MIGRATION GUIDES

How to Migrate from Apache PDFBox to IronPDF

Published:January 11, 2026

Apache PDFBox is a respected open-source Java library for handling PDFs. However, for .NET developers, the available options are unofficial community-driven ports that pose significant challenges—Java-style APIs, incomplete feature coverage, and limited .NET community support. This guide provides a detailed migration path from Apache PDFBox .NET ports to IronPDF, a native .NET PDF library built specifically for the .NET ecosystem.

Why Consider Migrating from Apache PDFBox .NET Ports?

While Apache PDFBox is excellent in the Java ecosystem, its unofficial .NET ports present several challenges that affect .NET development teams.

Unofficial Port Status

Apache PDFBox is primarily a Java library. All .NET versions are community-driven ports that lack official support from the Apache project. These ports often lag behind Java releases and may miss critical features, bug fixes, or security updates. For teams building applications with longevity requirements extending into 2025 and 2026, this uncertainty creates technical risk.

Java-First API Design

The ported APIs retain Java conventions that feel foreign in .NET code. Developers encounter camelCase methods instead of PascalCase, Java File objects instead of standard .NET strings, and explicit close() calls instead of IDisposable patterns. This cognitive overhead affects development speed and code maintainability.

No HTML Rendering Capability

Apache PDFBox is designed for PDF manipulation, not HTML-to-PDF conversion. Creating PDFs requires manual page construction with precise coordinate positioning—a tedious and error-prone process that doesn't scale for modern document generation needs.

Limited .NET Community Support

The .NET ecosystem around Apache PDFBox ports is sparse. Finding help, examples, or best practices for .NET-specific issues proves difficult compared to libraries with active .NET communities.

Potential JVM Dependencies

Some Apache PDFBox ports may require Java runtime components, adding complexity to deployment and environment management in .NET-focused infrastructure.

Apache PDFBox vs. IronPDF: Key Differences

Understanding the fundamental differences between these libraries helps plan an effective migration strategy.

Aspect	Apache PDFBox .NET Ports	IronPDF
Native Design	Java-centric, unofficial .NET port	Native .NET, professionally supported
API Style	Java conventions (`camelCase`, `close()`)	Idiomatic C# (`PascalCase`, `using`)
HTML Rendering	Not supported (manual page construction)	Full Chromium-based HTML/CSS/JS
PDF Creation	Manual coordinate positioning	CSS-based layout
Community	Java-focused, sparse .NET resources	Active .NET community, 10M+ downloads
Support	Community-only	Professional support available
Resource Cleanup	Explicit `close()` calls	IDisposable with `using` statements

Pre-Migration Preparation

Prerequisites

Ensure your environment meets these requirements:

.NET Framework 4.6.2+ or .NET Core 3.1 / .NET 5-9
Visual Studio 2019+ or JetBrains Rider
NuGet Package Manager access
IronPDF license key (free trial available at ironpdf.com)

Audit Apache PDFBox Usage

Run these commands in your solution directory to identify all Apache PDFBox references:

grep -r "apache.pdfbox\|PdfBox\|PDDocument\|PDFTextStripper" --include="*.cs" .
grep -r "PdfBox\|Apache.PdfBox" --include="*.csproj" .

grep -r "apache.pdfbox\|PdfBox\|PDDocument\|PDFTextStripper" --include="*.cs" .
grep -r "PdfBox\|Apache.PdfBox" --include="*.csproj" .

