xml2pdf faq

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Xml2PDF FAQ

What input and output formats are supported by Xml2PDF 2007?

Xml2PDF does support the following input formats:

  • XSL-FO - primary input format for Xml2PDF
  • SVG - supported both as a stand-alone input format and as a part of XSL-FO
  • XHTML (including complete CSS support)
  • WordML, DocX - XML format produced by Microsoft Word

The following output formats are supported by Xml2PDF:

  • PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format
  • XPS - Microsoft XML Paper Specification
  • PS - Adobe PostScript
  • Bitmap - Raster graphics: TIFF (multipaged), PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP

What formats are recognized as external graphics?

Xml2PDF has a comprehensive support for various graphics types that can be used within it. All the formats specified below will be rendered properly by Xml2PDF as both external and internal graphical resource. The way they can be included depends on the format specific information.

Most of the known raster image formats are the following:

  • bitmap image (BMP);
  • enhanced windows metafile image (EMF);
  • exchangeable image file (Exif);
  • graphics interchange format image (GIF);
  • the windows icon image (ICO);
  • the joint photographic experts group image format (JPEG);
  • the W3C Portable Network Graphics (PNG);
  • the tag image file format (TIFF);
  • the windows metafile image format (WMF);

Specific formats:

  • Encapsulated PostScript (EPS). Only binary preview is added. PostScript contents is ignored.
  • Portable Document Format (PDF). The first page of the referenced PDF is embedded as PDF contents without any loss of quality.
  • Macromedia flash (SWF). Files of this format are inserted as PDF annotations and are played by Adobe Reader using the external Macromedia flash viewer.
  • Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). This format is natively supported by Xml2PDF formatting engine and can be rendered as an integral part of any supported input XML format. See SVG implementation details for additional information.
  • Various Audio and Video Formats: Macromedia Flash (SWF), Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF), NeXT/SunT Audio Format (AU), Audio/Video Interleaved (AVI), Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), QuickTime movie (MOV), MPEG Audio Layer-3 (MP3), MPEG-4 Video (MP4), MPEG-2 Video (MPEG), Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL).

What is the difference between the evaluation and registered licenses?

The evaluation license of Xml2PDF .NET API possesses the same functionality as the registered one, but the "developer edition" watermark is added on each generated page and the result PDF files are encrypted.

What licenses of Xml2PDF Server 2007 are available?

There are the following licenses available:

  • Xml2PDF Server 2007 Light, Standard and Professional (see for more information)
  • Xml2PDF Server 2007 Company wide license. This license allows installing our API on any computer belonging to the client's company.
  • Xml2PDF Server 2007 OEM (Redistributable) license. It allows you to embed our API into your product and distribute it world-wide without any extra fees.
  • The Developer licenses are available for all server editions. This license possesses the same functionality as the Server license, but the "developer edition" watermark is added on each generated page and the result PDF files are encrypted.

How to buy Altsoft products?

You can purchase Altsoft products online via Share-It, our electronic payment partner on our shop page: http://alt-soft.com/shop.aspx.

Usually we accept purchase orders for OEM licenses. Please contact our sales department if none of these ways of purchase is acceptable to you.

How can I extend the support?

An additional annual support costs 25% of the license price. It can be purchased via Share-It, our electronic payment partner here.

I purchased Xml2PDF Server 2007 Light edition. Is it possible to upgrade to the Standard version?

Yes, you have a possibility to upgrade our product from one edition to another. The upgrade will cost the difference between editions prices. Contact our sales department for additional information

I purchased the Xml2PDF Server 2007 Light (Standard, Professional) license. Does this license allow developing and testing as well?

Each license allows using Altsoft Xml2PDF .NET engine embedded into your application on a single server, including a web server. You can also test your application on another server but both these servers can not be used simultaneously. The license also allows developing on three desktops.

Do you have a description of your support - e.g. how fast can we expect to have bug fixes e.t.c.?

Bugs are submitted using e-mail support@alt-soft.com The maximum response time is three days. During this period your bug will be reviewed and submitted to the bug tracking system. You will receive information about the date of the next maintenance build with the bug fixed or a workaround description (if possible). New feature requests are tasks of high priority and will be included into the development plans. All the minor updates are free during the support period.

Do you guarantee that files created in MS Word will be identically formatted into PDF?

Since we don't use MS Word but apply our own formatting algorithms we can not guarantee that the result PDF files and Word files will be identical. However we try to be as much as possible close to the source files. In most cases we get the same results.

Can I combine several WordML files into one PDF?

Yes, you can. There is a sample Merge.csproj in Xml2PDF Server 2007 that clearly demonstrates how you can handle this.

The fonts in the source document are different from what I get in the result PDF.

Our font selection strategy is trying to find the necessary font among all the system fonts. In case we don't find it we use the most appropriate font. To clarify the situation you should check if the required font is installed on your computer and you use the correct font-family name.

I use only embedded system fonts in my document. How can I minimize the size of my PDF?

First, you can avoid the system fonts embedding into a PDF by setting the config option "Embed System Fonts" to "No".Yet in this case you must be sure that all necessary fonts are installed on the computers where PDF files are shown.

The second possibility is to set the config option "Make subsets" to "Yes". In this case only those symbols that were used in the PDF will be embedded.

I defined the font as a bold font, however the font is not bold in the result PDF. Why?

There is no bold version of your font installed on the computer. We have a special option for emulating bold fonts. Choose File->Edit configuration ->Fonts Options->Settings->Pseudo-Fonts and set "Bold Shift" to "Yes". The same functionality available fot italic fonts.

How can I minimize the result PDF?

First, you can downsample the resolution of your image by changing Image Processing -> Downsample Images -> Maximal Image Resolution. Secondly, you can minimize the usage of embedded fonts. See question "I use only embed system fonts in my document. How can I minimize the size of my PDF?" Thirdly, do not use bookmarks. Note that in the registered version there will be no Altsoft watermarks that also reduces the size of the result PDF.

Other questions?

Please, feel free to contact our support team for any other questions.