A file being converted to PDF

Convert to PDF

Convert to PDF is a REST API tool that accepts a wide range of file types as input and reliably converts each into a standardized PDF document. It's designed to provide developers with robust, high-quality document conversion capabilities, ensuring seamless integration and consistent, compliant PDF output for diverse applications.

Key Benefits of Convert to PDF API

  • Support robust format conversion for a wide range of input files including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images (JPEG, TIF, BMP, PNG), Email (.eml), PostScript, and HTML from URLs.
  • Generate standardized PDF documents optimized with high-quality Adobe® PDF Library™ technology, ensuring consistent and reliable compliance with PDF ISO 32000 specifications.
  • Fine-tune PDF output files with adjustable controls for image compression, downsampling, and creating tagged PDFs from Office files for accessibility compliance.
  • Customize HTML conversions by setting page size, margins, orientation, and web layout for responsive designs.
  • Streamline document archiving by converting various file types into a universal, long-term preservation format.
  • Automate content standardization workflows, eliminating manual steps and ensuring consistent document presentation across your systems.
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Why is pdfRest the best API to convert files to PDF?
pdfRest's Convert to PDF API stands out by offering unparalleled format support, guaranteed ISO 32000 compliance, and granular control over the final PDF's key properties.

Seamlessly Convert Common Office & Image Files to PDF

pdfRest's single, powerful tool is designed to take a wide array of common file types and convert them into a professional PDF document. This robust format support eliminates the need for multiple conversion tools or complex, multi-step workflows. With one simple API call, developers can standardize documents from various sources into a single, universal format, simplifying development and ensuring consistency across all applications.

The tool works with all of the following file types:

  • Word (.doc, .docx)
  • Excel (.xls, .xlsx)
  • PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx)
  • PostScript (.ps)
  • Encapsulated PostScript (.eps)
  • JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)
  • TIF (.tif, .tiff)
  • BMP (.bmp)
  • PNG (.png)
  • Email (.eml)
  • HTML (.html, from URL)

Generate High-Quality, ISO-Compliant PDFs for Professional Workflows

Not all PDFs are created equal. Many conversion tools on the market struggle to generate documents that meet all the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This can lead to painful problems down the line, including inconsistent rendering, compatibility issues, and long-term archival risks.

With pdfRest’s Convert to PDF Tool, every file is optimized using high-quality Adobe® PDF Library™ technology to ensure consistent and reliable compliance with the PDF ISO 32000 specifications. This guarantees that your PDFs are not only visually correct but also structurally sound for:

  • Long-term digital archiving and preservation
  • Consistent rendering across all devices and software
  • Reliable interoperability within your workflows

Fine-Tune Your PDF Output with Customizable Conversion Parameters

The Convert to PDF API provides developers with granular control over the final document output. You can fine-tune every detail and optimize your PDFs for specific use cases, from web accessibility to file size reduction.

Adjustable parameters empower you to support a wide range of use cases:

  • Create tagged PDFs from Office files to ensure accessibility (WCAG compliance) for screen readers.
  • Control compression and downsampling to reduce file size without sacrificing quality, which is ideal for web performance.
  • Set page size, margins, and orientation for precise HTML and web page conversions.
  • And more!

See our documentation for full details on all the available parameters and how they can be used to optimize your conversion workflows.

Check out other videos
Start from Code Examples
See more code examples in our GitHub repository

Need more help?

Start with a Tutorial for step-by-step guidance

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Customize Your Solution

Learn about the parameters for this tool to create your custom solution.

Tagged PDF

The tagged_pdf parameter allows you to create a tagged PDF when converting a Microsoft Office file. A tagged PDF enables accessibility features in supported viewers.

See Documentation

Safe & Secure

Confidently process your sensitive data with pdfRest. Our platform is fortified for robust, Enterprise-grade security and compliance, including GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type 2 certification in progress. Your data's protection is our priority.

Frequently Asked Questions
Need more help? Contact Us or visit our documentation.

The Convert to PDF API is a REST API tool that reliably converts a wide variety of file types into a standardized PDF document. It supports common files like Microsoft Office documents, images, and emails, as well as HTML from a URL, simplifying your workflow and ensuring consistent, high-quality PDF output.

The tool supports a wide array of input file types, including:

  • Microsoft Office: .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx
  • Images: .jpg, .jpeg, .tif, .tiff, .bmp, .png
  • Email: .eml
  • PostScript: .ps, .eps
  • Web Content: .html (from file or URL)

Yes, the API provides several parameters to fine-tune your output. You can control compression and downsampling to reduce file size without sacrificing quality, which is ideal for web performance or long-term preservation.

Yes, pdfRest prioritizes the security and privacy of your data. The platform is fortified for robust, enterprise-grade security and compliance, including GDPR and HIPAA. All files are secured with encryption in transit and at-rest, and are permanently deleted at the end of the stated file retention period (30 minutes for most plans). For more details, please see our Data Processing Agreement (DPA).

pdfRest can handle data processing under GDPR compliance by processing your data within the European Union and meeting other strict data protection requirements. To ensure full compliance, simply send your API calls to the dedicated EU endpoint at http://eu-api.pdfrest.com/pdf. Note that a GDPR usage fee may apply for some plans. For more details on how we process your data, please review our Data Processing Agreement.

Yes, when converting a Microsoft Office file, you can set the tagged_pdf parameter to on. This creates a tagged PDF document, which is required for accessibility compliance and ensures that the PDF can be properly read by screen readers and other assistive technologies.

Integrating pdfRest's Convert to PDF API is straightforward. You can use our comprehensive API documentation and code samples available in many programming languages. The API Lab allows you to test and generate code snippets directly from your browser, simplifying the setup and ensuring a smooth integration experience.

Yes, pdfRest offers two self-hosted options. The pdfRest API Toolkit on AWS allows you to deploy and manage your own backend processing infrastructure within your AWS environment with pay-as-you-go pricing through the AWS Marketplace. Alternatively, the pdfRest API Toolkit Container offers ultimate environmental control as a Docker Container, giving you the flexibility to run the API in on-premises data centers or public/private cloud environments with a flexible, custom licensing model.

Yes, you can convert files to PDF without writing any code by using our API Lab. This online tool allows you to upload files, choose parameters, and send API calls directly from your browser. For an even more convenient workflow, convert files to PDF with pdfAssistant.ai, an AI Assistant that automates PDF tasks. You simply chat in natural language to describe what you want, and the assistant will handle the processing for you.

The Convert to PDF API can convert a web page directly from its URL. Instead of uploading a file, you can send the web page's URL using the url parameter in your API request. This is a powerful feature for automating the archiving of web content or generating PDFs from responsive web designs.

When converting HTML from a file or URL, you have granular control over the output. You can use parameters to set the page size, page margin, and page orientation. Additionally, for web pages with responsive designs, you can set the web layout to desktop, tablet, or mobile to ensure the correct rendering of the content in the output PDF.

Yes, for Excel file conversions, the API includes a locale parameter. This parameter allows you to specify a UTF-8 Locale, such as US or Germany. Using this ensures that regional numerical and monetary values, as well as date and time formats, are correctly displayed in the final PDF document.

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