OpenPDF

Language	Java 21+ (OpenPDF 2.1 and later; 2.0.x needs Java 17)
License	LGPL-2.1-or-later or MPL-2.0
Repository	github.com/LibrePDF/OpenPDF
Documentation	README and wiki, examples in the `openpdf-core` tests
Depends on	optional Bouncy Castle (encryption, signatures), ICU4J
Read / write	yes / yes: create with paragraphs, tables, images; merge, stamp, fill forms, encrypt, basic text extraction

OpenPDF continues iText 4, the last iText version under LGPL/MPL, so it has iText’s document model: Document, Paragraph, PdfPTable, Image, plus PdfReader, PdfStamper and PdfCopy to change existing files. It’s a good choice for generating reports and invoices in Java with a license that doesn’t force you to publish your code, and an easy migration from old iText 2/4 or iText 5 code.

OpenPDF 3.0 renamed the packages from com.lowagie.text to org.openpdf.text; older versions use the old names. Text extraction exists but is basic; for serious extraction use PDFBox. Two companion modules extend it: openpdf-html (HTML and CSS to PDF, a fork of Flying Saucer) and openpdf-renderer (renders pages to images).

Installation#

Maven:

XML

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.github.librepdf</groupId>
  <artifactId>openpdf</artifactId>
  <version>3.0.5</version>
</dependency>

Gradle:

implementation("com.github.librepdf:openpdf:3.0.5")

Basic usage: create a PDF with text and a table#

Java

import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import org.openpdf.text.Document;
import org.openpdf.text.Font;
import org.openpdf.text.FontFactory;
import org.openpdf.text.PageSize;
import org.openpdf.text.Paragraph;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfPTable;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfWriter;

public class Hello {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        Document document = new Document(PageSize.A4, 50, 50, 50, 50);
        try (FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("hello.pdf")) {
            PdfWriter.getInstance(document, out);
            document.addTitle("Hello");
            document.open();

            Font title = FontFactory.getFont(FontFactory.HELVETICA_BOLD, 24);
            document.add(new Paragraph("Hello, PDF!", title));
            document.add(new Paragraph("Created with OpenPDF."));

            PdfPTable table = new PdfPTable(2);
            table.setWidthPercentage(100);
            table.addCell("Item");
            table.addCell("Price");
            table.addCell("Widget");
            table.addCell("9.99");
            document.add(table);

            document.close();
        }
    }
}

How to merge PDF files#

Java

import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import org.openpdf.text.Document;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfCopy;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfReader;

Document document = new Document();
try (FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("merged.pdf")) {
    PdfCopy copy = new PdfCopy(document, out);
    document.open();
    for (String path : new String[] {"a.pdf", "b.pdf"}) {
        PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(path);
        for (int i = 1; i <= reader.getNumberOfPages(); i++)
            copy.addPage(copy.getImportedPage(reader, i));
        copy.freeReader(reader);
        reader.close();
    }
    document.close();
}

How to extract text from a PDF#

Java

import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfReader;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.parser.PdfTextExtractor;

PdfReader reader = new PdfReader("in.pdf");
PdfTextExtractor extractor = new PdfTextExtractor(reader);
for (int i = 1; i <= reader.getNumberOfPages(); i++)
    System.out.println(extractor.getTextFromPage(i));
reader.close();

How to fill a PDF form#

Java

import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.AcroFields;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfReader;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfStamper;

PdfReader reader = new PdfReader("form.pdf");
try (FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("filled.pdf")) {
    PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, out);
    AcroFields fields = stamper.getAcroFields();
    fields.getAllFields().keySet().forEach(System.out::println);
    fields.setField("name", "Jane Doe");
    stamper.setFormFlattening(true);  // optional
    stamper.close();
}
reader.close();

How to rotate pages, read metadata and encrypt#

Java

import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfName;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfNumber;
import org.openpdf.text.pdf.PdfWriter;

PdfReader reader = new PdfReader("in.pdf");
System.out.println("Title: " + reader.getInfo().get("Title"));

for (int i = 1; i <= reader.getNumberOfPages(); i++) {
    int rotation = reader.getPageRotation(i);
    reader.getPageN(i).put(PdfName.ROTATE, new PdfNumber((rotation + 90) % 360));
}

try (FileOutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("out.pdf")) {
    PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, out);
    stamper.setEncryption(
        "user".getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8),
        "owner".getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8),
        PdfWriter.ALLOW_PRINTING,
        PdfWriter.ENCRYPTION_AES_256_V3);
    stamper.close();
}
reader.close();

Encryption needs Bouncy Castle (org.bouncycastle:bcprov-jdk18on) on the classpath. Open an encrypted file with new PdfReader("in.pdf", "owner".getBytes()).

Tips#

Fonts: FontFactory.register("DejaVuSans.ttf") and BaseFont.createFont(path, BaseFont.IDENTITY_H, BaseFont.EMBEDDED) embed TrueType fonts for Unicode text.
PdfStamper.getOverContent(page) returns a canvas to draw watermarks or stamps on existing pages.
Add com.github.librepdf:openpdf-html to convert HTML and CSS to PDF, or com.github.librepdf:openpdf-renderer to render pages to images.