PDF Component Comparison Chart

ABCpdf is perfect for PDF generation under C#, .NET, ASP and VB.NET. This is just a summary of the extensive list of features supported by ABCpdf.

If you are conducting a product comparison, why not print off this feature chart and use it as a ticklist for other products you are evaluating? We guarantee it will be a revealing experience!


 
Feature available in both Standard and Professional Editions.
Feature available in Professional Edition only.
Note that some features are only available via the .NET interfaces.

Feature 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Designed for .NET / ASP.NET / C#
Native Support for .NET Platform
Legacy Support for VB & Classic ASP
Designed for Blazing Performance in High Stress Multithreaded Environments
Cross Platform Windows and Linux            
Support for Windows XP / 2003    
Support for Windows Vista / 2008
Support for Windows 7 / 2008 R2
Support for Windows 8 / 2012 R2    
Support for Windows 10      
Support for Windows 11          
Support for Windows Server 2016      
Support for Windows Server 2019        
Support for Windows Server 2022          
Support for Linux            
Support for IE8
Support for IE9  
Support for IE10    
Support for IE11    
Native 64 Bit Support for .NET
Native 64 Bit Support for VB / ASP / COM
Deploy Joint x86/x64 Installations  
Built for .NET 2.0          
Built for .NET 4.0    
Built for .NET 5.0          
Built for .NET 6.0          
Built for .NET 7.0          
Built for .NET 8.0            
NuGet Package covering .NET 4, .NET 5, .NET 6, .NET 7 and .NET 8.0          
Individual NuGet Package for .NET Core            
Individual NuGet Package for .NET Standard            
100% PDF Compatible
ABCpdf is constantly being updated to support newer versions of the PDF specification. You won't be left behind with ABCpdf.
Acrobat 2 [PDF 1.1] Compatible
Acrobat 3 [PDF 1.2] Compatible
Acrobat 4 [PDF 1.3] Compatible
Acrobat 5 [PDF 1.4] Compatible
Acrobat 6 [PDF 1.5] Compatible
Acrobat 7 [PDF 1.6] Compatible
Acrobat 8 [PDF 1.7] Compatible
Acrobat 9 Compatible
Acrobat X Compatible  
Acrobat XI Compatible    
Acrobat DC 2016 Compatible      
Acrobat DC 2020 Compatible          
PDF 2.0 - ISO 32000-2:2017 Compatible        
PDF 2.0 - ISO 32000-2:2020 Compatible          
Auto-fix Corrupt PDFs
Validate and Rebuild Corrupt PDFs    
GigaPDFâ„¢ Extremely Large Document Support    
Read PDF Portfolios / Collections      
Create, Edit & Save PDF Portfolios / Collections      
Create 3D PDFs by importing existing 3D data        
Document Level Operations
Some of these operations are very similar. For example an Append and a Merge operation are essentially the same In the documentation we refer only to the Append method. All these operations are easy using ABCpdf but the precise method you use to accomplish them may vary depending on what you are trying to achieve.
Read Documents
Modify Documents
Append / Stitch / Merge Documents
Draw Between Documents
Draw Between Documents - Accelerated Processing        
Delete Pages
Import / Extract Pages
Import / Extract Pages Preserving Tag Structure            
Save to Disk
Save to Memory
Stream to Browser
Shuffle / Remap Pages
Linearization / Fast Web View
Tagged PDF
Incremental Update
Refactor on Save
Change Color Space of Document  
Recolor Document with Rendering Intent      
Convert any document to PDF/A    
Validate any document for PDF/A Conformance    
Support for PDF/A Part 1 Level A and B    
Support for PDF/A Part 2 Level A, B and U        
Transparency Flattening    
Improved Transparency Flattening      
PDF Size Optimization and Reduction    
PDF Size Optimization and Reduction - Enhanced            
Tag any document for accessibility    
Improved accessibility tagging      
Accessibility tagging table support        
Accessibility tagging list (eg bullet point) support        
Accessibility tagging page header support        
Accessibility tagging page footer support        
Accessibility tagging document outline structure support        
Accessibility tagging custom structure support        
Document tagging analysis and modification classes            
Image Placement Analysis and Extraction    
Image Placement Analysis and Extraction - Double Speed            
Text Location, Selection and Extraction    
Improved Text Location, Selection and Extraction      
Incremental Update Revision History    
Incremental Update Revision Extraction            
Incremental Update Reversion    
Image De-inlining    
Cloud Vision Optical Character Recognition (OCR)            
Cloud Vision Image Analysis and Description            
Text Support
ABCpdf supports an extremely wide range of text formatting options from simple options like bold or italic synthesized typefaces to advanced features like text rise and tracking. We keep these easy to use via HTML Styled Text which allows you to specify your styles simply and easily using HTML style coding.
