Organize Pages in PDF Documents

Sep 01, 2025
9 minutes to read

The PDF Document API allows you to add, remove, and customize pages. Refer to the following sections to review available API members:

Organize Pages in PDF Documents

Basic API: Load and Save Files, Access Document and Pages

The table below lists API used to load documents to the PdfDocumentProcessor, access the document and its pages, and save the result.

Method	Description
PdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument	Loads a document into the PDF Document API component.
PdfDocumentProcessor.Document	Obtains the document.
PdfDocument.Pages	Retrieves document pages. You can get a specific page by its index.
PdfDocumentProcessor.DocumentFacade	Returns a PdfDocumentFacade object. This object exposes members used to perform various operations on a PDF file without access to its inner structure.
PdfDocumentFacade.Pages	Returns a list of PdfPageFacade objects that contain PDF page properties. You can obtain specific page properties by the page index.
PdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument	Saves the result.

Add a New Page

Use the following API to append or insert a new page:

Method	Description
PdfDocumentProcessor.AddNewPage	Appends an empty page.
PdfDocumentProcessor.InsertNewPage	Inserts a page at a specified position (page number).

The following code adds a new page to a document:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;

using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    processor.LoadDocument("..\\..\\Document.pdf");
    processor.AddNewPage(PdfPaperSize.A4);
    processor.SaveDocument("..\\..\\Result.pdf");
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf

Using processor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
    processor.LoadDocument("..\..\Document.pdf")
    processor.AddNewPage(PdfPaperSize.A4)
    processor.SaveDocument("..\..\Result.pdf")
End Using

Copy Pages from One Document to Another

Use the PdfDocument.Pages property to retrieve an IList<PdfPage> object. The IList<T>.Insert(Int32, T) method allows you to add an extracted page to another PDF file.

The code sample below copies a page from one PDF document to another.

View Example: How to copy a page from one document to another

Program.cs
Program.vb

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;

using (PdfDocumentProcessor source = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    source.LoadDocument("..\\..\\Document1.pdf");
    using (PdfDocumentProcessor target = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
    {
        target.LoadDocument("..\\..\\Document2.pdf");
        target.Document.Pages.Insert(3, source.Document.Pages[0]);
        target.SaveDocument("..\\..\\Result.pdf");
    }
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf

Using source As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
    source.LoadDocument("..\..\Document1.pdf")
    Using target As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
        target.LoadDocument("..\..\Document2.pdf")
        target.Document.Pages.Insert(3, source.Document.Pages(0))
        target.SaveDocument("..\..\Result.pdf")
    End Using
End Using

Extract a Page

Use the Add(T) method to add pages to the collection. When you add a page from another document, all page content is copied to the resulting document.

View Example

Program.cs
Program.vb

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;

using (PdfDocumentProcessor source = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    source.LoadDocument("..\\..\\Document.pdf");
    using (PdfDocumentProcessor target = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
    {
        target.CreateEmptyDocument("..\\..\\ExtractedFirstPage.pdf");
        target.Document.Pages.Add(source.Document.Pages[0]);
    }
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf

Using source As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
    source.LoadDocument("..\..\Document.pdf")
    Using target As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
        target.CreateEmptyDocument("..\..\ExtractedFirstPage.pdf")
        target.Document.Pages.Add(source.Document.Pages(0))
    End Using
End Using

Render New Page with Graphics

The PdfDocumentProcessor.RenderNewPage method allows you to render a new page with graphics.

Call the PdfGraphics.AddToPageForeground or PdfGraphics.AddToPageBackground method to add graphics content (for example, an image or string) to an existing page’s foreground/background.

Add a reference to the DevExpress.Pdf.Drawing.v25.2 assembly to access the PdfGraphics class. Refer to the following article for more information about PDF graphics: PDF Graphics.

Merge Content of Multiple Pages

Call the PdfGraphics.DrawPageContent(PdfPage) method to draw page content.

The following code snippet scales source content of two document pages and draws these pages in a landscape page.

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;
using System.Drawing;
//...

using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor = new PdfDocumentProcessor()) {
    processor.CreateEmptyDocument();
    PdfPage page = processor.AddNewPage(PdfPaperSize.A4Rotated);
    using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor2 = new PdfDocumentProcessor()) {
        processor2.LoadDocument(@"FirstLook.pdf");

        using (PdfGraphics graphics = processor.CreateGraphicsWorldSystem()) {
            graphics.SaveGraphicsState();

            // Obtain the first document page's boundaries.
            PdfRectangle clip = processor2.Document.Pages[0].CropBox;

            // Resize the source page content to fit half of the target page.
            graphics.ScaleTransform((float)((page.CropBox.Width / 2) / clip.Width), (float)((page.CropBox.Width / 2) / clip.Width));

            // Draw the content of the first document page.
            graphics.DrawPageContent(processor2.Document.Pages[0]);
            graphics.RestoreGraphicsState();

