C# Read PDF File: Easy Tutorial
If you are a developer, you have probably encountered problems trying to read text from a PDF file. Perhaps one or more of the following scenarios apply to you:
- You are developing an application that takes two PDF documents as input and finds the similarity between the documents.
- You are developing an application that needs to read PDF documents with IronPDF and return the word count.
- You are developing an application that extracts data from a PDF file using IronPDF and puts it in a structured database.
- You are developing an application that needs to extract PDF text content and convert it into a string.
- Extracting data from PDF files using C# was a difficult and complex task until the development of IronPDF.
IronPDF Library Overview is a library that makes it so much easier for developers to read PDF files.
You can explore more about IronPDF and Iron Software Suite Offerings.
You can read PDF files and display the data in a C# Textbox by using just two lines of code. Yes, just two lines of code. You can also extract all the images from PDFs. Further, you can create another document with those images or display them in your application as per your requirements.
Let us show you how it's done.
We can proceed step by step with the application to select any PDF files and then display their content.
The following steps show you how to read PDF files in C#:
The Following Steps Show You How to Read PDF files in C#
- Download the Print to PDF C# Library
- Choose a PDF file from your computer
- Select specific printer to print and set resolution
- Check your PDF output from your printer
- Track your printing processes using C#
Prerequisite Knowledge:
- Basic Knowledge of C# Programming
- Basic Knowledge of C# GUI Controls
I have designed this tutorial in such a way that even a person with no programming background will be able to progress.
Who should read this
Any newcomer learning C# should know how to read PDF files using IronPDF because this is something you are definitely going to use in your career.
Professional developers should also read this to be able to understand the IronPDF Library, which helps us to read, generate, and manipulate PDF documents.
Now, how can we use this Library in our Project to read a PDF file?
I am using a Windows Forms App for demonstration. You can use a Console Application, a WPF Application, or an ASP.NET web application according to your preference.
Another major advantage of the IronPDF library is that it can be used with both C# and VB.NET.
Let's begin the demonstration without further delay.
Step #1: Create a Visual Studio Project
Open Visual Studio. I am using Visual Studio 2019.
Click on "Create New Project":
Create New Project
Now, select the Windows Forms App from the template, press "Next", and the following window will appear. Enter a project name. I have written 'Read Pdf using IronPDF'.
Configure project via Visual Studio
Now, click "Next", and the following window will appear. Select '.NET Core 3.1' from the drop-down menu.
.NET Core 3.1 version
Click on the "Create" button, and the Project will be created as shown below.
Initial stage of a new Windows Forms application
Step #2: Install the IronPDF NuGet Package
Click on the Project Menu from the Menu Bar, and a drop-down list will appear. Select Manage NuGet Packages, and click on it. The following window will appear:
NuGet Package Manager
Now, click on "Browse". The following window will appear:
NuGet Package Manager UI
Type IronPdf in the search box and press "Enter". The following window will appear:
NuGet Solution
Select and click on IronPdf. The following window will appear: Install Free IronPdf
Press the "Install" button and wait for the installation to complete. The following window will appear after a successful installation:
IronPdf for .NET
Press the "Ok" button, and you are good to go.
Note: There are other ways to download the NuGet Package. You can also install IronPdf
by using the Package Manager Console; to do this, open the Package Manager Console and write the following code:
Install-Package IronPdf
You can also download it on the NuGet package page for IronPDF.
The following Readme.txt file will open:
IronPdf's readme file with code samples
I suggest you go through all the links and explore more IronPDF code samples about this Library.
Step #3: Design a Windows Forms App
Once a Project is created and the NuGet Package is installed, the next step is to design a Windows Forms App that will ask the user to browse for a file and display its content.
Open Form1 Design:
Form1 Design UI
Click on the toolbar that is on the left-hand side of the window:
Toolbox UI for Label and TextBox
Search for "Label", and drag and drop it into the Form Design
Name the label. Here, I have named it "C# Read Pdf using IronPDF".
