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Latest Version: 1.41, Released: November 28, 2006
ExamplesMerge Two or More PDFs into a New Document
pdftk 1.pdf 2.pdf 3.pdf cat output 123.pdf
or (Using Handles):
pdftk A=1.pdf B=2.pdf cat A B output 12.pdf
or (Using Wildcards):
pdftk *.pdf cat output combined.pdf
Split Select Pages from Multiple PDFs into a New Document
pdftk A=one.pdf B=two.pdf cat A1-7 B1-5 A8 output combined.pdf
Rotate the First Page of a PDF to 90 Degrees Clockwise
pdftk in.pdf cat 1E 2-end output out.pdf
Rotate an Entire PDF Document's Pages to 180 Degrees
pdftk in.pdf cat 1-endS output out.pdf
Encrypt a PDF using 128-Bit Strength (the Default) and Withhold All Permissions (the Default)
pdftk mydoc.pdf output mydoc.128.pdf owner_pw foopass
Same as Above, Except a Password is Required to Open the PDF
pdftk mydoc.pdf output mydoc.128.pdf owner_pw foo user_pw baz
Same as Above, Except Printing is Allowed (after the PDF is Open)
pdftk mydoc.pdf output mydoc.128.pdf owner_pw foo user_pw baz allow printing
Decrypt a PDF
pdftk secured.pdf input_pw foopass output unsecured.pdf
Join Two Files, One of Which is Encrypted (the Output is Not Encrypted)
pdftk A=secured.pdf mydoc.pdf input_pw A=foopass cat output combined.pdf
Uncompress PDF Page Streams for Editing the PDF Code in a Text Editor
pdftk mydoc.pdf output mydoc.clear.pdf uncompress
Repair a PDF's Corrupted XREF Table and Stream Lengths (If Possible)
pdftk broken.pdf output fixed.pdf
Burst a Single PDF Document into Single Pages and Report its Data to doc_data.txt
pdftk mydoc.pdf burst
Report on PDF Document Metadata, Bookmarks and Page Labels
pdftk mydoc.pdf dump_data output report.txt
Docs
SYNOPSIS
pdftk <input PDF files | - | PROMPT>
[input_pw <input PDF owner passwords | PROMPT>]
[<operation> <operation arguments>]
[output <output filename | - | PROMPT>]
[encrypt_40bit | encrypt_128bit]
[allow <permissions>]
[owner_pw <owner password | PROMPT>]
[user_pw <user password | PROMPT>]
[flatten] [compress | uncompress]
[keep_first_id | keep_final_id] [drop_xfa]
[verbose] [dont_ask | do_ask]
Where:
<operation> may be empty, or:
[cat | attach_files | unpack_files | burst |
fill_form | background | stamp | generate_fdf
dump_data | dump_data_fields | update_info]
For Complete Help: pdftk --help
OPTIONS
A summary of options is included below.
--help, -h
Show summary of options.
<input PDF files | - | PROMPT>
A list of the input PDF files. If you plan to combine these PDFs
(without using handles) then list files in the order you want
them combined. Use - to pass a single PDF into pdftk via stdin.
Input files can be associated with handles, where a handle is a
single, upper-case letter:
<input PDF handle>=<input PDF filename>
Handles are often omitted. They are useful when specifying PDF
passwords or page ranges, later.
For example: A=input1.pdf B=input2.pdf
[input_pw <input PDF owner passwords | PROMPT>]
Input PDF owner passwords, if necessary, are associated with
files by using their handles:
<input PDF handle>=<input PDF file owner password>
If handles are not given, then passwords are associated with
input files by order.
Most pdftk features require that encrypted input PDF are accom-
panied by the ~owner~ password. If the input PDF has no owner
password, then the user password must be given, instead. If the
input PDF has no passwords, then no password should be given.
When running in do_ask mode, pdftk will prompt you for a pass-
word if the supplied password is incorrect or none was given.
[<operation> <operation arguments>]
If this optional argument is omitted, then pdftk runs in 'fil-
ter' mode. Filter mode takes only one PDF input and creates a
new PDF after applying all of the output options, like encryp-
tion and compression.
