# Introduction > DS Server converts, merges and displays documents over HTTP from any language: its parts, typical workflows, the trial and how it compares to .NET Server. - **Product:** DS Server - **Section:** Documentation - **Kind:** Topic - **Path:** DS Server > Overview > Introduction - **1539 words** - **Web URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/introduction/ - **LLMs URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/introduction/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/introduction/llms-full.txt --- DS Server is a document server that you install on your own infrastructure. Your applications send it documents and data over HTTP, and it converts, merges, edits and displays them with the TX Text Control document engine. If you are deciding whether DS Server fits your project, start with what it consists of, what you build with it and how it differs from TX Text Control .NET Server. ### What DS Server Is DS Server is an on-premises backend for document services. You deploy it once, on a Linux or Windows server, in a virtual machine or in a container, and every application that can reach it over the network uses it. The calling application can be written in any language, because it talks to DS Server with HTTP requests and JSON. - **Current version.** The current version is DS Server 5.0, released on March 12, 2026, and its latest update is 5.0.2, released on July 2, 2026. Version 5.0 is based on TX Text Control 34.0 SP3 and built with .NET 10. - **One download, two builds.** DS Server is delivered as a zip archive with two folders: *core*, which runs on Linux and Windows, and *classic*, which runs on Windows only. [Core and Classic](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/core-classic/llms-full.txt) compares them. - **Server licensing.** DS Server is licensed per server installation for one year at a time, not per developer. See [Licensing Overview](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/licensing/llms-full.txt). ### What It Consists of | Part | What it does | How your application uses it | |---|---|---| | DocumentProcessing Web API | Converts documents, merges templates with JSON data, appends documents, finds and replaces text, reads document information, renders thumbnails, creates PDF documents, reads PDF metadata, attachments and form fields, and creates barcodes | HTTP requests to the endpoints below `/documentprocessing/`, from any language, or through the .NET package `TXTextControl.DocumentServices.DocumentProcessing` | | Document Editor | A WYSIWYG word processor in the browser with a ribbon interface, track changes, merge fields and merge blocks for template design, and a JavaScript API | A client package for ASP.NET Core, Angular or React, or a script that a plain HTML page loads from DS Server | | Document Viewer | A viewer in the browser with text search, zooming, printing, a thumbnail pane, annotations, comments and electronic signatures | A client package for ASP.NET Core, Angular or React, or plain JavaScript | | OAuth security | Controls which applications may use the server once an admin enables OAuth, which is disabled on a new installation. Each application gets a *security profile*, a client ID and client secret pair that it exchanges for access tokens. | The client packages request tokens themselves. Other clients call the `/oauth/` endpoints. | | Admin portal and admin Web API | The admin password, the server license, the security profiles, the authentication servers and the installed plugins | The portal in the browser, or the `/admin/` and `/license/` endpoints from scripts | DS Server is extensible: since version 4.1, plugins add their own controllers and middleware to the server. See [Plugins](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/plugins/llms-full.txt). ### What You Can Build Text Control describes these typical workflows for DS Server: | Workflow | Parts involved | |---|---| | Documents generated at scale, such as invoices, contracts and quotes: your application sends a DOCX template and JSON data, and DS Server returns the merged document as PDF, PDF/A, DOCX or another format | DocumentProcessing Web API | | Contracts drafted and reviewed with track changes in your web application, then read and signed | Document Editor, Document Viewer | | Documents shared with clients or patients in regulated industries, with one security profile per application or per customer | Document Viewer, OAuth security | | A SaaS product whose users design templates with merge fields and merge blocks in the editor, which your backend then merges | Document Editor, DocumentProcessing Web API | Because the templates are DOCX files, they can be changed without changing your application's code. And because DS Server runs on your own servers, the documents and the merge data stay on infrastructure you control. ### Who It Is for - **Backend developers in any language.** Python, Node.js, Java, PHP and .NET applications all call the same Web API. No .NET code is needed on your side. - **Web developers** who want the Document Editor or the Document Viewer in an ASP.NET Core, Angular, React or plain JavaScript application, without building the document backend themselves. - **Administrators** who install DS Server, register its license and create the security profiles for the applications that use it. ### DS Server and TX Text Control .NET Server Both products are built on the same TX Text Control technology and code base. They differ in where the document backend lives and how you reach it: | | DS Server | TX Text Control .NET Server | |---|---|---| | What it is | A separate server application that runs beside your applications | A set of .NET components that you add to your own application as NuGet packages | | Your application's language | Any language that can send HTTP requests | .NET | | Document processing | Task-oriented Web API: convert, merge, append, create PDF | The complete .NET API, including `ServerTextControl` and `MailMerge`, for every element of a document | | Document Editor backend | Included and running | You host the WebSocket middleware and the backend process in your ASP.NET Core application | | Security | Built-in OAuth with security profiles and an admin Web API | Your application implements authentication itself | | Licensing | Per server installation, per year | Per developer, plus runtime licenses for production servers | Choose DS Server when applications in several languages need document services, or when you don't want to implement and host the document backend yourself. Choose TX Text Control .NET Server when your application is written in .NET and needs full control over documents in code. The two can be combined: DS Server for the typical tasks, TX Text Control .NET Server for the rest. The [TX Text Control .NET Server introduction](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-server/overview/introduction/llms-full.txt) describes the other product. ### Try It There are two ways to evaluate DS Server: - **A trial token** gives you credentials for a DS Server that Text Control hosts at `https://trial.dsserver.io`. You install nothing and can send requests right away. The token is valid for 30 days. See [Trial Token](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/getting-started/trial-token/llms-full.txt). - **The trial version** is the downloadable DS Server that you install on your own machine, fully featured and free for 30 days. You download it with a Text Control account and register it with the trial serial number from that account. See [Licensing Overview](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/licensing/#trial-token-and-trial-version). ### Next Steps - [Architecture](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/architecture/llms-full.txt): how the server, its services, OAuth and your applications connect. - [Core and Classic](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/core-classic/llms-full.txt): which of the two builds to install, and where each one runs. - [Supported File Formats](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/file-formats/llms-full.txt): the formats the Web API reads and writes. - [Getting Started](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/getting-started/llms-full.txt): your first application with the trial token or your own server. - [Installation Guide](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/installation/llms-full.txt): requirements, Docker, manual installation and load balancing. --- ## Nearby - **Previous:** [Overview](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/llms-full.txt) - **Next:** [Architecture](https://docs.textcontrol.com/ds-server/overview/architecture/llms-full.txt)