Converting an outlook email .msg file with attachments containing PDF into PDF looses annotations/stamps

GroupDocs.Conversion Product Family
1

Hello,

Using GroupDocs.Conversion.NETFramework v25.11.0, when you convert an email from outlook, format .msg, into a PDF, and the email contains attachments of PDF format, the annotations/stamps are lost at conversion. How can I ensure to keep those ?

Thanks

2

@CyrusDaVirus

  • Are the annotations/stamps visible in the original .msg file when opened in Outlook, and do they appear in the attached PDFs when opened separately?
  • Are you converting the entire .msg file (including body and attachments) to a single PDF, or only extracting and converting the attached PDFs?
  • Which specific types of annotations or stamps are being lost (e.g., PDF comments, text annotations, image stamps, digital signatures)?
  • Have you tested the same conversion with a standalone PDF (not from an .msg attachment) to confirm the annotations are preserved in that case?
3

Annotations within PDFs, not the .msg itself. It can be an annotation for example a drawing that is a signature in the end.

4

Here is the code :

                        using (var converter = new Converter(SourceFilePath))
                        {
                            var loadOptions = new EmailLoadOptions
                            {
                                ConvertOwned = true,
                                ConvertOwner = true,
                                PreserveOriginalDate = true,
                                ResourceLoadingTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(15),
                                Depth = 2
                            };
                            PdfConvertOptions options = new PdfConvertOptions {
                                SizeSettings = new PageSizeOptions
                                {
                                    PageSize = PageSize.A4
                                },
                                MarginSettings = new PageMarginOptions
                                {
                                    Top = 15,
                                    Bottom = 15,
                                    Left = 15,
                                    Right = 15
                                }
                            };
                            converter.Convert((SaveContext context) => File.Create(TempFilePath + @"\" + index++.ToString() + "_" + DestFile),options);
                        }
5

Hello @CyrusDaVirus ,

Thank you for contacting us and for your interest in our product.

GroupDocs.Conversion provides a flexible API for controlling the document conversion process. To manage the conversion of attachments in an .msg email, you need to use a LoadOptionsProvider.

Below, I have provided a small example based on your code. Please try using it and share the results with us.

            LoadOptions LoadOptionsProvider(LoadContext loadContext)
            {
                if (loadContext.SourceFormat == EmailFileType.Msg)
                {
                    return new EmailLoadOptions
                    {
                        ConvertOwned = true,
                        ConvertOwner = true,
                        PreserveOriginalDate = true,
                        ResourceLoadingTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(15),
                        Depth = 2
                    };
                }
                if (loadContext.SourceFormat == PdfFileType.Pdf)
                {
                    return new PdfLoadOptions()
                    {
                        HidePdfAnnotations = false
                    };
                }
                return null;
            }
            
            using (var converter = new Converter(SourceFilePath, LoadOptionsProvider))
            {
                PdfConvertOptions options = new PdfConvertOptions {
                    SizeSettings = new PageSizeOptions
                    {
                        PageSize = PageSize.A4
                    },
                    MarginSettings = new PageMarginOptions
                    {
                        Top = 15,
                        Bottom = 15,
                        Left = 15,
                        Right = 15
                    }
                };
                converter.Convert((SaveContext context) => File.Create(TempFilePath + @"\" + index++.ToString() + "_" + DestFile),options);
            }
6

Hello @evgen.efimov

Thank you for your quick reply. Unfortunately your solution does not fix the issue.

Would there be a simple way to skip the conversion if the file is anyway a PDF ?

I have just checked again the pdf and the field in question is a comment field containing a stamp, added by a mobile device.

7

@CyrusDaVirus ,

Sorry to hear that this did not work.

In this case, could you please share your .msg file so that I can perform further investigation?

Regarding your question about skipping the conversion, I am not sure whether this is currently possible. I will consult with our developers and get back to you with an update.

8

Hello @evgen.efimov

Unfortunately I cannot share the file as it contains sensitive information. But I have tried reproducing something similar, with the following steps:

  1. Open word, open drawing, and with your mouse, draw something
  2. Save the word in PDF as MyDrawing.pdf
  3. Take an existing PDF file, open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader
  4. Create a custom stamp using your MyDrawing.pdf
  5. Apply the custom stamp and save the pdf
  6. Place the pdf into a mail in outlook, so that you obtain a .msg file and save it to a folder on your drive
  7. Convert this msg, you will obtain the mail body, and the PDF, which will not show your drawing anymore but a standard red stamp DRAFT.

Now the result is not exactly the same as with the other PDF, where the stamp is simply dropped, I guess it was created using something else (Producer (iOS Version 18.6.2 (Build 22G100) Quartz PDFContext) than Adobe Acrobat, but still, the result is not as expected.

But I guess, the easiest would be to skip the conversion of a PDF attachment (and copy it as-is) in case the requested conversion is PDF.

9

Hello @CyrusDaVirus ,

Thank you for providing a detailed description of how we can reproduce this behavior.

I have created a corresponding ticket in our tracking system with ID CONVERSIONNET-8152 and shared it with our development team.

As soon as I receive feedback from them, I will inform you right away.

10

@CyrusDaVirus ,

Regarding the possibility of skipping the conversion of an attached .pdf file in an .msg email file — yes, this is possible. I have attached a code example below.

var source = "sample-with-attachment.msg";
var loadOptions = new EmailLoadOptions {
    ConvertOwner = true,
    ConvertOwned = true,
    // convert email itself and the attachments
    Depth = 2
};
ConvertOptions ConvertOptionsProvider(ConvertContext convertContext)
{
    if (convertContext.SourceFormat == PdfFileType.Pdf)
    {
        return new NoConvertOptions();
    }
    return new PdfConvertOptions();
}
using (var converter = new Converter(source, (LoadContext loadContext) => loadOptions))
{
    var index = 1;
    // Note: index = 1 is the email itself, all following indexes are attachments
    converter.Convert((SaveContext saveContext) => new FileStream($"converted-{index++}.{saveContext.TargetFormat.Extension}", FileMode.Create) , ConvertOptionsProvider);
}

Please try using it and let us know your feedback.

11

Hello @evgen.efimov

This is perfect ! Works as expected, provides the PDF untouched.

Thank you very much for your help, much appreciated !

12

@CyrusDaVirus ,

Glad to hear that this helped.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions.