Query PDF

Query PDF

Query PDF is a REST API tool that quickly returns PDF document details, metadata, and other conditional information about the file and its contents, including forms, fonts, security settings, and PDF/A conformance validation.

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Why is pdfRest the best API to get info from PDF?
pdfRest offers the best solution for checking a PDF for metadata and document information, because it supports conditional processing, PDF/A validation, and over 25 query options with each call.

Drive Conditional Processing

Query PDF pairs well with many other pdfRest API Tools by providing valuable information that can be used to programmatically assess and determine next steps for each document. Some common use cases include:

Key Benefits of Query PDF API

  • Conditionally split PDFs based on number of pages or file size
  • Convert PDFs to PDF/A only when they are not already conformant to that standard
  • Encrypt files that do not already have security measures applied
  • Confirm PDFs contain the expected content, such as tags, signatures, or forms, before sending them on to their intended audience

Validate PDF/A Conformance

pdfRest's Query PDF validates whether a document successfully conforms to any of the many PDF/A conformance levels. Powered by veraPDF, the industry-standard for PDF/A conformance validation, Query PDF produces results you can depend on. A simple true/false value in the JSON response provides straightforward, actionable information, so you won't waste time trying to parse results from complex reports.

Learn it All with One Call

Return all of the information you need about a PDF and its contents with one API Call. Choose from any of the 25+ query options, and send one API request with your PDF file and comma-separated list of queries. A quick response will return all of the information you requested with easy-to-parse key:value pairs in standard JSON format. All the answers you need without the overhead of complex reports to parse or superfluous data to sift out.

See Customize Your Solution below for more details about all of the supported queries.

Check out other videos
Start from Code Examples
See more code examples in our GitHub repository

Need more help?

Start with a Tutorial for step-by-step guidance

How to Check PDF Conditions and Metadata in .NET with C#
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How to Check PDF Conditions and Metadata with PHP
How to Check PDF Conditions and Metadata with Python
How to Validate PDF/A Conformance in .NET with C#
How to Validate PDF/A Conformance with cURL
How to Validate PDF/A Conformance with JavaScript in NodeJS
Customize Your Solution

Learn about the parameters for this tool to create your custom solution.

Queries
  • tagged
    • Checks for presence of structure tags in the input document.
    • Returns true or false
  • image_only
    • Checks if the document is 'image only' meaning that it will only feature a series of embedded graphical image files, one per page and does not have any text or other features common to PDF documents, except for some metadata.
    • Returns true or false
  • title
    • The title of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have a title
  • subject
    • The subject of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have a subject
  • author
    • The author of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have an author
  • producer
    • The producer of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have a producer
  • creator
    • The creator of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have a creator
  • creation_date
    • The creation date of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have a creation date
  • modified_date
    • The most recent modification date of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have a modification date
  • keywords
    • The keywords of the PDF as listed in the metadata.
    • Returns a string which may be empty if the document does not have keywords
  • custom_metadata
    • Retrieves custom metadata from the PDF
    • Returns a JSON list of key:value pairs, where each pair represents a custom property and its value.
  • doc_language
    • The language that the file claims to be written in.
    • Returns a string
  • page_count
    • The number of pages in the PDF document.
    • Returns an integer
  • contains_annotations
    • Checks whether the document contains annotations, such as notes, highlighted text, file attachments, crossed out text, and text callout boxes.
    • Returns true or false
  • contains_signature
    • Checks if the document contains any digital signatures.
    • Returns true or false
  • pdf_version
    • Retrieves the version of the PDF standard that the document was created with.
    • Returns a string of the form X.Y.Z where X, Y, and Z are the major, minor, and extension versions respectively
  • file_size
    • Retrieves the size of the input file in bytes.
    • Returns an integer
  • filename
    • The name of the input file.
    • Returns a string
  • restrict_permissions_set
    • Checks whether the document has restrict permissions set to prevent printing, copying, signing etc.
    • Returns true or false
  • contains_xfa
    • Checks whether the document contains XFA forms.
    • Returns true or false
  • contains_acroforms
    • Checks whether the document contains Acroforms.
    • Returns true or false
  • contains_javascript
    • Checks whether the document contains javascript.
    • Returns true or false
  • contains_transparency
    • Checks whether the document contains transparent objects.
    • Returns true or false
  • contains_embedded_file
    • Checks whether the document contains one or more embedded files.
    • Returns true or false
  • uses_embedded_fonts
    • Checks whether the document contains fully embedded fonts.
    • Returns true or false
  • uses_nonembedded_fonts
    • Checks whether the document contains non-embedded fonts.
    • Returns true or false
  • pdfa
    • Checks whether the document claims and conforms to a PDF/A standard.
    • Returns true or false
  • requires_password_to_open
    • Checks whether the document requires a password to open.
    • Returns true or false.
    • Note: A document requiring a password cannot be opened by this route and will not be able to return much other information
See Documentation

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Frequently Asked Questions
Need more help? Contact Us or visit our documentation.

The Query PDF API is a REST API tool that provides a programmatic way to retrieve detailed information about a PDF document. It returns valuable insights into a file's metadata, contents, and conditional properties, such as whether it contains forms, signatures, or specific security settings.

