Release notes
Learn about the latest updates of:
Pdftools SDK
Version 1.7
Added
- The Pdftools SDK now lets you adjust the image quality using the ImageQuality property when converting a PDF file to PDF/A. This setting is used when images must be recompressed during the conversion process.
- You can now use pip package manager to install the Pdftools SDK. Use
pip install https://pdftools-public-downloads-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/productkits/PDFSDK/latest/pdftools_sdk-latest.tar.gz
to install the Python version of the Pdftools SDK from our servers.
Fixed
- Corrected an issue where Unicode characters were sometimes converted incorrectly when using the Python version of the Pdftools SDK.
Version 1.6
Added
- You can now create a fully compliant ZUGFeRD or Factur-X invoice using the Pdftools SDK. To do this you add the invoice XML file before calling the Convert method.
- It is now possible to rotate a page when merging pages of PDF documents using the Assemble method.
- Instead of using the default Font directories, you can now also add a custom font directory using the AddFontDirectory method.
Fixed
- Previously, a default value was always used for the PDF Producer value. With this update, the issue was fixed, and the PDF Producer value is now set correctly using the
producerSuffix
parameter of theInitialize(licenseKey, producerSuffix)
method. - The validation of a digital signature's Appearance has been improved, to prevent inconsistent boundary values.
Version 1.5
Added
- You can now apply Mixed Raster Content (MRC) optimization to a PDF document using the Optimize feature of the PDftools SDK. MRC optimization is intended for compressing scanned PDF files that contain large amounts of text.
- It is now possible to set the values for ThresholdDPI and ReduceColorComplexity when optimizing PDF files. This addition gives you more control over how images in the document are resampled and compressed.
Changed
- The OptimizeDocument method of the PDF optimizer will now attempt to apply lossless compression for images with bitonal (Group4 or JBIG2 compression) and indexed (Flate or LZW compression) color spaces.
Version 1.4
Added
- Before this update, only the common name (CN) of a signing certificate could be retrieved. With this update, you can get the full distinguished name (DN) of a signing certificate. The DN format is RFC 4514. The DN includes the legal name, country, and other information about the person or authority who owns the certificate.
- Before this update, you could only read and write to file streams with the C API. As of this update, you can also use memory streams with the C API.
Version 1.3
Added
- DocumentAssembler class. This class allows you to combine multiple input PDF documents into one output document, or split one input PDF document into multiple output documents.
- You can now include a customizable signature appearance when Signing a PDF document. A signature's appearance may be any combination of text, images, and other PDF documents.
- Linux: Added new distribution for older Linux systems (glibc 2.12+).
Changed
- Before version 1.3.3 you needed to use an evaluation license key to try the Pdftools SDK. With version 1.3.3, you can use the Pdftools SDK without a license key with watermarked output files. As a result, you can try the Pdftools SDK without any license key. To remove the watermark from the output files, contact the Pdftools sales team through the Contact page to get a full license.
Version 1.2
- Added the MetadataSettings class. This class allows you to set Metadata in the output PDF document, by providing them in the producer method's OutputOptions.
Changed
- Linux: The minimum required glibc version was upgraded from 2.27 to 2.34.
Version 1.1
Added
- Signature validation for the digital signing functionality. This allows you to extract signing certificate information and trust chain information, and perform validation of time-stamps, handle expired certificates, use custom trust stores, and check for the latest document revision.
Changed
- Updated C API ZIP archive layout: The C API ZIP archive directory layout has been updated (see Getting-started).
- Updated Java API ZIP archive layout: The Java API ZIP archive directory layout has been updated (see Getting-started).
Toolbox add-on
Version 1.3
Added
-
The Pdf.Structure namespace has been added to the Toolbox add-on. You can use the classes and methods in this namespace to add structure information ("tags") to the generated PDF content for use cases such as PDF accessibility. With this update, you can Tag content created using the ContentGenerator and link the content to the document's Structure Tree. You can also create custom tags by adding them to the document's RoleMap.
-
As of this update, you can determine whether a font is embedded in a PDF by checking the IsEmbedded property of the Font object.
-
You can now redact a rectangular area of an image using the Redact method of the Image class. This changes the content of the image so that all pixels within the defined rectangle are set to the same color.
Fixed
-
With this update, you can set the URI for the LicensingService using the Sdk class of the Toolbox add-on. Before this fix, the default value for the LicensingService was always used.
-
Before this update, the Toolbox add-on sometimes could terminate unexpectedly when:
- Iterating through the Content of a Page.
- Loading the ExportName of a FieldNode.
The underlying issues were fixed. As a result, the Toolbox add-on no longer crashes in the described scenarios.
Version 1.2
Added
-
Image sampling accesses and handles the raw pixel data of an image in a sequential order without altering the resolution. This involves reading or setting the pixel values directly, often in the context of image processing or manipulation at the most detailed level. You can now get and set image samples using the Toolbox add-on. Review the Image.Samples property in the API documentation for more information.
-
As of this update, you can set the URL for the Licensing Service using the Sdk Class of the Toolbox add-on. This URL is used for trial licenses and page-based licenses.
Version 1.1
Added
-
It is now possible to retrieve information about a content element's Optional Content Membership using the Toolbox add-on for the Pdftools SDK. Optional Content Membership is defined by Optional Content Groups (also called layers) whose state determines whether a content element is visible or invisible.
-
You can now retrieve the Rotation (
None
,Clockwise
,UpsideDown
, orCounterClockwise
) of a page using the Toolbox add-on for the Pdftools SDK.
Version 1.0
Added
- Integrated the Toolbox add-on into the Pdftools SDK. Now all the functionality from the PDF Toolbox SDK is included with your Pdftools SDK license.
Pdftools SDK Shell Tool
Version 1.5
Added
- You can now pass an optional
-q <qual>
parameter to theconvert
command in the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool, to set the image quality using the ImageQuality property when converting a PDF file to PDF/A. This setting is used when images must be recompressed during the PDF/A conversion process.
Version 1.4
Added
- Support for converting a PDF document and an XML file to a PDF/A invoice in ZUGFeRD or Factur-X format. You can now pass an optional
-xml <file>
parameter to theconvert
command of the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool to embed the specified XML file and create the invoice. - You can now rotate a page when copying it from one PDF to another. Pass the optional
-rot <value>
parameter to themerge
command to rotate a set of pages by the specified value (90
,180
, or270
degrees) before adding them to the output file. - Support for digital signature functionality using the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool. You can now sign, certify, and timestamp PDF files. You can also add and list signature fields, and check the validity of the digital signatures in a PDF document.
Version 1.3
Added
- Support for mixed raster content (MRC) optimization. You can now use the mixed raster content optimization profile by using the
optimize-mrc
command with the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool. - You can now enable or disable the reduce color complexity by using the
-drc
option when performing PDF optimization.
Version 1.2
Added
- Support PDF to PDF/A file conversion. All supported PDF and PDF/A versions are listed in Supported PDF versions.
- Support PDF file validation of conformance with PDF or PDF/A standards listed in Supported PDF versions.
- Before version 1.2 the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool was only available as a framework-dependent .NET application. Now you can also download the Pdftools SDK Shell Tool as a self-contained application for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Version 1.1
Added
- Support for merging and splitting PDF files to assemble new output documents.
- Support for rendering a PDF files to an image suitable for fax, archiving, or viewing.
Version 1.0
Added
- Support for converting images to PDF or PDF/A files
- Support compression and optimization of PDF files for web, archive, or print, and the compression to minimize the file size.