Develop Reference

Why is my copied PDF file sized incorrect?

I need to remove the first few pages of a PDF file. Apparently, the easiest way to do that is to create a copy of it and not duplicate the unwanted pages. This works, but they look a lot smaller than they should. Any ideas?
How it should look
How it actually looks
private static void ClipSpecificPDF(string input, string output, int pagesToCut)
{
PdfReader myReader = new PdfReader(input);
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(output, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None))
{
using (Document doc = new Document())
{
using (PdfWriter myWriter = PdfWriter.GetInstance(doc, fs))
{
//Open the desitination for writing
doc.Open();
//Loop through each page that we want to keep
for (int i = pagesToCut; i < myReader.NumberOfPages; i++)
{
//Add a new blank page to destination document
var PS = myReader.GetPageSizeWithRotation(i);
myWriter.SetPageSize(PS);
doc.NewPage();
//Extract the given page from our reader and add it directly to the destination PDF
myWriter.DirectContent.AddTemplate(myWriter.GetImportedPage(myReader, i + 1), 0, 0);
}
//Close our document
doc.Close();
}
}
}
}

The problem you describe is explained in the FAQ. For instance in the answer to the questions:
How to merge documents correctly?
Why does the function to concatenate / merge PDFs cause issues in some cases?
Using PdfWriter to manipulate PDF documents is a very bad idea. Read chapter 6 of my book to discover why this is a bad idea, and take a look at Table 6.1 to find out which class is a better fit.
In the same chapter, you'll find the SelectPages example. Suppose that you want to create a new PDF containing only page 4 to 8. In that case, you simply use the SelectPages() method and PdfStamper:
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(src);
reader.SelectPages("4-8");
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileStream(dest, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write));
stamper.Close();
reader.Close();
By using PdfReader, the page size is preserved, as well as any of the interactive features that may be present.
Your approach is bad because you do not respect the original page size: you copy a document with letter (?) format to a document with A4 pages. If the origin of the page doesn't correspond with the lower-left corner, parts of your document will be invisible. If there are interactive features in your PDF, they will be lost. Of all the possible examples you could have followed, you picked the worst one...

Drawing on PDF using ITextSharp, without creating a new PDF

i try to draw simple shapes (rectangles, circles..) on an existing PDF using ITextSharp, without having to create a new PDF. I found a post who talk about this issue (itextsharp modify existing pdf (no new source pdf) and add watermark) and i would like to know if anybody could tell me more about it.
my aim is to modify a pdf by adding a circle on it, the current solution involve the creation of a new PDF (Itextsharp). Is it possible to add a circle on a PDF without creating a new one ?
Thank you.
J.

You can't read a file and write to it simultaneously. Think of how Word works: you can't open a Word document and write directly to it. Word always creates a temporary file, writes the changes to it, then replaces the original file with it and then throws away the temporary file.
You can do that too:
read the original file with PdfReader,
create a temporary file for PdfStamper, and when you're done,
replace the original file with the temporary file.
Or:
read the original file into a byte[],
create PdfReader with this byte[], and
use the path to the original file for PdfStamper.
This second option is more dangerous, as you'll lose the original file if you do something that causes an exception in PdfStamper.
As for adding content with PdfStamper, please take a look at the section entitled "Manipulating existing PDFs" in the free ebook The Best iText Questions on StackOverflow. You'll find questions such as:
How to add a watermark to a PDF file?
How do I insert a hyperlink to another page with iTextSharp in an existing PDF?
iText - How to stamp image on existing PDF and create an anchor
...
All of these examples add content by creating a PdfContentByte instance like this:
PdfContentByte canvas = stamper.getOverContent(pagenumber);
It's this canvas you need to use when drawing a circle on the page with page number pagenumber. It is important that you use the correct coordinates when you do this. That's explained here: How to position text relative to page using iText?
Update:
Json posted the following code in the comments:
string oldFile = #"C:\Users\ae40394\Desktop\hello.pdf";
string newFile = #"C:\Users\ae40394\Desktop\NEW.pdf";
// creating a reader with the original PDF
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(oldFile);
Rectangle rect = reader.GetPageSize(1);
FileStream fs = new FileStream(newFile,FileMode.Create);
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, fs)) {
// modify the pdf content
PdfContentByte cb = stamper.GetOverContent(1);
cb.SetColorStroke(iTextSharp.text.BaseColor.GREEN);
cb.SetLineWidth(5f);
cb.Circle(rect.GetLeft() + 30, rect.GetBottom() + 30 ,20f);
cb.Stroke();
}
reader.Close();
File.Replace(#"C:\Users\ae40394\Desktop\NEW.pdf", #"C:\Users\ae40394\Desktop\hello.pdf", #"C:\Users\ae40394\Desktop\hello.pdf.bac");
I slightly adapted the code, because:
There is no need for a Document object,
The stamper is closed when using is closed,
When the stamper is closed, so is the FileStream
the coordinates of the circle were hard coded. I used the page size to make sure they are made relative to the origin of the coordinate system, although to be sure, you may also want to check if there's a Crop Box.