SHELL

Breaking Changes to Anticipate

Category	Apache PDFBox .NET Port	IronPDF	Migration Action
Object Model	`PDDocument`, `PDPage`	`PdfDocument`, `ChromePdfRenderer`	Different class hierarchy
PDF Creation	Manual page/content streams	HTML rendering	Rewrite creation logic
Method Style	`camelCase()` (Java style)	`PascalCase()` (.NET style)	Update method names
Resource Cleanup	`document.close()`	`using` statements	Change disposal pattern
File Access	Java `File` objects	Standard .NET strings/streams	Use .NET types
Text Extraction	`PDFTextStripper` class	`pdf.ExtractAllText()`	Simpler API

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Step 1: Update NuGet Packages

Remove the Apache PDFBox .NET port packages and install IronPDF:

# Remove PDFBox .NET port packages
dotnet remove package PdfBox
dotnet remove package PDFBoxNet
dotnet remove package Apache.PdfBox

# Install IronPDF
dotnet add package IronPdf

# Remove PDFBox .NET port packages
dotnet remove package PdfBox
dotnet remove package PDFBoxNet
dotnet remove package Apache.PdfBox

# Install IronPDF
dotnet add package IronPdf

SHELL

Step 2: Configure the License Key

Add the IronPDF license key at application startup:

// Add at application startup, before any IronPDF operations
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY";

// Add at application startup, before any IronPDF operations
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY";

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Step 3: Update Namespace References

Perform a global find-and-replace across your solution:

Find	Replace With
`using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;`	`using IronPdf;`
`using org.apache.pdfbox.text;`	`using IronPdf;`
`using org.apache.pdfbox.multipdf;`	`using IronPdf;`
`using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;`	`using IronPdf;`
`using Apache.Pdfbox.PdModel;`	`using IronPdf;`

Complete API Migration Reference

Document Operations

Apache PDFBox Method	IronPDF Method	Notes
`PDDocument.load(path)`	`PdfDocument.FromFile(path)`	Load PDF
`PDDocument.load(stream)`	`PdfDocument.FromStream(stream)`	Load from stream
`new PDDocument()`	`new ChromePdfRenderer()`	For creating PDFs
`document.save(path)`	`pdf.SaveAs(path)`	Save PDF
`document.close()`	`using` statement or `Dispose()`	Cleanup
`document.getNumberOfPages()`	`pdf.PageCount`	Page count property
`document.getPage(index)`	`pdf.Pages[index]`	Access page
`document.removePage(index)`	`pdf.RemovePages(index)`	Remove pages

Text Extraction

Apache PDFBox Method	IronPDF Method	Notes
`new PDFTextStripper()`	Not needed	No stripper object required
`stripper.getText(document)`	`pdf.ExtractAllText()`	Full document extraction
`stripper.setStartPage(n)`	`pdf.Pages[n].Text`	Per-page extraction
`stripper.setSortByPosition(true)`	Automatic	Built-in text sorting

Merge and Split Operations

Apache PDFBox Method	IronPDF Method	Notes
`new PDFMergerUtility()`	Not needed	Static merge method
`merger.addSource(file)`	Load with `FromFile()`	Load documents first
`merger.mergeDocuments()`	`PdfDocument.Merge(pdfs)`	Static merge
`new Splitter()`	Not needed	Direct page manipulation
`splitter.split(document)`	`pdf.CopyPages(indices)`	Copy specific pages

Security and Encryption

Apache PDFBox Method	IronPDF Method	Notes
`StandardProtectionPolicy`	`pdf.SecuritySettings`	Security config
`policy.setUserPassword()`	`pdf.SecuritySettings.UserPassword`	User password
`policy.setOwnerPassword()`	`pdf.SecuritySettings.OwnerPassword`	Owner password
`policy.setPermissions()`	`pdf.SecuritySettings.AllowUserXxx`	Permissions

Code Migration Examples

Text Extraction

The most common Apache PDFBox operation demonstrates the API simplification IronPDF provides.

