Overview
There are several key differences between the Conversion Service and the 3-Heights® Document Converter.
High-level architecture
The general architecture of the Conversion Service is similar to that of the 3-Heights® Document Converter, however there are some important differences:
| Conversion Service | 3-Heights® Document Converter | |
|---|---|---|
| Main service interface | REST (job-based) | .NET remoting (job-based) |
| Web service interface | Built-in REST interface (job-based) Simplified built-in REST interface (single-call, can be combined freely with other integration options). See Integration | SOAP interface provided by separate IIS-based web application (single-call) |
| Authentication, User management | No built-in solution provided, any available HTTP gateway solution can be used. | Only for Webservice (provided by IIS). Not available for main service interface and thus clients based on it. |
| Advanced integration options: Watched Folders, Watched Mailbox, Send Email, single-call web service, Execute Command, etc. | Provided by the single separate service "Conversion Service Connections" and can be combined freely. See Integration | Provided by several separate services ("Watched Folder Service", "Mail Folder Service", etc) and cannot be combined with each other. |
| Client applications (GUI, Command Line, Office Add-ins, etc.) | Available as a separate installer. Microsoft Office integration, GUI Client, Command Line Client | Available as a separate installer. |
| Linux/Docker image | Supported, but with reduced feature set. | Not supported |
| Worker process isolation | Workers are running as normal separate processes in the same session. All processing tasks are executed in a worker process without exception. | Workers are running as separate RDP sessions. Only Office conversions are executed in worker sessions. |
Job and document processing
While the 3-Heights® Document Converter configuration specified how a conversion is performed, allowing you to configure each application or component explicitly, in the Conversion Service, the configuration specifies what the expected result should be. The applications and components selected and configured is determined automatically to produce the best possible result.
The Document Converter offered simple key-value pairs throughout all tiers of configuration: application options, job options, and document options. The Conversion Service uses different levels of flexibility and complexity for each configuration tier:
- Workflow: A workflow represents a broad use case and defines the general conversion process. Workflows are tailored to a specific use case, which is also reflected in the available configuration settings. All workflows are provided by the application and cannot be changed by the user / operator.
- Profile: A profile is a structured, workflow-specific set of configuration settings. Each workflow can have an arbitrary number of profiles which can be selected at runtime. Profiles are statically configured in the service and cannot be created dynamically at runtime.
- Job and document options: Job options and document options are used to refine certain aspects of a profile at runtime and to provide document or job-specific data to the conversion. Job options and document options are simple key-value pairs and don't provide the full flexibility available in the profile configuration. If a certain configuration aspect cannot be controlled by these options, a separate profile configuration is necessary.
In the 3-Heights® the Document Converter, job options specified the output format and processing steps performed on the output file. However, due to the lack of workflows and profiles in the 3-Heights® Document Converter, job options and document options could override almost any of the available configuration settings. With the Conversion Service, the output format is determined by the selected workflow and optional processing steps can be configured in the profile configuration.
The workflows available in the Conversion Service are roughly equivalent to the configuration options FORMAT, PDFA and PDF.COMPLIANCE, configured at application or job level. Document options are similar in both products from a technical perspective, however, only a few select workflow-specific document options are available in the Conversion Service.
Application options in the 3-Heights® Document Converter meant that file types could be explicitly associated with an application/component. Each application/component could be configured individually on a low-level basis. Only single set of static options could be configured in the service itself, but each option could be overridden at runtime. In the Conversion Service, profile settings allow you to configure the expected result by file type. Applications/components are selected and configured automatically.
The Conversion Service is designed to seek a balance between flexibility and complexity, facilitating configuration and setup.
| Tier in 3-Heights® Document Converter | Equivalent in Conversion Service |
|---|---|
| Application options | Profile settings |
| Job options | Profile configuration |
| Document options | Workflow-specific document options |
Feature compatibility between products
Feature compatibility between the Conversion Service and the 3-Heights® Document Converter is indicated according to three levels:
- Yes: The feature is supported in a way that most use cases are covered. This does not mean that it supports exactly the same configuration options. It is not guaranteed that the services behave exactly the same in every single case. Some differences are expected.
- Partially: The feature is generally available, but there are notable differences in a way that prohibit a straight-forward migration in many cases.
- No: The feature is not supported.
| Feature | Conversion Service | 3-Heights® Document Converter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processing of embedded files / Attachments | Yes | Partially | Flexible support for processing embedded files and attachments across all supported file formats. See Nested files and attachments |
| OCR (Text recognition) | Yes | Yes | See OCR. |
| OCR (Barcode recognition) | No | Yes | See OCR. |
| Digital signatures | Yes | Yes | |
| PDF compression and optimization | Yes | Yes | Only predefined profiles supported. |
| PDF linearization (fast web-view) | No | Yes | Linearization is not recommended as it can increase file size considerably and its effect is quite limited. |
| Stamping | Partially | Yes | See Stamping. |
| Metadata | Yes | Yes | |
| Electronic invoice embedding (ZUGFeRD, Factur-X) | No | Yes | |
| Table of content and title page deneration | Yes | No | See Dossier workflow. |
| Custom plugins and transformations | No | Yes |
Supported input formats
The table shows the input formats supported by the Conversion Service and those originally supported by the 3-Heights® Document Converter.
