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, whereas Telerik.Windows.Documents.* targets 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, while for .NET Standard or .NET (Target OS: None) projects, you use Telerik.Documents.* packages. The functionality is consistent, but the underlying assemblies are tailored for their respective platforms and frameworks, ensuring optimal 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:
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You need server-side document generation
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You are building APIs that export PDF/Word/Excel documents in cross-platform environments
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You don’t need on‑screen editing or viewing
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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, any non‑Windows runtime, etc. 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:
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You are building a WPF/WinForms desktop application
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You need on-screen document editing
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You are using RadPdfViewer, RadSpreadsheet, etc.
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You require print preview, selection, scrolling, zoom, UI formatting