Telerik.Windows.Documents.* vs Telerik.Documents.*
Environment
| Version | Product | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 2026.1.210 | Telerik Document Processing | Desislava Yordanova |
Description
This article explains the difference between the Telerik.Windows.Documents.* and Telerik.Documents.* assemblies/NuGet packages, when to use each, and how they relate to the supported frameworks.
Solution
The Telerik.Documents.* assemblies/NuGet packages are designed to work across different operating systems and .NET versions. The Telerik.Windows.Documents.* packages target Windows environments and may include dependencies or features specific to Windows. This distinction is reflected in package references and compatibility. For .NET Framework (.NET Target OS: Windows) projects, you typically use Telerik.Windows.Documents.* assemblies/NuGet packages. For .NET Standard or .NET (Target OS: None) projects, you use Telerik.Documents.* packages. The features are consistent, but the underlying assemblies are tailored for their respective platforms and frameworks. This ensures best compatibility and support for modern .NET development scenarios.
Telerik.Documents.*
This namespace contains Telerik’s pure document processing libraries, independent of any UI framework.
Use Telerik.Documents.* when:
- You need server-side document generation
- You are building APIs that export PDF/Word/Excel documents in cross-platform environments
- You do not need on-screen editing or viewing
- You want maximum portability
Recommended for new development, especially non-UI workloads.
Telerik.Windows.Documents.*
Telerik.Windows.Documents.* assemblies/NuGet packages require Windows because they are built on WPF, which is a Windows-only UI framework. They cannot run on Linux, macOS, or any non-Windows runtime. All Telerik.Windows.Documents.* assemblies/NuGet packages reference WPF assemblies, such as PresentationCore and WindowsBase. WPF itself uses Windows-specific graphics subsystems (DirectX, GDI, font services).
Use Telerik.Windows.Documents.* when:
- You are building a WPF/WinForms desktop application
- You need on-screen document editing
- You are using
RadPdfViewer,RadSpreadsheet, and similar controls - You need print preview, selection, scrolling, zoom, or UI formatting