Word Converter

The native Word Converter is the standard converter for docx documents in webPDF 10. It is built into the server, processes docx files locally, and is designed to deliver office-level conversion quality without requiring Microsoft Word, Microsoft Office via Office Bridge, or an online service such as the SharePoint Bridge.

When webPDF uses the Word Converter

For the docx office format, webPDF uses the following decision order during a conversion:

1. Office Bridge, if the officeBridge parameter node is present in the web service call
2. SharePoint Bridge, if the sharePointBridge parameter node is present in the web service call
3. Native Word Converter for docx
4. Outside In Technology for the remaining fallback case

This means that docx is converted with the native Word Converter by default in webPDF 10 unless you explicitly request an alternative converter in the /converter call.

note

The native Word Converter is specific to docx and is the complete native alternative for this format in webPDF 10.

caution

For other Office formats such as doc, xls, ppt, xlsx or pptx, the native Word Converter is not used. These formats still require their existing conversion path, such as Office Bridge, SharePoint Bridge, or Outside In Technology.

Why use the Word Converter

For docx, the native Word Converter is usually the preferred option because it combines high conversion quality with simple server operation:

• Office-level quality for modern Word documents
• Platform-independent operation without Windows-only automation
• No local (server) Microsoft Office installation required
• No external cloud service required
• Local processing inside webPDF
• No licensing issues when installing Office on a server
• No unstable OLE/COM dependencies
• Enabled by default for docx in webPDF 10

In practice, this makes the native converter easier to operate than bridge-based alternatives and better suited for Linux and container-based deployments.

Why it is better than the alternatives for docx

Converter	Strengths	Limitations compared with Word Converter
Word Converter	Native docx standard in webPDF 10, office-level quality, platform-independent, local processing	Supports docx only
Office Bridge	Uses locally installed Microsoft Office	Requires Windows, requires Microsoft Office, depends on desktop automation, must be selected explicitly
SharePoint Bridge	Uses Microsoft 365 and SharePoint Online for Office document conversion	Requires cloud connectivity, external Microsoft service dependencies, and explicit selection in the web service call
Outside In Technology	Broad format coverage across many file types and platform-independent operation	General-purpose fallback, not the default for docx in webPDF 10

For docx, the native Word Converter is generally the better operational choice because it keeps the conversion inside webPDF while avoiding the operating system, licensing, automation, and availability constraints of Microsoft Office integration.

Compared with the SharePoint Bridge, it also avoids sending documents to an external online service for conversion.

Compared with Outside In, it is the dedicated docx converter in webPDF 10 and the default path for modern Word documents.

Choosing an alternative converter

If you want to override the default behavior for a single conversion, add the corresponding parameter node to the /converter call.

Use the Office Bridge:

{
  "converter": {
    "officeBridge": {}
  }
}

Use the SharePoint Bridge:

{
  "converter": {
    "sharePointBridge": {}
  }
}

Without these parameters, webPDF uses the standard converter for the detected format. For docx, this is the native Word Converter in webPDF 10.

If the officeBridge node is present, webPDF uses the Office Bridge. If the sharePointBridge node is present, webPDF uses the SharePoint Bridge.

Conversion behavior

The native Word Converter handles docx documents directly in webPDF and supports the regular converter workflow, including page selection, custom page settings, font embedding, and optional conversion reports for content and font issues.

Password-protected docx documents can also be processed when the correct document password is supplied in the converter call.

Format scope

The native Word Converter replaces the alternative docx conversion paths in webPDF 10 and is the default choice for this format.

For other Office document formats such as xlsx, doc, xls, ppt, and pptx, webPDF still relies on Office Bridge, SharePoint Bridge, or Outside In Technology, depending on the selected and available conversion path.