Multistyled Text Support
HTML Styled Text Support
Internal Hyperlink Support
External Hyperlink Support
Full Unicode Support
Horizontal or Vertical Layout for CJK
Bidirectional Layout for Hebrew & Arabic
Contextual Ligatures for Arabic      
Automatic Typographic Ligature Substitution      
Itemized Lists [eg bullet points]
Text Flow Between Pages
Text Flow Between Columns
Text Flow Around Variable Shapes Like Images      
Draw Text on a Curve      
Tracking
Kerning      
Alignment
Justification
Line Spacing
Line Break Rules
Text Annotations
Precise Control over PDF Text Operators
Leaders for Tables of Contents      
Autoscale Text to fit an Area      
Measure Length of Text      
Get Itemized Layout Information for Multistyled Text      
Raster Image Support
ABCpdf allows you to import an unparalleled range of raster image formats. Most importantly it allows you to import them properly color corrected in their native color spaces. Very few other PDF libraries allow either of these functions and none will allow you the same flexibility of import options.
JPEG
TIFF
GIF
PNG
BMP
EXIF
EMF
WMF
JPEG 2000 [.jp2 or .jpx]
Photoshop PSD      
Photoshop PSB Large Document Format      
High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF)          
WebP          
RAW Formats - .3fr, .ari, .arw, .bay, .cap, .cr2, .cr3, etc          
DirectDraw Surface (DDS)          
Windows Media Photo (JPEG XR - JPEG extended range)          
Multiple Frame Support [eg for Fax TIFF]
Watermarking
Transparent Masks
Alpha Channels
ICC Colorspaces
Import in Native Color Space [RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, B&W or Lab]
Import at PDF Native Depths [1, 8 and 16 bits per component]      
Import HDR [High Dynamic Range] 32 bit Images      
Multi-format, multi-frame TIFF import    
Non-standard JPEG-in-TIFF import    
Dedicated TFF import module for enhanced reliability      
Auto-Rotated TIFF import      
Photoshop Layer Support      
Photoshop Multichannel and Spot Color Space Support      
JPEG 2000 export in 8 and 16 bit depth
JPEG 2000 export in 1, 2 and 3 bit depth            
Native import modules for PNG, GIF, JPEG and BMP            
PNG import module supporting all native depths and color spaces            
BMP export module supporting native depths, color spaces, palettes, compression and ICC profiles            
JPEG 2000 tag extraction            
TIFF tag extraction            
Vector Image Support
ABCpdf allows you to import highly complex formats like vector EPS and XPS. Most importantly it does things properly ensuring that the vector representation is preserved when the source document is converted. Very few other PDF libraries allow either of these functions and none will allow you the same flexibility of import options.
True Vector Import
RTF / Rich Text Format      
PostScript
EPS / EPSF
XPS / XML Paper Specification
WPF / Windows Presentation Foundation / Silverlight
SWF / Flash
SWF / Flash [rasterization only]
SVG / Scalable Vector Graphics
Preserves Color Spaces [where possible]
Preserves Fonts [where possible]
Graphics Support
ABCpdf gives you simple one-line methods for common graphics operations. However it doesn't restrict you. The entire gamut of PDF operators is available using ABCpdf.
