How to Add Text to Existing PDFs in Python: A Step-by-Step Guide

Adding Text to Existing PDFs with Python: A Comprehensive Solution

Introduction:
Adding text to existing PDFs in Python can be a valuable task for various applications. This article provides a detailed guide on how to accomplish this using a combination of Python modules, including pyPdf and ReportLab.

Python Libraries for PDF Manipulation:
To get started, install the following modules:

• pyPdf: For reading and writing PDFs
• ReportLab: For adding text and graphics to PDFs

Python 2.7 Example:
To add text to an existing PDF using Python 2.7, follow these steps:

1. Import the necessary modules:

   <code class="python">from pyPdf import PdfFileWriter, PdfFileReader
   import StringIO
   from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
   from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter</code>

2. Create a new PDF with the text you want to add using ReportLab:

   <code class="python">packet = StringIO.StringIO()
   can = canvas.Canvas(packet, pagesize=letter)
   can.drawString(10, 100, "Hello world")
   can.save()</code>

3. Create a new PDF writer:

   <code class="python">output = PdfFileWriter()</code>

4. Merge the new page with the existing PDF:

   <code class="python">existing_pdf = PdfFileReader(file("original.pdf", "rb"))
   page = existing_pdf.getPage(0)
   page.mergePage(new_pdf.getPage(0))
   output.addPage(page)</code>

5. Save the modified PDF:

   <code class="python">outputStream = file("destination.pdf", "wb")
   output.write(outputStream)
   outputStream.close()</code>

Python 3.x Example:
For Python 3.x, the code is slightly different:

1. Import the modules:

   <code class="python">from PyPDF2 import PdfFileWriter, PdfFileReader
   import io
   from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas
   from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import letter</code>

2. Create a new PDF with text using ReportLab:

   <code class="python">packet = io.BytesIO()
   can = canvas.Canvas(packet, pagesize=letter)
   can.drawString(10, 100, "Hello world")
   can.save()</code>

3. Create a new writer:

   <code class="python">output = PdfFileWriter()</code>

4. Merge the pages:

   <code class="python">existing_pdf = PdfFileReader(open("original.pdf", "rb"))
   page = existing_pdf.pages[0]
   page.merge_page(new_pdf.pages[0])
   output.add_page(page)</code>

5. Save the file:

   <code class="python">output_stream = open("destination.pdf", "wb")
   output.write(output_stream)
   output_stream.close()</code>

By using these examples, you can effectively add text or other elements to existing PDFs using Python and the appropriate libraries. This provides a powerful tool for modifying and enhancing PDF documents for various use cases.

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