You can get a wide range of information about a PDF's metadata, content, and security settings by specifying any of the following queries:

  • Metadata Queries:

    • title: The title of the PDF.
    • subject: The subject of the PDF.
    • author: The author of the PDF.
    • producer: The producer of the PDF.
    • creator: The creator of the PDF.
    • creation_date: The creation date of the PDF.
    • modified_date: The most recent modification date of the PDF.
    • keywords: The keywords of the PDF.
    • doc_language: The language that the file claims to be written in.
    • custom_metadata: Retrieves any custom metadata from the PDF and presents it as a JSON list of key:value pairs.

  • Document Properties:

    • page_count: The total number of pages in the PDF document.
    • pdf_version: The version of the PDF standard the document was created with (e.g., "1.7").
    • file_size: The size of the input file in bytes.
    • filename: The name of the input file.
    • pdfa: Checks whether the document claims and conforms to a PDF/A standard.
    • pdfua_claim: Checks whether the document claims to conform to a PDF/UA standard.
    • pdfe_claim: Checks whether the document claims to conform to a PDF/E standard.
    • pdfx_claim: Checks whether the document claims to conform to a PDF/X standard.

  • Content & Structure Checks:

    • tagged: Checks for the presence of structure tags in the document, which are important for accessibility.
    • image_only: Checks if the document is 'image only' and lacks text or other common PDF features.
    • contains_annotations: Checks for the presence of annotations, such as notes, highlights, or attachments.
    • contains_signature: Checks if the document contains any digital signatures.
    • contains_xfa: Checks whether the document contains XFA forms.
    • contains_acroforms: Checks whether the document contains Acroforms.
    • contains_javascript: Checks whether the document contains JavaScript.
    • contains_transparency: Checks whether the document contains transparent objects.
    • contains_embedded_file: Checks for one or more embedded files.
    • uses_embedded_fonts: Checks whether the document contains fully embedded fonts.
    • uses_nonembedded_fonts: Checks whether the document contains non-embedded fonts.

  • Security & Permissions:

    • restrict_permissions_set: Checks if the document has security restrictions applied to prevent actions like printing or copying.
    • requires_password_to_open: Checks if the document requires a password to open and view.

The API returns a JSON response containing easy-to-parse key:value pairs. You will get a separate field for each query you requested, with the corresponding value. This format is simple to use in your code without needing to parse complex reports or sift through unnecessary data, allowing you to easily leverage this information to drive conditional processing. For example, check to see if a file is image-only to determine whether to apply OCR on the document, or check for PDF/A conformance to decide whether to trigger a PDF/A conversion step.

You can run as many queries as you need in a single API call. The API allows you to send a comma-separated list of queries, and it will return all the requested information in a single, comprehensive response, making it highly efficient.

The Query PDF tool can validate a document against the PDF/A standard using the pdfa query. This validation is powered by veraPDF, the industry-standard validation engine, ensuring accurate results. The API returns a simple true or false value, so you can programmatically check for compliance without needing to parse a full validation report.

Conditional processing involves using the information returned by the Query PDF tool to determine the next action for a document. For example, you can use the requires_password_to_open query to identify and separate protected files, or use the pdfa query to convert non-compliant documents to the PDF/A standard only when necessary. This saves time and resources by automating workflows based on a file's specific properties.

If a document is password-protected or corrupted, the API will not be able to complete all the requested queries. In these cases, the API will still provide a response that includes an allQueriesProcessed field with a false value and a human-readable warning message explaining why the queries could not be completed.

pdfRest offers the best solution because it enables conditional processing to automate workflows based on document properties, provides reliable PDF/A validation powered by veraPDF, and allows you to retrieve over 25 different queries with a single, efficient API call.

Ensuring the security and privacy of your data is a top priority at pdfRest. Our platform is built for robust, enterprise-grade security and compliance, including GDPR and HIPAA. All your files are secured with encryption during both transit and at-rest, and they are permanently deleted after the stated file retention period (30 minutes for most plans). For complete details, please refer to our Data Processing Agreement (DPA).

To facilitate GDPR compliance for your querying workflows, pdfRest processes your data within the European Union and adheres to other strict data protection requirements. You can ensure all processing occurs within the EU by sending your API calls to the dedicated EU endpoint at http://eu-api.pdfrest.com/pdf-info. Please note that a GDPR usage fee may apply for some plans. For more information, please review our Data Processing Agreement.

Integrating the Query PDF API is straightforward. We offer comprehensive API documentation and code samples in many programming languages. The API Lab also allows you to test and generate code snippets directly from your browser, simplifying the setup and ensuring a smooth integration experience.

You can easily query PDFs without writing any code. Our API Lab is a no-code tool that lets you upload files and send API calls directly from your browser. For a more conversational workflow, you can also use pdfAssistant.ai to check a PDF's metadata, or check if a PDF contains extractable text, or check if a PDF is tagged for accessibility with an intuitive chat-based interface powered by AI technology.

Yes, pdfRest offers two self-hosted options. The pdfRest API Toolkit on AWS allows you to deploy and manage your own backend processing infrastructure within your AWS environment with pay-as-you-go pricing through the AWS Marketplace. The pdfRest API Toolkit Container provides ultimate environmental control as a Docker Container, giving you the flexibility to run the API in on-premises data centers or public/private cloud environments with a flexible, custom licensing model.

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