Conversion Service on Windows Server

Learn how to install and use the Conversion Service on Windows Server to automate document processes.

Get trial license

To try or fully use the Conversion Service, you must obtain a license key. To get the Conversion Service evaluation license key for free, follow these steps:

1. Sign up or log in to the Pdftools Portal.
2. On the Products page, next to the Conversion Service, click Get started or See product.
   
3. Next to the Conversion Service Trial, click the Copy .
   

You now have a free trial license key. Its limitations are the following:

• The converted files have a watermark
• The license key is limited to 90 days.

note

The trial license key is valid for 90 days starting at UTC time. The Pdftools Portal indicates the validity period starting at 89 days (as the consumption of the first day already started). This period may slightly vary depending on your time zone relative to UTC.

Request full license

tip

You can try the Conversion Service for free with a trial license key. In this section, you can learn how to request a full license key.

To request a full license key, follow these steps:

1. Sign up or log in to the Pdftools Portal.
2. On the Products page, next to the Conversion Service, click Request license.
   
3. On the Contact us window, fill in the requested fields, and then click Submit.

Customers before November 2024

If you already were a customer of Pdftools before November 2024 and you need to renew your license:

1. Reach out to the sales team through the Contact page.

Prerequisites

To install and run the Conversion Service on Windows Server, install the following .NET runtimes from the Download .NET website:

• .NET Framework 4.7
• .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0 (x64)
• ASP.NET Core Runtime 8.0 (x64)

note

The indicated versions are the minimal versions supported. You can use a newer version also.

Download the installer

To download the Conversion Service installer, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Pdftools Portal.
2. On the Products page, next to the Conversion Service, click Get started or See product.
   
3. In Product kits section, find the ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msi package, and then click Download . The exact filename, for example, ConversionService-5.7.1.8691.msi, depends on the version you are installing.
   

Available installers explained:

• Windows Server: The ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msi installs the Conversion Service itself and provides the following applications that let you configure workflow profiles and more:
  • Conversion Service Configurator
  • PDF Client for Conversion Service
  • Conversion Service shell client (CLI)
  • Licensing Gateway Service (LGS)
• Windows clients: ConversionService-Client-VERSION_NUMBER.msi to install the following applications:
  • PDF Client for Conversion Service
  • Conversion Service shell client (CLI)
  • Office Add-ins

caution

• Don't install the ConversionService-Client-VERSION_NUMBER.msi installer on the same machine where you installed the Conversion Service Configurator with the ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msi. Conflicting installations can cause the Conversion Service to stop functioning correctly.

Customers before 2024

If you already were a customer of Pdftools before November 2024, replace the three actions described in the previous procedure with the following:

1. Log in to the My PDF Tools Portal, and then click Licenses & Kits.
2. Click Conversion Service.
3. In ACTIVE LICENSES or EVALUATIONS sections, find the Conversion Service MSI, and then click DOWNLOAD. The filename can be for example ConversionService-5.7.2.4801.msi.

Install the service and activate the license key

To install the Conversion Service and activate the license key, follow these steps:

1. Open the ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msiinstaller and proceed with the guided installation.
2. In the My PDF Tools Portal, go to Licenses & Kits, and then click Conversion Service.
3. In the License section, click the LICENSE button to reveal the license key, and then click COPY.
4. Open the Conversion Service Configurator, and then click the License tab.
   
5. Paste the license key into the Key field and click Add.

Install and activate additional clients

After installing the Conversion Service on a Windows Server machine, you can install additional clients on other Windows machines in your network. In this configuration, users in your network send files for processing to the Conversion Service running on your server. The files are automatically processed and sent back to the client machines.

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Note that the ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msi you installed in the previous section already includes the PDF Client for Conversion Service, which you can run on your server machine.

1. Log in to the Pdftools Portal.
2. On the Products page, next to the Conversion Service, click Get started or See product.
   
3. In Product kits section, find the ConversionService-Client-VERSION_NUMBER.msi package, and then click Download . The exact filename, for example, ConversionService-Client-5.7.1.8691.msi, depends on the version you are installing.
   
4. Connect the clients to your Conversion Service running on a server:
   1. In the PDF Client for Conversion Service, click the three vertical dots , and then Settings.
   2. In the Service Host Address field, insert the IP address or name of the server machine where the Conversion Service is installed.

Basics of the Conversion Service

The following sections guide you through the essentials of the Conversion Service. Follow each of these sections step by step:

1. Convert a file
2. Configure a profile
3. Configure Microsoft Office file conversion
4. Integrate a watched folder
5. Convert various files

Convert a file

Convert a PDF file to PDF/A using the default configuration:

1. In the PDF Client for Conversion Service, drag a PDF file to the Input box.
   
2. Click Convert.

info

In the PDF Client for Conversion Service, you can select workflows and profiles to specify conversion types and change the output filename.

