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Release notes

Learn about the latest updates of:

Pdftools SDK​

Version 1.14.0​

29 October 2025

Added​

  • Enhanced logging configuration environment variables:
    • PDFT_LOG_OUTPUT for output control, replacing PDF_TRACE_OUTPUT. The PDF_TRACE_OUTPUT also remains supported for backward compatibility.
    • PDFT_LOG for log level filters. The comma-separated format: *:error,libbase:info, where * sets the default level.

Changed​

  • Switched from the zlib to zlib-ng library, significantly improving performance when compressing and decompressing Flate streams by using SIMD instructions.

Fixed​

  • Corrected conformance retrieval logic in the GetConformance method to properly handle invalid ConversionOptions values.
  • Certificate loading on Windows now includes Local Machine store in addition to Current User store, resolving certificate access issues for Internet Information Services (IIS) applications running under service accounts.
  • Widget annotation appearance generation now correctly checks for rich text value (RV) entry instead of rich text style (DS) entry when determining whether to create appearance streams.

Version 1.13.1​

16 September 2025

Fixed​

  • Resolved an issue using an uninitialized variable that could cause unpredictable behavior during PNG processing.
  • Fixed a stack buffer overflow when creating annotation appearances.
  • Corrected glyph position problems caused by improper handling of adjustment values.
  • Ensured the GTS_PDFX output intent is correctly copied into the output document to maintain PDF/X compliance. The GTS_PDFX defines the standardized printing output intent for PDF/X files.
  • Fixed an infinite loop that could occur during optimization for specific malformed PDF files.
  • Addressed an access violation related to cross-reference (xref) tables, preventing potential crashes.

Version 1.13.0​

29 July 2025

Added​

  • Added IsFullRevisionCovered flag to signature validation results to detect partial ByteRanges.

Changed​

  • Removed library load/unload messages from Python bindings.

Fixed​

  • Font name decoding for Type0 fonts on Linux and macOS to preserve Unicode characters.
  • Malformed import in native_base.py that caused errors in Python bindings.
  • Fixed error reporting for non-UTF8 colorant name on Linux and macOS.
  • Font name decoding on Linux and macOS to align behavior with Windows.
  • Fixed unexpected termination when processing image dictionaries with an empty /Filter array.
  • Removed stray null terminators from strings returned by the Python interface.

Version 1.12.0​

19 June 2025

Added​

  • Pdftools SDK now natively supports Linux ARM64 processor architecture.

Fixed​

  • Previously, soft mask dimensions were not properly validated when a matte background was present.

Version 1.11.1​

26 May 2025

Fixed​

  • Resolved an issue that could cause a crash during rendering of Type 1 shadings.
  • Addressed a problem with native library shutdown procedures that led to crashes or hangs when used through language bindings.
  • Corrected the internal mapping for the WordSeparationFactor option, which previously could result in incorrect text extraction configuration.

Version 1.11.0​

16 May 2025

Added​

  • Improved multi-threaded handling of shared read-only data structures, allowing read-only configuration data to be shared safely between threads.

Fixed​

  • Resolved a crash that occurred when merging PDF files containing form fields without appearance streams while flattening was enabled.

Version 1.10.0​

12 May 2025

Added​

  • As of this update, you can now extract text from PDFs by using the Pdftools SDK. Review the following API references for more information: C, Java, .NET, and Python.
  • Code samples now include links to Jupyter notebooks marked as the Open in colab buttons. For more details, review Pdftools SDK code samples.

Version 1.9.1​

14 April 2025

Added​

  • With this release, we are launching a new Python Jupyter notebooks repository demonstrating the core functionality of the Pdftools SDK, including step-by-step examples for key features and use cases.