Available operations are: cat, attach_files, unpack_files,
burst, fill_form, background, stamp, dump_data,
dump_data_fields, generate_fdf, update_info. Some operations
takes additional arguments, described below.
cat [<page ranges>]
Catenates pages from input PDFs to create a new PDF. Page
order in the new PDF is specified by the order of the given
page ranges. Page ranges are described like this:
<input PDF handle>[<begin page number>[-<end page num-
ber>[<qualifier>]]][<page rotation>]
Where the handle identifies one of the input PDF files, and
the beginning and ending page numbers are one-based refer-
ences to pages in the PDF file, and the qualifier can be even
or odd, and the page rotation can be N, S, E, W, L, R, or D.
If the handle is omitted from the page range, then the pages
are taken from the first input PDF.
The even qualifier causes pdftk to use only the even-numbered
PDF pages, so 1-6even yields pages 2, 4 and 6 in that order.
6-1even yields pages 6, 4 and 2 in that order.
The odd qualifier works similarly to the even.
The page rotation setting can cause pdftk to rotate pages and
documents. Each option sets the page rotation as follows (in
degrees): N: 0, E: 90, S: 180, W: 270, L: -90, R: +90, D:
+180. L, R, and D make relative adjustments to a page's rota-
tion.
If no arguments are passed to cat, then pdftk combines all
input PDFs in the order they were given to create the output.
NOTES:
* <end page number> may be less than <begin page number>.
* The keyword end may be used to reference the final page of
a document instead of a page number.
* Reference a single page by omitting the ending page number.
* The handle may be used alone to represent the entire PDF
document, e.g., B1-end is the same as B.
Page Range Examples w/o Handles:
1-endE - rotate entire document 90 degrees
5 11 20
5-25oddW - take odd pages in range, rotate 90 degrees
6-1
Page Range Examples Using Handles:
Say A=in1.pdf B=in2.pdf, then:
A1-21
Bend-1odd
A72
A1-21 Beven A72
AW - rotate entire document 90 degrees
B
A2-30evenL - take the even pages from the range, remove 90
degrees from each page's rotation
A A
AevenW AoddE
AW BW BD
attach_files <attachment filenames | PROMPT> [to_page <page number |
PROMPT>]
Packs arbitrary files into a PDF using PDF's file attachment
features. More than one attachment may be listed after
attach_files. Attachments are added at the document level
unless the optional to_page option is given, in which case
the files are attached to the given page number (the first
page is 1, the final page is end). For example:
pdftk in.pdf attach_files table1.html table2.html to_page 6
output out.pdf
unpack_files
Copies all of the attachments from the input PDF into the
current folder or to an output directory given after output.
For example:
pdftk report.pdf unpack_files output ~/atts/
or, interactively:
pdftk report.pdf unpack_files output PROMPT
burst Splits a single, input PDF document into individual pages.
Also creates a report named doc_data.txt which is the same as
the output from dump_data. If the output section is omitted,
then PDF pages are named: pg_%04d.pdf, e.g.: pg_0001.pdf,
pg_0002.pdf, etc. To name these pages yourself, supply a
printf-styled format string via the output section. For
example, if you want pages named: page_01.pdf, page_02.pdf,
etc., pass output page_%02d.pdf to pdftk. Encryption can be
applied to the output by appending output options such as
owner_pw, e.g.:
pdftk in.pdf burst owner_pw foopass
fill_form <FDF data filename | XFDF data filename | - | PROMPT>
Fills the single input PDF's form fields with the data from
an FDF file, XFDF file or stdin. Enter the data filename
after fill_form, or use - to pass the data via stdin, like
so:
pdftk form.pdf fill_form data.fdf output form.filled.pdf
After filling a form, the form fields remain interactive
unless you also use the flatten output option. flatten merges
the form fields with the PDF pages. You can use flatten
alone, too, but only on a single PDF:
pdftk form.pdf fill_form data.fdf output out.pdf flatten
or:
pdftk form.filled.pdf output out.pdf flatten
If the input FDF file includes Rich Text formatted data in
addition to plain text, then the Rich Text data is packed
into the form fields as well as the plain text. Pdftk also
sets a flag that cues Acrobat/Reader to generate new field
appearances based on the Rich Text data. That way, when the
user opens the PDF, the viewer will create the Rich Text
fields on the spot. If the user's PDF viewer does not sup-
port Rich Text, then the user will see the plain text data
instead. If you flatten this form before Acrobat has a
chance to create (and save) new field appearances, then the
plain text field data is what you'll see.
background <background PDF filename | - | PROMPT>
Applies a PDF watermark to the background of a single input
PDF. Pass the background PDF's filename after background
like so:
pdftk in.pdf background back.pdf output out.pdf
Pdftk uses only the first page from the background PDF and
applies it to every page of the input PDF. This page is
scaled and rotated as needed to fit the input page. You can
use - to pass a background PDF into pdftk via stdin.
