How to use pdf-lib - 10 common examples

// JavaScript runtime (e.g. Node, the browser, or React Native).

// Here we add the page's to the document. This step is what will cause the
// pages to actually be rendered when the document is opened. Our previous calls
// to `pdfDoc.createPage` only **created** the pages, they did not add them to
// the document.
pdfDoc.insertPage(0, page1).addPage(page3);

// Now we'll convert the `pdfDoc` to a `Uint8Array` containing the bytes of a
// PDF document. This step serializes the document. You can still make changes
// to the document after this step, but you'll have to call `saveToBytes` again
// after doing so.
//
// The `Uint8Array` returned here can be used in a number of ways. What you do
// with it largely depends on the JavaScript environment you're running in.
const pdfBytes = PDFDocumentWriter.saveToBytes(pdfDoc);

/* ========================== 7. Write PDF to File ========================== */
// This step is platform dependent. Since this is a Node script, we can just
// save the `pdfBytes` to the file system, where it can be opened with a PDF
// reader.
const filePath = `${__dirname}/modified.pdf`;
fs.writeFileSync(filePath, pdfBytes);
console.log(`PDF file written to: ${filePath}`);

// JavaScript runtime (e.g. Node, the browser, or React Native).

// Here we add the page's to the document. This step is what will cause the
// pages to actually be rendered when the document is opened. Our previous calls
// to `pdfDoc.createPage` only **created** the pages, they did not add them to
// the document.
pdfDoc.addPage(page1).addPage(page2);

// Now we'll convert the `pdfDoc` to a `Uint8Array` containing the bytes of a
// PDF document. This step serializes the document. You can still make changes
// to the document after this step, but you'll have to call `saveToBytes` again
// after doing so.
//
// The `Uint8Array` returned here can be used in a number of ways. What you do
// with it largely depends on the JavaScript environment you're running in.
const pdfBytes = PDFDocumentWriter.saveToBytes(pdfDoc);

/* ========================== 6. Write PDF to File ========================== */
// This step is platform dependent. Since this is a Node script, we can just
// save the `pdfBytes` to the file system, where it can be opened with a PDF
// reader.
const filePath = `${__dirname}/new.pdf`;
fs.writeFileSync(filePath, pdfBytes);
console.log(`PDF file written to: ${filePath}`);

if (pdfWidth) {
        pdfOptions.width = pdfWidth
      }
      const pdfHeight = doc.getAttributes()['pdf-height']
      if (pdfHeight) {
        pdfOptions.height = pdfHeight
      }
      const format = doc.getAttributes()['pdf-format']
      if (format) {
        pdfOptions.format = format // Paper format. If set, takes priority over width or height options. Defaults to 'Letter'.
      }

      let pdf = await page.pdf(pdfOptions)
      // Outline is not yet implemented in Chromium, so we add it manually here.
      // https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=840455
      let pdfDoc = await PDFDocument.load(pdf)
      pdfDoc = await addOutline(pdfDoc, doc)
      pdfDoc = await addMetadata(pdfDoc, doc)
      pdf = await pdfDoc.save()
      if (outputToStdout) {
        console.log(pdf.toString())
      } else {
        fsExtra.writeFileSync(outputFile, pdf)
      }
    }
  } catch (err) {
    console.log('Unable to generate the PDF - Error: ' + err.toString())
  } finally {
    if (watch || preview) {
      if (!watch) {
        console.log('Preview mode entered, needs to be manually terminated using Ctrl+C!')
        await new Promise(resolve => {})

const MARIO_PNG_WIDTH = marioPngDims.width * 0.15;
const MARIO_PNG_HEIGHT = marioPngDims.height * 0.15;

// Here, we define a new "content stream" for the page. A content stream is
// simply a sequence of PDF operators that define what we want to draw on the
// page.
const newContentStream = pdfDoc.createContentStream(
  // `drawImage` is a "composite" PDF operator that lets us easily draw an image
  // on a page's content stream. "composite" just means that it is composed of
  // several lower-level PDF operators. Usually, you'll want to work with
  // composite operators - they make things a lot easier! The naming convention
  // for composite operators is "draw".
  //
  // Here we draw the image of Mario on the page's content stream. We'll draw
  // him centered horizontally in the top half of the page.
  drawImage(MARIO_PNG, {
    x: 200,
    y: 350,
    width: MARIO_PNG_WIDTH,
    height: MARIO_PNG_HEIGHT,
  }),
  // Now let's draw 2 lines of red Courier text near the bottom of the page.
  drawLinesOfText(['This text was added', 'with JavaScript!'], {
    x: 30,
    y: 150,
    font: COURIER_FONT,
    size: 48,
    colorRgb: [1, 0, 0],
  }),
);