Rectangles
Rounded Rectangles
Circles
Ovals
Lines
Arrows and Line Endings        
Pie Slices
Polygons
Custom Operators [Bezier Curves, Paths etc]
Form XObjects      
RGB Graphics
CMYK Graphics
Grayscale Graphics
Spot Color Graphics
ICC Based Colorspace Graphics
Lab Graphics      
Calibrated RGB Graphics      
Calibrated Grayscale Graphics      
Multichannel Graphics      
Pattern Graphics      
Transparent Graphics
Advanced Graphics Classes
Graphics Effect Support
ABCpdf contains a host of image effects for common graphics operations. These allow you to process your images for optimal presentation and achieve styles such as drop shadows.
Autolevels Effect      
Brightness Effect      
Contrast Effect      
Convolution Effect      
Despeckle Effect      
Equalize Effect      
Gaussian Blur Effect      
Histogram Effect      
Laplacian Effect      
Levels Effect      
Median Effect      
Pinch Effect      
Ripple Effect      
Sharpen Effect      
Twirl Effect      
Unsharp Mask Effect      
Wave Effect      
HTML Support
ABCpdf is the only product we are aware of which fully supports HTML/CSS placed content.
Full Support for HTML
Full Support for CSS
Place Content Anywhere on the Page
Render Local Web Pages
Render Remote Web Pages
Flow HTML Over Multiple PDF Pages
Support CSS page break tags
Live Hyperlinks
Live Form Fields
Live Movies (eg Flash, AVI, MPEG, WMV)
Parameter Driven Movies (eg Flash Charts)
Flash Vector Import
Custom Tagged Content
Access to raw HTML Pages via Callbacks
Control over Font Substitution and Embedding
Control over Authenticated Access
KiloPage Large Document Optimizations
MHT Support
MSHTML Rendering Engine  
Gecko 4.0 Rendering Engine            
Gecko 21 Rendering Engine            
Gecko 38 Rendering Engine      
ABCWebKit Rendering Engine (x64 only)          
ABCChrome 65 Rendering Engine (x64 only)        
ABCChrome 86 Rendering Engine (x64 only)          
ABCChrome 117 Rendering Engine (x64 only)            
ABCChrome 123 Rendering Engine (x64 only)            
ABCChrome Double Speed Conversion            
Web Font Support        
FontAwesome Support        
FireShield HTML Security Layer        
FireShield Enhanced Security Layer            
FireShield File Path Rules          
FireShield Network IP Rules            
FireShield File Rewrite Rules            
Automatic AJAX Support        
THEAD and TFOOT repeated headers  
Screen and print media selection  
Embedded SVG  
Supports the majority of the SVG Full profile  
HTML5 and CSS3 standards  
XML pages with XSLT and MathML  
Direct image addition avoiding recompression    
BaseURI for Local References          
WebPageOperation for whole document support.            
HTML tags translated to PDF tags.            
HTML tags translated to PDF outline.            
Header and footer support with variable text (eg page numbers).            
Document Support
ABCpdf can read a variety of document formats when helper applications like OpenOffice.org are installed . OpenOffice.org is freely distributed under the LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License).
Microsoft Word [.doc]
Microsoft Excel [.xls]
Microsoft PowerPoint [.ppt]
Microsoft InfoPath [.xsn]
Microsoft OneNote [.one]
Microsoft Project [.mpp]
Microsoft Publisher [.pub]
Rich Text Format [.rtf] (via helper application)
Rich Text Format [.rtf] (native support)      
WordPerfect [.wpd]
Lotus 1-2-3 [.wk1]
Microsoft AutoCAD [.dxf]
All Formats Supported by Helper Applications
Can use OpenOffice.org
Can use MS Office 2007 [with MS Word's PDF export add-in]  
Can use MS Office 2010  
Can use MS Office 2013    
Can use MS Office 2016      
Can use MS Office 2019          
Can use MS Office 2021          
Can use WordGlue 1.0  
Can use WordGlue 2.0    
Can use other Applications
OpenOffice.org Custom Parameters
Import Bookmarks  
Import Forms and Fields  
Font Support
ABCpdf operates a blazingly fast font sub-setting routine.
