Best Server-side .NET PDF editing library

Question

What's the best .NET PDF editing library available, and why?

It needs to be used on an IIS web-server. Specifically, I need to edit a PDF which was generated by reporting services.

Factors I'm interested in:

1. Speed
2. Memory Consumption
3. Price
4. Quality of documentation
5. Library stability
6. Size of library
7. Whatever else you think is important

Answer 1

I don't know if it's the best, but I use PDF-Writer.NET, for which I paid $89. I have used it in several production applications. I like it because it's easy to set up and use, and it doesn't require a lot of coding, which makes it easier for new developers to ramp up on it.

Before that I was hacking together PDFs using an open source library and the Acrobat interop DLLs. That was rough.

Answer 2

Check out Aspose.Pdf for .NET. It has a nice API, is well documented and has a light footprint.

Answer 3

I've researched quite a few tools that aren't offered specifically by Adobe, and the two that come to mind right away are Atalasoft's DotImage and LEADTools. They are both rather pricy, but provide server licensing and use the ultra-fast C++ GDI libraries.

There's a freeware .Net library called PDFSharp that uses .Net native GDI+, so it's slower and memory intensive. But then again, it's free.

Answer 4

Not sure about the PDF part but Aspose has a library for PDF. I've used their word library for generating word documents. their documentation is very decent in my opinion.

http://www.aspose.com/categories/file-format-components/aspose.pdf-for-.net-and-java/default.aspx

Answer 5

I've used http://www.tallcomponents.com/ mainly to fill in pdf forms and then flatten the pdf. Seems to work fine. I haven't had any issues.

Answer 6

Have a look at iTextSharp. iTextSharp is a port of the iText , a free Java-Pdf library.

To quote iText:

You can use iText to:

• Serve PDF to a browser
• Generate dynamic documents from XML files or databases
• Use PDF's many interactive features
• Add bookmarks, page numbers, watermarks, etc.
• Split, concatenate, and manipulate PDF pages
• Automate filling out of PDF forms
• Add digital signatures to a PDF file
• And much more...

Answer 7

webSupergoo have a super PDF library for .NET

Their ABCpdf product is designed for use with web servers. The documentation is clear and the installation is accompanied by an example website project.

If you visit their website you should see a link to the live demonstration:

http://www.websupergoo.com/abcpdf-1.htm

ABCpdf 7 is the current version. The performance and reliability is excellent. The standard version costs $329 USD, but sometimes an installation can be obtained for free. The download size is about 30 MB. Supports both 32 and 64-bit servers.

Answer 8

Syncfusion Essential PDF is the best. I have been using it for years. Also, Syncfusion provides a best support compared to other vendors.