. Alternatively, use the [importing pages from one document to another](https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/pdf/pdf-library/net/working-with-pages#importing-pages-from-an-existing-document) approach.
FromRtf(String, Single, PdfImageType)	Not supported due to .NET Core framework limitations. Use the [.NET Word library](https://help.syncfusion.com/document-processing/word/word-library/net/overview) instead. [RTF to PDF](https://support.syncfusion.com/kb/article/7542/how-to-convert-a-word-document-to-pdf-in-aspnet-core)
Merge(PdfDocumentBase, object[])	Merge(PdfDocumentBase, Stream[])
Merge(String[])	Merge(PdfDocumentBase, Stream[])
Merge(String[], PdfMergeOptions)	Merge(PdfDocumentBase, PdfMergeOptions, Stream[])
PdfImage.FromFile(String)	PdfImage.FromStream(Stream)
Image.FromFile(String)	Image.FromStream(Stream)
PdfSoundAction(String)	PdfSoundAction(Stream)
PdfSoundAnnotation(RectangleF, String)	PdfSoundAnnotation(RectangleF, Stream)
PdfTrueTypeFont(Font)	PdfTrueTypeFont(Stream)
PdfTrueTypeFont(Font, float)	PdfTrueTypeFont(Stream, float)
Replace(PdfFont)	Not supported
EmbedFonts()	Not supported
ExportAnnotations(String, AnnotationDataFormat)	ExportAnnotations(Stream, AnnotationDataFormat)
ImportAnnotations(String, AnnotationDataFormat)	ImportAnnotations(Stream, AnnotationDataFormat)
ExportData(String, DataFormat, String)	ExportData(Stream, DataFormat, String)
ImportData(String, DataFormat)	ImportData(Byte[], DataFormat)
ImportDataJson(String)	ImportDataJson(Stream)
ImportDataXFDF(String)	ImportDataXFDF(Stream)
GetFontsFromAppearance()	Not supported
RemoveImage(PdfImageInfo)	RemoveImage(PdfImageInfo[])
ReplaceImage(Int32, PdfImage)	ReplaceImage(Int32, PdfImage) Sample link: Here
CreateBooklet(String, String, SizeF)	CreateBooklet(PdfLoadedDocument, SizeF)
CreateBooklet(String, String, SizeF, Boolean)	CreateBooklet(PdfLoadedDocument, SizeF, Boolean)
Save(String)	You can save the document as a stream to the file system using Save(Stream) .
Save(String, HttpResponse, HttpReadType)	Not supported
Save(Stream, HttpContext)	Not supported
Draw(PdfGraphics, PointF, Single, Single)	Draw(PdfPage, PointF, Single, Single, PdfLayoutFormat)
Draw(PdfGraphics, RectangleF)	Draw(PdfPage, RectangleF, PdfLayoutFormat)
Draw(PdfPage, PointF, Single, PdfMetafileLayoutFormat)	Draw(PdfPage, PointF, Single, PdfLayoutFormat)
Draw(PdfPage, PointF, Single, Single, PdfMetafileLayoutFormat)	Draw(PdfPage, PointF, Single, Single, PdfLayoutFormat)
Draw(PdfPage, RectangleF, PdfMetafileLayoutFormat)	Draw(PdfPage, RectangleF, PdfLayoutFormat)

Property Changes

Missing properties	Alternate properties
ImagesInfo	GetImagesInfo() Sample link: Here
Conformance	ConvertToPDFA(PdfConformanceLevel.Pdf_A1B) Sample link: Here
XFA Flatten	Not supported
Pdf_X1A2001 through PdfConformanceLevel	Not supported
PdfGrid.DataSource (DataTable)	PdfGrid.DataSource (IEnumerable<object>) – Only strongly typed IEnumerable objects are supported in ASP.NET Core.
PdfLoadedDocument.CompressionOptions = PdfCompressionOptions	PdfLoadedDocument.Compress(PdfCompressionOptions) Sample link: Here
EncodingType – Enum	Not supported
ImageExportSettings	Not supported
IsAllFontsEmbedded	Not supported
ColorSpace	Not supported
Redactions	AddRedaction(PdfRedaction). Additionally, call PdfLoadedDocument.Redact() to execute the redaction. Sample link: Here
IsColored	Not supported
ActiveFrame	Not supported
Encoding	Not supported
FrameCount	Not supported
Mask	Not supported
Quality	Not supported
IsNativeRenderingEnabled	Not supported
TextAlign	Not supported
RightToLeft	Not supported

Event Changes

Missing events	Alternate events
FontNotFoundEventArgs	Not supported
ImagePreRenderEventArgs	Not supported
ImagePreRenderEventArgs	Not supported

Advantages

• Cross-platform compatibility: ASP.NET Core runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a flexible option for developing web applications.
• Cloud integration: ASP.NET Core integrates easily with cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Docker, and Google Cloud Platform.

Notable Changes

1. For text measuring and graphics operations in .NET Framework, the library uses System.Drawing. In .NET Core, the library uses Syncfusion.Drawing for the same operations.
2. The following features require the NuGet package Syncfusion.Pdf.Imaging.Net.Core, which is separate from the Syncfusion.Pdf.Net.Core NuGet package:
   • TIFF to PDF
   • Compress PDF
   • Extract images from PDF
   • Get image information from PDF
   • Redact PDF
   • Export barcode to image
   • Convert PDF to PDF/A
   • Replace images in an existing PDF document
3. To convert XPS to PDF in ASP.NET Core, use the Syncfusion.XpsToPdfConverter.Net.Core NuGet package.
4. To convert PDF to image in ASP.NET Core, use the Syncfusion.PdfToImageConverter.Net NuGet package.

Migrate from System.Drawing.Common to SkiaSharp

Starting with the Volume 2, 2023 release, the System.Drawing.Common package has been removed as a dependency from the Syncfusion.Pdf.Imaging.Net.Core package. SkiaSharp has been introduced as the replacement library. This migration introduces the following API breaking changes.

API Name	Class	Return Type	Alternative API / Return Type
ToImage()	Pdf417Barcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.Drawing.SizeF size)	Pdf417Barcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfDataMatrixBarcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage()	PdfEan13Barcode	Image	ToImage() Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfEan13Barcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfEan8Barcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage()	PdfEan8Barcode	Image	ToImage() Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfQRBarcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode, System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode, Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode, System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode, Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
Image	PdfImageInfo	Image	ImageStream Return Type: Stream
PdfTiffImage(Image image)	PdfTiffImage	Image	PdfTiffImage(Stream image) Return Type: Stream
ExtractImages(this PdfPageBase page)	PdfImageExtractor	Image[]	ExtractImages(this PdfPageBase page) Return Type: Stream[]
ToImage()	PdfUnidimensionalBarcode	Image	ToImage() Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfUnidimensionalBarcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
RenderToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode)
RenderToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode, System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode, Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size)
RenderToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode)
RenderToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode, System.Drawing.SizeF size)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	ToImage(this PdfUnidimensionalBarcode barcode, Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF size)
Bounds	PdfImageInfo	System.Drawing.RectangleF	Syncfusion.Drawing.RectangleF