Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/apache/pdfbox/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

PDFBox lets you create PDF documents entirely in Java — from a single blank page to multi-page documents with formatted text, embedded images, and vector graphics. The core classes are PDDocument, PDPage, and PDPageContentStream.

​
Creating a new document

A valid PDF must contain at least one page. Use PDDocument as a try-with-resources block so the document is always closed after saving.
1

Create a PDDocument and add a page

CreateBlankPDF.java
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDDocument;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPage;

try (PDDocument doc = new PDDocument())
{
    // a valid PDF document requires at least one page
    PDPage blankPage = new PDPage();
    doc.addPage(blankPage);
    doc.save("blank.pdf");
}
2

Save and close

Call doc.save(filename) before the try-with-resources block exits. The close() call is handled automatically. Never call save() after close().
PDDocument implements Closeable. Always use try-with-resources or call close() explicitly to release file handles and memory.

​
Writing text

Use PDPageContentStream to draw text onto a page. You must call beginText() before writing and endText() when finished. Coordinates are in points measured from the lower-left corner of the page.

​
Using a standard Type 1 font

HelloWorldType1.java
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDDocument;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPage;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPageContentStream;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font.PDType1Font;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font.Standard14Fonts.FontName;

try (PDDocument doc = new PDDocument())
{
    PDPage page = new PDPage();
    doc.addPage(page);

    try (PDPageContentStream contents = new PDPageContentStream(doc, page))
    {
        contents.beginText();
        contents.setFont(new PDType1Font(FontName.HELVETICA), 12);
        contents.newLineAtOffset(100, 700);
        contents.showText("Hello, World!");
        contents.endText();
    }

    doc.save("hello.pdf");
}

​
Using a TrueType font

For Unicode text or custom typefaces, load a TrueType font with PDType0Font.load():
HelloWorldTTF.java
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font.PDFont;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font.PDType0Font;

try (PDDocument doc = new PDDocument())
{
    PDPage page = new PDPage();
    doc.addPage(page);

    PDFont font = PDType0Font.load(doc, new File("/path/to/font.ttf"));

    try (PDPageContentStream contents = new PDPageContentStream(doc, page))
    {
        contents.beginText();
        contents.setFont(font, 12);
        contents.newLineAtOffset(100, 700);
        contents.showText(message);
        contents.endText();
    }

    doc.save(pdfPath);
}

​
Adding text to an existing document

Use AppendMode.APPEND to add content without overwriting the existing page stream. Pass true for the resetContext parameter when appending to an existing stream to avoid inheriting the page’s graphics state:
AddMessageToEachPage.java
import org.apache.pdfbox.Loader;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPageContentStream;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPageContentStream.AppendMode;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font.PDType1Font;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.font.Standard14Fonts.FontName;
import org.apache.pdfbox.util.Matrix;
import java.awt.Color;

try (PDDocument doc = Loader.loadPDF(new File("input.pdf")))
{
    PDFont font = new PDType1Font(FontName.HELVETICA_BOLD);
    float fontSize = 36.0f;

    for (PDPage page : doc.getPages())
    {
        PDRectangle pageSize = page.getMediaBox();
        float stringWidth = font.getStringWidth(message) * fontSize / 1000f;
        float centerX = (pageSize.getWidth() - stringWidth) / 2f;
        float centerY = pageSize.getHeight() / 2f;

        try (PDPageContentStream contentStream = new PDPageContentStream(
                doc, page, AppendMode.APPEND, true, true))
        {
            contentStream.beginText();
            contentStream.setFont(font, fontSize);
            contentStream.setNonStrokingColor(Color.red);
            contentStream.setTextMatrix(Matrix.getTranslateInstance(centerX, centerY));
            contentStream.showText(message);
            contentStream.endText();
        }
    }

    doc.save("output.pdf");
}
newLineAtOffset(x, y) moves the text position relative to the start of the current line. To position text absolutely on the page, use setTextMatrix(Matrix.getTranslateInstance(x, y)).

​
Adding images

Load an image from a file with PDImageXObject.createFromFile(), then draw it onto the page with drawImage(). Coordinates refer to the lower-left corner of the image.
AddImageToPDF.java
import org.apache.pdfbox.Loader;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDDocument;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPage;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPageContentStream;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDPageContentStream.AppendMode;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.graphics.image.PDImageXObject;

try (PDDocument doc = Loader.loadPDF(new File("input.pdf")))
{
    PDPage page = doc.getPage(0);

    // createFromFile is the easiest way with an image file
    // if you already have the image in a BufferedImage,
    // call LosslessFactory.createFromImage() instead
    PDImageXObject pdImage = PDImageXObject.createFromFile(imagePath, doc);

    try (PDPageContentStream contentStream = new PDPageContentStream(
            doc, page, AppendMode.APPEND, true, true))
    {
        float scale = 1f;
        contentStream.drawImage(pdImage, 20, 20,
                pdImage.getWidth() * scale, pdImage.getHeight() * scale);
    }

    doc.save("output.pdf");
}
If you already have the image as a BufferedImage in memory, use LosslessFactory.createFromImage(doc, bufferedImage) instead of createFromFile.

​
Page size and orientation

PDFBox includes constants for common page sizes in PDRectangle. Pass the rectangle to the PDPage constructor to set the size. 
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.common.PDRectangle;

// Portrait A4
PDPage pageA4 = new PDPage(PDRectangle.A4);

// Portrait US Letter
PDPage pageLetter = new PDPage(PDRectangle.LETTER);
Common PDRectangle constants: A0–A6, LETTER, LEGAL, TABLOID. You can also construct a custom size:
Custom page size
// Custom 6×4 inch page (1 point = 1/72 inch)
PDPage custom = new PDPage(new PDRectangle(6 * 72, 4 * 72));

​
Drawing shapes

PDPageContentStream exposes path construction operators (moveTo, lineTo, addRect) and painting operators (stroke, fill). This example draws a rectangle around text from CreateLandscapePDF.java:
CreateLandscapePDF.java
// Draw a box around text
contentStream.moveTo(startX - 2, startY - 2);
contentStream.lineTo(startX - 2, startY + 200 + fontSize);
contentStream.stroke();

contentStream.moveTo(startX - 2, startY + 200 + fontSize);
contentStream.lineTo(startX + 100 + stringWidth + 2, startY + 200 + fontSize);
contentStream.stroke();

contentStream.moveTo(startX + 100 + stringWidth + 2, startY + 200 + fontSize);
contentStream.lineTo(startX + 100 + stringWidth + 2, startY - 2);
contentStream.stroke();

contentStream.moveTo(startX + 100 + stringWidth + 2, startY - 2);
contentStream.lineTo(startX - 2, startY - 2);
contentStream.stroke();
To draw a filled rectangle in a single call, use addRect followed by fill:
Filled rectangle
// x, y, width, height — origin is lower-left
contentStream.addRect(50, 50, 200, 100);
contentStream.fill();
Each path segment built with moveTo/lineTo must be painted with stroke() or fill() before starting a new path, or the operators will be applied to the combined path.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us