If the input PDF does not have a transparent background (such
as a PDF created from page scans) then the resulting back-
ground won't be visible -- use the stamp feature instead.
stamp <stamp PDF filename | - | PROMPT>
This behaves just like the background feature except it over-
lays the stamp PDF page on top of the input PDF document's
pages. This works best if the stamp PDF page has a transpar-
ent background.
dump_data
Reads a single, input PDF file and reports various statis-
tics, metadata, bookmarks (a/k/a outlines), and page labels
to the given output filename or (if no output is given) to
stdout. Does not create a new PDF.
dump_data_fields
Reads a single, input PDF file and reports form field statis-
tics to the given output filename or (if no output is given)
to stdout. Does not create a new PDF.
generate_fdf
Reads a single, input PDF file and generates a FDF file suit-
able for fill_form out of it to the given output filename or
(if no output is given) to stdout. Does not create a new
PDF.
update_info <info data filename | - | PROMPT>
Changes the metadata stored in a single PDF's Info dictionary
to match the input data file. The input data file uses the
same syntax as the output from dump_data. This does not
change the metadata stored in the PDF's XMP stream, if it has
one. For example:
pdftk in.pdf update_info in.info output out.pdf
[output <output filename | - | PROMPT>]
The output PDF filename may not be set to the name of an input
filename. Use - to output to stdout. When using the dump_data
operation, use output to set the name of the output data file.
When using the unpack_files operation, use output to set the
name of an output directory. When using the burst operation,
you can use output to control the resulting PDF page filenames
(described above).
[encrypt_40bit | encrypt_128bit]
If an output PDF user or owner password is given, output PDF
encryption strength defaults to 128 bits. This can be overrid-
den by specifying encrypt_40bit.
[allow <permissions>]
Permissions are applied to the output PDF only if an encryption
strength is specified or an owner or user password is given. If
permissions are not specified, they default to 'none,' which
means all of the following features are disabled.
The permissions section may include one or more of the following
features:
Printing
Top Quality Printing
DegradedPrinting
Lower Quality Printing
ModifyContents
Also allows Assembly
Assembly
CopyContents
Also allows ScreenReaders
ScreenReaders
ModifyAnnotations
Also allows FillIn
FillIn
AllFeatures
Allows the user to perform all of the above, and top
quality printing.
[owner_pw <owner password | PROMPT>]
[user_pw <user password | PROMPT>]
If an encryption strength is given but no passwords are sup-
plied, then the owner and user passwords remain empty, which
means that the resulting PDF may be opened and its security
parameters altered by anybody.
[compress | uncompress]
These are only useful when you want to edit PDF code in a text
editor like vim or emacs. Remove PDF page stream compression by
applying the uncompress filter. Use the compress filter to
restore compression.
[flatten]
Use this option to merge an input PDF's interactive form fields
(and their data) with the PDF's pages. Only one input PDF may be
given. Sometimes used with the fill_form operation.
[keep_first_id | keep_final_id]
When combining pages from multiple PDFs, use one of these
options to copy the document ID from either the first or final
input document into the new output PDF. Otherwise pdftk creates
a new document ID for the output PDF. When no operation is
given, pdftk always uses the ID from the (single) input PDF.
[drop_xfa]
If your input PDF is a form created using Acrobat 7 or Adobe
Designer, then it probably has XFA data. Filling such a form
using pdftk yields a PDF with data that fails to display in
Acrobat 7 (and 6?). The workaround solution is to remove the
form's XFA data, either before you fill the form using pdftk or
at the time you fill the form. Using this option causes pdftk to
omit the XFA data from the output PDF form.
This option is only needed when running pdftk on a single input
PDF. When assembling a PDF from multiple inputs using pdftk,
any XFA data in the input is automatically omitted.
[verbose]
By default, pdftk runs quietly. Append verbose to the end and it
will speak up.