You CAN read a file and write to it simultaneously.
Here is an example:
private void button4_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (PdfReader pdfReader = new PdfReader(new FileStream(pdfInput, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read)))
{
using (PdfStamper pdfStamper = new PdfStamper(pdfReader, new FileStream(pdfInput, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None)))
{
PdfContentByte canvas = pdfStamper.GetUnderContent(1);
canvas.SetColorFill(BaseColor.YELLOW);
canvas.Rectangle(36, 786, 66, 16);
canvas.Fill();
}
}
// PDF Datei im Anschluss anzeigen/öffnen
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(pdfInput);
}

string oldFile = #"C:\...6166-21.pdf";
string newFile = #"C:\...NEW.pdf";
// open the reader
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(oldFile);
Rectangle size = reader.GetPageSizeWithRotation(1);
Document document = new Document(size);
FileStream fs = new FileStream(newFile, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(document, fs);
document.Open();
// the pdf content
PdfContentByte cb = writer.DirectContent;
cb.SetColorStroke(iTextSharp.text.BaseColor.GREEN);
cb.Circle(150f, 150f, 50f);
cb.Stroke();
// create the new page and add it to the pdf
PdfImportedPage page = writer.GetImportedPage(reader, 1);
cb.AddTemplate(page, 0, 0);
// close the streams and voilá the file should be changed :)
document.Close();
fs.Close();
writer.Close();
reader.Close();

How to add in reply to annotation using iTextSharp

I am trying to add a sticky note reply to in pdf using iTextSharp. I am able to create a new annotation in the pdf. But i cannot link it as child of an already existing annotation. I copied most of the properties in parent to its child. I copied it by analyzing the properties of a reply, by manually adding a reply from Adobe Reader. What I am missing is the property /IRT. It needs a reference to the parent popup. Like /IRT 16 0 R.
Below is the code i am trying.
private void annotateReplyPdf()
{
string outputFile = #"D:\temp\temp.pdf";
// Creating iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfReader object to read the Existing PDF Document
using (PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(FILE_NAME))
{
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(outputFile, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None))
{
// Creating iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfStamper object to write Data from iTextSharp.text.pdf.PdfReader object to FileStream object
using (PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, fs))
{
//get page 1
PdfDictionary pageDic = reader.GetPageN(1);
//get annotations in page 1
PdfArray pageAnnotsArray = pageDic.GetAsArray(PdfName.ANNOTS);
if (pageAnnotsArray != null)
{
PdfDictionary curAnnotDic = pageAnnotsArray.GetAsDict(0);
PdfArray rect = curAnnotDic.GetAsArray(PdfName.RECT);
Rectangle rectangle = new Rectangle(float.Parse(rect[0].ToString()), float.Parse(rect[1].ToString()), float.Parse(rect[2].ToString()), float.Parse(rect[3].ToString()));
PdfAnnotation newAnnot = new PdfAnnotation(stamper.Writer, rectangle);
newAnnot.Title = "john.conor";
var dtNow = DateTime.Now;
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.C, curAnnotDic.Get(PdfName.C));
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.CONTENTS, new PdfString("Reply using prog"));
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.CREATIONDATE, new PdfDate(dtNow));
// newAnnot.Put(PdfName.IRT, curAnnotDic.); stuck here
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.M, new PdfDate(dtNow));
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.NAME, curAnnotDic.Get(PdfName.NAME));
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.RC, curAnnotDic.Get(PdfName.RC));
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.SUBTYPE, PdfName.TEXT);
newAnnot.Put(PdfName.SUBJECT, curAnnotDic.Get(PdfName.SUBJECT));
stamper.AddAnnotation(newAnnot, 1);
}
}
}
}
}
The methods I have used might not be accurate or efficient, as most of the code were found by trial and error and checking other similar examples(also checking the pdf specification).
Can somebody please fill that code, which does the magic.
note: SO question doesn't provide a code for the answer.