| Format | Conversion Service | 3-Heights® Document Converter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | ||
| PDF with XFA forms (Adobe Lifecycle) | No | Yes | XFA is a proprietary format and was deprecated in PDF 2.0. |
| Raster image formats (JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, JBIG2, JPEG2000, HEIC, HEIF) | Yes | Yes | |
| JPEG2000 compound image (JPM) | No | Yes | |
| MS Word binary formats (DOC, DOT) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Word installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| MS Word OOXML-based formats (DOCX, DOCM, DOTX, DOTM) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Word installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| WordML / WordprocessingML (XML) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Word installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| MS Excel binary formats (XLS, XLT) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Excel installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| MS Excel OOXML-based formats (XLSX, XLSM, XLTX, XLTM) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Excel installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| SpreadsheetML (XML) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Excel installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| MS PowerPoint binary formats (PPT, PPS) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS PowerPoint installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| MS PowerPoint OOXML-based formats (PPTX, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS PowerPoint installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| MS Project | No | Yes | |
| MS Visio | No | Yes | |
| Open Document Text (ODT) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Word installed and properly licensed on the server. OpenOffice or LibreOffice are not supported. |
| Open Document Spreadsheet (ODS) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Excel installed and properly licensed on the server. OpenOffice or LibreOffice are not supported. |
| Open Document Presentation (ODP) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS PowerPoint installed and properly licensed on the server. OpenOffice or LibreOffice are not supported. |
| MIME-email (EML) | Yes | Yes | |
| Outlook-email (MSG) | Yes | Yes | |
| ZIP-Archive | Yes | Yes | |
| RAR-Archive | No | Yes | |
| Plain text (TXT) | Yes | Yes | |
| Rich text (RTF) | Yes | Yes | Requires MS Word installed and properly licensed on the server. See Convert Microsoft Office files. |
| Comma-separated values (CSV) | Yes | Yes | |
| Document-like HTML | Yes | No | Self-contained single-page HTML intended for page layout. All media and styles have to be inline or referenced by absolute URL from a location accessible by the service. |
| Website-Archive (MHT, HTMZIP) | No | Yes | |
| URL | Partially | Yes | URL as a file format is not supported; however, the REST interface allows converting files by URL. |
| Metafile (EMF) | No | Yes | |
| XPS | No | Yes | |
| Custom formats (Plugins) | No | Yes |
Supported output formats
The Conversion Service converts input files to PDF format, either as PDF 1.x, or PDF/A conformant files (PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, PDF/A-3) depending on the workflow used.
| Format | Conversion Service | 3-Heights® Document Converter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF/A-1 | Yes | Yes | See PDF/A and conformance. |
| PDF/A-2 | Yes | Yes | See PDF/A and conformance. |
| PDF/A-3 | Yes | Yes | See PDF/A and conformance. |
| Plain PDF (1.x) | Yes | Yes | See Conversion workflow. |
| TIFF | No | Yes |
Supported nested files and attachments
The table below lists the supported file types and attachments for the 3-Heights® Document Converter and the Conversion Service.
| Type | Conversion Service | 3-Heights® Document Converter |
|---|---|---|
| Files in ZIP archive | Yes | Yes |
| Files in RAR archive | No | Yes |
| Attachments of MIME-email (EML) | Yes | Yes |
| Attachments of Outook-email (MSG) | Yes | Yes |
| Attachments (embedded files) in PDF file | Yes | Only PDF to PDF/A |
| File attachment annotations in PDF file | Yes | Only PDF to PDF/A |
| Files in PDF portfolio | Yes | Only PDF to PDF/A |
| Attachments in OOXML-based Word file (DOCX) | Yes | Yes |
| Attachments in classic binary Word file (DOC) | No | Yes |
| Attachments in OOXML-based Excel file (XLSX) | Yes | Yes |
| Attachments in classic binary Excel file (XLS) | No | Yes |
| Attachments in OOXML-based PowerPoint file (PPTX) | Yes | Yes |
| Attachments in classic binary PowerPoint file (PPT) | No | Yes |
For more on how nested files and attachments are handled, see Nested files and attachments.
Integrations
The Conversion Service offers multiple integration options such as watched folders and other connectors, a REST API, and a PDF GUI client.
| Integration | Conversion Service | 3-Heights® Document Converter |
|---|---|---|
| GUI client application | Yes | Yes |
| Command line client application | Yes | Yes |
| Watched folders | Yes | Yes |
| Mail folders | Yes | Yes |
| Send email | Yes | Yes |
| Web service interface (REST) | Yes | No |
| Web service interface (SOAP) | No | Yes |
| Client library | No | Yes |
| MS Office add-in | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Explorer extension | No | Yes |
| Docker image | Partial 1 | No |
- The Docker image does not support all features. In particular, it does not support any of the integration options.↩