PDF Search and Delete Text#
Available Methods#
/pdf/edit/delete-text#
Search and remove text in a PDF.
Method: POST
Endpoint: /v1/pdf/edit/delete-text
Attributes#
Note
Attributes are case-sensitive and should be inside JSON for POST request, for example:
{
"url": "https://example.com/file1.pdf"
}
Attribute |
Description |
Required |
---|---|---|
|
URL to the source file. 1 |
yes |
|
HTTP auth user name if required to access source |
no |
|
HTTP auth password if required to access source |
no |
|
The array of strings to search. |
yes |
|
Limit the number of searches & replacements for every item. The default value is |
no |
|
Set to |
no |
|
Set to |
no |
|
File name for the generated output, the input must be in string format. |
no |
|
Set the expiration time for the output link in minutes (default is |
no |
|
Specify page indices as comma-separated values or ranges to process (e.g. |
no |
|
Password of PDF file, the input must be in string format. |
no |
|
Set |
no |
|
Use this parameter to set additional configurations for fine-tuning and extra options. Explore the Profiles section for more. |
no |
Note
To apply a block out color to the text which was deleted use the profiles
attribute with, e.g.:
"profiles": "{'UsePatch': true, 'PatchColor': '#000000', 'RemoveTextUnderPatch': true}"
Query parameters#
No query parameters accepted.
Payload 3#
{
"url": "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf",
"name": "pdfWithTextDeleted",
"caseSensitive": "false",
"searchString": "Invoice",
"replacementLimit": 0,
"async": false
}
Response 2#
{
"url": "https://pdf-temp-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ZOSEQZFNVCYLD5N5CJFVIYQKBVLR8OKD/pdfWithTextDeleted.pdf?X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Security-Token=FwoGZXIvYXdzECYaDKOO4WmO5C5shyOYYSKCAVsAo6VkB5HQjTBd9dMlJujQdEkPfNdPeLfq2mF54s2ESZBmIAJ5UgDUo3J9R475CCS4M3nuuo%2FSJwRy5gNiJdb1ZY0uCtP87x83nH%2B%2BSDu5JK%2F%2BEOrd3MREt8KE3BsQOrv%2FKMdnK%2BT5nJ2x2hC87vHue%2FudY7%2FWX54vx4tfFobEyhEozLbPnwYyKOdEsYYWH7e8tm7XV4UeKxCoKMaXSEPvOod80hR62qXnEI42fOsON3M%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=ASIA4NRRSZPHLUVIAIPX/20230220/us-west-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20230220T205521Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=9f79c1a30d4f373e495e735e908375dad2ae6dcafcee761a477748c2b8298605",
"pageCount": 1,
"error": false,
"status": 200,
"name": "pdfWithTextDeleted.pdf",
"credits": 21,
"duration": 189,
"remainingCredits": 96235635
}
CURL#
curl --location --request POST 'https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/delete-text' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'x-api-key: *******************' \
--data-raw '{
"url": "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf",
"name": "pdfWithTextDeleted",
"caseSensitive": "false",
"searchString": "Invoice",
"replacementLimit": 0,
"async": false
}'
Code samples#
var https = require("https");
var path = require("path");
var fs = require("fs");
// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
const API_KEY = "***********************************";
// Direct URL of source PDF file.
// You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/bytescout/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/
const SourceFileUrl = "https://bytescout-com.s3.amazonaws.com/files/demo-files/cloud-api/pdf-split/sample.pdf";
// PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
const Password = "";
// Destination PDF file name
const DestinationFile = "./result.pdf";
// Prepare request to `Delete Text from PDF` API endpoint
var queryPath = `/v1/pdf/edit/delete-text`;
// JSON payload for api request
var jsonPayload = JSON.stringify({
name: path.basename(destinationFile), password: password, url: SourceFileUrl, searchString: 'conspicuous'
});
var reqOptions = {
host: "api.pdf.co",
method: "POST",
path: queryPath,
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"Content-Length": Buffer.byteLength(jsonPayload, 'utf8')
}
};
// Send request
var postRequest = https.request(reqOptions, (response) => {
response.on("data", (d) => {
// Parse JSON response
var data = JSON.parse(d);
if (data.error == false) {
// Download PDF file
var file = fs.createWriteStream(DestinationFile);
https.get(data.url, (response2) => {
response2.pipe(file)
.on("close", () => {
console.log(`Generated PDF file saved as "${DestinationFile}" file.`);
});
});
}
else {
// Service reported error
console.log(data.message);
}
});
}).on("error", (e) => {
// Request error
console.log(e);
});
// Write request data
postRequest.write(jsonPayload);
postRequest.end();
import os
import requests # pip install requests
# The authentication key (API Key).
# Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
API_KEY = "******************************************"
# Base URL for PDF.co Web API requests
BASE_URL = "https://api.pdf.co/v1"
