Rendering / Converting Word document to Image in Word Library

4 Apr 202319 minutes to read

The Essential DocIO converts the Word document to images using the RenderAsImages method.

Refer to the following links for assemblies and NuGet packages required based on platforms to convert the Word document to image.

• Word to image conversion assemblies
• Word to image conversion NuGet packages

The following namespaces are required to compile the code in this topic:

For WPF, Windows Forms, ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC applications

• using Syncfusion.DocIO
• using Syncfusion.DocIO.DLS
• using Syncfusion.OfficeChart
• using Syncfusion.OfficeChartToImageConverter

For ASP.NET Core, Blazor, Xamarin, WinUI and .NET MAUI applications

• using Syncfusion.DocIO
• using Syncfusion.DocIO.DLS
• using Syncfusion.DocIORenderer

TIPS

1. You can get the good quality converted images by specifying the image type as Metafile in the platforms targeting .NET Framework.
2. You can specify the quality of the converted charts by setting the scaling mode.

Convert the entire Word to images

You can convert an entire Word document to images.

The following code example illustrates how to convert the entire Word document to images.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load file stream into Word document.
    using (WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        //Create a new instance of DocIORenderer class.
        using (DocIORenderer render = new DocIORenderer())
        {
            //Convert the entire Word document to images.
            Stream[] imageStreams = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(); 
            int i = 0;
            foreach (Stream stream in imageStreams)
            {
                //Reset the stream position.
                stream.Position = 0;
                //Save the stream as file.
                using (FileStream fileStreamOutput = File.Create("WordToImage_" + i + ".jpeg"))
                {
                    stream.CopyTo(fileStreamOutput);
                }
                i++;
            }
        }
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using(WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = new ChartToImageConverter();
    //Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal;
    //Convert the entire Word document to images.
    Image[] images = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(ImageType.Bitmap);
    int i = 0;
    foreach (Image image in images)
    {
        //Save the image as jpeg.
        image.Save("WordToImage_" + i + ".jpeg", ImageFormat.Jpeg);
        i++;
    }
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using wordDocument As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    'Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = New ChartToImageConverter()
    'Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal
    'Convert the entire Word document to images.
    Dim images As Image() = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(ImageType.Bitmap)
    Dim i = 0
    For Each image As Image In images
        'Save the image as jpeg.
        image.Save("WordToImage_" & i & ".jpeg", ImageFormat.Jpeg)
        i += 1
    Next
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Convert specific page of Word to image

You can convert a specific page of the Word document into an image and use it for a thumbnail.

The following code example illustrates how to convert a specific page in a Word document into an image.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load file stream into Word document.
    using (WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        //Create a new instance of DocIORenderer class.
        using (DocIORenderer render = new DocIORenderer())
        {
            //Convert the first page of the Word document into an image.
            Stream imageStream = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(0, ExportImageFormat.Jpeg); 
            //Reset the stream position.
            imageStream.Position = 0;
            //Save the stream as file.
            using (FileStream fileStreamOutput = File.Create("WordToImage.jpeg"))
            {
                imageStream.CopyTo(fileStreamOutput);
            }
        }
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using(WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = new ChartToImageConverter();
    //Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal;
    //Convert the first page of the Word document into an image.
    Image image = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(0, ImageType.Bitmap);
    //Save the image as jpeg.
    image.Save("WordToImage.jpeg", ImageFormat.Jpeg);
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using wordDocument As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    'Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = New ChartToImageConverter()
    'Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal
    'Convert the first page of the Word document into an image.
    Dim image As Image = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(0, ImageType.Bitmap)
    'Save the image as jpeg.
    image.Save("WordToImage.jpeg", ImageFormat.Jpeg)
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Convert a specific range of pages in Word to an image

Users can convert a specific range of pages in a Word document into images.

The following code example illustrates how to convert a specific range of pages in a Word document into images.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Template.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load file stream into Word document.
    using (WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        //Create a new instance of DocIORenderer class.
        using (DocIORenderer render = new DocIORenderer())
        {
            //Convert a specific range of pages in Word document to images.
            Stream[] imageStreams = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(1, 2); 
            int i = 0;
            foreach (Stream stream in imageStreams)
            {
                //Reset the stream position.
                stream.Position = 0;
                //Save the stream as file.
                using (FileStream fileStreamOutput = File.Create("WordToImage_" + i + ".jpeg"))
                {
                    stream.CopyTo(fileStreamOutput);
                }
                i++;
            }
        }
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using(WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = new ChartToImageConverter();
    //Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal;
    //Convert a specific range of pages in Word document to images.
    Image[] images = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(1, 2, ImageType.Bitmap);
    int i = 0;
    foreach (Image image in images)
    {
        //Save the image as jpeg.
        image.Save("WordToImage_" + i + ".jpeg", ImageFormat.Jpeg);
        i++;
    }
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using wordDocument As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    'Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = New ChartToImageConverter()
    'Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal
    'Convert the entire Word document to images.
    Dim images As Image() = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(1, 2, ImageType.Bitmap)
    Dim i = 0
    For Each image As Image In images
        'Save the image as jpeg.
        image.Save("WordToImage_" & i & ".jpeg", ImageFormat.Jpeg)
        i += 1
    Next
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Custom image resolution

