Migrate PDF library from .NET Framework to .NET Core

16 Jun 20236 minutes to read

In this section, we will see about the changes which need to be considered while migrating Syncfusion .NET PDF library from .NET Framework to .NET Core.

NuGet packages

Packages targeting .NET Framework	Packages targeting .NET Standard 2.0/.NET Core
Syncfusion.Pdf.WinForms Syncfusion.Pdf.Wpf Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet.Mvc4 Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet.Mvc5	Syncfusion.Pdf.Net.Core

Class changes

Missing classes	Alternate classes
PdfLoadedDocument(String)	You can open the document as stream from the system file using PdfLoadedDocument(Stream) API.
PdfLoadedDocument(String, String)	You can open the encrypted document as stream or byte array with password from system file using PdfLoadedDocument(Stream, String) or PdfLoadedDocument(Byte[], String) API.
PdfLoadedDocument(String, Boolean)	You can open the corrupted PDF document as stream or byte array with Boolean from system file using PdfLoadedDocument(Stream, Boolean) or PdfLoadedDocument(Byte[], Boolean) API.
PdfBitmap(String)	PdfBitmap(Stream)
PdfBitmap(String, Boolean)	PdfBitmap(Steam, Boolean)
TextLines	TextLineCollection *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Text%20Extraction/Extract-each-lines-from-an-existing-PDF-document
PdfBitmap	PdfTiffImage *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Document%20conversion/TIFF-to-PDF/Converting-multipage-TIFF-to-PDF-document
XPSToPdfConverter	XPSToPdfConverter *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Document%20conversion/Converting-XPS-to-PDF-document
PdfCompressionOptions	PdfCompressionOptions *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Compression/Compress-the-images-in-an-existing-PDF-document
PdfFileLinkAnnotation	Not supported
PdfLaunchAction	Not supported
PdfJavaScriptAction - Add/modify JavaScript actions on existing PDF document	Not supported
PdfDocumentAnalyzer(String)	You can check whether the existing PDF document is corrupted or not using PdfDocumentAnalyzer(Stream) .
PdfUsedFont	Not supported
ImageExportSettings	Not supported
PdfBarcodeException	BarcodeException
ImageExportSettings	Not supported
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	Not supported
TextLines	TextLineCollection *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Text%20Extraction/Extract-each-lines-from-an-existing-PDF-document
PdfMetafile	Not supported
PdfMetafileLayoutFormat	PdfLayoutFormat *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Text/Adding-HTML-styled-text-to-PDF-document/
XFdfDocument	Not supported
HtmlToPdfResult	Not supported
PdfAngleMeasurementAnnotation	Not supported

Method changes

Missing methods	Alternate methods
ExtractText(out TextLines textLines)	ExtractText(out TextLineCollection textLineCollection) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Text%20Extraction/Extract-each-lines-from-an-existing-PDF-document
ExtractImages()	ExtractImages *Sample link:* https://help.syncfusion.com/cr/file-formats/Syncfusion.Pdf.PdfPageBase.html#Syncfusion_Pdf_PdfPageBase_ExtractImages().html
ExportAsImage()	ExportAsImage() *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Document%20conversion/PDF-to-Image/Convert-PDF-page-into-image
Redactions.Add(PdfRedaction)	AddRedaction(PdfRedaction) - Additionally, call the following method to execute the redaction. PdfLoadedDocument.Redact(); *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Redaction/Removing-sensitive-content-from-the-PDF-document/
ToImage()	ToImage()
Barcode.ToImage(SizeF size)	Barcode.ToImage(SizeF size) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Barcode/Export-one-dimensional-barcode-as-image/
Split()	Not supported due to .NET Core framework limitations. Alternatively, this can be achieved by importing pages from one document to another .
FromRtf(String, Single, PdfImageType)	Not supported due to .NET Core framework limitations. Alternatively, this can be achieved by using .NET Word library . RTF to PDF
Merge(PdfDocumentBase, object[])	Merge(PdfDocumentBase, Stream[]) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Merge%20PDFs/Merge-multiple-documents-from-stream/
Merge(String[])	Merge(PdfDocumentBase, Stream[]) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Merge%20PDFs/Merge-multiple-documents-from-stream/
Merge(String[], PdfMergeOptions)	Merge(PdfDocumentBase, PdfMergeOptions, Object[]) - Object[] in the form of 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, int)	PdfTrueTypeFont(Stream, int)
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[]) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Images/Remove-images-from-PDF-document
ReplaceImage(Int32, PdfImage)	ReplaceImage(Int32, PdfImage) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Images/Replace-image-in-an-existing-PDF-document/
CreateBooklet(String, String, SizeF)	CreateBooklet(PdfLoadedDocument, SizeF)
CreateBooklet(String, String, SizeF, Boolean)	CreateBooklet(PdfLoadedDocument, SizeF, Boolean)
Save(String)	You can save the document as stream to the file system using Save(Stream) API.
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)
Replace(PdfFont)	Not supported