# Direct URL of source PDF file.
# You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/bytescout/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/
SourceFileURL = "https://bytescout-com.s3.amazonaws.com/files/demo-files/cloud-api/pdf-split/sample.pdf"
# PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
Password = ""
# Destination PDF file name
DestinationFile = ".\\result.pdf"
def main(args = None):
deleteTextFromPdf(SourceFileURL, DestinationFile)
def deleteTextFromPdf(uploadedFileUrl, destinationFile):
"""Delete Text from PDF using PDF.co Web API"""
# Prepare requests params as JSON
parameters = {}
parameters["name"] = os.path.basename(destinationFile)
parameters["password"] = Password
parameters["url"] = uploadedFileUrl
parameters["searchString"] = "conspicuous"
# Prepare URL for 'Delete Text from PDF' API request
url = "{}/pdf/edit/delete-text".format(BASE_URL)
# Execute request and get response as JSON
response = requests.post(url, data=parameters, headers={ "x-api-key": API_KEY })
if (response.status_code == 200):
json = response.json()
if json["error"] == False:
# Get URL of result file
resultFileUrl = json["url"]
# Download result file
r = requests.get(resultFileUrl, stream=True)
if (r.status_code == 200):
with open(destinationFile, 'wb') as file:
for chunk in r:
file.write(chunk)
print(f"Result file saved as \"{destinationFile}\" file.")
else:
print(f"Request error: {response.status_code} {response.reason}")
else:
# Show service reported error
print(json["message"])
else:
print(f"Request error: {response.status_code} {response.reason}")
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
namespace PDFcoApiExample
{
class Program
{
// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
const String API_KEY = "***********************************";
// Direct URL of source PDF file.
// You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/bytescout/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/
const string SourceFileUrl = "https://bytescout-com.s3.amazonaws.com/files/demo-files/cloud-api/pdf-split/sample.pdf";
// PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
const string Password = "";
// Destination PDF file name
const string DestinationFile = @".\result.pdf";
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Create standard .NET web client instance
WebClient webClient = new WebClient();
// Set API Key
webClient.Headers.Add("x-api-key", API_KEY);
// Prepare requests params as JSON
Dictionary<string, string> parameters = new Dictionary<string, string>();
parameters.Add("name", Path.GetFileName(DestinationFile));
parameters.Add("password", Password);
parameters.Add("url", SourceFileUrl);
parameters.Add("searchString", "conspicuous");
// Convert dictionary of params to JSON
string jsonPayload = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(parameters);
// URL of `Delete Text from PDF` API call
string url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/delete-text";
try
{
// Execute POST request with JSON payload
string response = webClient.UploadString(url, jsonPayload);
// Parse JSON response
JObject json = JObject.Parse(response);
if (json["error"].ToObject<bool>() == false)
{
// Get URL of generated PDF file
string resultFileUrl = json["url"].ToString();
// Download PDF file
webClient.DownloadFile(resultFileUrl, DestinationFile);
Console.WriteLine("Generated PDF file saved as \"{0}\" file.", DestinationFile);
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine(json["message"].ToString());
}
}
catch (WebException e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.ToString());
}
webClient.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine();
Console.WriteLine("Press any key...");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
package com.company;
import com.google.gson.JsonObject;
import com.google.gson.JsonParser;
import okhttp3.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
public class Main
{
// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
final static String API_KEY = "**********************************";
// Direct URL of source PDF file.
// You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/bytescout/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/
final static String SourceFileUrl = "https://bytescout-com.s3.amazonaws.com/files/demo-files/cloud-api/pdf-split/sample.pdf";
// PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
final static String Password = "";
// Destination PDF file name
final static Path DestinationFile = Paths.get(".\\result.pdf");
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException
{
// Create HTTP client instance
OkHttpClient webClient = new OkHttpClient();
// Prepare URL for `Delete Text from PDF` API call
String query = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/delete-text";
// Make correctly escaped (encoded) URL
URL url = null;
try
{
url = new URI(null, query, null).toURL();
}
catch (URISyntaxException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
// Create JSON payload
String jsonPayload = String.format("{\"name\": \"%s\", \"password\": \"%s\", \"url\": \"%s\", \"searchString\": \"conspicuous\"}",
DestinationFile.getFileName(),
Password,
SourceFileUrl);
// Prepare request body
RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("application/json"), jsonPayload);
// Prepare request
Request request = new Request.Builder()
.url(url)
.addHeader("x-api-key", API_KEY) // (!) Set API Key
.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
.post(body)
.build();
// Execute request
Response response = webClient.newCall(request).execute();
if (response.code() == 200)
{
// Parse JSON response
JsonObject json = new JsonParser().parse(response.body().string()).getAsJsonObject();
boolean error = json.get("error").getAsBoolean();
if (!error)
{
// Get URL of generated PDF file
String resultFileUrl = json.get("url").getAsString();
// Download PDF file
downloadFile(webClient, resultFileUrl, DestinationFile.toFile());
System.out.printf("Generated PDF file saved as \"%s\" file.", DestinationFile.toString());
}
else
{
// Display service reported error
System.out.println(json.get("message").getAsString());
}
}
else
{
// Display request error
System.out.println(response.code() + " " + response.message());
}
}
public static void downloadFile(OkHttpClient webClient, String url, File destinationFile) throws IOException
{
// Prepare request
Request request = new Request.Builder()
.url(url)
.build();
// Execute request
Response response = webClient.newCall(request).execute();
byte[] fileBytes = response.body().bytes();
// Save downloaded bytes to file
OutputStream output = new FileOutputStream(destinationFile);
output.write(fileBytes);
output.flush();
output.close();
response.close();
}
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Cloud API asynchronous "Delete Text from PDF" job example (allows to avoid timeout errors).</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
// Cloud API asynchronous "Delete Text from PDF" job example.
// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
$apiKey = "***********************************";
// Direct URL of source PDF file. Check another example if you need to upload a local file to the cloud.
// You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/bytescout/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/
$sourceFileUrl = "https://bytescout-com.s3.amazonaws.com/files/demo-files/cloud-api/pdf-split/sample.pdf";
// PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
$password = "";
// Prepare URL for `Delete Text from PDF` API call
$url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/delete-text";
// Prepare requests params
$parameters = array();
$parameters["password"] = $password;
$parameters["url"] = $sourceFileUrl;
$parameters["searchString"] = "conspicuous";
$parameters["async"] = true; // (!) Make asynchronous job
// Create Json payload
$data = json_encode($parameters);
// Create request
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array("x-api-key: " . $apiKey, "Content-type: application/json"));
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
// Execute request
$result = curl_exec($curl);
if (curl_errno($curl) == 0)
{
$status_code = curl_getinfo($curl, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
if ($status_code == 200)
{
$json = json_decode($result, true);
if (!isset($json["error"]) || $json["error"] == false)
{
// URL of generated PDF file that will available after the job completion
$resultFileUrl = $json["url"];
// Asynchronous job ID
$jobId = $json["jobId"];
// Check the job status in a loop
do
{
$status = CheckJobStatus($jobId, $apiKey); // Possible statuses: "working", "failed", "aborted", "success".
// Display timestamp and status (for demo purposes)
echo "<p>" . date(DATE_RFC2822) . ": " . $status . "</p>";
if ($status == "success")
{
// Display link to the file with conversion results
echo "<div><h2>Conversion Result:</h2><a href='" . $resultFileUrl . "' target='_blank'>" . $resultFileUrl . "</a></div>";
break;
}
else if ($status == "working")
{
// Pause for a few seconds
sleep(3);
}
else
{
echo $status . "<br/>";
break;
}
}
while (true);
}
else
{
// Display service reported error
echo "<p>Error: " . $json["message"] . "</p>";
}
}
else
{
// Display request error
echo "<p>Status code: " . $status_code . "</p>";
echo "<p>" . $result . "</p>";
}
}
else
{
// Display CURL error
echo "Error: " . curl_error($curl);
}
// Cleanup
curl_close($curl);
function CheckJobStatus($jobId, $apiKey)
{
$status = null;
// Create URL
$url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/job/check";
// Prepare requests params
$parameters = array();
$parameters["jobid"] = $jobId;
// Create Json payload
$data = json_encode($parameters);
// Create request
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array("x-api-key: " . $apiKey, "Content-type: application/json"));
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
// Execute request
$result = curl_exec($curl);
if (curl_errno($curl) == 0)
{
$status_code = curl_getinfo($curl, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
if ($status_code == 200)
{
$json = json_decode($result, true);
if (!isset($json["error"]) || $json["error"] == false)
{
$status = $json["status"];
}
else
{
// Display service reported error
echo "<p>Error: " . $json["message"] . "</p>";
}
}
else
{
// Display request error
echo "<p>Status code: " . $status_code . "</p>";
echo "<p>" . $result . "</p>";
}
}
else
{
// Display CURL error
echo "Error: " . curl_error($curl);
}
// Cleanup
curl_close($curl);
return $status;
}
?>
</body>
</html>
On Github#
Footnotes
- 1
Supports publicly accessible links from any source, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and PDF.co Built-In Files Storage. To upload files via the API, check out the File Upload section. Note: If you experience intermittent Access Denied or Too Many Requests errors, please try adding
cache:
to enable built-in URL caching (e.g.,cache:https://example.com/file1.pdf
). For data security, you have the option to encrypt output files and decrypt input files. Learn more about user-controlled data encryption.- 2
Main response codes as follows:
Code
Description
200
Success
400
Bad request. Typically happens because of bad input parameters, or because the input URLs can’t be reached, possibly due to access restrictions like needing a login or password.
401
Unauthorized
402
Not enough credits
445
Timeout error. To process large documents or files please use asynchronous mode (set the
async
parameter totrue
) and then check status using the /job/check endpoint. If a file contains many pages then specify a page range using thepages
parameter. The number of pages of the document can be obtained using the /pdf/info endpoint.Note
For more see the complete list of available response codes.
- 3
PDF.co Request size: API requests do not support request sizes of more than
4
megabytes in size. Please ensure that request sizes do not exceed this limit.