Get started with .NET

This guide walks you through the steps to use a sample project, and then explains how to integrate the Pdftools SDK into your application with .NET.

Prerequisites

The Pdftools SDK for .NET requires .NET and .NET Core 2.0 or higher, or .NET Framework 4.6.1 or higher.

Getting started with a sample project

Learn how to use the Pdftools SDK using a C# sample project and convert a PDF file to an image.

Compile and run the sample

Visual Studio

info

This sample describes the process using Visual Studio 2022.

1. Download a sample project, and then unzip the file.

2. In the sample folder, double click PdfToolsPdf2ImgSimple.csproj

3. Click Build -> Build Solution to compile the project.

4. Process a file:

   PdfToolsPdf2ImgSimple <inputPath> <outputPath>

   For example, to render the sample PDF file PdfPrimerWhitePaper.pdf to a multi-page TIFF image format, run:

   PdfToolsPdf2ImgSimple PdfPrimerWhitepaper.pdf tiff_output.tiff

Command line

1. Download a sample project, and then unzip the file.

2. In the sample folder, run the following command providing inputPath for the input PDF file and outputPath path for the output image file:

   dotnet run --framework net6.0 --project PdfToolsPdf2ImgSimple.csproj <inputPath> <outputPath>

   For example, to render the sample PDF file PdfPrimerWhitePaper.pdf to a multi-page TIFF image format, run:

   dotnet run --framework net6.0 --project PdfToolsPdf2ImgSimple.csproj PdfPrimerWhitepaper.pdf tiff_output.tiff

tip

You can apply a similar procedure as described in this tutorial for other code samples. For more information, see Code samples page.

Integrate the SDK into your application

Integrate and initialize the Pdftools SDK into your application by following the instructions in the next sections.

Add the SDK to your project

Visual Studio

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The integration section describes the process using Visual Studio 2022 on Windows.

1. Open your solution in Visual Studio.
2. Click Tools > Nuget Package Manager > Manage NuGet Packages for Solution....
3. Click the Search tab and search for Pdftools SDK.
4. Select the NuGet package named PdfTools by PDF Tools AG, select your Project, and then click Install.
5. Click OK to allow the changes, and then review and Accept the license agreement.

Command line

In the project directory, run the following command:

dotnet add package PdfTools

Optional: If you want to use a specific version of the Pdftools SDK, run the following command:

dotnet add package PdfTools --version <VERSION>

Initialize the SDK

After installing the Nuget package the final step before using the SDK is to initialize the SDK with your license key. Substitute the <PDFSDK,V1,include-your-key-here> in the following method with the value of your license key:

Sdk.Initialize("<PDFSDK,V1,include-your-key-here>");

tip

Without a valid license key the output files are watermarked. Get in touch with the Pdftools sales team through the Contact page to get a full license.

Implement your use case

• Find more use cases and sample projects at the Code samples page.
• For more technical information about the Pdftools SDK for .NET, consult the .NET technical notes.