Fixed​

  • Previously, rendering PDFs with the wrong alternate colorspaces could cause the Pdftools SDK to crash. With this update, the rendering engine now falls back to CMYK rendering if the alternate color transform cannot be created, preventing the crash.
  • Prior to this update, a crash occurred when IIS processes terminated, causing the Pdftools SDK DLL to unload without properly releasing its resources. With this release, the issue has been resolved, allowing the DLL to safely unload even when shutdown hooks fail to execute as expected.
  • Previously, document timestamps (ETSI.RFC3161) were not recognized if the PDF lacked an explicit declaration of the correct signature type. This update ensures that timestamps are correctly validated as long as the signature itself is valid and the signed content remains intact.

Version 1.9.0​

14 March 2025

Added​

  • Improved support for HEIC files.

Fixed​

  • Previously, under certain circumstances, a regression caused the decryption of encrypted PDFs to fail. The issue is fixed with this release.
  • Fixed a bug that caused crashes when handling JPEG images with the Pdftools SDK on 32-bit Windows systems.
  • Improved handling of faulty PostScript string syntax to ensure correct parsing of ToUnicode maps.

Version 1.8.0​

20 January 2025

Added​

  • Pdftools SDK now natively supports Microsoft Windows ARM64 processor architecture.
  • During PDF/A conversion, you can now add embed associated files using the AddAssociatedFile method.
  • Test whether any update leading to a specific revision does not contain a digital signature using the new HasNonSigningUpdates property.
  • Suppress rendering of text when converting a PDF to an image using the new RenderText property.
  • With this update, you can force an image to fill the page (respecting the image’s aspect ratio) using the ForceFit property.
  • With this update, the Pdftools SDK introduces a new Pythonic, object-oriented interface with structured classes, native Python types for data handling, and enhanced error management through exceptions. For more details on how to try the new Pythonic interface, review Python getting started guide.

Fixed​

  • Missing firstChar or lastChar entries in damaged font dictionaries are restored when enough information is available.
  • Fixed issue for PDFs with signed signature fields without any appearance.
  • There was an issue when the SDK tried to get resources by HTTPS in the visual appearance of JSON or XML configuration files. The issue was fixed with this update.

Version 1.7.0​

28 June 2024

Added​

  • The Pdftools SDK now lets you adjust the image quality using the ImageQuality property when converting a PDF file to PDF/A. This setting is used when images must be recompressed during the conversion process.
  • You can now use pip package manager to install the Pdftools SDK. Use pip install https://pdftools-public-downloads-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/productkits/PDFSDK/latest/pdftools_sdk-latest.tar.gz to install the Python version of the Pdftools SDK from our servers.

Fixed​

  • Corrected an issue where Unicode characters were sometimes converted incorrectly when using the Python version of the Pdftools SDK.
  • Fixed a bug where some ZUGFeRD v3 invoice XML files were not correctly recognized by the AddInvoiceXml method when creating a ZUGFeRD invoice.

Version 1.6.0​

31 May 2024

Added​

Fixed​

  • Previously, a default value was always used for the PDF Producer value. With this update, the issue was fixed, and the PDF Producer value is now set correctly using the producerSuffix parameter of the Initialize(licenseKey, producerSuffix) method.
  • The validation of a digital signature’s Appearance has been improved, to prevent inconsistent boundary values.

Version 1.5.0​

17 April 2024

Added​

  • You can now apply Mixed Raster Content (MRC) optimization to a PDF document using the Optimize feature of the Pdftools SDK. MRC optimization is intended for compressing scanned PDF files that contain large amounts of text.
  • It is now possible to set the values for ThresholdDPI and ReduceColorComplexity when optimizing PDF files. This addition gives you more control over how images in the document are resampled and compressed.

Changed​

  • The OptimizeDocument method of the PDF optimizer will now attempt to apply lossless compression for images with bitonal (Group4 or JBIG2 compression) and indexed (Flate or LZW compression) color spaces.

Version 1.4.0​

5 March 2024

Added​

  • Before this update, only the common name (CN) of a signing certificate could be retrieved. With this update, you can get the full distinguished name (DN) of a signing certificate. The DN format is RFC 4514. The DN includes the legal name, country, and other information about the person or authority who owns the certificate.
  • Before this update, you could only read and write to file streams with the C API. As of this update, you can also use memory streams with the C API.