Apache PDFBox .NET Port Implementation:

// Apache PDFBox .NET ports are experimental and incomplete
using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;
using PdfBoxDotNet.Text;
using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Note: PDFBox-dotnet has limited functionality
        using (var document = PDDocument.Load("document.pdf"))
        {
            var stripper = new PDFTextStripper();
            string text = stripper.GetText(document);
            Console.WriteLine(text);
        }
    }
}

// Apache PDFBox .NET ports are experimental and incomplete
using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;
using PdfBoxDotNet.Text;
using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Note: PDFBox-dotnet has limited functionality
        using (var document = PDDocument.Load("document.pdf"))
        {
            var stripper = new PDFTextStripper();
            string text = stripper.GetText(document);
            Console.WriteLine(text);
        }
    }
}

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IronPDF Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("document.pdf");
        string text = pdf.ExtractAllText();
        Console.WriteLine(text);

        // Or extract text from specific pages
        string pageText = pdf.ExtractTextFromPage(0);
        Console.WriteLine(pageText);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("document.pdf");
        string text = pdf.ExtractAllText();
        Console.WriteLine(text);

        // Or extract text from specific pages
        string pageText = pdf.ExtractTextFromPage(0);
        Console.WriteLine(pageText);
    }
}

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IronPDF eliminates the PDFTextStripper class entirely, replacing multi-step extraction with a single method call.

HTML to PDF Conversion

Apache PDFBox does not support HTML-to-PDF conversion natively—this represents a fundamental capability gap.

Apache PDFBox .NET Port (Not Supported):

// Apache PDFBox does not have official .NET port
// Community ports like PDFBox-dotnet are incomplete
// and do not support HTML to PDF conversion natively.
// You would need to use additional libraries like
iText or combine with HTML renderers separately.

using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;
using System.IO;

// Note: This is NOT supported in PDFBox
// PDFBox is primarily for PDF manipulation, not HTML rendering
// You would need external HTML rendering engine

// Apache PDFBox does not have official .NET port
// Community ports like PDFBox-dotnet are incomplete
// and do not support HTML to PDF conversion natively.
// You would need to use additional libraries like
iText or combine with HTML renderers separately.

using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;
using System.IO;

// Note: This is NOT supported in PDFBox
// PDFBox is primarily for PDF manipulation, not HTML rendering
// You would need external HTML rendering engine

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IronPDF Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is HTML to PDF</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
        Console.WriteLine("PDF created successfully");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is HTML to PDF</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
        Console.WriteLine("PDF created successfully");
    }
}

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IronPDF's Chromium-based rendering engine provides full HTML, CSS, and JavaScript support. For advanced scenarios, see the HTML to PDF documentation.

Merging Multiple PDFs

Apache PDFBox .NET Port Implementation:

// Apache PDFBox .NET port attempt (incomplete support)
using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;
using PdfBoxDotNet.Multipdf;
using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // PDFBox-dotnet ports have incomplete API coverage
        var merger = new PDFMergerUtility();
        merger.AddSource("document1.pdf");
        merger.AddSource("document2.pdf");
        merger.SetDestinationFileName("merged.pdf");
        merger.MergeDocuments();
        Console.WriteLine("PDFs merged");
    }
}

// Apache PDFBox .NET port attempt (incomplete support)
using PdfBoxDotNet.Pdmodel;
using PdfBoxDotNet.Multipdf;
using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // PDFBox-dotnet ports have incomplete API coverage
        var merger = new PDFMergerUtility();
        merger.AddSource("document1.pdf");
        merger.AddSource("document2.pdf");
        merger.SetDestinationFileName("merged.pdf");
        merger.MergeDocuments();
        Console.WriteLine("PDFs merged");
    }
}

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IronPDF Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var pdf1 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document1.pdf");
        var pdf2 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document2.pdf");
        var pdf3 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document3.pdf");

        var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3);
        merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf");
        Console.WriteLine("PDFs merged successfully");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var pdf1 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document1.pdf");
        var pdf2 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document2.pdf");
        var pdf3 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document3.pdf");

        var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3);
        merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf");
        Console.WriteLine("PDFs merged successfully");
    }
}

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IronPDF's static Merge method accepts multiple documents directly, eliminating the utility class pattern.

Creating PDFs from Scratch

The most dramatic difference appears when creating PDFs. Apache PDFBox requires manual coordinate positioning.

