WebSupergoo, a provider of document and image manipulation components to ASP, VB and .NET developers, has announced the launch of ABCpdf 9.1, the latest version of its flagship PDF rendering, creation and conversion library.

ABCpdf enables developers to manipulate and create PDF documents within their own software applications. ABCpdf is typically used to create PDF files from HTML web pages in business applications, however it has been used in applications as diverse as printing custom designs on chocolate, creating sheet music and using laser cutters to craft models.

ABCpdf .NET 9.1 supports the rendering of PDF documents with the latest Gecko engine (which is used in Firefox 21.0) as well as the current Trident engine as used in IE10. 

Jos Vernon, CEO of WebSupergoo, says: “The new Gecko engine will allow developers to leverage the power of recent Firefox updates for the conversion of HTML documents into formats like PDF. As a heavily standards-based development, Gecko is ideal for the conversion of HTML 5 and SVG in modern cloud-based systems.”

The HTML rendering engine is not the only new addition in ABCpdf .NET 9.1, three of the major enhancements include: automatic DOC/ DOCX import, Photoshop PSD export and better support for complex languages.

- DOC/DOCX conversion to PDF without MS Office or Apache OpenOffice.

Improved integration with WebSupergoo’s WordGlue .NET product enables easy server-side conversion of Microsoft Word DOC and DOCX files to PDF without the need for desktop applications such as Apache OpenOffice or Microsoft Office.

- Photoshop PSD export.

Export to Photoshop PSD format has also been added, supporting eight or sixteen bits per channel, multiple color spaces and optional alpha opacity.

- Contextual ligatures in PDF text.

Better support for complex languages, such as Arabic, has been introduced in ABCpdf 9.1 with the new support for contextual ligatures in bi-directional text.

“With ABCpdf .NET 9.1, developers can be confident of the quality and accuracy of the PDF files their applications are creating. Whether simply converting HTML to PDF or generating PDF documents from database records, ABCpdf 9.1 is fast, easy to implement and scalable”, said Vernon.”

ABCpdf 9.1 is a free upgrade for all ABCpdf 9.0 customers.

www.WebSupergoo.com