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pdfconversionapi

VSD to PDF API

POST an older binary Visio file to /v2/convert/vsd/to/pdf and get a PDF with one page per drawing page. The page size is the drawing's own (A4 portrait for the sample), shapes are vector paths and labels are real, searchable text.

Endpoint
POST /v2/convert/vsd/to/pdf
Accepts
vsd
Sample timing
0.474 s median of 5 runsHow we measure
Request size
Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together

Request and response

Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.

curl -sS -X POST \
  https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/vsd/to/pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
  -F File=@single-shape.vsd \
  -o response.json

# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
  mkdir -p converted
  name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
  jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
    | base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
  cat response.json
fi
200 OK0.474 s median1 file, 12 KB
{
  "ConversionCost": 1,
  "ConversionTime": 0.474,
  "Files": [
    {
      "FileName": "single-shape.pdf",
      "FileExt": "pdf",
      "FileSize": 12140,
      "FileData": "JVBERi0xLjcKJcOkw7zDtsOf…"
    }
  ]
}

Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.

The sample, converted

The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.

First page of single-shape.pdf, rendered by the API
Input
single-shape.vsd (11 KB)
Output
single-shape.pdf (12 KB)
Source
A one-page Visio 2003-2010 drawing with a single labeled rectangle, taken from an open-source office suite's public test files (MPL-2.0); we did not make it (MPL-2.0). How it was made
Made by
2026-11-04, API build 9eeeb0640aba

Parameters

Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.

ParameterWhat it does
PdfaVersionenum, default noneAsk for PDF/A. With pdfA2b or pdfA3b the sample grows from 12,140 bytes to about 21 KB. Other values return 400 with the list of allowed ones.Values: none, pdfA1b, pdfA2b, pdfA3b
Pdfaboolean, default falsetrue gives PDF/A-1b when PdfaVersion isn't set.
PageRangestringPages to keep from a multi-page drawing. A page past the end returns 400 with the real count; for the one-page sample, PageRange=2 says the document has 1 page.Values: e.g. 1, 2-4, 3-last
FileNamestringThe PDF's name without extension. FileName=box returns box.pdf; otherwise single-shape.pdf.
StoreFileboolean, default falsetrue stores the PDF for 3 hours and returns its link.

Not supported yet

Setting one of these to anything but its default returns 400.

OptionWhat to do instead
PageSizeThe drawing's page size is used as it is; PageSize=a4 returns 400 "PageSize is not supported yet for VSD files".
PageOrientationAlso taken from the drawing.
PdfTitleNot settable yet; refused with 400.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept

  • The drawing's page size and orientation: 210 × 297 mm (A4 portrait) for the sample
  • Shapes as vector paths at their real size: the sample's rectangle is 99.2 × 141.8 points with a 0.71-point black outline
  • Shape text as selectable, searchable text with an embedded font subset
  • One PDF page per drawing page

Lost or not yet supported

  • The sample's label is set in Liberation Sans, a font with the same widths as Arial. Fonts a drawing names that the server doesn't have are replaced by similar ones.
  • The file's title and author fields stay empty in the PDF for this sample, and PdfTitle can't set them yet.
  • The binary VSD format has no public specification and is read by an open-source importer, not by Visio. We haven't compared its output with Visio's own PDF export.

Limits

  • Binary VSD drawings; our sample is in the Visio 2003–2010 format. We have not tested files from Visio 2000 or earlier.
  • One drawing per request.
  • A damaged or truncated VSD returns 422 "it could not be opened as VSD".
  • PageRange that leaves pages out can't be combined with PDF/A (400).
  • Requests up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files and fields together, and 120 seconds per conversion (then 504).

Where teams use it

Opening old Visio files without Visio

Old file shares often hold .vsd diagrams, which browsers and phones can't open. Convert them to PDF so anyone can read them.

Migrating an archive to PDF/A

When an archive of VSD drawings moves to a records system, PdfaVersion=pdfA2b turns each one into an archival PDF in the same request, with the labels kept as text for search.

Indexing diagram text

Because shape text comes through as text, /v2/convert/pdf/to/txt on the result gives you the words in each diagram for a search index.

Questions

Which Visio versions can it read?

Binary .vsd files such as those saved by Visio 2003 to 2010; the sample is one (its document stream is version 11, saved by Visio in 2012). Newer Visio files are .vsdx; send those to /v2/convert/vsdx/to/pdf.

What if I send a VSDX to this route?

It works. The same Visio importer reads both formats and detects which one it got, so a VSDX posted to vsd/to/pdf converted normally in our test.

Can I change the paper size?

Not in this request: PageSize and PageOrientation return 400 and the PDF keeps the drawing's page setup. To print on a different sheet, send the PDF to /v2/convert/pdf/to/resize afterwards.

Why is the sample so simple?

The binary VSD format has no public specification, and we had no tool that could write a new one, so this page uses a small public test drawing: one A4 page with a single labeled rectangle. The VSDX to PDF page has a richer two-page diagram we wrote ourselves.

Convert your first VSD file in a minute.