            // Define the position to insert the second page content to the target page.
            graphics.SaveGraphicsState();
            graphics.TranslateTransform((float)(page.CropBox.Width / 2), 0);

            // Obtain the second document page's boundaries.
            clip = processor2.Document.Pages[1].CropBox;

            // Resize the source page content to fit half of the target page.
            graphics.ScaleTransform((float)(page.CropBox.Width / clip.Width / 2), (float)(page.CropBox.Width / clip.Width / 2));

            // Draw the content of the second document page.
            graphics.DrawPageContent(processor2.Document.Pages[1]);
            graphics.RestoreGraphicsState();

            // Add graphics content to the target page.
            graphics.AddToPageForeground(page);
        }
        processor.SaveDocument("out2.pdf");
    }
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf
Imports System.Drawing
'...

Using processor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
    processor.CreateEmptyDocument()
    Dim page As PdfPage = processor.AddNewPage(PdfPaperSize.A4Rotated)
    Using processor2 As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
        processor2.LoadDocument("FirstLook.pdf")

        Using graphics As PdfGraphics = processor.CreateGraphicsWorldSystem()
            graphics.SaveGraphicsState()

            ' Obtain the first document page's boundaries.
            Dim clip As PdfRectangle = processor2.Document.Pages(0).CropBox

            ' Resize the source page content to fit half of the target page.
            graphics.ScaleTransform(CSng((page.CropBox.Width \ 2) \ clip.Width), CSng((page.CropBox.Width \ 2) \ clip.Width))

            ' Draw the content of the first document page.
            graphics.DrawPageContent(processor2.Document.Pages(0))
            graphics.RestoreGraphicsState()

            ' Define the position to insert the second page content to the target page.
            graphics.SaveGraphicsState()
            graphics.TranslateTransform(CSng(page.CropBox.Width \ 2), 0)

            ' Obtain the second document page's boundaries.
            clip = processor2.Document.Pages(1).CropBox

            ' Resize the source page content to fit half of the target page.
            graphics.ScaleTransform(CSng(page.CropBox.Width \ clip.Width \ 2), CSng(page.CropBox.Width \ clip.Width \ 2))

            ' Draw the content of the second document page.
            graphics.DrawPageContent(processor2.Document.Pages(1))
            graphics.RestoreGraphicsState()

            ' Add graphics content to the target page.
            graphics.AddToPageForeground(page)
        End Using
        processor.SaveDocument("out2.pdf")
    End Using
End Using

Rotate and Resize a Page

Rotate a Page

The Rotate property specifies the page’s rotation angle.

The code sample below rotates all document pages.

View Example: How to rotate PDF pages

Program.cs
Program.vb

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;

using (PdfDocumentProcessor pdfDocumentProcessor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    pdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument("..\\..\\docs\\TextRotate.pdf");
    int angle = 0;
    foreach (PdfPage page in pdfDocumentProcessor.Document.Pages)
    {
        angle = (angle + 90) % 360;
        page.Rotate = angle;
    }
    pdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument("..\\..\\docs\\Rotated.pdf");
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf

Using pdfDocumentProcessor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
    pdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument("..\..\docs\TextRotate.pdf")
    Dim angle As Integer = 0
    For Each page As PdfPage In pdfDocumentProcessor.Document.Pages
        angle = (angle + 90) Mod 360
        page.Rotate = angle
    Next page
    pdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument("..\..\docs\Rotated.pdf")
End Using

Resize a Page

Call the PdfPage.Resize method to resize a page. The page content retains its aspect ratio.

The code sample below shows how to resize a page:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    processor.LoadDocument(@"Document.pdf");
    PdfPage page = processor.Document.Pages[0];

    page.Resize(PdfPaperSize.Letter, PdfContentHorizontalAlignment.Center,
       PdfContentVerticalAlignment.Center);
    processor.SaveDocument("out2.pdf");
}

Using processor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
  processor.LoadDocument("Document.pdf")
  Dim page As PdfPage = processor.Document.Pages(0)

  page.Resize(PdfPaperSize.Letter, PdfContentHorizontalAlignment.Center,
     PdfContentVerticalAlignment.Center)
  processor.SaveDocument("out2.pdf")
End Using

Page Content Transformations

Scale and Flip Content

Use the PdfPage.ScaleContent method to scale the page content. Specify the horizontal and vertical scale factors as parameters (1 is 100%). To flip content horizontally or vertically, use a negative value.

The code sample below scales the content to 75%:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    processor.LoadDocument(@"Document.pdf");
    PdfPage page = processor.Document.Pages[0];
    page.ScaleContent(0.75,0.75);
    processor.SaveDocument("result.pdf");
}

Using processor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
  processor.LoadDocument("Document.pdf")
  Dim page As PdfPage = processor.Document.Pages(0)
  page.ScaleContent(0.75,0.75)
  processor.SaveDocument("result.pdf")
End Using

Rotate Content

The PdfPage.RotateContent method rotates page content relative to the specified point. The operation does not affect annotations.

