Documentize introduces a powerful reorganization of its plugin architecture with new grouped plugin classes, making PDF manipulation more intuitive and efficient than ever before.
Introduction
PDF manipulation is a core requirement for many modern applications. Whether you’re building document management systems, automated reporting tools, or content conversion pipelines, having a reliable and efficient PDF processing library is essential. Documentize has long been a trusted solution in this space, and now we’re excited to introduce our newly reorganized plugin architecture with grouped plugin classes.
Another important feature is that a single license will provide multiple features. Previously, the principle was one license, one feature. The product release is planned for winter 2025.
This new organization makes our powerful PDF manipulation capabilities even more accessible and intuitive for developers. In this article, we’ll explore the new plugin groups and demonstrate how they can streamline your PDF operations in .NET applications. For more details, check the Documentation pages.
The New Plugin Architecture
Documentize has reorganized its extensive PDF functionality into logical, task-oriented groups, making it more intuitive to find and use the right tools. The new grouped plugin classes include:
- PDF Extractor - extract text, images, and metadata from PDF documents
- PDF Manager - handle core PDF operations like merging, splitting, resizing pages, rotating pages, compressing documents, table generating, TOC generating, and optimization
- PDF Converter - convert PDFs to XLS/XLSX, HTML, PNG/JPG/TIFF, PDF/A and other
- PDF Security - manage encryption, digital signatures, and access controls
- PDF Form - work with interactive PDF forms
Let’s dive into each of these groups to explore their capabilities and see them in action.
PDF Extractor - Unlocking PDF Content
The PDF Extractor group consolidates all functionality related to extracting content from PDF documents, including text, images, and metadata. This plugin will be released in October 2025.
// Create TextExtractorOptions object to set instructions
var options = new ExtractTextOptions(TextFormattingMode.Pure);
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Perform the process
var results = PdfExtractor.ExtractText(options);
// Get the extracted text from the ResultContainer object
var textExtracted = results.ResultCollection[0].ToString();
// Create ExtractImagesOptions to set instructions
var options = new ExtractImagesOptions();
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Set output Directory path
options.AddOutput(new DirectoryDataSource("path_to_results_directory"));
PdfExtractor.ExtractImages(options);
This simplified approach makes it easy to access all extraction-related functionality through a single, intuitive interface.
PDF Manager - Core Document Operations
The PDF Manager group handles essential PDF operations like merging, splitting, table generation, TOC generation, resize pages, rotate pages, compress documents, and optimization. This plugin will be released in October 2025.
// Create MergeOptions object to set instructions
var options = new PdfManager.Merge(options);
// Add input file paths
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file_1.pdf"));
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file_2.pdf"));
// Set output file path
options.AddOutput(new FileDataSource("path_to_result_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Perform the process
PdfManager.Process(options);
// Create SplitOptions object to set instructions
var options = new SplitOptions();
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Set output file paths
options.AddOutput(new FileDataSource("path_to_result_pdf_file_1.pdf"));
options.AddOutput(new FileDataSource("path_to_result_pdf_file_2.pdf"));
// Perform the process
PdfManager.Process(options);
With the PDF Manager, common document management tasks become straightforward and require minimal code.
PDF Converter - Format Transformation
The PDF Converter group specializes in converting PDFs to various formats, including images, Word/Excel documents, and HTML.
// Create PdfToDocOptions object to set instructions
var options = new PdfToDocOptions();
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Set output file path
options.AddOutput(new FileDataSource("path_to_result_file.doc"));
// Set Mode
options.Mode = DocConversionMode.Flow;
// Perform the process
PdfConverter.Process(options);
// Create PdfToTiffOptions object to set instructions
var options = new PdfToTiffOptions();
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Set output Directory path
options.AddOutput(new DirectoryDataSource("path_to_output_directory"));
// Perform the process
PdfConverter.Process(options);
The PDF Converter makes it simple to transform documents between formats while maintaining fidelity and applying customized settings.
PDF Security - Protecting Documents
The PDF Security group provides tools for securing PDF documents through encryption, permissions, and digital signatures.
// Create EncryptionOptions object to set instructions
var options = new EncryptionOptions("123456", "qwerty");
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Set output file path
options.AddOutput(new FileDataSource("path_to_result_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Perform the process
PdfSecurity.Process(options);
With the PDF Security group, implementing document protection and compliance features becomes more accessible and consistent.
PDF Form - Interactive Document Management
The PDF Form group specializes in working with interactive PDF forms, including exporting, flattening, and editing form data.
// The example demonstrates how to Flatten fields in PDF file.
// Create FormFlattenerOptions object to set instructions
var options = new FormFlattenerOptions();
// Add input file path
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Set output file path
options.AddOutput(new FileDataSource("path_to_result_pdf_file.pdf"));
// Optional parameter for skip the field with name "Surname".
options.SkipFields.Add("Surname");
// Perform the process
PdfForm.Process(options);
//The example demonstrates how to Get Field Names from PDF file.
var fieldNames = PdfForm.GetFieldNames("path_to_your_pdf_file.pdf");
The PDF Form group simplifies working with interactive forms, making it easier to integrate PDFs into your data collection and processing workflows.
Benefits of the New Architecture
The reorganization of Documentize’s plugins into these logical groups delivers several key benefits:
- Improved discoverability - Finding the right functionality is easier with logically grouped classes
- Simplified API - Related methods are organized together, creating a more intuitive developer experience
- Reduced cognitive load - Developers can focus on one area of functionality at a time
- Better code organization - Application code becomes cleaner when working with focused plugin classes
- Cost-effective - It is much cheaper to buy a Combo Plugin than to pay for several products separately
Conclusion
Documentize’s new Combo Plugin classes represent a significant step forward in making PDF manipulation more accessible and intuitive for developers. By organizing functionality into logical, task-oriented groups, we’ve made it easier to discover and use the right tools for your PDF processing needs.
Whether you’re extracting content, converting formats, managing security, or working with forms, the new plugin architecture provides a cleaner, more focused API that will help you write better code more quickly.
Ready to try the new grouped plugin classes? Visit products.documentize.com to explore our comprehensive documentation and examples.