Apache PDFBox .NET Port Implementation:

using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.edit;

public void CreatePdf(string outputPath)
{
    PDDocument document = new PDDocument();
    try
    {
        PDPage page = new PDPage();
        document.addPage(page);

        PDPageContentStream contentStream = new PDPageContentStream(document, page);
        PDFont font = PDType1Font.HELVETICA_BOLD;

        contentStream.beginText();
        contentStream.setFont(font, 24);
        contentStream.moveTextPositionByAmount(72, 700);
        contentStream.drawString("Hello World");
        contentStream.endText();

        contentStream.beginText();
        contentStream.setFont(PDType1Font.HELVETICA, 12);
        contentStream.moveTextPositionByAmount(72, 650);
        contentStream.drawString("This is a paragraph of text.");
        contentStream.endText();

        contentStream.close();
        document.save(outputPath);
    }
    finally
    {
        document.close();
    }
}

using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.edit;

public void CreatePdf(string outputPath)
{
    PDDocument document = new PDDocument();
    try
    {
        PDPage page = new PDPage();
        document.addPage(page);

        PDPageContentStream contentStream = new PDPageContentStream(document, page);
        PDFont font = PDType1Font.HELVETICA_BOLD;

        contentStream.beginText();
        contentStream.setFont(font, 24);
        contentStream.moveTextPositionByAmount(72, 700);
        contentStream.drawString("Hello World");
        contentStream.endText();

        contentStream.beginText();
        contentStream.setFont(PDType1Font.HELVETICA, 12);
        contentStream.moveTextPositionByAmount(72, 650);
        contentStream.drawString("This is a paragraph of text.");
        contentStream.endText();

        contentStream.close();
        document.save(outputPath);
    }
    finally
    {
        document.close();
    }
}

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IronPDF Implementation:

using IronPdf;

public void CreatePdf(string outputPath)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

    string html = @"
        <html>
        <head>
            <style>
                body { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1in; }
                h1 { font-size: 24pt; font-weight: bold; }
                p { font-size: 12pt; }
            </style>
        </head>
        <body>
            <h1>Hello World</h1>
            <p>This is a paragraph of text.</p>
        </body>
        </html>";

    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

using IronPdf;

public void CreatePdf(string outputPath)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

    string html = @"
        <html>
        <head>
            <style>
                body { font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1in; }
                h1 { font-size: 24pt; font-weight: bold; }
                p { font-size: 12pt; }
            </style>
        </head>
        <body>
            <h1>Hello World</h1>
            <p>This is a paragraph of text.</p>
        </body>
        </html>";

    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

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HTML/CSS-based creation eliminates coordinate calculations, font management, and content stream manipulation.

Adding Password Protection

Apache PDFBox .NET Port Implementation:

using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.encryption;

public void ProtectPdf(string inputPath, string outputPath, string password)
{
    PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File(inputPath));
    try
    {
        AccessPermission ap = new AccessPermission();
        ap.setCanPrint(true);
        ap.setCanExtractContent(false);

        StandardProtectionPolicy spp = new StandardProtectionPolicy(password, password, ap);
        spp.setEncryptionKeyLength(128);

        document.protect(spp);
        document.save(outputPath);
    }
    finally
    {
        document.close();
    }
}

using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.encryption;

public void ProtectPdf(string inputPath, string outputPath, string password)
{
    PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File(inputPath));
    try
    {
        AccessPermission ap = new AccessPermission();
        ap.setCanPrint(true);
        ap.setCanExtractContent(false);

        StandardProtectionPolicy spp = new StandardProtectionPolicy(password, password, ap);
        spp.setEncryptionKeyLength(128);

        document.protect(spp);
        document.save(outputPath);
    }
    finally
    {
        document.close();
    }
}

