syncfusion-dotnet-pdf

PDF Document Processing

Overview

Create, read, write, and convert PDF files using the Syncfusion PDF Library. This skill supports two operational modes — generating C# code for the user's project or executing tasks directly through a CSX script.

Key Capabilities

• Create & Edit: PDF files from scratch, text, images (various formats), tables, shapes, paragraphs, headings, styles, lists, hyperlinks, bookmarks, headers/footers, watermarks, template management, metadata editing
• Forms & Interactive Elements: Create, fill, and flatten forms (AcroForms and XFA), bookmarks, annotations, attachments, buttons, and content controls
• Advanced Features: Comments, layers (add, remove, flatten), PDF portfolios, JavaScript execution, 3D model embedding and interaction, rich media content (audio/video), optical character recognition (Tesseract engine), text redaction, image redaction, digital signatures and validation
• Conversion: XPS to PDF, PDF to PDF/A conformance, extract text and images from PDF documents
• Security: Password encryption/decryption, advanced encryption standards, document protection with editable ranges, macro management, digital signing capabilities
• Barcodes & Standards: 1D barcodes, 2D barcodes, ZUGFeRD invoice support, PDF/A-1B, PDF/A-1A, PDF/A-2B, PDF/A-2A, PDF/A-2U, PDF/A-3B, PDF/A-3A, PDF/A-3U, PDF/A-4, PDF/A-4E, PDF/A-4F, PDF/X1-A conformances, Accessible PDF/Tagged PDF (PDF/UA) with Section 508 compliance
• Additional Operations: Merge and split PDF files, open and modify existing PDF files, compress PDF files, corrupted PDF detection.

Quick Start Examples

Example 1: Generate Code (Mode 1)

User: "Show me the C# code to create a PDF with a title, a heading, and a paragraph." Result: C# code snippet displayed (no files created)

Example 2: Execute Task (Mode 2)

User: "Generate a meeting agenda document and save it to output/agenda.pdf." Result: Physical file created at specified path

Two Modes — Choose Based on User Intent

Mode 1: Generate C# Code for the User's Project (default)

Trigger keywords: "code", "snippet", "how to write", "Program.cs", "show me", "sample", "example code", "generate code for".

Workflow:

1. Build the C# code using snippets from references/*.md files and replace placeholders with actual content
2. Add the code directly into the user's project files (e.g., Program.cs)
3. Do not create or run any .csx script

Note: Use Syncfusion.Drawing namespace for this code for cross-platform projects, not System.Drawing. This ensures compatibility across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Note: If Syncfusion.Pdf.Net.Core package is suggested, then must be use the Syncfusion.Drawing namespace for graphics operations instead of System.Drawing to ensure cross-platform compatibility. The Syncfusion.Pdf.Net.Core package is designed to work with the Syncfusion.Drawing namespace, which provides a consistent API for drawing operations across different platforms. Using System.Drawing may lead to compatibility issues, especially on non-Windows platforms, as it relies on GDI+ which is not fully supported outside of Windows. Therefore, always use Syncfusion.Drawing when working with PDF graphics in a cross-platform context.

Note: If RectangleF, PointF, SizeF, or Color types are needed, use the ones from Syncfusion.Drawing namespace for cross-platform compatibility, not the ones from System.Drawing. This ensures that the code will work correctly on Windows, macOS, and Linux without relying on GDI+.

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Mode 2: Execute via CSX Script (does not touch project files)

Trigger keywords: "create a pdf document", "make a document", "generate a document", "open", "edit", "modify", "change" a .pdf file, "without modifying my project", "run a csx script", or when the user provides a file path (e.g., output/report.pdf).

Workflow:

1. Create {skill-root}/syncfusion-dotnet-pdf/scripts/temp-{timestamp}.csx using references/template.csx as the base or references/template-ocr.csx for OCR-specific operations. Example, skill-root = .github/skills.
2. Add required operations from references/*.md snippets and replace placeholders with actual content
3. Run: dotnet script {skill-root}/syncfusion-dotnet-pdf/scripts/temp-{timestamp}.csx
4. Delete the temp script after execution
5. Report SUCCESS/ERROR and show the output file path

Note: Use Syncfusion.Drawing namespace for this csx script, not System.Drawing.

