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Simple and Free PDF to Image Conversion

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23 Feb 2010CPOL2 min read 172.2K   16.9K   15   33
Simple and free Adobe Acrobat PDF to image conversion.

2-7-2010_2-00-29_PM.png

Introduction

This article is about extracting image files from a PDF file. I was looking for a free solution for converting .pdf files to image files, but I didn't find a simple and free solution. I therefore tried until I found a free solution by using the "Adobe Acrobat COM component" and using the CAcroPDDoc class.

Pre-requisites

You must have "Adobe Acrobat Reader" installed on your system. My system had Adobe Acrobat 9.0 installed.

Using the code and description

First, I added a reference to the Adobe Acrobat COM component.

AddRefrence.png

I then wrote the PDFConvertor class that has a method named Convert(....) which would do the conversion. Here is the code in my class used for accessing a PDF document:

C#
Acrobat.CAcroPDPage pdfPage = null;//the pdf page
Acrobat.CAcroRect pdfRect = new Acrobat.AcroRect();//the pdf region
Acrobat.AcroPoint pdfPoint =new Acrobat.AcroPoint();//the pdf point
  • CAcroPDDoc class is for working with the PDF file
  • CAcroPDPage class is for working with the pages in the PDF file
  • CAcroRect and AcroPoint classes are for defining the dimensions of a page

Here is how I open a PDF document:

C#
if (pdfDoc.Open(sourceFileName))//check file is opened?

For opening a specified PDF file, I use the open() method of the pdfDoc object; it returns false in the case of an error.

C#
pageCount = pdfDoc.GetNumPages();//get the count of pdf pages

After reading the page count with pdfDoc.GetNumPages(), I then read a page.

C#
pdfPage = (Acrobat.CAcroPDPage)pdfDoc.AcquirePage(i); //reading current page

Then, I extract a pages in the PDF file using pdfDoc.AcquirePage(i) and assign it to the pdfPage object; the variable i indicates the number of the current page.

C#
pdfPoint = (Acrobat.AcroPoint)pdfPage.GetSize();//geting page size
pdfRect.Left = 0;
pdfRect.right = pdfPoint.x;
pdfRect.Top = 0;
pdfRect.bottom = pdfPoint.y;

I then get the page size with pdfPage.GetSize() and put it into a pdfPoint object. This is required for specifying the region of the PDF page for copying the page into the Clipboard.

C#
pdfPage.CopyToClipboard(pdfRect, 0, 0, 100);//coping region to clipboard

Make sure that pdfPage doesn't have any method for saving as the referenced page. pdfPage.CopyToClipboard(pdfRect, 0, 0, 100) can help us there. It has four arguments: first is the rect of the page that was previously discussed, second and third are x, y offsets of the page that usually are 0, and fourth is the zoom percent.

C#
Clipboard.GetImage().Save(outimg, outPutImageFormat);// saving clipboard image

Finally, with Clipboard.GetImage().Save(...), we can save the output image.

Here is the code for the Convert method of my class:

C#
#region Convert
/// 
/// Converting PDF Files TO Specified Image Format
/// 
/// sourceFileName : Source PDF File Path
/// DestinationPath : Destination PDF File Path
/// outPutImageFormat: Type Of Exported Image
/// Returns Count Of Exported Images
public int Convert(string sourceFileName, 
       string DestinationPath, ImageFormat outPutImageFormat)
{
    if (pdfDoc.Open(sourceFileName))
    {
        // pdfapp.Hide();
        pageCount = pdfDoc.GetNumPages();

        for (int i = 0; i < pageCount; i++)
        {
            pdfPage = (Acrobat.CAcroPDPage)pdfDoc.AcquirePage(i);

            pdfPoint = (Acrobat.AcroPoint)pdfPage.GetSize();
            pdfRect.Left = 0;
            pdfRect.right = pdfPoint.x;
            pdfRect.Top = 0;
            pdfRect.bottom = pdfPoint.y;

            pdfPage.CopyToClipboard(pdfRect, 500, 110, 100);

            string outimg = "";
            string filename=sourceFileName.Substring(
                       sourceFileName.LastIndexOf("\\")); 

            if (pageCount == 1)
                outimg = DestinationPath + "\\" + filename + 
                  "." + outPutImageFormat.ToString();
            else
                outimg = DestinationPath + "\\" + filename + 
                  "_" + i.ToString() + "." + outPutImageFormat.ToString();
            
            Clipboard.GetImage().Save(outimg, outPutImageFormat);

            ////////////Firing Progress Event 
            OnExportProgressChanging(outimg);
        }

          Dispose();
    }
    else
    {
        Dispose();
        throw new System.IO.FileNotFoundException(sourceFileName + 
                  " Not Found!");
    }
    return pageCount;
}
#endregion

I have also implemented a class for indicating the progress with the event handler ProgressChangingEventHandler that exists in the source of my project.

