Pdftools SDK technical specifications
Pdftools SDK provides a comprehensive development library for C, C#, Java, and Python with advanced PDF capabilities.
Functionality
The following list provides an overview of the core functionality of the Pdftools SDK with links to specific implementation guides:
- Archive PDFs to PDF/A: Archive documents to PDF/A standards.
- Compress and optimize PDFs: Compress and optimize PDF files.
- Convert images to PDFs: Convert various image formats to PDFs.
- Convert PDFs to images: Convert PDFs to image formats.
- Embed e-invoice as ZUGFeRD or Factur-X: Add ZUGFeRD or Factur-X invoices.
- Merge and split PDFs: Assemble documents, merge, split, and extract PDF content.
- Sign and certify PDFs: Sign and certify documents.
- Secure and encrypt PDFs: Secure and encrypt documents.
- Validate PDFs: Validate PDF conformance against many specification types.
Trial license
You can use the same license key for the Pdftools SDK, Pdftools Shell Tool, and Toolbox add-on. The Pdftools SDK and Pdftools SDK Shell Tool don’t require a trial license key, but the Toolbox add-on requires it.
| SDK | Can be used without license | Use with trial license | Use with full license |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pdftools SDK | Yes, adds watermark. | Adds watermark. | No watermark. |
| Pdftools SDK Shell Tool | |||
| Toolbox add-on | No, processing fails. | Adds watermark. | No watermark. |
Supported languages and frameworks
The Pdftools SDK is available for the following languages:
Supported operating systems
The Pdftools SDK is available for multiple operating systems:
| Operating system | Supported architecture and other dependencies |
|---|---|
| Windows Client 7+ | x86 or x64 |
| Windows Server 2008+ | x86 or x64 |
| macOS 10.10+ | x64 or arm64 |
| Linux (RHEL 6.9+, CentOS 6+, Oracle Linux 8+, Fedora 29+, Debian 10+, Ubuntu 22.04+) | x64 |
| Other Linux distribution (glibc 2.34+) | Linux kernel 2.6+, GCC toolset 4.8+, glibc 2.34+, x64 |
| Other Linux distribution (glibc 2.12+) | Linux kernel 2.6+, GCC toolset 4.1+, glibc 2.12+, x64 |
Supported PDF versions
Pdftools SDK supports the following PDF versions:
| Version | Standard |
|---|---|
| PDF 1.x | PDF Reference 1.3 - 1.6 |
| PDF 1.7 | PDF 1.7 / ISO 32000-1 |
| PDF 2.0 | PDF 2.0 / ISO 32000-2 |
| PDF/A-1a | PDF/A-1a / ISO 19005-1 / Level A conformance |
| PDF/A-1b | PDF/A-1b / ISO 19005-1 / Level B conformance |
| PDF/A-2a | PDF/A-2a / ISO 19005-2 / Level A conformance |
| PDF/A-2b | PDF/A-2b / ISO 19005-2 / Level B conformance |
| PDF/A-2u | PDF/A-2u / ISO 19005-2 / Level U conformance |
| PDF/A-3a | PDF/A-3a / ISO 19005-3 / Level A conformance |
| PDF/A-3b | PDF/A-3b / ISO 19005-3 / Level B conformance |
| PDF/A-3u | PDF/A-3u / ISO 19005-3 / Level U conformance |
Supported image file formats
The Pdftools SDK supports the following image file formats:
- JPEG
- JPEG2000
- JBIG2
- PNG
- GIF
- TIFF
- HEIC/HEIF
Get started
Try the SDKs with one of the Getting started guides.