Please take a look at the AddInReplyTo example.
We have a file named hello_sticky_note.pdf that looks like this:
I am going to skip the method to detect the annotation of the sticky note (in your question, you already have this code). In my example, I know that this annotation is the first entry in the /Annots array (the annotation with index 0).
This is how I'm going to add an "in reply to" annotation:
public void manipulatePdf(String src, String dest) throws IOException, DocumentException {
PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(src);
PdfDictionary page = reader.getPageN(1);
PdfArray annots = page.getAsArray(PdfName.ANNOTS);
PdfDictionary sticky = annots.getAsDict(0);
PdfArray stickyRect = sticky.getAsArray(PdfName.RECT);
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, new FileOutputStream(dest));
PdfWriter writer = stamper.getWriter();
Rectangle stickyRectangle = new Rectangle(
stickyRect.getAsNumber(0).floatValue(), stickyRect.getAsNumber(1).floatValue(),
stickyRect.getAsNumber(2).floatValue(), stickyRect.getAsNumber(3).floatValue()
);
PdfAnnotation replySticky = PdfAnnotation.createText(
writer, stickyRectangle, "Reply", "Hello PDF", true, "Comment");
replySticky.put(PdfName.IRT, annots.getAsIndirectObject(0));
stamper.addAnnotation(replySticky, 1);
stamper.close();
}
Just like you, I get the original annotation (in my code, it's named sticky) and I get the position of that annotation (stickyRect). I create a stickyRectangle object in a slightly different way than you do (my way is better, but that doesn't matter too much) and I use that stickyRectangle to create a new PdfAnnotation named replySticky.
That's what you already have. Now I add the missing part:
replySticky.Put(PdfName.IRT, annots.GetAsIndirectObject(0));
In your code, you add the annotation dictionary, but what you actually need is the reference to that dictionary.
The resulting PDF looks like hello_in_reply_to.pdf:

Export arabic data into pdf asp.net showing error

When I export ARABIC data into pdf.Microsoft adobereader showing error.Adobe reader could not open file because it is either not a supported file.My code is following asp.net c#.Guide me
protected void btnExport_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=TestPage.pdf");
Document doc = new Document(PageSize.LETTER);
doc.Open();
//Sample HTML
StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
stringBuilder.Append(#"<p>This is a test: <strong>مسندم</strong></p>");
//Path to our font
string arialuniTff = Server.MapPath("~/tradbdo.TTF");
//Register the font with iTextSharp
iTextSharp.text.FontFactory.Register(arialuniTff);
//Create a new stylesheet
iTextSharp.text.html.simpleparser.StyleSheet ST = new iTextSharp.text.html.simpleparser.StyleSheet();
//Set the default body font to our registered font's internal name
ST.LoadTagStyle(HtmlTags.BODY, HtmlTags.FACE, "Traditional Arabic Bold");
//Set the default encoding to support Unicode characters
ST.LoadTagStyle(HtmlTags.BODY, HtmlTags.ENCODING, BaseFont.IDENTITY_H);
//Parse our HTML using the stylesheet created above
List<IElement> list = HTMLWorker.ParseToList(new StringReader(stringBuilder.ToString()), ST);
//Loop through each element, don't bother wrapping in P tags
foreach (var element in list)
{
doc.Add(element);
}
doc.Close();
Response.Write(doc);
Response.End();
}

