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V26.2
Office & PDF File API for Java
Get Started
PDF Document API
PowerPoint Presentation API
Barcode Generation API
Java API Reference

Get Started — Office & PDF File API for Java

  • 4 minutes to read

This getting-started help topic explains how to prepare your development environment, add DevExpress Office & PDF File API for Java libraries, and create your first document-processing application.

Prerequisites

  • JDK 21 or later
  • Maven 3.9+, or Gradle 8.14+
  • IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, or VS Code with the Extension Pack for Java

Set Up Your Development Environment

Download and install a supported Java Development Kit (JDK 21 or later).

Verify that Java is installed before you create a project.

java -version

The command should display the installed Java version.

Add DevExpress API Libraries to a Project

DevExpress Office & PDF File API for Java libraries are available as Maven packages:

Maven Package Name DevExpress API Library
devexpress-docs-pdf PDF Document API
devexpress-docs-presentation PowerPoint Presentation API
devexpress-docs-barcode Barcode Generation API

Create a Maven or Gradle project and add the required DevExpress dependencies.

dependencies {
    implementation("com.devexpress:devexpress-docs-pdf:26.2.1")
    implementation("com.devexpress:devexpress-docs-presentation:26.2.1")
    implementation("com.devexpress:devexpress-docs-barcode:26.2.1")
}

Add Platform-Specific Runtime Dependencies

DevExpress Office & PDF File API libraries use third-party libraries at runtime. Maven and Gradle install most managed dependencies automatically, but do not resolve platform-specific native libraries transitively.

Add the following native dependencies for your target platform to the project:

  • Skija
  • LWJGL
  • LWJGL HarfBuzz

Use the following artifacts for each target platform:

Platform Skija LWJGL LWJGL HarfBuzz
Windows x64 io.github.humbleui:skija-windows-x64:0.119.6 org.lwjgl:lwjgl:3.4.2:natives-windows org.lwjgl:lwjgl-harfbuzz:3.4.2:natives-windows
Linux x64 io.github.humbleui:skija-linux-x64:0.119.6 org.lwjgl:lwjgl:3.4.2:natives-linux org.lwjgl:lwjgl-harfbuzz:3.4.2:natives-linux
macOS ARM64 io.github.humbleui:skija-macos-arm64:0.119.6 org.lwjgl:lwjgl:3.4.2:natives-macos-arm64 org.lwjgl:lwjgl-harfbuzz:3.4.2:natives-macos-arm64

Use the following configuration in a PDF Document API application for Linux x64:

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.devexpress:devexpress-docs-pdf:26.2.1'

    runtimeOnly 'io.github.humbleui:skija-linux-x64:0.119.6'
    runtimeOnly 'org.lwjgl:lwjgl:3.4.2:natives-linux'
    runtimeOnly 'org.lwjgl:lwjgl-harfbuzz:3.4.2:natives-linux'
}

Warning

The required native libraries should be available at runtime. Otherwise, the application throws an UnsatisfiedLinkError.

Create Your First Application

Generate a PDF Document

Create a PDF document with an A4 page, add a formatted title and paragraph, and save the document as a PDF file.

import com.devexpress.docs.pdf.*;
import com.devexpress.drawing.*;
import com.devexpress.system.drawing.*;
import com.devexpress.drawing.printing.*;

import java.io.*;
import java.nio.file.*;
import java.nio.channels.*;

public class CreatePdfDocument {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        try (PdfDocument pdfDocument = new PdfDocument()) {

            // Add an A4 page to the document.
            Page page = pdfDocument.getPages().add(DXPaperKind.A4);

            // Add a title to the document.
            TextFragment textFragment = new TextFragment();
            textFragment.setText("Quarterly Sales Report");
            textFragment.setLocation(new PointF(50, 770));
            textFragment.setFont(new TextFont("Arial", TextFontStyle.BOLD));
            textFragment.setFontSize(24);
            page.addFragment(textFragment);

            // Add a paragraph to the document.
            ParagraphFragment paragraphFragment = new ParagraphFragment();
            paragraphFragment.setText("This report summarizes sales data for Q1 2026.");
            paragraphFragment.setLocation(new PointF(50, 730));
            paragraphFragment.setWidth(200);
            paragraphFragment.setFont(new TextFont("Arial"));
            paragraphFragment.setFontSize(12);
            page.addFragment(paragraphFragment);

            // Save the document to a PDF file.
            try (WritableByteChannel writableByteChannel =
                    FileChannel.open(Path.of("Result.pdf"),
                        StandardOpenOption.CREATE,
                        StandardOpenOption.WRITE,
                        StandardOpenOption.TRUNCATE_EXISTING)) {

                pdfDocument.save(writableByteChannel);
            }
        }
    }
}

Read Tutorial: Generate Your First PDF Document

Update a PowerPoint Presentation

Load an existing PowerPoint presentation, add a title slide, update its placeholder text, and save the presentation.

import com.devexpress.docs.presentation.*;
import java.nio.channels.*;
import java.nio.file.*;

public class UpdatePresentation {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        // Load an existing presentation.
        Path path = Path.of("presentation.pptx");
        try (Presentation presentation = new Presentation(
                Files.readAllBytes(path))) {

            // Create a slide and customize its title.
            Slide slide = new Slide(SlideLayoutType.TITLE);
            for(ShapeBase shapeBase : slide.getShapes()) {
                if(shapeBase instanceof Shape shape &&
                        shape.getPlaceholderSettings()
                                .getType() == PlaceholderType.CENTERED_TITLE) {
                    shape.getTextArea().setText("DevExpress Presentation API for Java");
                }
            }
            // Add the slide to the presentation.
            presentation.getSlides().add(slide);

            // Save the presentation while preserving PowerPoint compatibility.
            try (WritableByteChannel writableByteChannel =
                         FileChannel.open(path,
                              StandardOpenOption.WRITE,
                              StandardOpenOption.TRUNCATE_EXISTING)) {
                presentation.saveDocument(writableByteChannel);
            }
        }
    }
}

Read Tutorial: Generate Your First PowerPoint Presentation

Generate a Barcode

Generate a QR code with a logo and export it as a PNG image.

import com.devexpress.drawing.*;
import com.devexpress.docs.barcode.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.nio.file.*;

public class GenerateBarcode {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        byte[] logoBytes = Files.readAllBytes(Path.of("images/devexpress-logo.png"));
        try (DXImage logo = DXImage.fromStream(new ByteArrayInputStream(logoBytes))) {
            QRCodeOptions options = new QRCodeOptionsBuilder()
                .withCompactionMode(QRCodeCompactionMode.BYTE)
                .withVersion(QRCodeVersion.VERSION_10)
                .withErrorCorrectionLevel(QRCodeErrorCorrectionLevel.H)
                .withModuleSize(10)
                .withShowText(false)
                .withIncludeQuietZone(true)
                .withLogo(logo)
                .build();

            try (FileOutputStream pngStream = new FileOutputStream(
                    Path.of("qr-code.png").toFile());
                 BarcodeGenerator generator = new BarcodeGenerator(options)) {
                // Export the QR Code to a PNG image.
                generator.export("https://www.devexpress.com", pngStream, DXImageFormat.getPng());
            }
        }
    }
}

Read Tutorial: Generate Your First Barcode

Next Steps