PDF to PDF / HTTP API Reference

Conversion Format

input_format

The format of input file.

Allowed Values:
  • pdf

PDF Manipulation

action

Specifies the action to be performed on the input PDFs.

Default:
join
Allowed Values:
  • join — Concatenate input PDFs into a single one.
  • shuffle — Collate pages from input PDFs into a single one, take one page at a time from each input PDF. This is useful when combining two scanned documents containing odd and even pages.
  • extract — Extract pages from input PDF.
  • delete — Delete pages from input PDF.

input_pdf_password

Password to open the encrypted PDF file.

Availability:
Available for converters >= 20.10. See versioning.

page_range

Set the page range for extract or delete action.

Constraint:
  • A comma separated list of page numbers or ranges.
Examples:
  • Just the second page is selected: 2
  • The first and the third page are selected: 1,3
  • Everything except the first page is selected: 2-
  • Just first 3 pages are selected: -3
  • Pages 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are selected: 3,6-9

Response

output_name

The file name of the created file (max 180 chars). If not specified then the name is auto-generated.

content_disposition

The value of the Content-Disposition HTTP header sent in the response.

Default:
attachment
Allowed Values:
  • attachment — Forces the browser to pop up a Save As dialog.
  • inline — The browser will open the result file in the browser window.

Watermark & Background

page_watermark

Apply a watermark to each page of the output PDF file. A watermark can be either a PDF or an image. If a multi-page file (PDF or TIFF) is used, the first page is used as the watermark.

Constraint:
  • The file must exist and not be empty.
Examples:
  • Multi-page PDF for watermarking: /home/user/john/watermark.pdf
  • Transparent PNG overlay: /home/user/john/watermark.png

page_watermark_url

Load a file from the specified URL and apply the file as a watermark to each page of the output PDF. A watermark can be either a PDF or an image. If a multi-page file (PDF or TIFF) is used, the first page is used as the watermark.

Constraint:
  • Supported protocols are http:// and https://.
Examples:
  • Download watermark from server: http://myserver.com/watermark.pdf
  • Remote logo watermark: http://myserver.com/watermark.png

multipage_watermark

Apply each page of a watermark to the corresponding page of the output PDF. A watermark can be either a PDF or an image.

Constraint:
  • The file must exist and not be empty.
Examples:
  • Multi-page PDF for watermarking: /home/user/john/watermark.pdf
  • Transparent PNG overlay: /home/user/john/watermark.png

multipage_watermark_url

Load a file from the specified URL and apply each page of the file as a watermark to the corresponding page of the output PDF. A watermark can be either a PDF or an image.

Constraint:
  • Supported protocols are http:// and https://.
Examples:
  • Download watermark from server: http://myserver.com/watermark.pdf
  • Remote logo watermark: http://myserver.com/watermark.png

page_background

Apply a background to each page of the output PDF file. A background can be either a PDF or an image. If a multi-page file (PDF or TIFF) is used, the first page is used as the background.

Constraint:
  • The file must exist and not be empty.
Examples:
  • PDF template background: /home/user/john/background.pdf
  • Image texture background: /home/user/john/background.png

page_background_url

Load a file from the specified URL and apply the file as a background to each page of the output PDF. A background can be either a PDF or an image. If a multi-page file (PDF or TIFF) is used, the first page is used as the background.

Constraint:
  • Supported protocols are http:// and https://.
Examples:
  • Download template background: http://myserver.com/background.pdf
  • Remote background pattern: http://myserver.com/background.png

multipage_background

Apply each page of a background to the corresponding page of the output PDF. A background can be either a PDF or an image.

Constraint:
  • The file must exist and not be empty.
Examples:
  • PDF template background: /home/user/john/background.pdf
  • Image texture background: /home/user/john/background.png

multipage_background_url

Load a file from the specified URL and apply each page of the file as a background to the corresponding page of the output PDF. A background can be either a PDF or an image.

