Fresh from Our Labs: Adobe PDF Import Improvements

I was just able to get hold of the latest builds fresh out of our development labs. Our engineering is currently working on innovative new features for version 18.0 of TX Text Control. In this article, I will give a deep look into the drastically improved Adobe PDF import functionality.

Since version 15.0, the .NET versions of TX Text Control can import PDF files. While the first version was able to import text only, later versions already recognized paragraphs, fonts and positioned text using anchored text frames.

While these essential features describe the basement of such an innovative technology, version 18.0 is the next big milestone. Thanks to powerful new features in the TX Text Control core, the PDF import filter converts even complex pages into editable documents that can be easily modified and converted.

A very commonly used feature in PDF documents are layers. A PDF can consist of unlimited layers with a different z-order, so they can overlap each other. This z-order of objects was required in TX Text Control for images and text frames to enable the import of more complex PDF files. The following screenshots give an overview of what will be possible with the next version of TX Text Control.

Floating Text

This sample document shows how text is converted into floating text. On the right-hand screenshot, you can see that text can be selected like any other text in a TX Text Control document. Fonts, font weights, colors and paragraph margins are recognized and applied to the document. If a document contains more sections with different page sizes, they are converted to the proper landscape or portrait settings as well.

Original PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader	Opened in TX Text Control 18.0 (Beta)

Modify Text in Complex Forms

Form documents with complex tables and perfectly positioned elements can be imported 1:1. You can easily change each string using the editor interface or you can find and replace text programmatically using the powerful TX Text Control API.

Original PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader	Opened in TX Text Control 18.0 (Beta)

Import Postscript Vector Graphics

When importing business reports from PDF, they often contain charts or diagrams to visualize data. Using TX Text Control 18.0, these vector graphics can not only be imported, the included text can be changed as well.

Original PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader	Opened in TX Text Control 18.0 (Beta)

These are just a few samples that gives an impression of the power of our new PDF import functionality that will come with TX Text Control 18.0. In the next couple of days, we will publish a live preview demo that enables you to test this functionality on your own.

Stay tuned.