I found the following article which shows how to correctly export and display Arabic content via the iTextSharp library: http://geekswithblogs.net/JaydPage/archive/2011/11/02/using-itextsharp-to-correctly-display-hebrew--arabic-text-right.aspx.
Here is the code sample that you can try:
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;
public void WriteDocument()
{
//Declare a itextSharp document
Document document = new Document(PageSize.A4);
//Create our file stream and bind the writer to the document and the stream
PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(document, new FileStream(#"C:\Test.Pdf", FileMode.Create));
//Open the document for writing
document.Open();
//Add a new page
document.NewPage();
//Reference a Unicode font to be sure that the symbols are present.
BaseFont bfArialUniCode = BaseFont.CreateFont(#"C:\ARIALUNI.TTF", BaseFont.IDENTITY_H, BaseFont.EMBEDDED);
//Create a font from the base font
Font font = new Font(bfArialUniCode, 12);
//Use a table so that we can set the text direction
PdfPTable table = new PdfPTable(1);
//Ensure that wrapping is on, otherwise Right to Left text will not display
table.DefaultCell.NoWrap = false;
//Create a regex expression to detect hebrew or arabic code points
const string regex_match_arabic_hebrew = #"[\u0600-\u06FF,\u0590-\u05FF]+";
if (Regex.IsMatch("مسندم", regex_match_arabic_hebrew, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase))
{
table.RunDirection = PdfWriter.RUN_DIRECTION_RTL;
}
//Create a cell and add text to it
PdfPCell text = new PdfPCell(new Phrase("مسندم", font));
//Ensure that wrapping is on, otherwise Right to Left text will not display
text.NoWrap = false;
//Add the cell to the table
table.AddCell(text);
//Add the table to the document
document.Add(table);
//Close the document
document.Close();
//Launch the document if you have a file association set for PDF's
Process AcrobatReader = new Process();
AcrobatReader.StartInfo.FileName = #"C:\Test.Pdf";
AcrobatReader.Start();
}

The iTextSharp.text.Document is a class used to help bridge human concepts like Paragraph and Margin into PDF concepts. The bridge part is important. It is not a PDF file in any way so it should never be treated as a PDF. Doing so would be like treating System.Drawing.Graphics as if it were an image. This leads to one of your problems on the second to last line of code that tries to treat the Document as if it were a PDF by sending it directly to the output stream:
//This won't work
Response.Write(doc);
You will find many, many tutorials out there that do this and they are all wrong. Fortunately (or unfortunately), PDF is forgiving and allows junk data at the end so only a handful of PDF fail and people assume there was some other problem.
Your other problem is that you are missing a PdfWriter. If Document is the bridge, PdfWriter is the actual construction worker that puts that PDF together. It, however, is also not a PDF. Instead, it needs to be bound to a stream like a file, in-memory or the HttpResponse.OutputStream.
Below is some code that shows this off. I very strongly recommend separating your PDF logic from your ASPX logic. Do all of you PDF stuff first and get an actual "something" that represents a PDF, then do something with it.
At the beginning we declare a byte array that we'll fill in later. Next we create a System.IO.MemoryStream that will be used to write the PDF to. After creating the Document we then create a PdfWriter that's bound to the Document and our stream. Your internal code is the same and although I didn't test it it appears correct. Right before we're done with our MemoryStream we grab the active bytes into our byte array. Lastly we use the BinaryWrite() method to send our raw binary PDF to the requesting client.
//At the end of this bytes will hold a byte array representing an actual PDF file
Byte[] bytes;
//Create a simple in-memory stream
using (var ms = new MemoryStream()){
using (var doc = new Document()) {
//Create a new PdfWriter bound to our document and the stream
using (var writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(doc, ms)) {
doc.Open();
//This is unchanged from the OP's code
//Sample HTML
StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
stringBuilder.Append(#"<p>This is a test: <strong>مسندم</strong></p>");
//Path to our font
string arialuniTff = Server.MapPath("~/tradbdo.TTF");
//Register the font with iTextSharp
iTextSharp.text.FontFactory.Register(arialuniTff);
//Create a new stylesheet
iTextSharp.text.html.simpleparser.StyleSheet ST = new iTextSharp.text.html.simpleparser.StyleSheet();
//Set the default body font to our registered font's internal name
ST.LoadTagStyle(HtmlTags.BODY, HtmlTags.FACE, "Traditional Arabic Bold");
//Set the default encoding to support Unicode characters
ST.LoadTagStyle(HtmlTags.BODY, HtmlTags.ENCODING, BaseFont.IDENTITY_H);
//Parse our HTML using the stylesheet created above
List<IElement> list = HTMLWorker.ParseToList(new StringReader(stringBuilder.ToString()), ST);
//Loop through each element, don't bother wrapping in P tags
foreach (var element in list) {
doc.Add(element);
}
doc.Close();
}
}
//Right before closing the MemoryStream grab all of the active bytes
bytes = ms.ToArray();
}
//We now have a valid PDF and can do whatever we want with it
//In this case, use BinaryWrite to send it directly to the requesting client
Response.ContentType = "application/pdf";
Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=TestPage.pdf");
Response.BinaryWrite(bytes);
Response.End();