// Here we (1) register the content stream to the PDF document, and (2) add the

const TEXT_BOX_WIDTH = 295;

// Let's define some RGB colors. Note that these arrays are of the form:
//   [, , ]
// where each color value must be in the range 0.0-1.0. Note that they should
// *not* be in the range 0-255 as they would be if you were writing CSS styles.
const SOLARIZED_WHITE = [253 / 255, 246 / 255, 227 / 255];
const SOLARIZED_GRAY = [101 / 255, 123 / 255, 131 / 255];

// Here, we define the second page's "content stream". A content stream is
// simply a sequence of PDF operators that define what we want to draw on the
// page.
const contentStream2 = pdfDoc.createContentStream(
  // Here we draw the image of Mario on the page's content stream. We'll draw
  // him centered horizontally in the top half of the page.
  drawImage(MARIO_PNG, {
    x: PAGE_2_WIDTH * 0.5 - MARIO_PNG_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_2_HEIGHT * 0.5,
    width: MARIO_PNG_WIDTH,
    height: MARIO_PNG_HEIGHT,
  }),
  // Next we'll draw a Solarized White rectangle with a Solarized Gray border
  // beneath the image of Mario. It will be centered horizontally in the page.
  drawRectangle({
    x: PAGE_2_WIDTH * 0.5 - TEXT_BOX_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_2_HEIGHT * 0.5 - 100,
    width: TEXT_BOX_WIDTH,
    height: 90,
    colorRgb: SOLARIZED_WHITE,
    borderWidth: 4,
    borderColorRgb: SOLARIZED_GRAY,
  }),

drawText('This PDF was Created with JavaScript!', {
    x: 85,
    y: PAGE_1_HEIGHT - 48,
    font: HELVETIVA_FONT,
    size: 24,
  }),
  drawText(helveticaFont.encodeText('Olé! - Œ'), {
    x: PAGE_1_WIDTH * 0.5 - 30,
    y: PAGE_1_HEIGHT - 48 - 30,
    font: HELVETIVA_FONT,
    size: 12,
  }),
  // Now we'll draw the Unicorn image on the page's content stream. We'll
  // position it a little bit below the text we just drew, and we'll center it
  // within the page.
  drawImage(UNICORN_JPG, {
    x: PAGE_1_WIDTH * 0.5 - UNICORN_JPG_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_1_HEIGHT * 0.5,
    width: UNICORN_JPG_WIDTH,
    height: UNICORN_JPG_HEIGHT,
  }),
  // Finally, let's draw an ellipse on the page's content stream. We'll draw it
  // below the image we just drew, and we'll center it within the page. We'll
  // color it cyan, with a purple border.
  drawEllipse({
    x: PAGE_1_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_1_HEIGHT * 0.2,
    xScale: 150,
    yScale: 50,
    borderWidth: 15,
    colorRgb: CYAN,
    borderColorRgb: PURPLE,

height: MARIO_PNG_HEIGHT,
  }),
  // Next we'll draw a Solarized White rectangle with a Solarized Gray border
  // beneath the image of Mario. It will be centered horizontally in the page.
  drawRectangle({
    x: PAGE_2_WIDTH * 0.5 - TEXT_BOX_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_2_HEIGHT * 0.5 - 100,
    width: TEXT_BOX_WIDTH,
    height: 90,
    colorRgb: SOLARIZED_WHITE,
    borderWidth: 4,
    borderColorRgb: SOLARIZED_GRAY,
  }),
  // Now we'll draw three lines of text within the rectangle we just drew. The
  // text will be drawn in the Ubuntu font colored Solarized Gray.
  drawLinesOfText(
    [
      'Here is a picture of Mario',
      'running. It was placed in',
      'this PDF using JavaScript!',
    ],
    {
      x: PAGE_2_WIDTH * 0.5 - TEXT_BOX_WIDTH * 0.5 + 10,
      y: PAGE_2_HEIGHT * 0.5 - 38,
      font: UBUNTU_FONT,
      size: 24,
      colorRgb: SOLARIZED_GRAY,
    },
  ),
);