Base 14 Fonts
TrueType Fonts
OpenType Fonts
Type 1 Fonts
Dynamic Loading of Fonts
Dynamic Unloading of Fonts  
TrueType & OpenType Font Subsetting
CFF Font Subsetting      
Font Metrics
Enhanced Font Metrics I    
Enhanced Font Metrics II      
Standard Text Encoding    
Complex Text Encoding      
Complex Text Decoding      
Font Extraction    
Font Resubsetting    
Font Unembedding    
Font Reembedding    
Easy Font Reembedding      
Page Layout
The documentation contains examples for the following common types of page layout.
Page Numbers
Headers and Footers
Content in Columns
Content in Tables
Complex Optimized Tables [Enhanced for .NET]
System.Drawing Code
WPF Code
Treat Documents as Images
Treat Images as Documents
eForms and Annotations
eForms provide a useful method of locating content on the page. Typically a template is prepared and fields are used as placeholders for the location of dynamic content.
Change Values of Fields
Stamp Fields into Document
Stamp Annotations into Document      
Use Fields as Placeholders
On Demand Generation of Field Appearances
Improved Generation of Field Appearances
Generation of Annotation Appearances
Comb Field Support
Enhanced Complex Script and Unusual Character Support
Digital Signature Support
Dynamic creation of Checkbox Fields          
Dynamic creation of Combo Box Fields          
Dynamic creation of List Box Fields          
Dynamic creation of Text Fields          
Dynamic creation of Radio Button Groups          
Dynamic creation of Button Fields          
Dynamic creation of Signature Fields          
Move Fields on Page      
Move Fields Between Pages      
Get amid Set Field Font & Size      
Get and Set Field Text Color      
Get and Set Field Text Alignment & Kerning      
Get and Set Field Flags      
Access and Manipulate Field Default Appearance      
Find all Annotations for a Field      
Get and Set Annotation Styles such as Border and Background      
Get and Set Annotation Rotation      
Get and Set Annotation Flags such as Hidden and Print      
Acrobat JavaScript field calculations        
Acrobat JavaScript function calls          
Acrobat JavaScript delegate callbacks          
Acrobat 3D Annotation Support        
Dynamic creation of Circle Annotations          
Dynamic creation of 3D Annotations          
Dynamic creation of File Attachment Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Free Text Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Ink Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Line Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Link Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Polygon Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Polyline Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Popup Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Rich Media Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Screen Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Square Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Stamp Annotations          
Dynamic creation of Text Markup Annotations          
Rendering / Display / Rasterization
ABCpdf allows you to export or rasterize PDF documents for output in a variety of image formats, for print or for display on screen.
Render to File or Stream
Render to Memory
Render Direct to Screen
Print PDF
Optimized Printing Code        
Output calibrated against the Ghent PDF Output Suite          
Enhanced Complex Script and Unusual Character Support
Render to TIFF
Render to JPEG
Render to Progressive JPEG        
Render to JPEG 2000 [.jp2 or .jpx]
Render to GIF
Render to PNG
Render to BMP
Render to High Efficiency Image File Format - HEIF          
Render to WebP          
Render to DirectDraw Surface - DDS          
Render to Windows Media Photo (JPEG XR - JPEG extended range)          
Render to Vector EMF
Render to Vector EPS or PostScript [Grayscale, RGB or CMYK]
Render to Vector EPS or PostScript [RGB only]
Render to Vector SWF / Flash
Render to Vector XPS [.NET 3.x]
Render to Vector SVG
Export to HTML  
Export to DOCX  
Export to WebGL        
Export to 3D OBJ        
GIF Adaptive Palette  
GIF and PNG Custom Palettes        
True 8 bit Grayscale PNG access  
True RGB PNG with optional Alpha Transparency  
True 16 bit Grayscale PNG access        
Tiny Indexed RGB PNG with optional Alpha Transparency        
Full PDF Transparency Support
Full eForm Support
Support for Native Color Spaces [RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, or Lab]
Support for Named Separation or Spot Color Output
Support for Alpha Transparency Output
Support for Page Backdrop Color          
Support for Device Color Spaces
Support for ICC or Calibrated Color Spaces
Fully Calibrated Output in any Color Space
Control over Rendering Area of Interest
Control over Rendering Resolution
Different Horizontal and Vertical Resolutions
Multipaged Output [eg for TIFF]
Control over Compression [eg for CCITT TIFF]
1 bit per component [eg B&W] output
8 bit per component [eg 32 bit CMYK] output
16 bit per component [eg 48 bit RGB] output
Custom Halftone Support
Font Substitution and Warnings Report
Metadata Output [eg for TIFF]    
Higher Quality Line Stroking      
Higher Quality Antialiased Clipping      
U3D (Universal 3D) Rendering      
PRC (Product Representation Compact) 3D Rendering        
Windows Forms control for interactive 3D Rendering and Manipulation        
Page and Document Settings
ABCpdf allows you to use a variety of page sizes and orientations. It also allows access to advanced page metrics such as the CropBox and ArtBox.