Form1 UI with Label added
Next, drag and drop one text box (to show the file path), three buttons (one for browsing the files, one for reading PDF files using IronPDF, and the third button for "Clear the Text" fields), and one RichTextBox (for reading and displaying the file contents).
Set the "Read Only Property" for the TextBox and RichTextBox to "False". This is so that users can only read the contents and file path.
Form1 fully designed
Step #4: Add the Back-end Code for Browsing PDF Files
Double-click on the "Browse" button, and the following window will appear:
private void Browse_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
private void Browse_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
Private Sub Browse_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
End Sub
Next, write the following code inside the Browse_Click
function:
private void Browse_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Initialize and configure OpenFileDialog
OpenFileDialog browseFile = new OpenFileDialog
{
InitialDirectory = @"D:\",
Title = "Browse Pdf Files",
CheckFileExists = true,
CheckPathExists = true,
DefaultExt = "pdf",
Filter = "pdf files (*.pdf)|*.pdf",
FilterIndex = 2,
RestoreDirectory = true,
ReadOnlyChecked = true,
ShowReadOnly = true
};
// Show the dialog and get result
if (browseFile.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
// Set the text box with the selected file path
FilePath.Text = browseFile.FileName;
}
}
private void Browse_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Initialize and configure OpenFileDialog
OpenFileDialog browseFile = new OpenFileDialog
{
InitialDirectory = @"D:\",
Title = "Browse Pdf Files",
CheckFileExists = true,
CheckPathExists = true,
DefaultExt = "pdf",
Filter = "pdf files (*.pdf)|*.pdf",
FilterIndex = 2,
RestoreDirectory = true,
ReadOnlyChecked = true,
ShowReadOnly = true
};
// Show the dialog and get result
if (browseFile.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
// Set the text box with the selected file path
FilePath.Text = browseFile.FileName;
}
}
Private Sub Browse_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
' Initialize and configure OpenFileDialog
Dim browseFile As New OpenFileDialog With {
.InitialDirectory = "D:\",
.Title = "Browse Pdf Files",
.CheckFileExists = True,
.CheckPathExists = True,
.DefaultExt = "pdf",
.Filter = "pdf files (*.pdf)|*.pdf",
.FilterIndex = 2,
.RestoreDirectory = True,
.ReadOnlyChecked = True,
.ShowReadOnly = True
}
' Show the dialog and get result
If browseFile.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK Then
' Set the text box with the selected file path
FilePath.Text = browseFile.FileName
End If
End Sub
OpenFileDialog
creates an instance of the File Dialog control of the Windows Forms App.
I have set the Initial Path to D Drive; you can set it to any.
I have set DefaultExt = "pdf"
as we only have to read the PDF file.
I have used a filter so that the browse file dialog will only show you the PDF file to select.
When the user clicks "Ok", it will show the file path in the File Path field.
Let us run the solution and test the "Browse" button.
Form1 UI
Press the "Browse" button and the following window will appear:
Browse File dialog to select a PDF file
Select the file (I am selecting IronPDFTest.pdf) and press "Open". The following window will appear.
PDF in C#
Now let's write the code behind the "Read" button to read the file.
Step #5: Add the Back-end Code for Reading PDF Documents using IronPDF
You might be thinking that code for reading a PDF file would be complex and difficult to write and understand.
Don't worry. IronPDF has simplified things and made it all so much easier. We can easily read the PDF file using just two lines of code.