// Here we (1) register the content stream to the PDF document, and (2) add the

// `drawImage` is a "composite" PDF operator that lets us easily draw an image
  // on a page's content stream. "composite" just means that it is composed of
  // several lower-level PDF operators. Usually, you'll want to work with
  // composite operators - they make things a lot easier! The naming convention
  // for composite operators is "draw".
  //
  // Here we draw the image of Mario on the page's content stream. We'll draw
  // him centered horizontally in the top half of the page.
  drawImage(MARIO_PNG, {
    x: 200,
    y: 350,
    width: MARIO_PNG_WIDTH,
    height: MARIO_PNG_HEIGHT,
  }),
  // Now let's draw 2 lines of red Courier text near the bottom of the page.
  drawLinesOfText(['This text was added', 'with JavaScript!'], {
    x: 30,
    y: 150,
    font: COURIER_FONT,
    size: 48,
    colorRgb: [1, 0, 0],
  }),
);

// Here we (1) register the content stream to the PDF document, and (2) add the
// reference to the registered stream to the page's content streams.
existingPage.addContentStreams(pdfDoc.register(newContentStream));

/* ================= 4. Setup and Create New First Page ===================== */
// This step is platform independent. The same code can be used in any
// JavaScript runtime (e.g. Node, the browser, or React Native).
const page1 = pdfDoc

// Here, we define the second page's "content stream". A content stream is
// simply a sequence of PDF operators that define what we want to draw on the
// page.
const contentStream2 = pdfDoc.createContentStream(
  // Here we draw the image of Mario on the page's content stream. We'll draw
  // him centered horizontally in the top half of the page.
  drawImage(MARIO_PNG, {
    x: PAGE_2_WIDTH * 0.5 - MARIO_PNG_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_2_HEIGHT * 0.5,
    width: MARIO_PNG_WIDTH,
    height: MARIO_PNG_HEIGHT,
  }),
  // Next we'll draw a Solarized White rectangle with a Solarized Gray border
  // beneath the image of Mario. It will be centered horizontally in the page.
  drawRectangle({
    x: PAGE_2_WIDTH * 0.5 - TEXT_BOX_WIDTH * 0.5,
    y: PAGE_2_HEIGHT * 0.5 - 100,
    width: TEXT_BOX_WIDTH,
    height: 90,
    colorRgb: SOLARIZED_WHITE,
    borderWidth: 4,
    borderColorRgb: SOLARIZED_GRAY,
  }),
  // Now we'll draw three lines of text within the rectangle we just drew. The
  // text will be drawn in the Ubuntu font colored Solarized Gray.
  drawLinesOfText(
    [
      'Here is a picture of Mario',
      'running. It was placed in',
      'this PDF using JavaScript!',
    ],

// This step is platform independent. The same code can be used in any
// JavaScript runtime (e.g. Node, the browser, or React Native).
const page1 = pdfDoc
  .createPage([600, 250])
  .addFontDictionary(UBUNTU_FONT, ubuntuFontRef);

// Let's define some RGB colors. Note that these arrays are of the form:
//   [, , ]
// where each color value must be in the range 0.0-1.0. Note that they should
// *not* be in the range 0-255 as they would be if you were writing CSS styles,
// which is why we are dividing each color component by 255.
const PURPLE = [119 / 255, 41 / 255, 83 / 255];
const ORANGE = [224 / 255, 90 / 255, 43 / 255];

const contentStream1 = pdfDoc.createContentStream(
  drawRectangle({
    width: 600,
    height: 250,
    colorRgb: PURPLE,
  }),
  drawLinesOfText(
    ['This is the new first page.', 'It was inserted with JavaScript!'],
    {
      x: 30,
      y: 130,
      font: UBUNTU_FONT,
      size: 38,
      colorRgb: ORANGE,
    },
  ),
);