# Differences between SharePoint Online and on-premises Document Converter

The [Document Converter for SharePoint Online](https://www.nutrient.io/company/contact) as well as the _on-premise_ product are both based on the same mature processing engine that handles conversion, merging, watermarking, securing and OCR processing. However, due to limitations in the SharePoint Online platform, and significant architectural differences, both products do not share the exact same end-user facilities.

Please note that the Online App [can also be installed in SharePoint on-premise](https://www.nutrient.io/blog/installing-the-pdf-converter-for-sharepoint-online-app-in-sharepoint-on-premise/).

**Similarities**

- Based on the exact same mature processing engine.

- Exact same [SharePoint Designer Workflow Activities](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/knowledge-base/creating-workflows-using-sharepoint-designer-the-muhimbi-pdf-converter.md).

- Exact same [SharePoint User Interface to convert and merge files](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/knowledge-base/using-the-pdf-converter-for-sharepoint-online-user-interface.md).

- Support for the [exact same file types](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/knowledge-base/what-file-formats-types-are-supported-for-conversion.md), with the exception of [3rd party converters](/guides/document-converter/power-automate/knowledge-base/integrating-3rd-party-converters-with-the-muhimbi-pdf-converter.md) (available in custom subscriptions only).

- Support for PDF/A for long time archiving.

- Support for OCR to make scanned / faxed content discoverable.

- Support for [real-time watermarking & Security](https://www.nutrient.io/blog/add-watermarks-when-files-are-opened-or-downloaded-in-sharepoint-online-office-365/).

- Support for the [conversion of SharePoint Lists, List Items and Web Pages](https://www.nutrient.io/blog/converting-sharepoint-online-pages-items-to-pdf/).

- Support for K2 Cloud, see these 3 blog posts: [Configure](https://clavinfernandes.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/k2-online-integration-with-muhimbi-converter-service-online/), [Create](https://clavinfernandes.wordpress.com/2018/06/26/create-k2-smart-objects-for-muhimbi-converter-service-online/), [Convert](https://clavinfernandes.wordpress.com/2018/08/02/converting-documents-using-k2-designer-workflow/).

- Free software updates.

- Access to premium support desk. ( [Read independent reviews](/blog/categories/customer-stories/))

**Key Differences**

- No direct Nintex Workflow support due to lack of 3rd party integration facilities in _Nintex for Office 365_. As a workaround trigger a SharePoint Designer workflow from Nintex Workflow, invoke our REST interface from Nintex for Office 365 [as per this blog post](https://www.nutrient.io/blog/use-nintex-workflow-for-office-365-to-pdf-convert-merge-watermark-secure-ocr-files/), or create a [Nintex Component Workflow](https://clavinfernandes.wordpress.com/2019/03/21/add-nintex-component-workflows-for-office-365-with-muhimbi-converter-service-online/).

- Different API, the Document Converter for SharePoint Online uses [a REST based service](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-converter/document-converter-services.md).

- The Online product provides [direct integration with Microsoft Flow](/guides/document-converter/power-automate/knowledge-base/microsoft-flow-logic-apps-powerapps-tutorials-and-blog-posts.md) (Power Automate)

- No access to the underlying config files to 'tweak' settings.
  As a workaround use our [XML syntax](https://www.nutrient.io/blog/overriding-default-conversion-settings-when-converting-documents-in-sharepoint/) to override settings during conversion.

- Due to the nature of the underlying platforms, both products are licensed completely differently.

- The SharePoint Online edition is [much easier to install](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/knowledge-base/installing-the-pdf-converter-for-sharepoint-online-app.md), the back-end is monitored and maintained by Muhimbi.