Go to Form1 Design and "double-click" on the "Read" button. The following window will appear:
private void Read_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
private void Read_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
Private Sub Read_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
End Sub
Add a namespace using IronPdf
to import the IronPDF library:
using System;
using IronPdf;
using System;
using IronPdf;
Imports System
Imports IronPdf
Write the following code inside the Read_Click
function:
private void Read_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Read the PDF file using IronPdf
using PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(FilePath.Text);
// Extract and display the text from the PDF
FileContent.Text = pdf.ExtractAllText();
}
private void Read_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Read the PDF file using IronPdf
using PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile(FilePath.Text);
// Extract and display the text from the PDF
FileContent.Text = pdf.ExtractAllText();
}
Private Sub Read_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
' Read the PDF file using IronPdf
Using pdf As PdfDocument = PdfDocument.FromFile(FilePath.Text)
' Extract and display the text from the PDF
FileContent.Text = pdf.ExtractAllText()
End Using
End Sub
FilePath
is the name of the text field that displays the location of the PDF document we want to read. We will get the location of the file dynamically.
ExtractAllText with IronPDF is the IronPDF function that will extract all the data from PDF pages. This data will then be displayed in the Rich Text box and named as "File Content".
Next, let's write the code behind the "Clear Button". This is just an additional item if you wish to clear the screen once you have read the PDF document.
Double-click on the "Clear Button", and it will take you to the following code:
void Clear_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
void Clear_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
Private Sub Clear_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
End Sub
Write the following code inside the Clear_Click
function:
void Clear_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Clear the file path and content display fields
FileContent.Text = "";
FilePath.Text = "";
}
void Clear_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Clear the file path and content display fields
FileContent.Text = "";
FilePath.Text = "";
}
Private Sub Clear_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
' Clear the file path and content display fields
FileContent.Text = ""
FilePath.Text = ""
End Sub
Run the Solution
Click on the "Browse" button and select the document you want to read. In my case, I am reading the IronPDF.pdf file as an example:
PDF documents
Press the "Open" button and the following window will appear:
Application with a selected PDF file
Press the "Read" button. It will read the file and display the content as shown below.
Display PDF text content
Summary
This is an example solution. No matter how many pages, images, or texts are in your PDF files, IronPDF will extract all the texts and images for you to use for any purpose. You simply need to get the license for the library and begin using it.
This completes the tutorial. I hope you have understood everything, and if you have any queries, feel free to post them in the comments section.
You can download the project zip file. If you wish to buy the complete package of Iron software products, our special offer means that you can now buy all of them for the price of just two Lite licenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I read text from a PDF file using C#?
You can read text from a PDF file using IronPDF by utilizing the ExtractAllText
method, which allows you to easily extract all text content from a PDF document.
What are the advantages of using IronPDF for PDF manipulation in C#?
IronPDF offers a straightforward approach to reading, generating, and manipulating PDFs in C#. It allows developers to accomplish tasks like text extraction and image retrieval with minimal lines of code, improving productivity and efficiency.
How do I install the IronPDF library in my C# project?
To install IronPDF, use the NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio. Simply search for 'IronPdf' in the Package Manager Console and click 'Install' to include it in your project.
Can IronPDF be used to extract images from a PDF file?
Yes, IronPDF provides functionality to extract images from a PDF file, allowing developers to access and manipulate all images contained within the document.
What steps are involved in setting up a Visual Studio project to read PDF files?
Setting up a project involves creating a new Visual Studio project, installing the IronPDF NuGet package, designing a Windows Forms App, and implementing back-end code to browse and read PDF files.
How can I ensure the fields in my application are cleared after reading a PDF?
You can implement a 'Clear' button in your application, which resets the content of the TextBox and RichTextBox to an empty string, ensuring the fields are cleared after processing a PDF.
Is it possible to use IronPDF with VB.NET?
Yes, IronPDF is compatible with both C# and VB.NET, making it a versatile option for developers working in different .NET languages.
How many lines of code are required to display PDF content using IronPDF?
You can display PDF content with as few as two lines of code using IronPDF, highlighting its capability to simplify PDF processing tasks.
What is the 'RenderHtmlAsPdf' method used for in IronPDF?
The RenderHtmlAsPdf
method in IronPDF is used to convert HTML strings into PDF documents, allowing for seamless integration of web content into PDF files.