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    9. Render Word documents

    Render Word documents as HTML, PDF, and image files

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    GroupDocs.Viewer for .NET allows you to render your Microsoft Word documents in HTML, PDF, PNG, and JPEG formats. You do not need to use Microsoft Word or other word processors to load and view Word documents within your .NET application (web or desktop).

    To start using the GroupDocs.Viewer API, create a Viewer class instance. Pass a document you want to view to the class constructor. You can load the document from a file or stream. Call one of the Viewer.View method overloads to convert the document to HTML, PDF, or image format. These methods allow you to render the entire document or specific pages.

    View Word files online View demos and examples on GitHub

    Supported Word Processing file formats

    GroupDocs.Viewer supports the following Word Processing file formats:

    GroupDocs.Viewer can detect the document format automatically based on information in the file header.

    Render Word documents as HTML

    Create an HtmlViewOptions class instance and pass it to the Viewer.View method to convert a Word file to HTML. The HtmlViewOptions class properties allow you to control the conversion process. For instance, you can embed all external resources in the generated HTML file, minify the output file, and optimize it for printing. Refer to the following documentation section for details: Rendering to HTML.

    Create an HTML file with embedded resources

    To save all elements of an HTML page (including text, graphics, and stylesheets) into a single file, call the HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources method and specify the output file name.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Create an HTML file for each document page.
    // {0} is replaced with the current page number in the file name.
    var viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources("page_{0}.html");
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Create an HTML file for each document page.
            ' {0} is replaced with the current page number in the file name.
            Dim viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources("page_{0}.html")
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    The following image demonstrates the result:

    Render a Word file to HTML

    Create an HTML file with external resources

    If you want to store an HTML file and additional resource files (such as fonts, images, and stylesheets) separately, call the HtmlViewOptions.ForExternalResources method and pass the following parameters:

    • The output file path format
    • The path format for the folder with external resources
    • The resource URL format
    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Create an HTML file for each document page.
    // Specify the HTML file names and location of external resources.
    // {0} and {1} are replaced with the current page number and resource name, respectively.
    var viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForExternalResources("page_{0}.html", "page_{0}/resource_{0}_{1}", "page_{0}/resource_{0}_{1}");
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Create an HTML file for each document page.
            ' Specify the HTML file names and location of external resources.
            ' {0} and {1} are replaced with the current page number and resource name, respectively.
            Dim viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForExternalResources("page_{0}.html", "page_{0}/resource_{0}_{1}", "page_{0}/resource_{0}_{1}")
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    The image below demonstrates the result. External resources are placed in a separate folder.

    Place HTML resources in a separate folder

    Render Word documents as PDF

    Create a PdfViewOptions class instance and pass it to the Viewer.View method to convert a Word file to PDF. The PdfViewOptions class properties allow you to control the conversion process. For instance, you can protect the output PDF file, reorder its pages, and specify the quality of document images. Refer to the following documentation section for details: Rendering to PDF.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Create a PDF file for the document.
    // Specify the PDF file name.
    var viewOptions = new PdfViewOptions("output.pdf");
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Create a PDF file for the document.
            ' Specify the PDF file name.
            Dim viewOptions = New PdfViewOptions("output.pdf")
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    The following image demonstrates the result:

    Render a Word file to PDF

    Render Word documents as PNG

    Create a PngViewOptions class instance and pass it to the Viewer.View method to convert a Word file to PNG. Use the PngViewOptions.Height and PngViewOptions.Width properties to specify the output image size in pixels.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Create a PNG image for each document page.
    // {0} is replaced with the current page number in the image name.
    var viewOptions = new PngViewOptions("output_{0}.png");
    // Set width and height.
    viewOptions.Width = 800;
    viewOptions.Height = 900;
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Create a PNG image for each document page.
            ' {0} is replaced with the current page number in the image name.
            Dim viewOptions = New PngViewOptions("output_{0}.png")
            ' Set width and height.
            viewOptions.Width = 800
            viewOptions.Height = 900
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module
    The following image demonstrates the result:

    Render a Word file to PNG

    Render Word documents as JPEG

    Create a JpgViewOptions class instance and pass it to the Viewer.View method to convert a Word file to JPEG. Use the JpgViewOptions.Height and JpgViewOptions.Width properties to specify the output image size in pixels.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Create a JPEG image for each document page.
    // {0} is replaced with the current page number in the image name.
    var viewOptions = new JpgViewOptions("output_{0}.jpg");
    // Set width and height.
    viewOptions.Width = 800;
    viewOptions.Height = 900;
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Create a JPEG image for each document page.
            ' {0} is replaced with the current page number in the image name.
            Dim viewOptions = New JpgViewOptions("output_{0}.jpg")
            ' Set width and height.
            viewOptions.Width = 800
            viewOptions.Height = 900
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    Define page margins

    Use the following properties to specify the size of page margins in the output files when you convert your Word documents to HTML, PDF, and image formats:

    You can access these properties for the following classes:

    The example below converts a Word document to HTML and specifies page margins for the output file.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Create an HTML file for each document page.
    // {0} is replaced with the current page number in the file name.
    var viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources("page_{0}.html");
    // Specify the size of page margins in points.
    viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.TopMargin = 72;
    viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.BottomMargin = 72;
    viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.LeftMargin = 54;
    viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.RightMargin = 54;
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Create an HTML file for each document page.
            ' {0} is replaced with the current page number in the file name.
            Dim viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources("page_{0}.html")
            ' Specify the size of page margins in points.
            viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.TopMargin = 72
            viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.BottomMargin = 72
            viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.LeftMargin = 54
            viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.RightMargin = 54
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    Render tracked changes

    GroupDocs.Viewer does not render tracked changes (revisions made to a Word document) by default. If you want to display tracked changes in the output file, enable the WordProcessingOptions.RenderTrackedChanges property for one of the following classes (depending on the output file format):

    The following code example demonstrates how to render a Word document with tracked changes:

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("TrackChanges.docx"))
{
    // Convert the document to PDF.
    var viewOptions = new PdfViewOptions("output.pdf");
    // Enable tracked changes rendering.
    viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.RenderTrackedChanges = true;
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("TrackChanges.docx")
            ' Convert the document to PDF.
            Dim viewOptions = New PdfViewOptions("output.pdf")
            ' Enable tracked changes rendering.
            viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.RenderTrackedChanges = True
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    The following image illustrates the result:

    Render tracked changes to PDF

    Render comments

    Enable the ViewOptions.RenderComments option for a target view to display comments in the output file when you convert your document to HTML, PDF, PNG, or JPEG format.

    The code example below renders a Word document with comments to PDF.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Convert the document to PDF.
    var viewOptions = new PdfViewOptions("output.pdf");
    // Enable comments rendering.
    viewOptions.RenderComments = true;
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Convert the document to PDF.
            Dim viewOptions = New PdfViewOptions("output.pdf")
            ' Enable comments rendering.
            viewOptions.RenderComments = True
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    The following image illustrates the result:

    Render comments to PDF

    When rendering to HTML or PDF, you can set WordProcessingOptions.UnlinkTableOfContents to true to unlink table of contents. For HTML rendering, <a> tags with relative links will be replaced with <span> tags, removing functionality but preserving visual appearance. For PDF rendering, the table of contents will be rendered as plain text without links to document sections.

    The code example below renders a Word document with table of contents as a plain text without links.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{
    // Convert the document to HTML.
    var viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources();
    // Unlink table of contents.
    viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.UnlinkTableOfContents = true;
    viewer.View(viewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")
            ' Convert the document to HTML.
            Dim viewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources()
            ' Unlink table of contents.
            viewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.UnlinkTableOfContents = True
            viewer.View(viewOptions)
        End Using
    End Sub
End Module

    The following image illustrates the result:

    Unlink table of contens in Word files

    Disable updating fields when saving

    The most of formats inside the WordProcessing family of formats, like DOC, DOCX, ODT and so on, have the concept of fields, which are processed when the document is opened in some viewer application like Microsoft Word. When the input WordProcessing document is loaded to the GroupDocs.Viewer and saved to the HTML (with embedded or external resources), PDF, PNG, or JPEG output formats, all the fields within the input document are updated while saving, and this mimics the Microsoft Word behavior. But in some scenarios, for example, when field values are incorrect, there is no necessary and even not desirable to update fields.

    Starting from the version 24.12 the GroupDocs.Viewer for .NET has obtained an ability to disable updating fields while saving the documents. The new public property UpdateFields of the Boolean type was added to the Options.WordProcessingOptions class. By default the value of this property is set to true, so fields are updated, as before. In order to turn fields updating off, please set this property to false. Code sample below shows opening a sample DOCX document and saving to the HTML with embedded resources and PDF formats without updating fields during saving.

    using GroupDocs.Viewer;
using GroupDocs.Viewer.Options;
// ...

HtmlViewOptions htmlViewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources();
htmlViewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.UpdateFields = false;

PdfViewOptions pdfViewOptions = new PdfViewOptions("output.pdf");
pdfViewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.UpdateFields = false;

using (var viewer = new Viewer("resume.docx"))
{    
    viewer.View(htmlViewOptions);
	viewer.View(pdfViewOptions);
}

    Imports GroupDocs.Viewer
Imports GroupDocs.Viewer.Options
' ...

Dim htmlViewOptions = HtmlViewOptions.ForEmbeddedResources()
htmlViewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.UpdateFields = False

Dim pdfViewOptions = New PdfViewOptions("output.pdf")
pdfViewOptions.WordProcessingOptions.UpdateFields = False

Using viewer = New Viewer("resume.docx")	
	viewer.View(htmlViewOptions)
	viewer.View(pdfViewOptions)
End Using

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