Constraint:
  • Supported protocols are http:// and https://.
Examples:
  • Download template background: http://myserver.com/background.pdf
  • Remote background pattern: http://myserver.com/background.png

PDF Format

Miscellaneous values for PDF output.

linearize

Create linearized PDF. This is also known as Fast Web View.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

encrypt

Encrypt the PDF. This prevents search engines from indexing the contents.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

user_password

Protect the PDF with a user password. When a PDF has a user password, it must be supplied in order to view the document and to perform operations allowed by the access permissions.

Example:
  • Simple document password: 123456

owner_password

Protect the PDF with an owner password. Supplying an owner password grants unlimited access to the PDF including changing the passwords and access permissions.

Example:
  • Admin access password: 123456

no_print

Disallow printing of the output PDF.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

no_modify

Disallow modification of the output PDF.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

no_copy

Disallow text and graphics extraction from the output PDF.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

title

Set the title of the PDF.

Example:
  • Personal CV title: My Resume

subject

Set the subject of the PDF.

Example:
  • Technical position subject: CV - Software Developer

author

Set the author of the PDF.

Example:
  • Document author name: John Doe

keywords

Associate keywords with the document.

Example:
  • Technical skills for searchability: software developer, Unix, databases

use_metadata_from

Use metadata (title, subject, author and keywords) from the n-th input PDF.

Constraint:
  • Must be a positive integer or 0.
Example:
  • Use metadata from the first input PDF: 1

Viewer Preferences

These preferences specify how a PDF viewer should present the document. The preferences may be ignored by some PDF viewers.

page_layout

Specify the page layout to be used when the document is opened.

Allowed Values:
  • single-page — Display one page at a time.
  • one-column — Display the pages in one column.
  • two-column-left — Display the pages in two columns, with odd-numbered pages on the left.
  • two-column-right — Display the pages in two columns, with odd-numbered pages on the right.

page_mode

Specify how the document should be displayed when opened.

Allowed Values:
  • full-screen — Full-screen mode.
  • thumbnails — Thumbnail images are visible.
  • outlines — Document outline is visible.

initial_zoom_type

Specify how the page should be displayed when opened.

Allowed Values:
  • fit-width — The page content is magnified just enough to fit the entire width of the page within the window.
  • fit-height — The page content is magnified just enough to fit the entire height of the page within the window.
  • fit-page — The page content is magnified just enough to fit the entire page within the window both horizontally and vertically. If the required horizontal and vertical magnification factors are different, use the smaller of the two, centering the page within the window in the other dimension.

initial_page

Display the specified page when the document is opened.

Constraint:
  • Must be a positive integer.
Example:
  • Start at second page: 2

initial_zoom

Specify the initial page zoom in percents when the document is opened.

Constraint:
  • Must be a positive integer.
Example:
  • Half-size zoom level: 50

hide_toolbar

Specify whether to hide the viewer application's tool bars when the document is active.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

hide_menubar

Specify whether to hide the viewer application's menu bar when the document is active.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

hide_window_ui

Specify whether to hide user interface elements in the document's window (such as scroll bars and navigation controls), leaving only the document's contents displayed.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

fit_window

Specify whether to resize the document's window to fit the size of the first displayed page.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

center_window

Specify whether to position the document's window in the center of the screen.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

display_title

Specify whether the window's title bar should display the document title. If false , the title bar should instead display the name of the PDF file containing the document.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

right_to_left

Set the predominant reading order for text to right-to-left. This option has no direct effect on the document's contents or page numbering but can be used to determine the relative positioning of pages when displayed side by side or printed n-up

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

Miscellaneous

debug_log

Turn on the debug logging. Details about the conversion are stored in the debug log. The URL of the log is returned in the x-pdfcrowd-debug-log response header or available in conversion statistics.

Default:
false
Allowed Values:
  • true, 1 or on
  • false, 0 or off

tag

Tag the conversion with a custom value. The tag is used in conversion statistics. A value longer than 32 characters is cut off.

Example:
  • Track job in analytics: client-1234