Converting a PDF to PCL (Printer Command Language) in C# can be an essential task for developers working with printing solutions. PCL is a well-established page description language used by many laser printers, and converting documents into this format allows for more efficient and accurate printing.

In this article, we will explore the process of converting PDFs to PCL format in C# using Spire.PDF for .NET, including batch conversion for processing multiple files efficiently.

• • Install Spire.PDF for .NET
• • How to Convert PDF to PCL in C#
• • Batch Conversion of PDF to PCL using C#

Install Spire.PDF for .NET

To get started, you’ll need to install the Spire.PDF for .NET library in your project. The easiest way to do this is via NuGet.

• 1.Open “NuGet Package Manager” in Visual Studio.
• 2.Search for “Spire.PDF” and install the package.

Alternatively, you can run the following command in the Package Manager Console:

PM> Install-Package Spire.PDF

How to Convert PDF to PCL in C#

Once the Spire.PDF library is installed, you're ready to start converting PDF documents into PCL. The classes and methods used for conversion are explained below:

• PdfDocument: This class represents the PDF document you're working with.
• LoadFromFile(): This method loads the PDF file into the PdfDocument object.
• SaveToFile(): This method saves the loaded PDF document in the specified format (PCL in this case).

Code Example:

using Spire.Pdf;

namespace PDFtoPCL
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a PdfDocument instance
            PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument();

            // Load a PDF file
            pdf.LoadFromFile("Input1.pdf");

            // Save to PCL format
            pdf.SaveToFile("PdfToPcl.pcl", FileFormat.PCL);
            pdf.Close();

        }
    }
}

Batch Conversion of PDF to PCL using C#

If you need to convert a large number of PDF files in a folder, you can perform batch conversion by following the below steps and code:

• 1. Get all PDF files in a specified folder using the Directory.GetFiles() method.
• 2. Use foreach loop to iterate over each PDF file.
• 3. Load each PDF file into the PdfDocument object.
• 4. Generate the output PCL file path, and then convert the PDF to PCL.

Code Example:

using Spire.Pdf;
using System.IO;

namespace PDFtoPCL
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {

            string pdfFolder = @"F:\PDFs\";
            string pclFolder = @"F:\PCLs\";

            // Get all PDF files in a folder
            string[] pdfFiles = Directory.GetFiles(pdfFolder, "*.pdf");

            // Iterate through each PDF file
            foreach (string pdfFile in pdfFiles)
            {
                // Load the PDF file into the PdfDocument object
                PdfDocument pdf = new PdfDocument();
                pdf.LoadFromFile(pdfFile);

                // Define the file path and file name of the output PCL file
                string outputFile = Path.Combine(pclFolder, Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(pdfFile) + ".pcl");

                // Save PDF as PCL file
                pdf.SaveToFile(outputFile, FileFormat.PCL);
                pdf.Close();
            }
        }
    }
}

Conclusion

With Spire.PDF for .NET, converting PDFs to PCL in C# becomes straightforward, whether you're handling individual files or bulk operations. Its robust API makes it an excellent choice for automating printing workflows or integrating conversion features into applications.

Get a Free License

To fully experience the capabilities of Spire.PDF for .NET without any evaluation limitations, you can request a free 30-day trial license.

PCL File is Digital printed document created in the Printer Command Language (more commonly referred to as PCL) page description language. From v7.1.19, Spire.Doc supports to convert word document to PCL. There are many kinds of standard for PCL document; the PCL here refers to PCL 6 (PCL 6 Enhanced or PCL XL). This article will show you how to save word document to PCL in C# and VB.NET by only three lines of codes.

using Spire.Doc;

namespace DOCPCL
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //load the sample document
            Document doc = new Document();
            doc.LoadFromFile("Sample.docx", FileFormat.Docx2010);

            //save the document as a PCL file
            doc.SaveToFile("Result.pcl", FileFormat.PCL);



        }
    }
}

Imports Spire.Doc

Namespace DOCPCL
	Class Program
		Private Shared Sub Main(args As String())
			'load the sample document
			Dim doc As New Document()
			doc.LoadFromFile("Sample.docx", FileFormat.Docx2010)

			'save the document as a PCL file
			doc.SaveToFile("Result.pcl", FileFormat.PCL)



		End Sub
	End Class
End Namespace

Shrink to fit is a useful option in Excel, it enables us to automatically reduce the font size in a cell until the text fits within the cell. This article demonstrates how to accomplish the same functionality programmatically in C# using Spire.XLS.

Below is the screenshot of the input Excel file:

Detail steps:

Step 1: Instantiate a Workbook object and load the Excel file.

Workbook workbook = new Workbook();
workbook.LoadFromFile(@"Input.xlsx");

Step 2: Get the first worksheet.

Worksheet sheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];

Step 3: Specify the cell range to shrink text.

CellRange cell = sheet.Range["A1:E3"];

Step 4: Enable ShrinkToFit.

CellStyle style = cell.Style;
style.ShrinkToFit = true;

Step 5: Save the file.

workbook.SaveToFile("ShrinkTextToFitCell.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);

Output:

Full code:

using Spire.Xls;
namespace ShrinkText
{
    class Program
    {

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //Load the Excel file
            Workbook workbook = new Workbook();
            workbook.LoadFromFile(@"Input.xlsx");

            //Get the first worksheet
            Worksheet sheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];

            //The cell range to shrink text
            CellRange cell = sheet.Range["A1:E3"];

            //Enable ShrinkToFit
            CellStyle style = cell.Style;
            style.ShrinkToFit = true;

            //Save the file
            workbook.SaveToFile("ShrinkTextToFitCell.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);
        }
    }
}

This article demonstrates how to create a chart without reference to the worksheet data range using Spire.XLS.

Detail steps:

Step 1: Create a workbook and get the first worksheet.

Workbook wb = new Workbook();            
Worksheet sheet = wb.Worksheets[0];

Step 2: Add a chart to the worksheet.

Chart chart = sheet.Charts.Add();

Step 3: Add a series to the chart.

var series = chart.Series.Add();

Step 4: Add data.

series.EnteredDirectlyValues = new object[] { 10, 20, 30 };

Step 5: Save the file.

wb.SaveToFile("result.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);

Output:

Full code:

using Spire.Xls;

namespace Create_chart
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //Create a workbook
            Workbook wb = new Workbook();
            
            //Get the first worksheet
            Worksheet sheet = wb.Worksheets[0];

            //Add a chart to the worksheet
            Chart chart = sheet.Charts.Add();

            //Add a series to the chart
            var series = chart.Series.Add();

            //Add data 
            series.EnteredDirectlyValues = new object[] { 10, 20, 30 };

            //Save the file
            wb.SaveToFile("result.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013);
        }
    }
}