Quick Start Guide Leave feedback

This quick start guide shows you how to get started with GroupDocs.Viewer for .NET. You will create a .NET console application, install the GroupDocs.Viewer NuGet package, and render a DOCX document to HTML, PDF, and PNG using C#.

GroupDocs.Viewer is a .NET document rendering library that supports 190+ file formats and renders supported documents to HTML, PDF, PNG, or JPG without requiring Microsoft Office or other third-party applications.

To proceed, make sure you have:

1. Your environment meets the System Requirements.
2. The .NET SDK is installed.
3. Optionally, you have a Temporary License to evaluate all GroupDocs.Viewer features without evaluation limitations.

Create a new .NET console application and add the GroupDocs.Viewer NuGet package.

Starting with version 26.8, GroupDocs.Viewer uses TFM-split packaging. Install a single package, and NuGet automatically restores the runtime package that matches your project’s target framework. See Installation for details.

dotnet new console -n DemoApp -o demo-app
cd demo-app

Install GroupDocs.Viewer:

dotnet add package GroupDocs.Viewer

After the installation completes, your project file contains a package reference similar to the following:

<PackageReference Include="GroupDocs.Viewer" Version="26.8.0" />

The following example renders a Microsoft Word document to HTML with embedded resources.

You can download the complete example project here.

using System.IO;
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;

// Get the absolute path to the license file
string licensePath = Path.GetFullPath("./GroupDocs.Viewer.lic");

if (File.Exists(licensePath))
{
    // Apply the license
    License license = new License();
    license.SetLicense(licensePath);
}

// Load the DOCX document
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("./sample.docx"))
{
    // Configure HTML view options
    HtmlViewOptions htmlOptions =
        HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources("render_docx_to_html/page_{0}.html");

    // Render the DOCX document to HTML
    viewer.View(htmlOptions);
}

render_docx_to_html/page_1.html (317 KB)
render_docx_to_html/page_2.html (149 KB)
render_docx_to_html/page_3.html (113 KB)

Your project directory should look similar to the following:

📂 demo-app
 ├──DemoApp.csproj
 ├──Program.cs
 ├──sample.docx
 └──GroupDocs.Viewer.lic (optional)

dotnet run

• new Viewer("./sample.docx"): loads the DOCX document.
• HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources("render_docx_to_html/page_{0}.html"): configures HTML output with embedded resources.
• viewer.View(htmlOptions): renders the document and saves the output HTML files page_1.html, page_2.html, etc.

The following example renders the same DOCX document to a single PDF file.

You can download the complete example project here.

using System.IO;
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;

// Get the absolute path to the license file
string licensePath = Path.GetFullPath("./GroupDocs.Viewer.lic");

if (File.Exists(licensePath))
{
    // Apply the license
    License license = new License();
    license.SetLicense(licensePath);
}

// Load the DOCX document
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("./sample.docx"))
{
    // Configure PDF view options
    PdfViewOptions pdfOptions =
        new PdfViewOptions("render_docx_to_pdf/output.pdf");

    // Render the DOCX document to PDF
    viewer.View(pdfOptions);
}

Binary file (PDF, 234 KB)

Your folder tree should look similar to the following directory structure:

📂 demo-app
 ├──DemoApp.csproj
 ├──Program.cs
 ├──sample.docx
 └──GroupDocs.Viewer.lic (optional)

dotnet run

• new Viewer("./sample.docx"): loads the DOCX document.
• new PdfViewOptions("render_docx_to_pdf/output.pdf"): configures PDF output.
• viewer.View(pdfOptions): renders the document and saves the result as a PDF file.

The following example renders each page of a DOCX document as a separate PNG image.

You can download the complete example project here.

using System.IO;
using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;

// Get the absolute path to the license file
string licensePath = Path.GetFullPath("./GroupDocs.Viewer.lic");

if (File.Exists(licensePath))
{
    // Apply the license
    License license = new License();
    license.SetLicense(licensePath);
}

// Load the DOCX document
using (Viewer viewer = new Viewer("./sample.docx"))
{
    // Configure PNG view options
    PngViewOptions pngOptions =
        new PngViewOptions("render_docx_to_png/output_{0}.png");

    // Render the DOCX document to PNG
    viewer.View(pngOptions);
}

render_docx_to_png/output_1.png (89 KB)
render_docx_to_png/output_2.png (77 KB)
render_docx_to_png/output_3.png (50 KB)

Your project directory should look similar to the following:

📂 demo-app
 ├──DemoApp.csproj
 ├──Program.cs
 ├──sample.docx
 └──GroupDocs.Viewer.lic (optional)

dotnet run

• new Viewer("./sample.docx"): loads the DOCX document.
• new PngViewOptions("render_docx_to_png/output_{0}.png"): configures PNG output and specifies the output file name pattern.
• viewer.View(pngOptions): renders each document page and saves it as a separate PNG image output_1.png, output_2.png, etc.

You have now created a .NET application that renders a DOCX document to HTML, PDF, and PNG.

Explore the following topics to learn more about GroupDocs.Viewer:

• Supported File Formats: Review the full list of supported file types.
• Installation — learn about available installation methods and supported target frameworks.
• Licensing: Check details on licensing and evaluation.
• How to run examples: Build the same app in Visual Studio or clone the GitHub examples.
• Developer Guide — explore advanced document viewing and rendering features.
• Technical Support: Contact support for assistance if you encounter issues.