lopdf

A Rust library for PDF document manipulation.

Example Code

• Create PDF document

extern crate lopdf;
use lopdf::{Document, Object, Dictionary, Stream, StringFormat};
use lopdf::content::{Content, Operation};
use Object::Reference;
use std::iter::FromIterator;

let mut doc = Document::new();
doc.version = "1.5".to_string();
let pages_id = doc.new_object_id();
let font_id = doc.add_object(
	Dictionary::from_iter(vec![
		("Type", "Font".into()),
		("Subtype", "Type1".into()),
		("BaseFont", "Courier".into()),
	])
);
let resources_id = doc.add_object(
	Dictionary::from_iter(vec![
		("Font", Dictionary::from_iter(vec![
			("F1", Reference(font_id)),
		]).into()),
	])
);
let content = Content{operations: vec![
	Operation::new("BT", vec![]),
	Operation::new("Tf", vec!["F1".into(), 48.into()]),
	Operation::new("Td", vec![100.into(), 600.into()]),
	Operation::new("Tj", vec![Object::String(b"Hello World!".to_vec(), StringFormat::Literal)]),
	Operation::new("ET", vec![]),
]};
let content_id = doc.add_object(Stream::new(Dictionary::new(), content.encode().unwrap()));
let page_id = doc.add_object(
	Dictionary::from_iter(vec![
		("Type", "Page".into()),
		("Parent", Reference(pages_id)),
		("Contents", vec![Reference(content_id)].into()),
	])
);
let pages = Dictionary::from_iter(vec![
	("Type", "Pages".into()),
	("Kids", vec![Reference(page_id)].into()),
	("Count", 1.into()),
	("Resources", Reference(resources_id)),
	("MediaBox", vec![0.into(), 0.into(), 595.into(), 842.into()].into()),
]);
doc.objects.insert(pages_id, Object::Dictionary(pages));
let catalog_id = doc.add_object(
	Dictionary::from_iter(vec![
		("Type", "Catalog".into()),
		("Pages", Reference(pages_id)),
	])
);
doc.trailer.set("Root", Reference(catalog_id));
doc.compress();
doc.save("example.pdf").unwrap();

• Modify PDF document

let mut doc = Document::load("example.pdf")?;
doc.version = "1.4".to_string();
if let Some(content_stream) = doc.objects.get_mut(&(3, 0)) {
	match *content_stream {
		Object::Stream(ref mut stream) => {
			let mut content = stream.decode_content().unwrap();
			content.operations[3].operands[0] = Object::String(
				b"Modified text!".to_vec(),
				StringFormat::Literal);
			stream.set_content(content.encode().unwrap());
		},
		_ => ()
	}
}
doc.save("modified.pdf")?;

FAQ

• Why keeping everything in memory as high-level objects until finallay serializing the entire document?

  Normally a PDF document won't be very large, ranging form tens of KB to hundreds of MB. Memory size is not a bottle neck for today's computer. By keep the whole document in memory, stream length can be pre-calculated, no need to use a reference object for the Length entry, the resulting PDF file is smaller for distribution and faster for PDF consumers to process.

  Producing is a one-time effort, while consuming is many more.