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  3. Use IronPdfEngine

How to Use IronPdfEngine

IronPdfEngine is a gRPC server designed to manage various IronPDF operations, including creating, writing, editing, and reading PDFs. Built as a self-contained C# .NET application, IronPdfEngine operates independently, eliminating the need for the .NET runtime during execution.

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First Step:
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How to Use IronPdfEngine as a Remote Server

  1. Install the C# library to utilize IronPdfEngine
  2. Install the IronPdf.slim package from NuGet
  3. Utilize the IronPdfConnectionConfiguration class to configure the connection settings
  4. Use the IronPdfEngine to render HTML to PDF with an identical to Chrome renderer

IronPdf .NET and IronPdfEngine

IronPdf .NET does not require IronPdfEngine to run. IronPdfEngine is just an optional way to use IronPdf. By default, IronPdf for .NET will not use IronPdfEngine.

Please note
Each version of IronPdf for .NET requires a specific version of IronPdfEngine. Cross-version compatibility is not supported. For IronPdf for .NET, the required version of IronPdfEngine will always match. For example, IronPdf 2024.2.2 will use IronPdfEngine 2024.2.2

IronPdf .NET with Remote IronPdfEngine

The IronPdf.slim NuGet package is the only package needed to use IronPdf for .NET with Remote IronPdfEngine.

Please note
If you are using IronPdf or IronPdf.Linux, you may use IronPdf.slim instead to reduce your application's size.

Assuming that IronPdfEngine runs remotely at 123.456.7.8:33350.

Please note
To run IronPdfEngine remotely, please refer to "Pull and Run IronPdfEngine."

Install IronPdf using NuGet:

PM> Install-Package IronPdf

After installing IronPdf.slim, you just need to tell IronPdf where IronPdfEngine is (please make sure that address is accessible, not blocked by firewall). Use the IronPdfConnectionConfiguration class to configure the connection settings. Add the below code to the initial stage of your application (or just before calling any IronPdf method).

Installation.ConnectToIronPdfHost(IronPdf.GrpcLayer.IronPdfConnectionConfiguration.RemoteServer("123.456.7.8:33350"));
Installation.ConnectToIronPdfHost(IronPdf.GrpcLayer.IronPdfConnectionConfiguration.RemoteServer("123.456.7.8:33350"));
Installation.ConnectToIronPdfHost(IronPdf.GrpcLayer.IronPdfConnectionConfiguration.RemoteServer("123.456.7.8:33350"))
VB   C#

Simple as that! After this, your application will be connected to Remote IronPdfEngine!