Alternatively, you can also use a shell client to make the same conversion using the default profile:

1. In a command prompt, issue the following command:

   pdfclient input.pdf output.pdf

   The input.pdf file is located on your machine, and output.pdf is the name of the generated PDF. The output file is saved in the same directory where you are currently working with the shell client.

Configure a profile

Configure a custom profile to add a stamp to converted documents:

1. In the Conversion Service Configurator, go to Workflows & Profiles.

2. Next to Archive PDF/A-2, click Add.

3. Create a name for the new profile. For example: awesome-test-profile

   

4. In the Processing Steps section, enable the Stamping toggle.

5. Scroll down to the Stamping section, and then click Add item.

   

6. Click Text Stamp, and then click Next.

7. In the Text field, enter a stamp text. For example: Hello world

8. Optional: To display the stamp in the upper right corder of the PDF file, scroll down to Layout section, and edit the parameters as follows:

   

   If you don't specify any values in the Layout section, the stamp is displayed in the centre of the page.

9. Click Apply, then click Apply in the Configurator again.

10. In the Changes detected dialog box, click Save & Restart Service.

11. In the PDF Client for Conversion Service, drag a PDF file to the Input box.

12. In the Profile drop-down list, select a created custom profile. For example: awesome-test-profile

13. Click Convert.

You learned to configure your custom profile for Archive PDF/A-2 workflow, and add a configured stamp on converted documents.

Configure Microsoft Office file conversion

To convert Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to PDF files with the Conversion Service, you need a valid Microsoft 365 for Business license. For Microsoft Office file conversion, we recommend using the English (en-US) version of the operating system. To enable Microsoft Office file conversion in the Conversion Service, issue the following steps:

1. In the Conversion Service Configurator, go to Conversion Service tab, and then scroll to the Configuration section.

   

2. Next to the Office Conversion, click Configure, from the displayed window, select Local Office Installation and Automatically Create a User Account, and then click Next.

   

   This option creates a user account with pre-configured settings. For detailed information about all available configuration options, review Convert Microsoft Office files.

3. Click Apply, and then in the Changes detected dialog box, click Save & Restart Service.

4. In the PDF Client for Conversion Service, click the Profile drop-down list, and then select a profile where Office conversion is used. For example, awesome-test-profile.

5. Drag a Microsoft Office file to the Input box.

6. Click Convert.

You learned how to configure Microsoft Office file conversion in the Conversion Service.

note

If you experience any issues during configuration or conversion, refer to the Troubleshooting in the Convert Microsoft Office files documentation.

Integrate a watched folder

Automatically convert all documents every time a file is included in the specified folder. This type of folder is called a watched folder. Learn how to create a watched folder using the profile configured in the previous section. To integrate a watched folder, follow these steps:

1. In the Conversion Service Configurator, go to Integration, and then click Add.
2. Name the integration. For example: my-custom-watched-folder.
3. Select Archive PDF/A-2 as a workflow, and as a profile select the previously created awesome-test-profile.
   
4. Click Input, and then select the Watched Folder and click Next.
   
5. Select an input folder path, and then click Apply.
   
6. Click Output, and then select the Output Folder and click Next.
7. Select the output folder path, and then click Apply.
   
8. Click Apply again.
9. In the Changes detected dialog box, click Save & Restart Service.

When you include PDF files in the watched folder, the Conversion Service automatically converts them using the selected workflow and profile and copies them to the output folder. In this case, the awesome-test-profile example added a stamp and converted PDF files to PDF/A-2.

Convert various files

The Conversion Service is designed to convert as many file formats as possible into selected output formats. Use it to convert various files:

1. In the PDF Client for Conversion Service, drop various files to the Drag & drop files and folders here or click to select file(s) section. For example:
   • PNG image
   • JPEG image
   • An EML (email message file)
   • A PDF file
   • An XML file
   
2. Optional: Enable the Merge toggle to merge all converted files into one.
3. Click Convert.

If you enabled the Merge toggle, the Conversion Service created a PDF/A-2 with all the files nested as the portfolio files.

Next steps

You learned how to run the Conversion Service in Docker, create and export a custom profile, and convert a file using PDF Client for Conversion Service. Review the following documentation for more details:

• Set up the service depending on your installation.
• Adapt the default profile or create a new profile for a workflow.
• Create a new workflow

There are also several ways how to integrate the Conversion Service into your system:

• Watched folder and other connectors
• Shell client
• REST API
• GUI