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To migrate a PDFCrowd integration from API v1 to v2, create a v2 client or update your HTTP request to the v2 endpoint, map conversion methods and settings, then compare generated files and errors against v1 using representative documents. The change is mostly syntactic, but it is not fully backward compatible: defaults, booleans, units, page layouts, scaling, watermarks, and headers or footers can change output.
What changes when you move from PDFCrowd API v1 to v2?
PDFCrowd describes API v2 as its current major API and v1 as a frozen legacy API. Its FAQ says v1 remains available to accounts created before v2, no longer receives updates, and receives support only for critical issues. Confirm eligibility and availability for your account with PDFCrowd before planning a cutover. API version is separate from converter version: changing from v1 to v2 does not by itself select a particular converter. PDFCrowd’s API versioning page explains the distinction.
The migration guide, published May 22, 2018, calls the changes minor but backward-incompatible. Treat it as a mapping reference, not a guarantee that old settings preserve identical output; verify current language-specific method signatures and test your own workload. PDFCrowd API v2 migration guide
Migration path for client-library users
- Instantiate the API v2 client. The guide uses
HtmlToPdfClientfor v2; older examples may useClientorPdfcrowd. - Replace the v1 conversion method with the corresponding v2 method for your input and desired result handling.
- Review and migrate every setting that your integration uses, including defaults and units.
- Update error handling for the v2 library, then compare output and failures with your existing implementation.
PDFCrowd says its client libraries support both API versions, so both implementations can run side by side under the same account. Use that option to validate representative conversions before switching traffic.
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| API v1 method | Possible API v2 method by result handling |
|---|---|
convertURI |
convertUrlToFile, convertUrl, or convertUrlToStream |
convertFile |
convertFileToFile, convertFile, or convertFileToStream |
convertHtml |
convertStringToFile, convertString, or convertStringToStream |
The migration guide labels the middle result as variable. Return types and signatures can differ by language library, so check the current API reference for your language before changing call sites.
Settings that can alter output
Do not copy v1 values mechanically. The guide identifies these compatibility traps; review its complete settings table against the options your application actually sets.
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Boolean options and encoding
- V1 options
enableImages,enableBackgrounds, andenableJavaScriptmap to negative v2 settings such assetDisableImageLoading,setNoBackground, andsetDisableJavascript. Invert the boolean value when mapping them. HTTP options likewise use negative names such asno_images,no_backgrounds, andno_javascript. - V1 defaults text encoding to UTF-8; v2 attempts auto-detection. Set encoding explicitly if output depends on a known encoding.
Page layout, zoom, and scale
CONTINUOUSandCONTINUOUS_FACINGpage layouts are unsupported in v2. The guide maps the old continuous layout tosingle-page; check the mapping for the exact layout you use.- Zoom and page-mode options use different v2 strings, and some old values are unsupported. Translate each configured value rather than reusing the v1 enum.
setPdfScalingFactorand HTTPpdf_scaling_factormap to a scale factor whose value is multiplied by 100. Check the intended scale before converting existing values.
Dimensions, watermarks, and transport settings
- V1 accepts bare numeric dimensions as points (1/72 inch). V2 requires an explicit
mm,in,cm, orptsuffix. - V1 watermark or background handling may use raster images; v2 multipage watermark/background settings use a PDF file.
- The old
useSSLsetting maps tosetUseHttpwith an inverted argument.
Headers, footers, and page ranges
- V2 uses HTML classes for header/footer variables rather than v1’s
%u,%p, and%nplaceholders:pdfcrowd-source-url,pdfcrowd-page-number, andpdfcrowd-page-count. - The guide says v1 places headers and footers in the margin area while v2 places them in the printing area. Set header and footer heights to suit the layout and inspect the resulting pages.
- V1
max_pagesmaps to v2 print page range. For the first N pages, the guide gives-N; v2 ranges can express more than a simple maximum.
Updating a direct HTTP integration
For v2, PDFCrowd documents the endpoint https://api.pdfcrowd.com/convert/, HTTP Basic authentication using the PDFCrowd username and API key, and multipart input fields. Send a page URL as url, an uploaded HTML file as file, or an HTML string as text. This replaces v1 endpoint-specific calls and the old src input pattern. The guide’s cURL examples authenticate with -u "username:apikey"; v1 examples send username and key fields. Consult the migration guide for its HTTP parameter mappings and request examples.
Check the converter version separately. PDFCrowd’s versioning page lists 24.04 as updated and 20.10 and 18.10 as frozen within API v2. The vendor recommends selecting one converter version and keeping it consistent for predictable results; switching converter versions can change appearance and behavior. Verify the current status and available choices on the versioning page.
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Validate the migration before cutover
Run v1 and v2 side by side where practical, using the same inputs and deliberately exercising the parts of your workload most likely to expose differences.
- Include pages that rely on JavaScript, remote fonts, images, non-Latin scripts, or complex layout.
- Check page geometry, scaling, margins, header/footer placement and variables, watermarks, and page ranges.
- Compare the actual files as well as conversion errors and failed-resource behavior; a successful response alone does not establish visual equivalence.
- Keep the converter version fixed during the comparison so an API migration is not confounded with a converter change.
- Review every setting your application sends against the full guide, including settings with no counterpart in either direction.
PDFCrowd lists v2 capabilities including modern HTML, CSS, and JavaScript support, custom post-load JavaScript, cookies, delayed printing, partial-page conversion, conversion logs, and conversions among HTML, PDF, and image formats. It also describes improvements for charting libraries, remote fonts, CJK languages, complex scripts, repeating table headers, paletted PNG, and inline SVG. These are vendor descriptions, not independent performance measurements or a guarantee for every document. See PDFCrowd’s API v2 FAQ and its migration FAQ.
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Common migration problems and fixes
- Images, backgrounds, or JavaScript unexpectedly disabled: a positive v1 boolean may have been copied to a negative v2 setting without inversion. Compare the intended behavior and invert the value.
- Text renders differently: v2 attempts encoding auto-detection where v1 defaults to UTF-8. Set the expected encoding explicitly and retest.
- Dimensions or scaling look wrong: add explicit unit suffixes to dimensions and verify the scale value after the v2 conversion to a value multiplied by 100.
- Headers or footers overlap content or show literal placeholders: replace v1 placeholders with the v2 HTML classes and adjust header/footer heights for their printing-area placement.
- Watermark migration fails or changes appearance: check whether the v2 multipage setting expects a PDF rather than the raster image used by the v1 integration.
- Method or return-type errors after upgrading the library: verify the current language-specific v2 signature and choose the conversion method matching whether you need a file, variable result, or stream.
- Output differs despite matching settings: check which converter version each request uses and keep it fixed while comparing API behavior.
Or skip the browser setup
If your task is taking screenshots of websites rather than converting documents with PDFCrowd, ScreenshotNeo is a separate website screenshot API and MCP server; it is not a PDFCrowd migration tool. One GET request returns an image or PDF, without setting up browser automation locally. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can v1 and v2 run at the same time during migration?
PDFCrowd says its client libraries support both API versions and allow side-by-side implementations under the same account.
Is changing to API v2 the same as changing converter version?
No. API major version and converter version are separate choices; PDFCrowd recommends keeping the chosen converter version consistent for predictable output.
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