Modern .NET applications frequently need to display, preview, annotate, search, and convert documents directly inside a web interface, without relying on browser plugins, external apps, or unstable client-side solutions. Doconut offers a unified platform that solves this challenge with a server-side document viewer and conversion engine capable of handling 50+ document formats used across enterprise, educational, financial, and engineering environments.
With Doconut, developers can seamlessly embed a robust viewer into ASP.NET MVC, .NET Core, Blazor, and WebForms applications. It provides consistent rendering, predictable performance, and zero client-side dependencies. All heavy processing—PDF decoding, Word rendering, PowerPoint layouting, CAD interpretation, image processing, and text extraction—happens entirely on the server. The browser only receives lightweight HTML5 output, ensuring compatibility across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and all major browsers.
Doconut’s ecosystem is structured around the Viewer, Annotations Plugin, Search Plugin, and Converter Plugin, giving developers the flexibility to build document-driven experiences that match the needs of any internal system, customer portal, or business workflow.
What Makes Doconut a Standout Choice for .NET Developers?
1. Support for 50+ Document Formats
Doconut handles a remarkably wide range of document types, covering the majority of business and engineering formats, including:
- PDF (all versions, encrypted files supported)
- Microsoft Office: Word (DOC/DOCX), Excel (XLS/XLSX), PowerPoint (PPT/PPTX)
- CAD formats: DWG, DXF
- Images: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, JPEG2000
- Email formats: MSG, EML
- Text-based formats: TXT, RTF, EPUB, HTML
- PSD, vector images, and other graphic formats
A single library handling this many formats reduces the need for multiple third-party viewers or complex client-side fallback logic.
Core Features of the Doconut Platform
Server-Side Rendering for Maximum Compatibility
The Doconut Viewer processes documents entirely server-side, generating pixel-precise previews regardless of the browser, operating system, or device. There is no need for browser plugins, PDF readers, ActiveX controls, or WebAssembly modules. Everything is drawn using Doconut’s rendering core, ensuring consistent output.
This architecture brings major benefits:
- Works on every device and browser
- Reduces client-side complexity
- Keeps sensitive documents within your server infrastructure
- Makes rendering predictable and stable across environments
Annotations Plugin – Markup, Notes, and Visual Feedback
Doconut provides a full annotation system enabling users to interact with documents directly in the viewer. Supported annotation types include:
- Highlights
- Rectangles, circles, arrows, and other shapes
- Sticky notes and text comments
- Underlines and strike-through marks
- Callouts and visual markers
Annotations can be saved, loaded, customized, and integrated into workflow systems. For internal teams—legal, HR, engineering, finance—this dramatically simplifies document review processes.
Search Plugin – Fast Text Search with Optional OCR
The Search Plugin brings full-document search capabilities to Doconut:
- Keyword search across supported document types
- Instant hit highlighting
- Navigation between results
- OCR support for scanned PDFs and images
OCR is crucial for organizations dealing with scanned archives, legacy documents, or image-based records. Doconut extracts text server-side while keeping the raw files secure.
Converter Plugin – Document Transformation Made Easy
The Converter Plugin extends Doconut by enabling conversions between:
- PDF ↔ Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Images → PDF
- CAD → PDF or images
- Email formats → PDF or images
This is especially useful for batch exporting, generating shareable reports, preparing documents for long-term storage, or transforming files into formats suitable for printing or archiving.
Caching System for Optimized Performance
Caching significantly reduces rendering time for large files and repetitive previews.
Doconut caches rendered pages, images, thumbnails, and layout information, minimizing CPU load and improving responsiveness.
Integration with Amazon S3 and Azure Blob Storage
Doconut can load documents directly from popular cloud storage systems:
- Amazon S3
- Azure Blob Storage
This is particularly useful for:
- SaaS applications
- Distributed teams
- Systems with cloud-first architecture
- Document-heavy portals storing user content remotely
Doconut retrieves files securely, processes them server-side, and never exposes source files to the client.
Real-World Scenarios Where Doconut Excels
1. Enterprise Portals & Business Systems
Organizations with document-heavy workflows rely on Doconut to embed document previews without forcing users to download files.
2. Engineering & Technical Environments
DWG/DXF support makes Doconut suitable for engineering dashboards where teams need to view CAD drawings without AutoCAD installed.
3. Financial & Insurance Platforms
Financial systems often generate statements, reports, and spreadsheets. Doconut allows users to view them instantly in the browser.
4. HR & Training Platforms
PPTX, DOCX, and PDF viewing is essential for training materials, onboarding documents, and policy distribution.
5. Systems Requiring Document Conversion
The Converter Plugin automates transformations between formats, reducing manual work and streamlining workflows.
Common Questions
Q: Does Doconut require any client-side plugins or extensions?
No. All processing is done server-side.
Q: Can Doconut convert documents?
Yes. The Converter Plugin supports PDF, Office, images, CAD, and email formats.
Q: Does Doconut support annotations?
Yes. The Annotations Plugin includes highlights, shapes, notes, and callouts.
Q: Does Doconut offer OCR?
Yes. OCR is part of the Search Plugin, enabling text extraction from scanned PDFs and images.
Q: Can I store my documents in S3 or Azure Blob Storage?
Yes. Doconut supports loading documents directly from both cloud storage systems.
Key Takeaways
- Doconut is a feature-rich server-side viewer supporting 50+ formats.
- Works with ASP.NET MVC, WebForms, .NET Core, and Blazor.
- Offers Annotations, Search with OCR, and Converter Plugins.
- Supports Amazon S3 and Azure Blob Storage.
- Uses server-side rendering for pixel-perfect fidelity.
- DCN caching accelerates repeated file loads.
- No browser plugins required.
- Ideal for enterprise portals, engineering dashboards, HR systems, financial platforms, and SaaS solutions.
Doconut brings performance, stability, and flexibility to any document-driven .NET application, helping teams build secure and powerful content experiences fully within their own infrastructure.