[dont_ask | do_ask]
Depending on the compile-time settings (see ASK_ABOUT_WARNINGS),
pdftk might prompt you for further input when it encounters a
problem, such as a bad password. Override this default behavior
by adding dont_ask (so pdftk won't ask you what to do) or do_ask
(so pdftk will ask you what to do).
When running in dont_ask mode, pdftk will over-write files with
its output without notice.
Program Downloads and PackagesPdftk runs on a variety of platforms, including: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and Solaris. Installation packages are available for some of these platforms. If a package is not available for your platform, then download the source code and build pdftk as described later. Note that some of these packages might not provide the latest version of pdftk (1.41). Check the version history to see how well an older version of pdftk might suit your needs. Windows Program DownloadDownload and unzip the following file. Move the resulting pdftk.exe to a convenient location, such as C:\windows\system32. Open a command prompt and type pdftk --help. You should get the above documentation.
Debian PackagesPdftk 1.12 is now part of Sarge (stable). More recent versions are available for Etch (testing) and Sid (unstable). Thanks to Aurélien Jarno for debianizing pdftk, and thanks to Aurélien GÉRÔME for now maintaining the debian package! Ubuntu PackagesUbuntu users also have pdftk packages. Macintosh OS X Panther InstallerScott E. Lasley has kindly provided this pdftk 1.12 installer package for OS X 10.3 users. OS X 10.2 users must build pdftk as described below. David Rendon informed me of a Mac alternative to pdftk called Combine PDFs. SuSE 10 RPM Package DownloadOlé! SuSE provides pdftk with their latest versions. SuSE 9.2 RPM Package DownloadBernhard Walle has kindly provided binary and source RPMs for pdftk 1.12. SuSE 9.0 RPM Package DownloadTristan Miller has kindly provided a binary RPM for pdftk 1.00. He says it should also work for SuSE 8.2 users and other i386-compatible GNU/Linux systems.
SuSE 8.2 RPM Package DownloadsFriedrich Lobenstock has kindly provided binary and source RPMs for SuSE 8.2 users.
Gentoo PackageThanks to Mamoru KOMACHI for creating and maintaining this package. FreeBSD PortThanks to Patrick Dung for porting pdftk to FreeBSD.
Source Download and Build InstructionsI built pdftk 1.41 using gcc/gcj/libgcj versions 3.4.2. Pdftk 1.4x fails to build on gcc 3.3.5 due to missing libgcj features. If you have gcc 3.3, try building pdftk 1.12 instead. Gcc 3.2 folks might have some luck with the older pdftk versions, too. Please let me know what luck you have compiling pdftk with older versions of gcc. Different Linux distributions package libgcj differently; here are some examples (please e-mail me with updates and additions): Debian: libgcj5-dev, SuSE: libgcj-devel, Slackware: gcc-java (I believe). Windows Build NotesI build pdftk on my Windows system using MinGW and MSYS, gcc version 3.4.2. Mac OS X Build NotesMac OS X users must first build and/or install GCJ. John M. Gabriele has confirmed that pdftk builds and runs on OS X. You will need to edit Makefile.MacOSX and change TOOLPATH to reflect the location of your GCJ toolset. Brian D. Foy shares your frustration at having to build GCJ. Please e-mail me with any links to GCJ installers for OS X. Peter Hartmann reports:
Thanks, Peter! Maarten Sneep reports:
Thanks, Maarten! Source RPM Download for SuSE and Other RPM-Based Linux DistributionsBernhard Walle has kindly provided a source RPM for pdftk 1.12. From his download page: "... the SRPMs work for every RPM-based distribution. That is RedHat/Fedora, Mandrake, SuSE and some others. Just use rpmbuild --rebuild ....src.rpm to get a RPM for your Linux installation." SuSE 8.2 Build NotesStefan Armbruster notes: "The gcj version shipping with Suse 8.2 (it's gcc 3.3) seems to be buggy. After installing the recent gcc 3.4.1, pdftk compiles and runs fine. If you read the follow ups to http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/java/2003-04/msg00266.html, there is a reference to a gcj patch. This seems to be applied if 3.4.1." Download and Build pdftk
Bug Reporting and Feature RequestsPlease contact me with any bug reports or comments. Thanks! Related PagesVersion History
LicenseMy pdftk code is free software made available under the GPL. From pdftk.cc:
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SponsorsThis work is sponsored and hosted by AccessPDF. Copyright © 2003 – 2006, Sid Steward |