The code sample below rotates the first page’s content:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    processor.LoadDocument(@"Document.pdf");
    PdfPage page = processor.Document.Pages[0];

    // Scale content to fit it
    // on the first page after rotation
    page.ScaleContent(0.5, 0.5);
    page.RotateContent(200,100, 270);
    processor.SaveDocument("result.pdf");
}

Using processor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
  processor.LoadDocument("Document.pdf")
  Dim page As PdfPage = processor.Document.Pages(0)

  ' Scale content to fit it
  ' on the first page after rotation
  page.ScaleContent(0.5, 0.5)
  page.RotateContent(200,100, 270)
  processor.SaveDocument("result.pdf")
End Using

Specify the Content Offset

Call the PdfPage.OffsetContent method to specify the content offset. The page retains its size.

The code sample below specifies the content offset:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;

using (PdfDocumentProcessor processor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    processor.LoadDocument(@"Document.pdf");
    PdfPage page = processor.Document.Pages[0];
    page.OffsetContent(50, 50);
    processor.SaveDocument("result.pdf");
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf

Using processor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
    processor.LoadDocument("Document.pdf")
    Dim page As PdfPage = processor.Document.Pages(0)
    page.OffsetContent(50, 50)
    processor.SaveDocument("result.pdf")
End Using

Delete a Page

To delete a page from a multi-page document, call the PdfDocumentProcessor.DeletePage method with the specified page number.

The code sample below deletes odd-numbered pages in a document, starting with the last odd-numbered page.

View Example: Delete Pages from PDF

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using DevExpress.Pdf;

using (PdfDocumentProcessor pdfDocumentProcessor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
  pdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument("..\\..\\docs\\TextDelete.pdf");
  for (int i = pdfDocumentProcessor.Document.Pages.Count; i > 0; i--)
    if (i % 2 != 0)
    {
      pdfDocumentProcessor.DeletePage(i);
    }

  pdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument("..\\..\\docs\\Deleted.pdf");
}

Imports DevExpress.Pdf

Using pdfDocumentProcessor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()
pdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument("..\..\docs\TextDelete.pdf")
  For i As Integer = pdfDocumentProcessor.Document.Pages.Count To 0+1 Step -1
    If i Mod 2 <> 0 Then
        pdfDocumentProcessor.DeletePage(i)
    End If
  Next i
pdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument("..\..\docs\Deleted.pdf")
End Using

Clear Page Content

The PdfPageFacade class allows you to organize a page without access to its inner structure. Call the PdfPageFacade.ClearContent method to remove content in one or multiple page areas. You can specify what content type to keep in the areas that are to be cleared. To do that, pass the PdfClearContentOptions class object as the method parameter.

Run Demo: PDF Clear Page Content

The code sample below removes only text in the upper half of the first page:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using (PdfDocumentProcessor pdfDocumentProcessor = new PdfDocumentProcessor())
{
    // Load a document
    pdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument("Document.pdf");

    // Access the first page properties
    PdfPageFacade pageFacade = pdfDocumentProcessor.DocumentFacade.Pages[0];

    // Define an area to clear
    PdfRectangle cropBox = pdfDocumentProcessor.Document.Pages[0].CropBox;
    double halfPage = cropBox.Top / 2;
    PdfRectangle pageRectangle = new PdfRectangle(cropBox.Left, halfPage, cropBox.Right + halfPage, cropBox.Top);

    // Set what content type to keep
    PdfClearContentOptions options = new PdfClearContentOptions()
    {
      ClearAnnotations = false,
      ClearGraphics = false, 
      ClearImages = false
    };

    // Clear the page area
    pageFacade.ClearContent(pageRectangle, options);

    pdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument("Document_cleared.pdf");
}

Using pdfDocumentProcessor As New PdfDocumentProcessor()

  ' Load a document
  pdfDocumentProcessor.LoadDocument("Document.pdf")

  ' Access the first page properties
  Dim pageFacade As PdfPageFacade = pdfDocumentProcessor.DocumentFacade.Pages(0)

  ' Define an area to clear
  Dim cropBox As PdfRectangle = pdfDocumentProcessor.Document.Pages(0).CropBox
  Dim halfPage As Double = cropBox.Top / 2
  Dim pageRectangle As New PdfRectangle(cropBox.Left, halfPage, cropBox.Right + halfPage, cropBox.Top)

  ' Set what content type to keep
  Dim options As New PdfClearContentOptions() With
   {
      .ClearAnnotations = False,
      .ClearGraphics = False,
      .ClearImages = False
  }

  ' Clear the page area
  pageFacade.ClearContent(pageRectangle, options)

  pdfDocumentProcessor.SaveDocument("Document_cleared.pdf")
End Using