The PdfFileReader Class

class PyPDF2.pdf.PdfFileReader(stream, strict=True, warndest=None, overwriteWarnings=True)[source]

Bases: object

Initialize a PdfFileReader object.

This operation can take some time, as the PDF stream’s cross-reference tables are read into memory.

Parameters

stream – A File object or an object that supports the standard read and seek methods similar to a File object. Could also be a string representing a path to a PDF file.
strict (bool) – Determines whether user should be warned of all problems and also causes some correctable problems to be fatal. Defaults to True.
warndest – Destination for logging warnings (defaults to sys.stderr).
overwriteWarnings (bool) – Determines whether to override Python’s warnings.py module with a custom implementation (defaults to True).

cacheGetIndirectObject(generation, idnum)[source]

cacheIndirectObject(generation, idnum, obj)[source]

decode_permissions(permissions_code)[source]

decrypt(password)[source]

When using an encrypted / secured PDF file with the PDF Standard encryption handler, this function will allow the file to be decrypted. It checks the given password against the document’s user password and owner password, and then stores the resulting decryption key if either password is correct.

It does not matter which password was matched. Both passwords provide the correct decryption key that will allow the document to be used with this library.

Parameters: password (str) – The password to match.
Returns: 0 if the password failed, 1 if the password matched the user password, and 2 if the password matched the owner password.
Return type: int
Raises: NotImplementedError – if document uses an unsupported encryption method.

property documentInfo: Read-only property that accesses the getDocumentInfo() function.

getDestinationPageNumber(destination)[source]

Retrieve page number of a given Destination object

Parameters: destination (Destination) – The destination to get page number. Should be an instance of Destination
Returns: the page number or -1 if page not found
Return type: int

getDocumentInfo()[source]

Retrieve the PDF file’s document information dictionary, if it exists. Note that some PDF files use metadata streams instead of docinfo dictionaries, and these metadata streams will not be accessed by this function.

Returns: the document information of this PDF file
Return type: DocumentInformation or None if none exists.

getFields(tree=None, retval=None, fileobj=None)[source]

Extracts field data if this PDF contains interactive form fields. The tree and retval parameters are for recursive use.

Parameters: fileobj – A file object (usually a text file) to write a report to on all interactive form fields found.
Returns: A dictionary where each key is a field name, and each value is a Field object. By default, the mapping name is used for keys.
Return type: dict, or None if form data could not be located.

getFormTextFields()[source]: Retrieves form fields from the document with textual data (inputs, dropdowns)

getIsEncrypted()[source]

getNamedDestinations(tree=None, retval=None)[source]

Retrieves the named destinations present in the document.

Returns: a dictionary which maps names to Destinations.
Return type: dict

getNumPages()[source]

Calculates the number of pages in this PDF file.

Returns: number of pages
Return type: int
Raises: PdfReadError – if file is encrypted and restrictions prevent this action.

getObject(indirectReference)[source]

getOutlines(node=None, outlines=None)[source]

Retrieve the document outline present in the document.

Returns: a nested list of Destinations.

getPage(pageNumber)[source]

Retrieves a page by number from this PDF file.

Parameters: pageNumber (int) – The page number to retrieve (pages begin at zero)
Returns: a PageObject instance.
Return type: PageObject

getPageLayout()[source]

Get the page layout.

See setPageLayout() for a description of valid layouts.

Returns: Page layout currently being used.
Return type: str, None if not specified

getPageMode()[source]

Get the page mode. See setPageMode() for a description of valid modes.

Returns: Page mode currently being used.
Return type: str, None if not specified

getPageNumber(page)[source]

Retrieve page number of a given PageObject

Parameters: page (PageObject) – The page to get page number. Should be an instance of PageObject
Returns: the page number or -1 if page not found
Return type: int

getXmpMetadata()[source]

Retrieve XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) data from the PDF document root.

Returns: a XmpInformation instance that can be used to access XMP metadata from the document.
Return type: XmpInformation or None if no metadata was found on the document root.

property isEncrypted: Read-only boolean property showing whether this PDF file is encrypted. Note that this property, if true, will remain true even after the decrypt() method is called.

property namedDestinations: Read-only property that accesses the getNamedDestinations() function.

property numPages: Read-only property that accesses the getNumPages() function.

property outlines: Read-only property that accesses the getOutlines() function.

property pageLayout: Read-only property accessing the getPageLayout() method.

property pageMode: Read-only property accessing the getPageMode() method.

property pages: Read-only property that emulates a list based upon the getNumPages() and getPage() methods.

read(stream)[source]

readNextEndLine(stream, limit_offset=0)[source]

readObjectHeader(stream)[source]

property xmpMetadata: Read-only property that accesses the getXmpMetadata() function.