Enjoy!

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Web Developer SETIN SANAT CO
Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iran (Islamic Republic of)
i am working in programming field for about 7 years
This is a Social Group

1 members

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionHow to read barcode value from pdf file using c# ?? Pin
Member 1185984522-Apr-19 20:42
Member 1185984522-Apr-19 20:42 
QuestionWhen WE save Image quality degrades more can we save PNG image with original quality? Pin
deipak8-Apr-16 1:51
deipak8-Apr-16 1:51 
Generalcan you change the DPI setting Pin
Member 114356825-Dec-15 7:37
Member 114356825-Dec-15 7:37 
Questionconvert pdf to image in WPF Pin
D3athRace2-Dec-15 19:04
D3athRace2-Dec-15 19:04 
QuestionI am trying to add Acrobat COM in My Project, But It is not available in list. Please help...... Pin
Member 1136818824-Apr-15 0:15
Member 1136818824-Apr-15 0:15 
SuggestionIt doesn't work on 64-bit system Pin
openxxs10-Sep-13 18:10
openxxs10-Sep-13 18:10 
GeneralRe: It doesn't work on 64-bit system Pin
Member 1074885426-Oct-16 4:30
Member 1074885426-Oct-16 4:30 
GeneralRe: It doesn't work on 64-bit system Pin
Member 1074885426-Oct-16 4:30
Member 1074885426-Oct-16 4:30 
SuggestionYou are misleading readers. PinPopular
JKAUSHALYA6-Aug-13 1:00
JKAUSHALYA6-Aug-13 1:00 
GeneralRe: You are misleading readers. Pin
zendehdel23-Jul-14 22:22
zendehdel23-Jul-14 22:22 
Questioni downloaded your project and it is nice but the below error coming how can i solve this problem Pin
sivajuluri9-May-13 0:19
sivajuluri9-May-13 0:19 
AnswerRe: i downloaded your project and it is nice but the below error coming how can i solve this problem Pin
zbw91110-Aug-13 0:12
zbw91110-Aug-13 0:12 
GeneralMy vote of 3 Pin
DanWiify12-Apr-13 6:29
DanWiify12-Apr-13 6:29 
GeneralNice Post Pin
Member 967854127-Jan-13 6:59
Member 967854127-Jan-13 6:59 
GeneralRe: Nice Post Pin
zendehdel20-Jul-14 23:34
zendehdel20-Jul-14 23:34 
thnks,in the asp.net this code wants a few change... but in asp.net for using com components you must grant administrator priviligae to the asp.net user and this decrees your app security to very low...
QuestionThis is nice and simple code that works! Pin
yugangliang22-Jan-13 6:36
yugangliang22-Jan-13 6:36 
AnswerRe: This is nice and simple code that works! Pin
Member 121240507-Jun-17 4:49
Member 121240507-Jun-17 4:49 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
yugangliang22-Jan-13 6:30
yugangliang22-Jan-13 6:30 
GeneralAdobe Acrobat Reader does not support it Pin
RubyPdf29-Sep-10 16:43
RubyPdf29-Sep-10 16:43 
GeneralRe: Adobe Acrobat Reader does not support it Pin
zendehdel22-Sep-12 2:19
zendehdel22-Sep-12 2:19 
Generalproblems with windows 7 Pin
ScratchFish31-Mar-10 4:36
ScratchFish31-Mar-10 4:36 
GeneralRe: problems with windows 7 Pin
zendehdel10-Apr-10 19:30
zendehdel10-Apr-10 19:30 
GeneralRe: problems with windows 7 Pin
ScratchFish12-Apr-10 3:50
ScratchFish12-Apr-10 3:50 
GeneralI am using Visual Studio 2008, and Adobe Acrobat reader 8.2.0 I have no Acrobat COM Pin
MicroImaging11-Mar-10 10:43
MicroImaging11-Mar-10 10:43 
GeneralRe: I am using Visual Studio 2008, and Adobe Acrobat reader 8.2.0 I have no Acrobat COM Pin
zendehdel10-Apr-10 19:24
zendehdel10-Apr-10 19:24 

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