View and render documents with GroupDocs.Viewer Leave feedback
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GroupDocs.Viewer renders a document into something a browser can display — HTML, PDF, or one image per page — without Microsoft Office or any other external software. It is the API to reach for when you want to show a document rather than change it.
Every example below opens contract.docx and is ready to copy into a console app once you have installed the package.
Rendering to HTML gives you one .html file per page. ForEmbeddedResources inlines images, fonts and stylesheets into each page, so a page is self-contained and needs no companion files.
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("contract.docx"))
{
// {0} is replaced with the page number, so page 1 becomes page_1.html
HtmlViewOptions viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources(
"viewer-render-to-html/page_{0}.html");
viewer.View(viewOptions);
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
viewer-render-to-html/page_1.html (147 KB)
viewer-render-to-html/page_2.html (74 KB)
viewer-render-to-html/page_3.html (828 bytes)
To keep resources as separate files next to the HTML instead of inlining them, use HtmlViewOptions.ForExternalResources — useful when several pages share the same images and you want them cached once.
Rendering to PDF produces a single file, which is the usual choice for printing or archiving.
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("contract.docx"))
{
PdfViewOptions viewOptions = new PdfViewOptions("viewer-render-to-pdf.pdf");
viewer.View(viewOptions);
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
Binary file (PDF, 127 KB)
Rendering to images gives you one PNG per page — the right output for thumbnails and previews. PngViewOptions also accepts a width and height if you need a fixed size.
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("contract.docx"))
{
PngViewOptions viewOptions = new PngViewOptions(
"viewer-render-to-png/page_{0}.png");
// Render only the first two pages
viewer.View(viewOptions, 1, 2);
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
viewer-render-to-png/page_1.png (68 KB)
viewer-render-to-png/page_2.png (67 KB)
Before rendering you often want to know what you are dealing with — how many pages, what format, whether it is encrypted. GetViewInfo answers that without rendering anything.
using System;
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Results;
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("contract.docx"))
{
ViewInfoOptions viewInfoOptions = ViewInfoOptions.ForHtmlView();
ViewInfo viewInfo = viewer.GetViewInfo(viewInfoOptions);
Console.WriteLine("File type: " + viewInfo.FileType);
Console.WriteLine("Pages: " + viewInfo.Pages.Count);
foreach (Page page in viewInfo.Pages)
{
Console.WriteLine("Page " + page.Number + ": " + page.Width + "x" + page.Height);
}
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
File type: Microsoft Word Open XML Document (.docx)
Pages: 3
Page 1: 612x792
Page 2: 612x792
Page 3: 612x792
The examples above cover the common cases. GroupDocs.Viewer also renders archives, CAD drawings, email messages, Outlook data files and Visio diagrams, caches rendered output, and processes attachments.
- GroupDocs.Viewer for .NET documentation — the full product guide
- Supported file formats
- API reference
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