Conversion Service Updates & Release Notes

Added

• Standard Converter for Office documents With this release, the Conversion Service converts Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to PDF without requiring a Microsoft Office installation, Microsoft 365 subscription, or Office license feature. The Standard Converter is enabled by default and works on both Windows and Docker deployments. For highest visual fidelity, configure a local Microsoft Office installation or the Office for the web service.
  • The Standard Converter supports the following profile options:
    • Track Changes (Word): Renders revision marks (insertions, deletions, formatting changes) in the converted PDF.
    • Allow Scaling (Excel): Scales worksheet columns to fit on one page.
• Added a Force line break option to preserve Rich Text Format (RTF) line breaks in email text. Generic RTF control-word stripping prevents leftover control characters in the output.
• Added an Include external stylesheets option, separate from Include external images, so you can skip external CSS independently.
• Added missing features to the Configurator Web, reducing the gap with the Windows-based Configurator. Additions include:
  • Signing, Stamping, Annotations, and OCR configuration in profiles.
  • Connector configuration in the Integrations tab for all connector types, including the ability to create connectors and edit existing ones.
• Added a Flatten Form Fields toggle in the Compression and Optimization section of the Configurator profile settings. Turn it on to flatten AcroForm fields into static graphics so that filled-in form values render consistently across PDF viewers. The toggle works in the PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, and PDF/A-3 workflows. The runtime job option is FLATTEN.FORM.FIELDS. For details, see Compression and optimization settings.

Added

• Convert documents into structured XML data using the Convert to XML workflow. For more details, review Convert to XML workflow documentation.
• With this release, Licensing Gateway Service supports forward proxy configuration. For more details, review Configure a forward proxy.

Changed

• Renamed workflows in the Conversion Service Configurator to better describe their purpose. The following workflows have been renamed:

  Previous name | New name
  --------------|---------
  Conversion    | Convert to PDF
  Dossier       | Create Dossier PDF
  Archive PDF/A-1 | Archive as PDF/A-1
  Archive PDF/A-2 | Archive as PDF/A-2
  Archive PDF/A-3 | Archive as PDF/A-3
  Invoice       | Prepare Invoice PDF
  Sign          | Sign PDF
  Archive TIFF  | Archive as TIFF
  Extraction    | Extract XML from PDF
  

• Removed the Accessibility workflow from the Conversion Service.

Changed

• During Word-to-PDF conversion, Word opens documents without updating external links (UpdateLinksAtOpen = false). Previously, documents with external image or data references combined with <w:updateFields w:val=“true”/> triggered a security dialog that blocked COM automation, causing Word to stop responding and time out. The underlying issue was fixed, and as a result, documents with linked external content, such as images on network shares, use the cached version stored in the document rather than refreshing links during conversion.

Added

• Added support for converting S/MIME signed emails (.p7m). Before this change, signed emails failed to convert. As of this release, the Conversion Service unwraps the signature and converts the email content. Signature validity isn’t verified. Encrypted signed emails aren’t supported.
• Added a progress indicator (spinner) in the Configurator during service start, stop, and restart operations. The spinner replaces the service control buttons while an operation runs, providing visual feedback and preventing accidental duplicate operations.

Changed

• Warning events in the Conversion Service Configurator now use subcategories within their top-level categories, such as Document Integrity, External Resources, Visual Fidelity, and Removed Features under the General category. Each warning also displays which input file types it applies to (PDF, HTML/email, Image, and Office). This makes it easier to find and understand relevant warnings when configuring workflow profiles.
• Updated Conversion Service license agreement.

Fixed

• Fixed trailing
  tags and whitespace-only nodes in email HTML bodies causing extra blank pages in PDF output.
• Fixed attachment names overlapping in email headers by preserving valid XML whitespace characters (tabs, newlines) when sanitizing HTML.

Added

• Added OpenTelemetry (OTLP) support for exporting traces, logs, and metrics to observability backends such as Grafana, Datadog, Seq, and Jaeger. For more information, review OpenTelemetry (OTLP) documentation.
• Added an offline activation wizard in the Conversion Service Configurator for managing license keys in full offline mode. For more details, review Full offline mode activation section.
• Added license expiration date display in the Configurator.

Changed

• Custom XMP metadata handling preserves existing document metadata (Author, Title, Subject, Keywords) when setting individual XMP fields, such as xmp:CreatorTool.
• License state validation now detects licenses that have been removed from the online Licensing Gateway Service (LGS). As a result, licenses that were previously hard to remove are now properly cleared from the Conversion Service Configurator.
• Removed License not added pop-up on Configurator startup.
• Removed .NET Framework 4.7 requirement from the installer.

