__pmaf - Linux

Overview

pmaf is a powerful command-line tool for analyzing and manipulating PDF files. It offers a range of features for document inspection, annotation, and data extraction. pmaf is ideal for tasks like forensics, research, and document processing.

Syntax

__pmaf [options] [input_file] [output_file]

Options/Flags

• -a, –annotate: Add or manipulate annotations in the PDF.
• -e, –extract: Extract text, images, or metadata from the PDF.
• -i, –inspect: Inspect the PDF’s structure and properties.
• -m, –modify: Modify the PDF’s content or appearance.
• -o, –output: Specify the output file path (default: stdout).
• -p, –password: Decrypt the PDF with a password.
• -s, –search: Search for specific text or patterns in the PDF.
• -v, –verbose: Enable verbose output for debugging.
• -h, –help: Display help information.

Examples

Extract text from a PDF:

__pmaf -e text input.pdf output.txt

Inspect the PDF’s structure:

__pmaf -i input.pdf

Annotate a PDF with a text note:

__pmaf -a note input.pdf output.pdf "Important note"

Modify the appearance of a page:

__pmaf -m page_layout input.pdf output.pdf --set-page-size A4

Common Issues

• Incorrect password: If the input PDF is encrypted and you provide an incorrect password, pmaf will fail to decrypt it.
• Invalid output file: Ensure that the specified output file path is valid and writable.

Integration

pmaf can be integrated with other tools to create powerful workflows:

sed -n '/Important note/p' | __pmaf -e text input.pdf -  | grep -i "confidential"

This command combines sed, pmaf, and grep to search for the text "Important note" and then check the extracted text for the word "confidential".

Related Commands

• pdftk: Another PDF manipulation tool with a different feature set.
• pdfinfo: Provides information about a PDF file.
• pdfgrep: Searches for text within a PDF file.