Version 1.3.0​

13 October 2023

Added​

  • DocumentAssembler class. This class allows you to combine multiple input PDF documents into one output document, or split one input PDF document into multiple output documents.
  • You can now include a customizable signature appearance when Signing a PDF document. A signature’s appearance may be any combination of text, images, and other PDF documents.
  • Linux: Added new distribution for older Linux systems (glibc 2.12+).

Changed​

  • Before version 1.3.3 you needed to use an evaluation license key to try the Pdftools SDK. With version 1.3.3, you can use the Pdftools SDK without a license key with watermarked output files. As a result, you can try the Pdftools SDK without any license key. To remove the watermark from the output files, contact the Pdftools sales team through the Contact page to get a full license.

Version 1.2.0​

25 August 2023

  • Added the MetadataSettings class. This class allows you to set Metadata in the output PDF document, by providing them in the producer method’s OutputOptions.

Changed​

  • Linux: The minimum required glibc version was upgraded from 2.27 to 2.34.

Version 1.1.0​

31 May 2023

Added​

  • Signature validation for the digital signing functionality. This allows you to extract signing certificate information and trust chain information, and perform validation of time-stamps, handle expired certificates, use custom trust stores, and check for the latest document revision.

Changed​

  • Updated C API ZIP archive layout: The C API ZIP archive directory layout has been updated.
  • Updated Java API ZIP archive layout: The Java API ZIP archive directory layout has been updated.

Pdftools SDK Shell Tool​

Version 1.10.0​

29 October 2025

Added​

  • Enhanced logging configuration environment variables:
    • PDFT_LOG_OUTPUT for output control, replacing PDF_TRACE_OUTPUT. The PDF_TRACE_OUTPUT also remains supported for backward compatibility.
    • PDFT_LOG for log level filters. The comma-separated format: *:error,libbase:info, where * sets the default level.

Changed​

  • Switched from the zlib to zlib-ng library, significantly improving performance when compressing and decompressing Flate streams by using SIMD instructions.

Fixed​

  • Correct the usage text for the render-archive operation as there is no -max option in the general options.
  • Corrected conformance retrieval logic in the GetConformance method to properly handle invalid ConversionOptions values.
  • Certificate loading on Windows now includes Local Machine store in addition to Current User store, resolving certificate access issues for Internet Information Services (IIS) applications running under service accounts.

Version 1.9.1​

16 September 2025

Fixed​

  • Resolved an issue using an uninitialized variable that could cause unpredictable behavior during PNG processing.
  • Fixed a stack buffer overflow when creating annotation appearances.
  • Corrected glyph position problems caused by improper handling of adjustment values.
  • Ensured the GTS_PDFX output intent is correctly copied into the output document to maintain PDF/X compliance. The GTS_PDFX defines the standardized printing output intent for PDF/X files.
  • Fixed an infinite loop that could occur during optimization for specific malformed PDF files.
  • Addressed an access violation related to cross-reference (xref) tables, preventing potential crashes.

Version 1.9.0​

29 July 2025

Fixed​

  • Fixed blank pages caused by incorrect indirect color space references in inline images.
  • Fixed unexpected termination when handling image dictionaries with empty /Filter array.

Version 1.8.0​

19 June 2025

Added​

  • As of this update, text you can now extract text from PDFs using the following commands:
    • text-extract: Recommended for LLM ingestion. Extracts text in the order it appears in the PDF.
    • layout-text-extract: Extract text by mimicking the layout of the PDF.
  • Pdftools SDK Shell Tool now natively supports Linux ARM64 processor architecture.

Fixed​

  • Previously, soft mask dimensions were not properly validated when a matte background was present.
  • Corrected handling of the fit keyword in alternate text validation.