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IronPDF Implementation:

using IronPdf;

public void ProtectPdf(string inputPath, string outputPath, string password)
{
    using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(inputPath);

    pdf.SecuritySettings.UserPassword = password;
    pdf.SecuritySettings.OwnerPassword = password;
    pdf.SecuritySettings.AllowUserPrinting = PdfPrintSecurity.FullPrintRights;
    pdf.SecuritySettings.AllowUserCopyPasteContent = false;

    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

using IronPdf;

public void ProtectPdf(string inputPath, string outputPath, string password)
{
    using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(inputPath);

    pdf.SecuritySettings.UserPassword = password;
    pdf.SecuritySettings.OwnerPassword = password;
    pdf.SecuritySettings.AllowUserPrinting = PdfPrintSecurity.FullPrintRights;
    pdf.SecuritySettings.AllowUserCopyPasteContent = false;

    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

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IronPDF uses strongly-typed properties instead of separate permission and policy objects.

Adding Watermarks

Apache PDFBox .NET Port Implementation:

using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.edit;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font;

public void AddWatermark(string inputPath, string outputPath, string watermarkText)
{
    PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File(inputPath));
    try
    {
        PDFont font = PDType1Font.HELVETICA_BOLD;

        for (int i = 0; i < document.getNumberOfPages(); i++)
        {
            PDPage page = document.getPage(i);
            PDPageContentStream cs = new PDPageContentStream(
                document, page, PDPageContentStream.AppendMode.APPEND, true, true);

            cs.beginText();
            cs.setFont(font, 72);
            cs.setNonStrokingColor(200, 200, 200);
            cs.setTextMatrix(Matrix.getRotateInstance(Math.toRadians(45), 200, 400));
            cs.showText(watermarkText);
            cs.endText();
            cs.close();
        }

        document.save(outputPath);
    }
    finally
    {
        document.close();
    }
}

using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.edit;
using org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font;

public void AddWatermark(string inputPath, string outputPath, string watermarkText)
{
    PDDocument document = PDDocument.load(new File(inputPath));
    try
    {
        PDFont font = PDType1Font.HELVETICA_BOLD;

        for (int i = 0; i < document.getNumberOfPages(); i++)
        {
            PDPage page = document.getPage(i);
            PDPageContentStream cs = new PDPageContentStream(
                document, page, PDPageContentStream.AppendMode.APPEND, true, true);

            cs.beginText();
            cs.setFont(font, 72);
            cs.setNonStrokingColor(200, 200, 200);
            cs.setTextMatrix(Matrix.getRotateInstance(Math.toRadians(45), 200, 400));
            cs.showText(watermarkText);
            cs.endText();
            cs.close();
        }

        document.save(outputPath);
    }
    finally
    {
        document.close();
    }
}

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IronPDF Implementation:

using IronPdf;

public void AddWatermark(string inputPath, string outputPath, string watermarkText)
{
    using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(inputPath);

    pdf.ApplyWatermark(
        $"<h1 style='color:lightgray;font-size:72px;'>{watermarkText}</h1>",
        rotation: 45,
        opacity: 50);

    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

using IronPdf;

public void AddWatermark(string inputPath, string outputPath, string watermarkText)
{
    using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(inputPath);

    pdf.ApplyWatermark(
        $"<h1 style='color:lightgray;font-size:72px;'>{watermarkText}</h1>",
        rotation: 45,
        opacity: 50);

    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

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IronPDF's HTML-based watermarking eliminates page iteration and matrix calculations.

URL to PDF Conversion

Apache PDFBox does not support URL-to-PDF conversion. IronPDF provides native support:

using IronPdf;

public void ConvertUrlToPdf(string url, string outputPath)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    using var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf(url);
    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

using IronPdf;

public void ConvertUrlToPdf(string url, string outputPath)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    using var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf(url);
    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

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For complete URL conversion options, see the URL to PDF documentation.

