pdftk_notes []

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==== extract some pages ====
To get pages 11-19 (inclusive on both sides) of a pdf file
  pdftk A=in.pdf cat A11-19 output out.pdf

Tested using
<code>
 % pdftk --version
pdftk port to java 3.3.2 a Handy Tool for Manipulating PDF Documents
</code>

==== replace a page with another pdf ====
To replace pg-16 of a pdf with another pdf. Assume that the later consists of only one single page.

<code>
pdftk A=initial.pdf B=insertAsPg16.pdf cat A1-15 B1 A17-end output final.pdf
</code>

Tested using

<code>
% pdftk --version

pdftk 2.01 a Handy Tool for Manipulating PDF Documents
Copyright (C) 2003-13, Sid Steward - Please Visit: www.pdftk.com
This is free software; see the source code for copying conditions. There is
NO warranty, not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
</code>

==== rotate pages by 180 degrees ====
<code>
pdftk in.pdf cat 1-endsouth output out.pdf
</code>

Ref:- https://people.uleth.ca/~daniel.odonnell/blog/rotating-one-or-more-pages-in-a-pdf-in-linux - where I found the above solution.

==== store a pdf without password ====
tags | remove password pdf

<code>
qpdf --password=YOURPASSWORD --decrypt input.pdf output.pdf
</code>
If the password has some special characters, quote it.

<code>
qpdf --password="YOURPASSWORD" --decrypt input.pdf output.pdf
</code>

<code>
pdftk secured.pdf input_pw YOURPASSWORD output unsecured.pdf
</code>

Note:- If possible switch to using qpdf instead of pdftk. There were couple of instances where the pdftk command failed and qpdf succeeded.

Ref:- https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/removing-password-from-pdf-on-linux/ - Mentions qpdf; gives more alternatives.

==== encrypt a pdf with password ====
<code>
pdftk in.pdf output out.pdf user_pw foo
</code>

Ref:- http://askubuntu.com/questions/258848/is-there-a-tool-that-can-add-a-password-to-a-pdf-file

Note:- I was unable to encrypt a pdf file using Adobe Reader X1 Version 11.0.13 . I could not find the "Tools pane" described in <nowiki>http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/acrobat/pdfs/adobe-acrobat-xi-protect-pdf-file-with-permissions-tutorial-ue.pdf</nowiki>. I also tried File -> Properties -> Security after opening the file. However all the options in that window are greyed out. So I can't add a password from there as well. I was told that Adobe Standard can do this but it costs money whereas pdftk is free. In the end, using pdftk was a no brainer.

==== make two copies of the same document ====
<code>
pdftk in.pdf cat 1-end 1-end output out.pdf
</code>

See also: https://superuser.com/questions/600877/how-do-i-duplicate-pages-within-pdf-files-automatically - has a script to duplicate it by page (as in 1,1,2,2,...)

==== debian package ====
  * pdftk-java

==== external links ====
  * Enricon Zini talks about using pdfk and inkscape to add signatures to pdf documents - http://www.enricozini.org/blog/2016/pdftk-inkscape/