Fixed

• Fixed Configurator memory leak caused by event handlers.
• Fixed license validation incorrectly marking licenses as invalid when using a remote LGS.
• Fixed Archive workflows failing with ArgumentException when resizing PDF forms containing AcroForm fields.

Added

• As of this release, you can extract XML data from documents processed by the Pdftools OCR Service using the Extraction workflow. This workflow uses the Result Mode option in the Configurator OCR Settings to output the structured XML from OCR results.
• Added mail connectors in Docker deployments.
• You can now import Connections.xml and configure mail secrets in Docker.
• Mail connectors can now process email body and attachments separately.
• Added license-based access control for the Conversion Service Configurator. Most of the tabs are now hidden when no valid license key is set and are displayed when you activate a valid license key.
• Added quick file removal options in the Conversion Service Client user interface, including a right-click context menu with Remove selected and a trash icon when you hold the pointer over items in the input list for deletion.
• Improved the Processing Steps user interface in workflows. Optional processing steps now display clickable links that scroll to the relevant configuration section with checkmarks or warning icons indicating whether settings are complete.
• Added a splash screen for the Conversion Service Configurator.

Changed

• Conversion Service Docker image size reduced by ~4% (1.87 GB to 1.8 GB).
• Configuration Updater Docker image size reduced by ~45% (238.75 MB to 131.75 MB).
• Office conversion is disabled by default. You can configure an Office user from the pre-processing step in workflow setup or in the Conversion Service tab. Once configured, a prompt asks whether to enable Office conversion for all workflow profiles or leave it disabled for manual configuration per profile.

Fixed

• Improved OCR error logging with more descriptive messages when OCR Service errors occur.
• Updated vulnerable packages for improved security.
• Optimized the Conversion Service Configurator graphical interface performance.

Added

• As of this release, your page credits consumption under the License tab in the Conversion Service Configurator.
• Added Gmail connectors for integration with Gmail accounts. The new connectors include:
  • Watched Mailbox (Gmail): Input connectors that convert emails from Gmail mailboxes.
  • Output Mailbox (Gmail): Output connectors that copy processed files to Gmail mailboxes.
  • Send Email (Gmail): Email sending connectors that send notifications and results through Gmail SMTP server.
    Each Gmail connector type supports two authentication methods:
  • App Passwords: Authenticate using Gmail App Passwords, which requires 2-step verification.
  • OAuth 2.0: Authenticate using your organization’s OAuth credentials from Google Cloud Console. Provides organization-level control over email access, independent credential management, and dedicated rate limits that are separate from those of other users.
    All of these connectors include IMAP/SMTP settings optimized for Gmail. For more information, review Gmail connectors documentation.
• You can now extract property values generated through the workflow components and use them where available with the placeholder syntax.
• The Dossier workflow now lets you configure PDF annotations that can be positioned on PDF dossier pages and table of contents pages.

Fixed

• Fixed an issue with widget annotation text not present in the output after PDF/A conversion.
• The MSG files attached to emails have properly rendered characters.
• The license agreement has been updated to the new terms and conditions.

Added

• Added a new Output File Settings section in the Dossier workflow configuration, introducing configurable attributes for invalid filename characters and maximum filename length.
• As of this release, you can now convert JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) images to PDF. The JFIF conversion to PDF is included in the following workflow profiles:
  • Conversion
  • Archive PDF/A-2
  • Archive PDF/A-3
  • Archive PDF/A-1
  • Archive TIFF
• As of this release, you can linearize PDF documents during the conversion process. This will create a PDF document that is optimized for fast web viewing. Linearization is available in the following workflow profiles:
  • Conversion
  • Archive PDF/A-2
  • Archive PDF/A-3
  • Archive PDF/A-1

Fixed

• Fixed an issue with a multi-level table of contents creation in the Dossier workflow that failed under certain conditions. For more information, review Dossier documentation.

Added

• As of this release, you can use the Pdftools OCR Service with the Conversion Service. This OCR configuration is compatible with the legacy 3-Heights® OCR Service and doesn’t require any additional configuration for users who have already integrated the legacy OCR. Review Pdftools OCR Service documentation for setup and configuration details.
• You can now choose to hide the default header that is added when converting emails to PDF.

