PDF files sometimes reference external resources such as images or other documents. To increase portability and ease archival of such PDF files, these resources can be embedded within the PDF itself. These are known as attachments or embedded files.
If you wish to extract these embedded files from a PDF using Java, you will need to use a third-party library since Java does not have built-in support for processing PDF files.
This tutorial uses JPedal.
How to extract embedded files from a PDF file programmatically
- Add JPedal to your class or module path (download the trial jar)
- Run the following Java code:
ExtractEmbeddedFiles.extractAllFilesFromPdf("inputFile.pdf", "outputFolder");
How to extract embedded files from a PDF file using the commandline
- Add JPedal to your class or module path (download the trial jar)
- Run the following command:
java -cp jpedal.jar org.jpedal.examples.acroform.ExtractEmbeddedFiles inputFile.pdf outputFolder
You can expand your understanding of the PDF format by reading our other articles. Similarly, if there is a specific term for PDF you would like to know more about, our PDF Glossary has an extensive list of common terms.
The JPedal PDF library allows you to solve these problems in Java
//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ExtractClippedImages.writeAllClippedImagesToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", "outputImageFormat", new String[] {"imageHeightAsFloat", "subDirectoryForHeight"});
final PdfManipulator pdf = new PdfManipulator();
pdf.loadDocument(new File("inputFile.pdf"));
pdf.addPage(1, PaperSize.A4_LANDSCAPE);
pdf.addText(1, "Hello World", 10, 10, BaseFont.HelveticaBold, 12, 1, 0.3f, 0.2f);
pdf.addImage(1, new BufferedImage(), new float[] {0, 0, 100, 100});
pdf.rotatePage(1, 90);
pdf.apply();
pdf.writeDocument(new File("outputFile.pdf"));Viewer viewer = new Viewer();
viewer.setupViewer();
viewer.executeCommand(ViewerCommands.OPENFILE, "pdfFile.pdf");
//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ExtractTextAsWordList.writeAllWordlistsToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", -1);
PdfMerge.mergeFiles(new File("inputFile1.pdf"), new File("inputFile2.pdf"), new File("outputFile.pdf"));
PdfManipulator.splitInHalf(new File("inputFile.pdf"), new File("outputFolder"), pageToSplitAt);PrintPdfPages print = new PrintPdfPages("C:/pdfs/mypdf.pdf");
if (print.openPDFFile()) {
print.printAllPages("Printer Name");
}//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ExtractClippedImages.writeAllClippedImagesToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", "outputImageFormat", new String[] {"imageHeightAsFloat", "subDirectoryForHeight"});
//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ArrayList resultsForPages = FindTextInRectangle.findTextOnAllPages("/path/to/file.pdf", "textToFind");
java -jar jpedal.jar --inspect "inputFile.pdf"PdfSigner.signPdf(
"inputFile.pdf",
"outputFile.pdf",
"keystorePassword",
"keystoreFile.p12",
"signerName",
"signerLocation",
"signingReason",
ACCESS_PERMISSION.P1
);What is JPedal?
JPedal is a commercial Java PDF Library that makes it easy for Java developers to work with PDF Documents in Java.
Why use JPedal?
JPedal makes it much easier to work with PDF files from Java. Because we have been actively developing our Java PDF Toolkit for over 20 years, it works with all those problem PDF files out there.
What licenses are available?
We have 2 licenses available:
'Server' for on premises and cloud servers and 'OEM' for use in a named end user applications. Both are one time fees with options support renewal after 12 months.
How to use JPedal?
Want to learn more about JPedal and how to use it, we have plenty of tutorials and guides to help you.
