PDF Flattener

A command-line tool that converts PDF files into image-based documents, effectively making them resemble scanned documents. This process removes any interactive elements, forms, or embedded content while preserving the visual appearance. Ideal for creating consistent, non-editable versions of documents or preparing them for archiving.

Features

• Converts PDFs to image-based documents, simulating scanned documents
• Preserves original metadata, including MacOS timestamps
• Allows for setting of custom creation and modification dates
• Configurable DPI settings for quality control
• Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Prerequisites

System Dependencies

• Poppler: Required for PDF processing
  • macOS: brew install poppler
  • Linux: sudo apt-get install poppler-utils
  • Windows: Download and install from poppler releases

Python Dependencies

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Required Python packages (automatically installed via pip):
  • PyMuPDF (fitz)
  • pdf2image

Installation

From Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Tomek20225/pdf-flattener.git
   cd pdf-flattener

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Build the executable:

   make build

4. (Optional) Install globally:

   sudo make install

Using Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release from the Releases page for your operating system.

Usage

Basic usage:

flatten_pdf input.pdf

Advanced usage with options:

flatten_pdf input.pdf --output output.pdf --dpi 300 --creation-date 2024-01-01 --modification-date 2024-01-02

Command-line Arguments

• input_pdf: Path to the input PDF file (required)
• --output, -o: Output PDF file name (default: "flat-{input_filename}")
• --dpi, -d: DPI for image extraction (default: 200)
• --creation-date, -c: Creation date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• --modification-date, -m: Modification date in YYYY-MM-DD format

Building from Source

Using Make

# Build the executable
make build

# Install globally
make install

# Clean build files
make clean

# Full rebuild and install
make reinstall

Manual Build

pip install -r requirements.txt
pyinstaller --onefile flatten_pdf.py

Testing

The project includes a comprehensive test suite using pytest. To run the tests:

1. Install test dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Run the tests:

   pytest tests/

Tests use temporary files and directories that are automatically cleaned up after each test run.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

This project uses the following open-source libraries:

• PyMuPDF - PDF manipulation
• pdf2image - PDF to image conversion
• Poppler - PDF processing utilities

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on GitHub.