Create an Image or PdfTemplate from a PDF file

While using the itextsharp library for pdf generation, I came across this method:-
iTextSharp.text.Image img = iTextSharp.text.Image.GetInstance(itextsharp.text.pdf.PdfTemplate);
Where, we can get Image instance from a PdfTemplate. But, I don't know how to create a PdfTemplate and there is no constructor taking a pdf file name or stream.
Why I want this is: I want to create an Image from a PDF file and then isert this image into another pdf file.
Anybody knows how to create PdfTemplate object ?

The PdfTemplate unfortunately isn't exactly what you think it is. iText and iTextSharp are PDF generators but not PDF renderers which is what you would need to convert a PDF to an image.
That said, you can still accomplish your goal, depending on the quality that you're looking for.
One of the more common uses of PdfTemplate is the subclass PdfImportedPage. If you create an Image from a PdfImportedPage you won't be creating a JPG or PNG or anything raster, you'll actually have a full version of your page wrapped up in an Image object. What this means is that you can apply transforms such as ScaleAbsolute() or whatever you want, but when you add it to the output PDF any text will still be true text (and thus selectable). This is the part where the quality comes in. If you start scaling the Image it will (mathematically) scale perfectly, but visually it might render imperfectly within something like Adobe Reader. If you zoom in it will be fine, but many screen programs don't render small type that well. Whether this is an issue for you or not I don't know.
Anyway, the code below is a full working sample targetting iTextSharp 5.1.1.0. It reads a page from an existing PDF, scales it by 50% and adds it to an output PDF.
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.IO;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
using iTextSharp.text;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//PDF file to pull the first page from
string inputFile = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop), "Input.pdf");
//PDF file to output
string outputFile = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop), "Output.pdf");
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(outputFile, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None))
{
using (Document doc = new Document())
{
using (PdfWriter w = PdfWriter.GetInstance(doc, fs))
{
//Open our PDF for writing
doc.Open();
//We need a reader to pull pages from
PdfReader r = new PdfReader(inputFile);
//Get the first page of our source PDF
PdfImportedPage importedPage = w.GetImportedPage(r, 1);
//Insert a new page into our output PDF
doc.NewPage();
//Create an Image from the imported page
iTextSharp.text.Image Img = iTextSharp.text.Image.GetInstance(importedPage);
//Just to show why we are using an Image, scale the Image to 50% width and height of the original page
Img.ScaleAbsolute(importedPage.Width / 2, importedPage.Height / 2);
//Add the Image to the page
doc.Add(Img);
//Close our output PDF
doc.Close();
}
}
}
this.Close();
}
}
}