Version 1.7.0​

23 April 2025

Added​

  • Add the support to embedding files during a PDF/A conversion: embedding files can be associated to the converted PDF
  • Add fit page option to the import image functionality: all images will be scaled to fit the page size (including enlarging smaller images).
  • Improved support for HEIC files.

Fixed​

  • Fixed a bug that caused crashes when handling JPEG images with the Pdftools SDK on 32-bit Windows systems.
  • Improved handling of faulty PostScript string syntax to ensure correct parsing of ToUnicode maps.
  • Previously, document timestamps (ETSI.RFC3161) were not recognized if the PDF lacked an explicit declaration of the correct signature type. This update ensures that timestamps are correctly validated as long as the signature itself is valid and the signed content remains intact.
  • Previously, rendering PDFs with the wrong alternate colorspaces could cause the Pdftools SDK to crash. With this update, the rendering engine now falls back to CMYK rendering if the alternate color transform cannot be created, preventing the crash.
  • Previously, under certain circumstances, a regression caused the decryption of encrypted PDFs to fail. The issue is fixed with this release.

Version 1.6.0​

10 January 2025

Added​

  • Add a new method AddAssociatedFile that lets you to embed a file into a PDF. For more information, review the API references: C, Java, .NET, Python.
  • The Pdftools SDK Shell Tool now natively supports Microsoft Windows ARM64 processor architecture.

Fixed​

  • Add ability to get a license key from a default location when none is provided. The usage help message will display the alternative locations of the license (file or env. variable)
  • Corrected encoding of console text output.
  • Shell tool version couldn’t be fetched from the executable and properly display in usage help message.
  • Missing firstChar or lastChar entries in damaged font dictionaries are restored when enough information is available.
  • Fixed issue for PDFs with signed signature fields without any appearance.
  • There was an issue when the SDK tried to get resources by HTTPS in the visual appearance of JSON or XML configuration files. The issue was fixed with this update.
  • Fixed a bug where some ZUGFeRD v3 invoice XML files were not correctly recognized by the AddInvoiceXml method when creating a ZUGFeRD invoice.

Version 1.5.0​

28 June 2024

Added​

  • You can now pass an optional -q <qual> parameter to the convert command in the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool, to set the image quality using the ImageQuality property when converting a PDF file to PDF/A. This setting is used when images must be recompressed during the PDF/A conversion process.

Version 1.4.0​

10 June 2024

Added​

  • Support for converting a PDF document and an XML file to a PDF/A invoice in ZUGFeRD or Factur-X format. You can now pass an optional -xml <file> parameter to the convert command of the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool to embed the specified XML file and create the invoice.
  • You can now rotate a page when copying it from one PDF to another. Pass the optional -rot <value> parameter to the merge command to rotate a set of pages by the specified value (90, 180, or 270 degrees) before adding them to the output file.
  • Support for digital signature functionality using the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool. You can now sign, certify, and timestamp PDF files. You can also add and list signature fields, and check the validity of the digital signatures in a PDF document.

Version 1.3.0​

25 April 2024

Added​

  • Support for mixed raster content (MRC) optimization. You can now use the mixed raster content optimization profile by using the optimize-mrc command with the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool.
  • You can now enable or disable the reduce color complexity by using the -drc option when performing PDF optimization.

Version 1.2.0​

12 April 2024

Added​

  • Support PDF to PDF/A file conversion. All supported PDF and PDF/A versions are listed in Supported PDF versions.
  • Support PDF file validation of conformance with PDF or PDF/A standards listed in Supported PDF versions.
  • Before version 1.2 the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool was only available as a framework-dependent .NET application. Now you can also download the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool as a self-contained application for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Version 1.1.0​

19 January 2024

Added​

  • Support for merging and splitting PDF files to assemble new output documents.
  • Support for rendering a PDF files to an image suitable for fax, archiving, or viewing.

Version 1.0.0​

22 September 2023

Added​

  • Support for converting images to PDF or PDF/A files
  • Support compression and optimization of PDF files for web, archive, or print to minimize the file size.