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Code References

All templates and snippets are in the references/ folder:

File	Contents
template.csx	Core CSX script template (used in Mode 2)
document-structure.md	Document lifecycle: create, save, close; sections and page setup
open-pdf.md	Open existing PDFs from file stream, byte array, encrypted files, corrupted documents, and cloud storage (Azure Blob, AWS S3, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox)
save-pdf.md	Save new and loaded PDFs to file path, MemoryStream, byte array, and cloud storage (Azure Blob, AWS S3, Google Drive, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox)
pages.md	Add, insert, remove, rotate, rearrange, import, and configure pages; page count, blank detection, page labels, section numbering, PageAdded event, and page-level actions
pdf-graphics.md	Working with PdfGraphics: text, images, and shapes
shapes.md	Draw shapes: lines, rectangles, ellipses, polygons, arcs, bezier curves, paths
brushes.md	Fill shapes with solid, linear gradient, radial gradient, tiling, and hatch brushes; PdfBrushes static colors; combine pen and brush
images.md	Insert, draw, replace, remove, clip, transform, and paginate raster images (JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, ICO); image masking; multi-page TIFF to PDF; unit conversion for image placement
text.md	Draw text with standard, TrueType, OpenType, and CJK fonts; alignment, RTL, complex scripts, HTML styled text, multi-column, paginated text flow, ordered/unordered lists, string measurement, text clipping detection, and unit conversion
conversions.md	Conversion guidance for scenarios such as complex HTML-to-PDF conversion that require converter APIs instead of direct drawing APIs
merge-pdf.md	Merge multiple PDFs into one file
split-pdf.md	Divide a single PDF into separate files
compress-pdf.md	Reduce and optimize PDF file size
extract-text.md	Retrieve text content from PDFs and find text within it
extract-image.md	Extract images and image metadata (bounds, index) from PDF pages and entire documents using PdfPageBase and PdfDocumentExtractor
ocr.md	Perform OCR on scanned PDFs and images using Tesseract; supports region OCR, rotated pages, layout result, page segmentation modes, engine modes, image enhancement, whitelist/blacklist, Unicode, and image-to-PDF conversion
tables.md	Build tables in PDFs using PdfGrid
headers-and-footers.md	Add headers and footers with automatic fields and dynamic content
bookmarks.md	Create and manage PDF bookmarks (outline navigation)
attachments.md	Add, manage, and extract file attachments in PDFs
security.md	Encrypt and protect PDFs with passwords and permissions
actions.md	Add interactive actions, triggers, and JavaScript to PDFs
hyperlinks.md	Add web URL links, internal document navigation, and external file links using PdfTextWebLink, PdfDocumentLinkAnnotation, and PdfFileLinkAnnotation
watermarks.md	Add text and image watermarks with transparency and rotation
portfolio.md	Create PDF portfolios embedding multiple files
layers.md	Create and manage layers (optional content) in PDFs
metadata.md	Work with document and image XMP metadata; properties schemas and custom fields
redact.md	Redaction examples and usage (text/image/pattern/regex-based redaction)
digital-sign.md	Digital signature examples: basic signing → advanced (TSA, LTV, external sign)
import-export-annotation.md	Import and export annotations (FDF, XFDF, JSON) — file, stream, and round-trip workflows
pdf-forms.md	Create, fill, modify, flatten, and manage AcroForm fields (text box, combo box, radio button, list box, check box, signature, button); covers field properties, visibility, read-only, auto-naming, complex script, and appearance
import-export-form.md	Import and export AcroForm field data (FDF, XFDF, JSON) — fill, export, round-trip, and flatten
annotations.md	Add, modify, remove, flatten PDF annotations (popup, free text, line, stamp, ink, markup, URI, redaction, cloud border, and more)
barcode.md	Add 1D (Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, Codabar, Code 93, Code 128, PDF417) and 2D (QR, DataMatrix) barcodes; export barcodes as images
colorspace.md	Work with DeviceGray, DeviceRGB, DeviceCMYK, and ICC-based color spaces for drawing and images
conformance.md	Produce PDF/A (1B, 2B, 3B) and PDF/X compliant files; convert existing PDFs to conformance standards
named-destinations.md	Add, modify, remove, and link named destinations for in-document and URL-based navigation
pdf-templates.md	Create and use PdfTemplate, PdfPageTemplateElement (header/footer), and PdfPageTemplate; create overlays and capture pages as templates
accessible-pdf.md	Create tagged PDFs, PDF/UA-2, Well-Tagged PDFs and Extract accessiblity tag elements
tagged-pdf.md	Create tagged (accessible/structured) PDFs with logical structure trees for screen-reader and reflow support
zugferd-invoice.md	Create ZUGFeRD electronic invoice PDFs (PDF/A-3b) with embedded XML; supports ZUGFeRD 1.0, 2.0, Factur-X, and XRechnung conformance levels; extract XML from existing ZUGFeRD PDFs
xps-to-pdf.md	Convert XPS (XML Paper Specification) documents to PDF using XPSToPdfConverter

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Rules

• Output files go in ./output/ directory
• Temp .csx scripts must be created inside {skill-root}/syncfusion-dotnet-pdf/scripts/ — never in the workspace root or customer scripts/ folder
• Use license key from SyncfusionLicense.txt at workspace root
• Never use Python libraries (e.g., python-pdf)
• Never leave temp .csx files after execution
• Always use the latest NuGet package version

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 8+ and dotnet-script: dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script
• Syncfusion License: SyncfusionLicense.txt or env var SYNCFUSION_LICENSE_KEY
• Free license: https://www.syncfusion.com/products/communitylicense

Documentations

• Syncfusion PDF Docs
• API Reference