The following code snippet illustrates how to convert a Word document to an image using custom image resolution.

C# [Cross-platform]

//DocIO only supports Word to image conversion in Windows Forms, WPF, ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC platform.

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using (WordDocument wordDocument = new WordDocument(@"Template.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = new ChartToImageConverter();
    //Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal;
    //Convert the word document to images.
    Image[] images = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(ImageType.Metafile);
    //Declare the variables to hold custom width and height.
    int customWidth = 1500;
    int customHeight = 1500;
    foreach (Image image in images)
    {
        MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
        image.Save(stream, ImageFormat.Png);
        //Create a bitmap of specific width and height.
        Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap(customWidth, customHeight, PixelFormat.Format32bppPArgb);
        //Get the graphics from an image.
        Graphics graphics = Graphics.FromImage(bitmap);
        //Set the resolution.
        bitmap.SetResolution(300, 300);
        //Recreate the image in custom size.
        graphics.DrawImage(System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(stream), new Rectangle(0, 0, bitmap.Width, bitmap.Height));
        //Save the image as a bitmap.
        bitmap.Save(@"ImageOutput" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString() + ".png");
    }
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using wordDocument As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Template.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    'Initialize the ChartToImageConverter for converting charts during Word to image conversion.
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter = New ChartToImageConverter()
    'Set the scaling mode for charts (Normal mode reduces the file size).
    wordDocument.ChartToImageConverter.ScalingMode = ScalingMode.Normal
    'Convert the word document to images.
    Dim images() As Image = wordDocument.RenderAsImages(ImageType.Metafile)
    'Declare the variables to hold custom width and height.
    Dim customWidth As Integer = 1500
    Dim customHeight As Integer = 1500
    For Each image As Image In images
        Dim stream As MemoryStream = New MemoryStream
        image.Save(stream, ImageFormat.Png)
        'Create a bitmap of specific width and height.
        Dim bitmap As Bitmap = New Bitmap(customWidth, customHeight, PixelFormat.Format32bppPArgb)
        'Get the graphics from an image.
        Dim graphics As Graphics = Graphics.FromImage(bitmap)
        'Set the resolution.
        bitmap.SetResolution(300, 300)
        'Recreate the image in custom size.
        graphics.DrawImage(System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(stream), New Rectangle(0, 0, bitmap.Width, bitmap.Height))
        'Save the image as a bitmap.
        bitmap.Save(("ImageOutput" + (Guid.NewGuid.ToString + ".png")))
    Next

End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

NOTE

1. In Azure Web Service and Azure APP Service, .NET GDI+ (System.Drawing) does not support the Metafile image (vector image). So, the image will be generated as Bitmap (raster image).
2. Creating an instance of the ChartToImageConverter class is mandatory to convert the charts present in the Word document to Image. Otherwise, the charts are not preserved in the generated image.
3. Total number of images may vary based on unsupported elements in the input Word document.
4. Word to Image conversion has the same limitations and unsupported elements of Word to PDF conversion.
5. Different styles of borders are known limitations in Word to Image conversion in ASP.NET Core, Xamarin, Blazor, WinUI, and .NET MAUI platforms.
6. In ASP.NET Core, Blazor, Xamarin, WinUI and .NET MAUI platforms, to convert Word document to images we recommend you to use Word to image assemblies or NuGet as a reference in your application.
7. DocIO supports Word to image conversion in UWP application using DocIORenderer.
8. In addition to the previous NuGet packages, we recommend to use SkiaSharp.NativeAssets.Linux v2.88.0-preview.209 and HarfBuzzSharp.NativeAssets.Linux v2.8.2-preview.209 NuGets to perform Word to Image conversion in Linux environment.

See Also

• How to convert word to tiff using C#, VB.NET
• How to convert Word to Image in Blazor WebAssembly (WASM)?