Headers and Footers

Apache PDFBox requires manual positioning on each page with no built-in header/footer support. IronPDF provides declarative configuration:

using IronPdf;

public void CreatePdfWithHeaderFooter(string html, string outputPath)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

    renderer.RenderingOptions.TextHeader = new TextHeaderFooter
    {
        CenterText = "Document Title",
        FontSize = 12
    };

    renderer.RenderingOptions.TextFooter = new TextHeaderFooter
    {
        CenterText = "Page {page} of {total-pages}",
        FontSize = 10
    };

    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

using IronPdf;

public void CreatePdfWithHeaderFooter(string html, string outputPath)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

    renderer.RenderingOptions.TextHeader = new TextHeaderFooter
    {
        CenterText = "Document Title",
        FontSize = 12
    };

    renderer.RenderingOptions.TextFooter = new TextHeaderFooter
    {
        CenterText = "Page {page} of {total-pages}",
        FontSize = 10
    };

    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
    pdf.SaveAs(outputPath);
}

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For advanced layouts, see the headers and footers documentation.

ASP.NET Core Integration

IronPDF integrates naturally with modern .NET web applications:

[HttpPost]
public IActionResult GeneratePdf([FromBody] ReportRequest request)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(request.Html);

    return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "report.pdf");
}

[HttpPost]
public IActionResult GeneratePdf([FromBody] ReportRequest request)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(request.Html);

    return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf", "report.pdf");
}

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Async Support

Apache PDFBox ports don't support async operations. IronPDF provides full async/await capabilities:

using IronPdf;

public async Task<byte[]> GeneratePdfAsync(string html)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    using var pdf = await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync(html);
    return pdf.BinaryData;
}

using IronPdf;

public async Task<byte[]> GeneratePdfAsync(string html)
{
    var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    using var pdf = await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync(html);
    return pdf.BinaryData;
}

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Dependency Injection Configuration

public interface IPdfService
{
    Task<byte[]> GeneratePdfAsync(string html);
    string ExtractText(string pdfPath);
}

public class IronPdfService : IPdfService
{
    private readonly ChromePdfRenderer _renderer;

    public IronPdfService()
    {
        _renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        _renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperSize = PdfPaperSize.A4;
    }

    public async Task<byte[]> GeneratePdfAsync(string html)
    {
        using var pdf = await _renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync(html);
        return pdf.BinaryData;
    }

    public string ExtractText(string pdfPath)
    {
        using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(pdfPath);
        return pdf.ExtractAllText();
    }
}

public interface IPdfService
{
    Task<byte[]> GeneratePdfAsync(string html);
    string ExtractText(string pdfPath);
}

public class IronPdfService : IPdfService
{
    private readonly ChromePdfRenderer _renderer;

    public IronPdfService()
    {
        _renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        _renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperSize = PdfPaperSize.A4;
    }

    public async Task<byte[]> GeneratePdfAsync(string html)
    {
        using var pdf = await _renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync(html);
        return pdf.BinaryData;
    }

    public string ExtractText(string pdfPath)
    {
        using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(pdfPath);
        return pdf.ExtractAllText();
    }
}

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Performance Optimization

Memory Usage Comparison

Scenario	Apache PDFBox .NET Port	IronPDF	Notes
Text extraction	~80 MB	~50 MB	IronPDF more efficient
PDF creation	~100 MB	~60 MB	HTML rendering optimized
Batch (100 PDFs)	High (manual cleanup)	~100 MB	Use `using` statements

Optimization Tips

Use using Statements:

// Automatic cleanup with IDisposable pattern
using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(path);

// Automatic cleanup with IDisposable pattern
using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(path);

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Reuse Renderer for Batch Operations:

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
foreach (var html in htmlList)
{
    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
    pdf.SaveAs($"output_{i}.pdf");
}

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
foreach (var html in htmlList)
{
    using var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
    pdf.SaveAs($"output_{i}.pdf");
}

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Use Async in Web Applications:

using var pdf = await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync(html);

using var pdf = await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync(html);

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Troubleshooting Common Migration Issues