Property changes

Missing properties	Alternate properties
ImagesInfo	GetImagesInfo() *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Image%20Extraction/Extract-the-image-info-from-a-PDF-page/
Conformance	ConvertToPDFA(PdfConformanceLevel.Pdf_A1B) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/PDF%20Conformance/Get-PDF-to-PDFA-conversion-progress
XFA Flatten	Not supported
Pdf_X1A2001 through PdfConformanceLevel	Not supported
PdfGrid.DataSource (DataTable)	[PdfGrid.DataSource (IEnumerable - In ASP.NET Core, only the strongly typed IEnumerable objects are supported.
PdfLoadedDocument.CompressionOptions = PdfCompressionOptions	PdfLoadedDocument.Compress(PdfCompressionOptions) *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Compression/Compress-the-images-in-an-existing-PDF-document
EncodingType - Enum	Not supported
ImageExportSettings	Not supported
IsAllFontsEmbedded	Not supported
ColorSpace	Not supported
Redactions	AddRedaction(PdfRedaction) - Additionally, call the following method to execute the redaction. PdfLoadedDocument.Redact(); *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Redaction/Removing-sensitive-content-from-the-PDF-document/
ImagesInfo	GetImagesInfo() *Sample link:* https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/PDF-Examples/tree/master/Image%20Extraction/Extract-the-image-info-from-a-PDF-page/
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 can run on Windows, MacOS, and Linux, making it a flexible option for developing web applications.
• Integration with cloud services: ASP.NET Core can be easily integrated with cloud services, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Docker and Google Cloud Platform.

Known limitations

• EMF and WMF images are not supported on the .NET Core platform.

Notable changes

1. For text measuring and graphics operations in the .NET Framework, our library utilizes System.Drawing. In contrast, for similar graphics operations in .NET Core, our library employs Syncfusion.Drawing.
2. The following features utilize the NuGet package Syncfusion.Pdf.Imaging.Net.Core Which is separate from 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. For converting XPS to PDF document, kindly utilize the Syncfusion.XpsToPdfConverter.Net.Core NuGet package in your ASP.NET Core application.
4. To convert PDF to image, please use the Syncfusion.EJ2.PdfViewer.AspNet.Core.Windows NuGet package in your ASP.NET Core application.

NOTE

If you want to migrate without any code changes from Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet NuGet in application targeting .NET Framework, you can consider using anyone of the following packages:

• Syncfusion.Pdf.WinForms
• Syncfusion.Pdf.Wpf
• Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet.Mvc4
• Syncfusion.Pdf.AspNet.Mvc5
• But this is not a recommended approach.

Migrate System.Drawing.Common to SkiaSharp package

Starting from our volume 2, 2023 release, we have removed the System.Drawing.Common package as a dependency from our Syncfusion.Pdf.Imaging.Net.Core package. In its place, we have introduced SkiaSharp as the replacement library. This migration brings some API breaking changes that need to be considered:

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	Stream 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	Stream Return Type: Stream
ToImage(System.drawing.SizeF size)	PdfQRBarcode	Image	ToImage(Syncfusion.drawing.SizeF size) Return Type: Stream
ToImage(this PdfBidimensionalBarcode barcode)	PdfBarcodeExtension	Image	Stream 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	Stream 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[]	Stream[] Return Type: Stream[]
ToImage()	PdfUnidimensionalBarcode	Image	Stream 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