Getting Started with WPF PDF Viewer

22 Jul 20265 minutes to read

This section explains how to create an application that displays a PDF file using the WPF PDF Viewer.

To get started quickly with WPF PDF Viewer, you can check out this video:

Prerequisites

Create a new WPF App in Visual Studio

You can create a WPF Application using Visual Studio via Microsoft Templates or the Syncfusion® WPF.

Assemblies Deployment

To add a WPF PDF Viewer component to your application by installing it via NuGet packages (Recommended) or by manually adding the required assemblies to the project.

Install Syncfusion® WPF PDF Viewer NuGet packages

To add WPF PDF Viewer component in the application, open the NuGet package manager in Visual Studio (Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Manage NuGet Packages for Solution), search and install:

• Syncfusion.PdfViewer.WPF

To ensure the control is styled correctly, install the theme package:

• Syncfusion.Themes.Windows11Light.WPF

Rather than referencing the assemblies, you can utilize the PdfViewer NuGet Packages. For more information on how to install the NuGet package in a WPF application, please follow the provided link. How to install nuget packages in a WPF application

Add Syncfusion® WPF PDF Viewer Assemblies

The following table lists the assemblies required to be added in the project when the WPF PDF Viewer control is used in your application.

Assembly Description
Syncfusion.Compression.Base.dll This library handles various compression and decompression operations that are used in the PDF file internally.
Syncfusion.Pdf.Base.dll This library contains the PDF reader and creator that supports the PDF Viewer.
Syncfusion.PdfToImageConverter.Base.dll This library is responsible for Pdfium integration and image generation, enhancing the capabilities of the PDF Viewer.
Syncfusion.PdfViewer.WPF.dll This component contains the rendering area and other related UI elements.
Syncfusion.Shared.WPF.dll This component contains various UI controls (ColorPickerPalette and Numeric UpDown) that are used in the PDF Viewer.

Below are the additional DLLs required for applying themes and skinning to the WPF PDF Viewer control:

Assembly Description
Syncfusion.Themes.Windows11Light.WPF.dll Contains the Windows 11 Light theme style for Syncfusion WPF controls.
Syncfusion.SfSkinManager.WPF.dll Contains the SfSkinManager which helps to apply different themes to Syncfusion WPF controls.

NOTE

You need to add these references to your project to use the skinning and theming capabilities of the PDF Viewer.

NOTE

  • Starting with version 23.1.x, Syncfusion PdfToImageConverter is necessary for PDF Viewer applications.
  • Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion® assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, you also have to include a license key in your projects. Please refer to this link to know about registering Syncfusion® license key in your WPF application to use our components.

Add WPF PDF Viewer component

WPF PDF Viewer control can be added to an application either through the designer (XAML) or programmatically using code.

  1. Open the Visual Studio toolbox.

  2. Navigate to Syncfusion® WPF Toolbox tab and drag the PdfViewerControl toolbox item to the Designer window. The required references are automatically added to the current application.

    WPF PDF Viewer in Toolbox PDF Viewer control in toolbox

3.Use the PdfViewerControl in XAML by including the Syncfusion namespace.

<Window x:Class="Namespace.MainWindow"
			xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
			xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
			xmlns:syncfusion="clr-namespace:Syncfusion.Windows.PdfViewer;assembly=Syncfusion.PdfViewer.WPF">
		<Grid x:Name="HomeGrid">
			<syncfusion:PdfViewerControl x:Name="pdfViewer"></syncfusion:PdfViewerControl>
		</Grid>
	</Window>
N> Declare a name for the PDF Viewer component as shown above for reference.

4.Add the SfSkinManager namespace to style the control correctly, and apply the desired theme.

<Window x:Class="Namespace.MainWindow"
		xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
		xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
		xmlns:syncfusionskin="clr-namespace:Syncfusion.SfSkinManager;assembly=Syncfusion.SfSkinManager.WPF"
		syncfusionskin:SfSkinManager.Theme="{syncfusionskin:SkinManagerExtension ThemeName=Windows11Light}">

	</Window>

To add the control manually from code, follow these steps:

  1. Add the required assemblies as a reference to the project.
  2. Add the following Syncfusion®; namespace in MainWindow.xaml.cs.
using Syncfusion.Windows.PdfViewer;

3.Create a PdfViewerControl instance and add it to the main window.

using Syncfusion.Windows.PdfViewer;
	using System.Windows;

	namespace PdfViewerDemo
	{
		/// <summary>
		/// Interaction logic for Window1.xaml
		/// </summary>
		public partial class MainWindow : Window
		{
			# region Constructor
			public MainWindow()
			{
				InitializeComponent();
				PdfViewerControl pdfViewer = new PdfViewerControl();
				HomeGrid.Children.Add(pdfViewer);
			}
			#endregion
		}
	}

4.The following example code demonstrate how to apply the FluentDark theme to PDF Viewer control in MainWindow.xaml.cs using SfSkinManager.

using Syncfusion.Windows.PdfViewer;
	using Syncfusion.SfSkinManager;
	public MainWindow()
	{
		InitializeComponent();
		//Initialize PDF Viewer.
		PdfViewerControl pdfViewer = new PdfViewerControl();
		HomeGrid.Children.Add(pdfViewer);

		//Apply the theme to PDFViewer.
		SfSkinManager.ApplyThemeAsDefaultStyle = true;
		SfSkinManager.SetTheme(pdfViewer, new Theme() { ThemeName = "FluentDark" });
		pdfViewer.Load(@"../../PDF_Succinctly.pdf");           
	}
Public Sub New()
		InitializeComponent()
		'Initialize PDF Viewer.
		Dim pdfViewer As PdfViewerControl = New PdfViewerControl()
		HomeGrid.Children.Add(pdfViewer)

		'Apply the theme to PDFViewer.
		SfSkinManager.ApplyThemeAsDefaultStyle = True
		SfSkinManager.SetTheme(pdfViewer, New Theme() With {
			.ThemeName = "FluentDark"
		})
		pdfViewer.Load("../../PDF_Succinctly.pdf")
	End Sub

NOTE

View Sample in GitHub.. Looking for the full WPF PDF Viewer component overview, features, pricing, and documentation? Visit the WPF PDF Viewer page.

See Also