Open Source Python Library to Process PDF Files

Getting Started with PikePDF

PikePDF requires Python 3.6 and higher. You can install PikePDF using pip. Please use the following command to install it.

 pip install pikepdf

Copy Pages from One PDF to Other via Python

The open source PikePDF library provides the capability that enables software developers to copay page from one PDF to other with just a couple of lines of Python code. Copying pages between PDF objects will create a shallow copy of the source page within the target PDF file and therefore modifying the pages will not affect the original PDF documents. It is also possible to replace specific pages with custom content. It is also possible to copy pages within a particular PDF.

 # PDF Documents Manipulation 
  from pikepdf import Pdf
  new_pdf = Pdf.new()
  with Pdf.open('sample.pdf') as pdf:
    pdf.save('output.pdf') 
  
   # Copying pages from other PDFs
  pdf = Pdf.open('../tests/resources/fourpages.pdf')
  appendix = Pdf.open('../tests/resources/sandwich.pdf')
  pdf.pages.extend(appendix.pages)

PDF Splitting & Merging via Python

The PDF PikePDF library gives software developers the power to access existing PDF files and split it into multiple PDF files with ease. While splitting PDF all we require is that the new PDFs must hold the destination pages. The library also makes sure to transfer data associated with each page, so that every page stands on its own. The library also included support for merging or concatenating multiple PDF documents into a single one. It is also possible to reverse the order of the PDF pages with just a couple of lines of code.

 # PDF Splitting
  pdf = Pdf.open('../tests/resources/fourpages.pdf')
  for n, page in enumerate(pdf.pages):
  dst = Pdf.new()
  dst.pages.append(page)
  dst.save(f'{n:02d}.pdf')

  # Combine Multiple PDF pages into a single One

  from glob import glob
  pdf = Pdf.new()
  for file in glob('*.pdf'):
  src = Pdf.open(file)
  pdf.pages.extend(src.pages)
  pdf.save('merged.pdf')

Manage Images inside PDF Document via Python

The PDF PikePDF library makes it easy for software developers to handle images inside a PDF file using Python commands. The library has included several important functions related to image handling such as copying images within PDF page, open and view PDF, resizing images, manipulating images in a PDF, extracting images from PDF, replacing images, deleting an image from PDF, and many more.

 # Extract Image & Replace PDF Images
  import zlib
  rawimage = pdfimage.obj
  pillowimage = pdfimage.as_pil_image()
  greyscale = pillowimage.convert('L')
  greyscale = greyscale.resize((32, 32))
  rawimage.write(zlib.compress(greyscale.tobytes()), filter=Name("/FlateDecode"))
  rawimage.ColorSpace = Name("/DeviceGray")
  rawimage.Width, rawimage.Height = 32, 32

PDF Metadata Handling via Python

PDF metadata includes very useful information about a PDF document such as the author's name, date of creation & modification, keywords, copyright information, and so on. The PDF PikePDF library has included complete functionality for accessing & reading metadata, extracting metadata, delete metadata entries from PDF documents. The following code example shows how to extract metadata from PDF documents.

 # Extract PDF Metadata
  import pikepdf
  import sys

  # get the target pdf file from the command-line arguments
  pdf_filename = sys.argv[1]
  # read the pdf file
  pdf = pikepdf.Pdf.open(pdf_filename)
  docinfo = pdf.docinfo
  for key, value in docinfo.items():
    print(key, ":", value)