Page Size
Page Orientation
Page View Mode
Read Document Information
Insert Document Information
Support Custom Information Fields
Support Bookmarks
Enhanced Bookmark Support
Text Extraction
SVG Extraction
SVG+ Extraction
Get Page Content as Graphics Objects
Advanced Page Size Metrics      
Access & Create Page Thumbnails      
Convert Page to Form XObject      
Easy Access to Page Content Stream            
Fast Deconstruction of Page Content Stream      
Find Operators in Page Content Stream      
Get Operator Parameters in Page Content Stream      
Modify and Reassemble Page Content Stream      
Content Stream Aggregation and Collection        
Find all the colors used on a page        
Simple Optimized Scanning of Content Streams          
Simple Optimized Access to Resources Referenced by Content Streams          
Simple Optimized Maintenance of Graphics State in Content Streams          
Simple Optimized Access to Atomic Values in Content Streams          
Simple Optimized Access to Atomic Values in Content Streams - Enhanced            
More Efficient Access to Compressed Stream Data            
Virtual Page Operation for 'offscreen' Drawing          
Encryption and Signatures
ABCpdf fully supports encryption within the legal framework set down by Adobe.
Support 40 bit keys
Support 128 bit keys
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit  
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Revision 5      
Encrypt Documents
Decrypt Documents
Read Document Permissions
Apply Document Permissions
Apply Password Protection
Creation of Signed Documents
Validation of Signed Documents
Creation of Sequentially Signed Documents
Time Stamping Service Interface  
Incremental Signing  
Incremental Signature Validation    
Signature Trust Level    
Long Term Validation (LTV) & Long Term Archival (LTA)        
PAdES Support        
Hardware Security Module (HSM) Support        
Enhanced Digital Signature Support          
Enhanced Validation Information          
Add Digital Timestamps          
Lock Document after Signing          
Make Document Certification Signatures          
Revocation policy for Long Term Validation (LTV) analysis            
Flexible options for external signing delegates            
Flexible options for Certification signatures            
Other
You can never be boxed into a corner with low level access to the raw PDF objects. ABCpdf - unlimited flexibility.
Low level access to PDF objects
Structured access to PDF native Elements        
300+ Element classes covering PDF 1.0 to PDF 2.0 Specification        
Intellisense for each Element linking directly to the PDF Specification        
Variable Level Floating Point Precision          
Decompress any Stream
Compress Streams using Flate
Compress Streams using JPEG
Compress Streams using JPEG 2000
Compress Streams using CCITT
Compress Streams using ASCII 85  
Compress Streams using ASCII Hex  
Compress Streams using Run Length  
Resize PDF Images
Resample PDF Images
Flip PDF Images      
Rotate PDF Images      
Access PDF Image Mask, Soft Mask or Matte      
Save PDF Image in Native Format      
Change Color Space of PDF Images
Change Color Space of PDF Content
Enhanced debug view for easier development