Issue: Java-Style Method Names Not Found

Replace camelCase Java methods with PascalCase .NET equivalents:

// PDFBox: stripper.getText(document)
// IronPDF: pdf.ExtractAllText()

// PDFBox: document.getNumberOfPages()
// IronPDF: pdf.PageCount

// PDFBox: stripper.getText(document)
// IronPDF: pdf.ExtractAllText()

// PDFBox: document.getNumberOfPages()
// IronPDF: pdf.PageCount

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Issue: No `close()` Method

IronPDF uses the IDisposable pattern:

// PDFBox
document.close();

// IronPDF
using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(path);
// Automatic disposal at end of scope

// PDFBox
document.close();

// IronPDF
using var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(path);
// Automatic disposal at end of scope

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Issue: No `PDFTextStripper` Equivalent

Text extraction is simplified to a single method:

// IronPDF: Just call ExtractAllText()
string text = pdf.ExtractAllText();

// Per-page extraction:
string pageText = pdf.Pages[0].Text;

// IronPDF: Just call ExtractAllText()
string text = pdf.ExtractAllText();

// Per-page extraction:
string pageText = pdf.Pages[0].Text;

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Issue: `PDFMergerUtility` Not Found

Use the static Merge method:

// IronPDF uses static Merge
var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3);

// IronPDF uses static Merge
var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3);

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Post-Migration Checklist

After completing the code migration, verify the following:

Run all existing unit and integration tests
Compare PDF outputs visually against previous versions
Test text extraction accuracy
Verify licensing works correctly (IronPdf.License.IsLicensed)
Performance benchmark against previous implementation
Update CI/CD pipeline dependencies
Document new patterns for your development team

Future-Proofing Your PDF Infrastructure

With .NET 10 on the horizon and C# 14 introducing new language features, choosing a native .NET PDF library ensures compatibility with evolving runtime capabilities. IronPDF's commitment to supporting the latest .NET versions means your migration investment pays dividends as projects extend into 2025 and 2026.

Additional Resources

Migrating from Apache PDFBox .NET ports to IronPDF transforms your PDF codebase from Java-style patterns to idiomatic C#. The shift from manual coordinate positioning to HTML/CSS rendering, combined with native async support and modern .NET integration, delivers cleaner, more maintainable code with professional support backing your production applications.

Curtis Chau

Chat with engineering team now

Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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How to Migrate from Api2pdf to IronPDF in C#

How to Migrate from Adobe PDF Libra...

How to Migrate from Apache PDFBox to IronPDF

Why Consider Migrating from Apache PDFBox .NET Ports?

Unofficial Port Status

Java-First API Design

No HTML Rendering Capability

Limited .NET Community Support

Potential JVM Dependencies

Apache PDFBox vs. IronPDF: Key Differences

Pre-Migration Preparation

Prerequisites

Audit Apache PDFBox Usage

Breaking Changes to Anticipate

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Step 1: Update NuGet Packages

Step 2: Configure the License Key

Step 3: Update Namespace References

Complete API Migration Reference

Document Operations

Text Extraction

Merge and Split Operations

Security and Encryption

Code Migration Examples

Text Extraction

HTML to PDF Conversion

Merging Multiple PDFs

Creating PDFs from Scratch

Adding Password Protection

Adding Watermarks

URL to PDF Conversion

Headers and Footers

ASP.NET Core Integration

Async Support

Dependency Injection Configuration

Performance Optimization

Memory Usage Comparison

Optimization Tips

Troubleshooting Common Migration Issues

Issue: Java-Style Method Names Not Found

Issue: No close() Method

Issue: No PDFTextStripper Equivalent

Issue: PDFMergerUtility Not Found

Post-Migration Checklist

Future-Proofing Your PDF Infrastructure

Additional Resources

Related Articles

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Issue: No `close()` Method

Issue: No `PDFTextStripper` Equivalent

Issue: `PDFMergerUtility` Not Found