Changed

• The Header time format subsection was renamed to Header in the Email Settings configuration section.
• In the workflow and profile configuration, the 3-Heights® OCR Service engine was renamed to Pdftools OCR Service (3H Legacy Compatible).

Fixed

• Improved support request. Added additional data for better insight in the Configurator.

Added

• You can now add annotations to PDF documents. Annotation can be moved, resized, or removed in a viewer where a user can edit the PDF. Review Stamp and annotation documentation for configuration details and more information.
• With this update, you can set up a fallback time-stamp authority (TSA) in the Conversion Service Configurator. As a result, you can add a backup TSA URL that the Conversion Service will use if the primary TSA isn’t available.

Changed

• The following changes were made in the Conversion Service Configurator:
  • The Document Optimization processing step (included in all PDF/A workflows) was renamed to Compression and Optimization.
  • The Stamping processing step was renamed to Stamp and Annotation.
  • The Warnings configuration section was renamed to Events configuration section.

Fixed

• Fixed an issue where the Event Date in MSG files was not serialized correctly.
• Resolved an error that occurred when converting EML files in Collect Mode was set to Separate for Job in the Conversion workflow.

Added

• As of this update, you can use the Licensing Gateway Service (LGS) in the full offline mode with the Conversion Service. For more information, review Full offline mode documentation.
• With this update, you can now use a new accessibility workflow designed to validate PDF compliance with accessibility standards, including PDF/UA (ISO 14289), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG), and general quality guidelines. Note: The Accessibility workflow was removed in version 6.10.0.
• You can now import and export profiles in the Configurator Web (beta). Making it easier to share and manage profiles across different instances of the Conversion Service. For more details, review Configure profiles using Configurator Web section.

Changed

• We have removed the latest tag from the Conversion Service Docker images to align with Docker best practices and improve version traceability. As a result, when using the docker run command, Docker Compose YAML files, or any other Docker configuration files, the image: pdftoolsag/conversion-service: can no longer set to the latest, but only to specific versions, such as 6.2.0, 6.2, 6. Please make sure you reference specific version tags when pulling Docker images.

Added

• As of this release, the Conversion Service offers more predefined input connectors for new users upon installation. These connectors leverage the Simple API and highlight the most commonly used workflow profiles. When the Conversion Service is running locally or on an IP address that you specify in the baseURL, you can test these connectors using the Simple API Postman collection or the Simple API reference.
• The Conversion Service Configurator doesn’t display the updated connectors for users who already have the Conversion Service installed. To access the new connectors, uninstall the Conversion Service, delete the associated configuration files from the installation folder, and then reinstall the Conversion Service. This process was implemented to avoid confusion for users who have already configured their connectors.
• Although the Postman collection has been updated, you can still access the previous default Simple API endpoints from the legacy folder. Additionally, the previous default PDF/A-2 REST input (plain HTTP) and PDF/A-2 input JSON connectors remain compatible and are located in the Archive PDF/A-2 folder in the Postman collection.
• You can now configure Microsoft Office file conversion in the Configurator Web (beta), alternative to the Conversion Service Configurator that lets Docker users change the Conversion Service configuration without the need of exporting files from a Windows Server machine. The Configurator Web is still in beta and does not yet support all the capabilities of the Windows-based Conversion Service Configurator.

Changed

• Previously, the LGS only gathered data about the number of pages processed by the Conversion Service. As of this release, LGS also collects and reports the number of pages processed using a specific Conversion Service workflow. As a result, both the number of pages processed (volume) and the workflow which was used by the Conversion Service is reported through the LGS.

Fixed

• Improved configuration validation for Send Email (SMTP) and Send Email (Exchange Online) output connectors. With this release, the Conversion Service Configurator prevents invalid configurations where a job status is set to Error and Attachments is set to Result Files. This validation prevents potential issues since error jobs don’t produce any result files to attach.
• Prior to this release, the Allow Resize PDF feature did not correctly handle landscape-oriented documents, causing unexpected rotation to portrait format and loss of redactions after conversion, leading to formatting issues. As of this release, a new resize-tolerance property was introduced to provide configurable control over resizing behavior. As a result, landscape orientation and redactions are preserved, and resizing can be fine-tuned based on specific requirements.
• Previously, a refactoring of the Docker image caused profile import to fail in the Conversion Service container, resulting in a startup error when accessing Workflows.xml. This release fixes the issue by adjusting the Docker image, and profile import now works as expected during container startup.