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## Related pages

- [How to check if a SharePoint server runs workflows](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/determining-if-a-server-is-involved-in-executing-workflows.md)
- [Converting HTML - Empty page / Authentication problems](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/converting-html-web-pages-returns-an-empty-pdf.md)
- [CabLib Extract ERROR when converting InfoPath files](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/cablib-extract-error-when-converting-infopath-files.md)
- [Debugging Web Service calls and Soap Messages](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/debugging-web-service-calls-and-soap-messages.md)
- [How to Disable Incremental Updates When Watermarking?](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/disable-incremental-update-when-watermarking.md)
- [Enable Custom App Authentication](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/enable-custom-app-authentication.md)
- [Converting IRM and DRM protected documents seamlessly](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/dealing-with-the-conversion-of-irm-drm-rms-aip-protected-documents.md)
- [Troubleshooting: SharePoint Document Converter](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting.md)
- [How do I manually remove the Conversion Service?](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/how-do-i-manually-remove-the-conversion-service.md)
- [Troubleshoot PDF merging issues and solutions](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/error-while-merging-existing-pdf-files-e-g-pdflexer-errors.md)
- [Adjusting document file size limits easily](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/how-can-i-change-the-maximum-file-size-of-documents-to-process.md)
- [How do I enable debug logging?](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/how-do-i-enable-debug-logging.md)
- [Understanding InfoPath document conversion processes](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/infopath-rules-custom-code-data-connections-are-not-executed.md)
- [Troubleshooting InfoPath view-related errors](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/infopath-cannot-execute-any-view-related-object-model-calls-the-view-is-not-ready.md)
- [Check your Document Converter version easily](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/how-to-determine-which-version-of-the-pdf-converter-is-installed.md)
- [Troubleshooting error 1001 in SharePoint upgrades](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/error-1001-an-exception-occurred-in-the-onafterinstall-event-handler-during-upgrade.md)
- [Troubleshooting InfoPath form conversion issues](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/my-infopath-form-fails-to-convert-how-can-i-troubleshoot-this.md)
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- [Document Converter front-end WSP is stuck on 'Deploying](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/pdf-converter-front-end-wsp-is-stuck-on-deploying.md)
- [Fixing SharePoint search for HTML-to-PDF conversion](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/sharepoint-search-does-not-return-converted-html-content.md)
- [Troubleshooting SharePoint Document Converter issues](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/sharepoint-behaves-unexpectedly-after-deploying-the-pdf-converter-for-sharepoint.md)
- [Troubleshooting Document Converter login issues](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/problems-logging-in-to-pdf-converter-services-online.md)
- [Troubleshooting PDF workflow issues in SharePoint](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/pdf-workflow-activities-are-not-displayed-in-sharepoint-designer-2013.md)
- [Troubleshoot SharePoint Designer workflow issues](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/sharepoint-designer-workflow-activities-are-not-inserted.md)
- [Solving formatting issues when converting HTML to PDF](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/solving-formatting-issues-when-converting-html-to-pdf.md)
- [Troubleshoot evaluation message in SharePoint](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/the-license-has-been-installed-but-an-evaluation-message-is-still-displayed.md)
- [Troubleshooting SharePoint Online menu visibility issues](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/some-menu-options-are-not-displayed-in-sharepoint-online.md)
- [The Conversion Service does not start](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/the-conversion-service-does-not-start.md)
- [Troubleshooting install.cmd errors](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-install-cmd-errors.md)
- [Troubleshooting SharePoint document converter issues](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-connectivity-problems-between-web-front-end-and-conversion-servers.md)
- [Convert InfoPath forms to Word and Excel easily](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/when-converting-infopath-to-word-excel-my-file-does-not-look-100-the-same.md)
- [Troubleshooting document converter issues on SharePoint](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/troubleshooting-the-pdf-converter-for-sharepoint-online.md)
- [Where can I enable Web Application Scoped SharePoint Features?](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/where-can-i-enable-web-application-scoped-sharepoint-features.md)
- [Using the diagnostics tool to troubleshoot conversions](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/using-the-diagnostics-tool-to-troubleshoot-conversions.md)
- [Watermarker fails to load because Microsoft now enforces Content Security Policy (CSP)](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/watermarker-blocked-by-microsoft-csp.md)
- [Validating converters and troubleshooting errors](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/validating-converters-and-troubleshooting-errors.md)
- [Tips for pixel-perfect InfoPath-to-PDF conversion](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/when-converting-infopath-to-pdf-my-file-does-not-look-100-the-same.md)
- [Why are my watermarks not visible?](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/why-are-my-watermarks-not-visible.md)
- [Understanding duplicate PDF conversion options in SharePoint](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/why-are-the-various-pdf-conversion-options-displayed-twice-in-sharepoint.md)
- [Find the Document Converter administration screen](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/where-is-the-pdf-converter-s-central-administration-screen-located.md)
- [Why are my legacy DOC and XLS files failing to convert?](/guides/document-converter/sharepoint/troubleshooting/why-are-my-legacy-doc-and-xls-files-failing-to-convert.md)