[Release] GroupDocs.Parser for .NET v26.8 – Enhanced Annotation Metadata & Support for DOCX, RTF, PPTX

GroupDocs.Parser Product Family
1

Dear GroupDocs Customers,

We are pleased to announce the release of GroupDocs.Parser for .NET 26.8. This update significantly enhances the annotation extraction capabilities by adding richer metadata to the AnnotationItem class and extending annotation support to electronic text documents (e.g., DOCX, RTF) and presentations (e.g., PPTX, PPT).

Key Improvements and Fixes

○ Enhance annotation metadata: Added five new properties to the AnnotationItem class – AnnotationType, PageIndex, Timestamp, AuthorName, and AuthorInitials (issue PARSERNET-2903).
○ Support annotation extraction in electronic text documents – DOCX, RTF, TXT (issue PARSERNET-2899).
○ Support annotation extraction in presentations – PPTX, PPT (issue PARSERNET-2900).

With this release, annotations are now fully contextualized and accessible across the most widely used document formats – PDF, Word, PowerPoint.

:mag: Enhanced Annotation Metadata

The AnnotationItem class now provides deeper insights into each annotation:

using (Parser parser = new Parser("Document.pdf"))
{
    foreach (AnnotationItem annotation in parser.GetAnnotations())
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Type: {annotation.AnnotationType}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Author: {annotation.AuthorName} ({annotation.AuthorInitials})");
        Console.WriteLine($"Created/Modified: {annotation.Timestamp}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Page/Slide: {annotation.PageIndex}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Content: {annotation.Value}");
    }
}

New properties:

  • AnnotationType: Specifies the type (e.g., Comment, Highlight, TrackedChange).
  • PageIndex: Zero-based page (or slide) number where the annotation appears.
  • Timestamp: Creation/last-modification datetime.
  • AuthorName & AuthorInitials: Full name and initials of the annotation’s author.

:memo: Annotation Extraction Now Works in DOCX, RTF, and PPTX

Annotations (comments, tracked changes, slide notes) can be extracted in two ways:

  1. Separately using GetAnnotations()
  2. Embedded in text using GetText() with TextOptions.IncludeAnnotations = true

Example: Extract annotations from a Word document (DOCX)

using (Parser parser = new Parser("MyFile.docx"))
{
    // Extract annotations separately
    IEnumerable<AnnotationItem> annotations = parser.GetAnnotations();
    foreach (AnnotationItem annotation in annotations)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Author: {annotation.AuthorName}, Type: {annotation.AnnotationType}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Page: {annotation.PageIndex}, Date: {annotation.Timestamp}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Text: {annotation.Value}");
    }

    // Or extract together with full text
    TextOptions options = new TextOptions() { IncludeAnnotations = true };
    using (TextReader reader = parser.GetText(options))
    {
        string text = reader.ReadToEnd();
        Console.WriteLine(text);
    }
}

Example: Extract comments from a PowerPoint presentation (PPTX)

using (Parser parser = new Parser("MyPresentation.pptx"))
{
    IEnumerable<AnnotationItem> annotations = parser.GetAnnotations();
    foreach (AnnotationItem annotation in annotations)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Slide: {annotation.PageIndex}, Author: {annotation.AuthorInitials}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Created: {annotation.Timestamp}, Type: {annotation.AnnotationType}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Comment: {annotation.Value}");
    }
}

:package: Cross-Platform Support Remains Seamless

This release continues to support all target platforms:
.NET Framework 4.6.2, .NET Standard 2.1, .NET 6, .NET 8, and .NET 10.
Install the master package, and NuGet automatically resolves the compatible version.

:link: Reference Links

○ Release notes: GroupDocs.Parser for .NET 26.8 Release Notes
○ Release announcement blog post: https://blog.groupdocs.com/parser/groupdocs-parser-for-net-26-8/
○ New documentation articles (enhanced annotations):
https://docs.groupdocs.com/parser/net/extract-annotations-from-electronic-text-documents/
https://docs.groupdocs.com/parser/net/extract-annotations-from-presentations/
○ Updated GitHub examples: GitHub - groupdocs-parser/GroupDocs.Parser-for-.NET: GroupDocs.Parser for .NET examples, plugins and showcase projects · GitHub
○ NuGet package: NuGet Gallery | GroupDocs.Parser 26.8.0

This update delivers comprehensive, metadata-rich annotation extraction across document types – empowering developers to build more intelligent, collaborative, and audit-ready solutions.

We welcome your feedback. Please share your thoughts, questions, or feature ideas with our support team.

Sincerely,
The GroupDocs Team