How to integrate .NET MAUI PDF viewer with native WinUI application?

In this article, you will learn how to use the .NET MAUI PDF Viewer in a native WinUI application to view PDF documents by following the step-by-step process outlined below:

Step 1:

Create a .NET MAUI class library project and delete the Platforms folder and the Class1.cs file from it. Then add the classes named EmbeddedExtensions, EmbeddedPlatformApplication, EmbeddedWindowHandler, and EmbeddedWindowProvider to the created .NET MAUI class library project. The required code for these classes are available here.

Step 2:

Next in the same solution, create a .NET MAUI single project. This project is used to register the handlers required to render the PDF viewer control. After including the project in the solution, follow the steps mentioned here.

Step 3:

Install the Syncfusion.Maui.PdfViewer nuget package from nuget.org into the created .NET MAUI single project.

Step 4:

Register the core handler in the MauiProgram.cs file of the .NET MAUI single project by calling the ConfigureSyncfusionCore method.

public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp<TApp>(Action<MauiAppBuilder>? additional = null) where TApp : App
{
   var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();
   builder
       .UseMauiApp<TApp>()
       .ConfigureSyncfusionCore()
       .ConfigureFonts(fonts =>
       {
           fonts.AddFont("OpenSans-Regular.ttf", "OpenSansRegular");
           fonts.AddFont("OpenSans-Semibold.ttf", "OpenSansSemibold");
       });

   #if DEBUG
   builder.Logging.AddDebug();
   #endif

   additional?.Invoke(builder);

   return builder.Build();
} 

Step 5:

Create the native WinUI application project in which you want to add the PDF viewer and install the Syncfusion.Maui.PdfViewer nuget package from nuget.org.

Step 6:

In the .csproj file of the native WinUI project, add <UseMaui>, <MauiEnablePlatformUsings> and <EnableDefaultXamlItems> tags and set the respective values as given below.

<PropertyGroup> 
   <Nullable>enable</Nullable> 
   <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings> 
   <UseMaui>true</UseMaui>
   <MauiEnablePlatformUsings>true</MauiEnablePlatformUsings>    
   <EnableDefaultXamlItems>false</EnableDefaultXamlItems>
</PropertyGroup> 

Step 7:

Initialize .NET MAUI in the native WinUI project by creating a MauiApp object and using the UseMauiEmbedding method in the MainWindow.xaml.cs file as follows.

public static readonly Lazy<MauiApp> MauiApp = new(() =>
{
   var mauiApp = MauiProgram.CreateMauiApp(builder =>
   {
       builder.UseMauiEmbedding();
   });
   return mauiApp;
});

public static bool UseWindowContext = true;

public MainWindow()
{
   this.InitializeComponent();

   var mauiApp = MainWindow.MauiApp.Value;

   var mauiContext = UseWindowContext
       ? mauiApp.CreateEmbeddedWindowContext(this)
       : new MauiContext(mauiApp.Services); 
} 

Step 8:

Create a new folder with the name “Assets” in the WinUI app project and include the PDF document to be loaded, inside the folder. Set the Build Action of the PDF file to Embedded Resource. In this example, a PDF named “PDF_Succinctly.pdf” is used.

Step 9:

Create the .NET MAUI PDF viewer control, convert it to a native view and add it as the Content of the MainWindow.

SfPdfViewer pdfViewer;
public MainWindow()
{
    ….
    ….
   // Create .NET MAUI PDF viewer
   pdfViewer = new SfPdfViewer();
   
   //Set document source for the PDF viewer.
   pdfViewer.DocumentSource = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("PDFViewerNativeEmbeddingWinUI.WinUI.Assets.PDF_Succinctly.pdf");
   
   // Convert the .NET MAUI PDF viewer to a native control
   var nativeView = pdfViewer.ToPlatformEmbedded(mauiContext);
   
   this.Content = nativeView; 

} 

Step 10:

In the solution, set the native WinUI project as the start-up project. Build, deploy and run the project.

View the sample on GitHub

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed learning how to integrate .NET MAUI PDF Viewer in a native WinUI application.

Refer to our .NET MAUI PDF Viewer’s feature tour page to learn about its other groundbreaking feature representations. You can also explore our .NET MAUI PDF Viewer Documentation to understand how to present and manipulate data.

For current customers, check out our .NET MAUI components on the License and Downloads page. If you are new to Syncfusion®, try our 30-day free trial to explore our .NET MAUI PDF Viewer and other .NET MAUI components.

Please let us know in the following comments if you have any queries or require clarifications. You can also contact us through our support forums, support ticket or feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!