Multifunctional tool for PDF files

PDF TO THE MAX

Article from Issue 59/2005
Author(s):

To manage the mountains of paper that cross our desks every day, we need to file, retrieve, copy, stamp, investigate, and classify documents. A special tool can help users keep on top of their electronic paperwork: pdftk – the PDF toolkit.

Native Linux PDF utilities such as GhostScript are very useful if you’re willing to click through the menus. But if you’re looking for something faster, or if you would like to automate a recurring task, try pdftk (the PDF Toolkit). pdftk is a convenient command-line program for processing PDF files. According to creator Sid Steward, "If PDF is electronic paper, then pdftk is an electronic staple-remover, hole-punch, binder, secret-decoder-ring, and X-Ray-glasses." Installation and Use

You can download the latest version of the PDF toolkit from one of the Sid Steward’s [1] websites. The GPL program is available for Linux, Mac OS X (Panther), FreeBSD, Solaris, and Windows. The platform-specific install proved to be quite simple on the platforms we tested (including Debian and SuSE Linux).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Tailored

    Go is not only suitable for complex server programs, but it also cuts a fine figure with simple command-line tools for automating everyday life. Mike Schilli restructures the signature of a PDF manipulation tool.

  • Extract Pages from a PDF File with a GUI Bash Script
  • Perl – Tagging e-Books in Evernote

    Google Drive lacks a mechanism for tagging files, so we look at two APIs that scripts can use to store metadata on Evernote, allowing searches of e-books by category or property.

  • KeyJnote

    KeyJnote is a PDF viewer with a difference, adding stylish 3D effects and powerful scripting to support impressive presentations

  • Malware Analysis

    Forensic experts can't just delete a sketchy file – sometimes the challenge is to see what is in it without triggering an attack. Learn about some of the tools investigators use for analyzing suspicious files.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News