PDFExplorer Class

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The PDFExplorer class provides access to the low-level PDF document structure.

Syntax

PDFExplorer

Remarks

The PDFExplorer class can be used to inspect the internals of a PDF document and make changes to the low-level document structure.

Object Types and Document Structure

The PDF specification defines eight object types:

  • Name
  • String
  • Real
  • Integer
  • Boolean
  • Array
  • Dictionary
  • Stream
In PDFExplorer, name, string, real, integer, and boolean objects are categorized as "primitive" objects, and array, dictionary, and stream objects are categorized as "container" objects.

Before accessing individual objects with the class, it is important to understand how they are structured in the document. PDFExplorer aims to distinguish between the logical and physical representations of objects.

The logical representation is that a PDF document is a tree of objects that can be traversed to extract data. For example, every document contains a document catalog that references a next-level object /Pages, which in turn references individual pages via a /Kids array. So to get a page, you would first look for the /Root object in the document trailer, then proceed to its /Pages element, and then work with the /Kids array.

Then, there is the physical structure that consists of all the objects that constitute the document. Every object is recorded as either:

  • A direct (in-place) object (e.g., /Numbers [1 2 3 888]),
  • An indirect (numbered) object, or
  • A reference to an indirect object (e.g., /Numbers 8 0 R).
The way the objects are physically stored is generally independent from their logical structure. If you are looking for a page, it is of little importance whether each object that you need to traverse to reach it is stored in-place, in one of the indirect objects, or in a compressed object stream.

Note that most heavy objects (such as streams and dictionaries) are recorded in PDF files as indirect objects, with other objects referencing them. An indirect object is a global object that is uniquely identified by its object number followed by its generation number (e.g., 1 0 obj).

Navigating the Document

To navigate the object tree, first provide the input document as a file (InputFile), byte array (InputData), or stream (SetInputStream) and call the Open method. This method will populate the RootObjects properties with the existing objects in the document trailer, as the trailer is considered to be the root of the logical object tree. The keys in the document trailer will typically be /Size, /Info, /Root, /ID, and /Encrypt for encrypted documents.

These objects can then be used as a starting point for the document tree navigation, which is done using the Select method. This method and others operate the following syntax for specifying objects in the document:

  • Slashes separate levels of hierarchy, like in file paths.
  • The "root" slash (/) points to the document trailer dictionary.
  • A path that does not start with a slash specifies an indirect object in the list of global numbered objects.
  • The asterisk character (*) specifies all objects at the provided path.
Examples:

Consider the following PDF document:

%PDF-1.4
%cmmt
1 0 obj
<< /Type /Catalog
/Pages 2 0 R
>>
endobj

2 0 obj
<< /Type /Pages
/Kids [ 3 0 R ]
/Count 1
>>
endobj

3 0 obj
<< /Type /Page
/Parent 2 0 R
/MediaBox [ 0  0  612  792 ]
/Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R >>
>>
endobj

4 0 obj
[ /PDF ]
endobj

xref
0 5
0000000000 65535 f
0000000015 00000 n
0000000065 00000 n
0000000125 00000 n
0000000234 00000 n
trailer
<< /Size 5
/Root 1 0 R
>>
startxref
259
%%EOF

Select would return the following results for the respective paths:

  • / - a dictionary object that corresponds to the trailer dictionary.
  • /Root - a dictionary object that corresponds to the dictionary at 1 0 obj, with its Disposition field set to Reference (as this is a reference to an indirect object).
  • /Size - an integer object whose Value is 5 and Disposition is Direct (as this is a direct, in-place object).
  • /Root/Type - a name object whose Value is Catalog (Disposition = Direct).
  • /Root/Pages - a dictionary object that corresponds to the dictionary at 2 0 obj (Disposition = Reference).
  • /Root/Pages/Kids - an array object (Disposition = Direct).
  • /Root/Pages/Kids[0] - a dictionary object that corresponds to the dictionary at 3 0 obj (Disposition = Reference).
  • /Root/Pages/Kids[0]/MediaBox - an array object with four integer elements (Disposition = Direct).
  • /Root/Pages/Kids[0]/MediaBox[2] - an integer object whose Value is 612 (Disposition = Direct).
  • 3 0 obj - a dictionary object that corresponds to the dictionary at 3 0 obj (Disposition = Indirect).
  • 3 0 obj/Type - a name object whose Value is Page (Disposition = Direct).
  • 3 0 obj/Parent - a dictionary object that corresponds to the dictionary at 2 0 obj (Disposition = Reference).
Once Select returns, the selected object(s) will be available in the SelectedObjects properties.

Adding and Modifying Objects

The below sections contain instructions for adding and modifying each type of object. Note that each of the following Add* methods returns the path of the newly added object in the document, making it easy to access the PDFObject object later using the Select method. These objects' values can then be adjusted to ensure the PDF document meets your requirements.

Primitive Objects

A primitive object is a non-container object that represents a name, string, real (double), integer, or boolean value. Primitive objects are typically stored in-place and referenced directly. Use the AddPrimitive method to add a direct primitive object and the AddObject method (with the Indirect parameter set to true) to add an indirect primitive object: // Adding a direct string object to the /Info dictionary string stringPath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive("/Info", "Creator", "Microsoft Word"); // Adding an indirect boolean object to the root string booleanPath = pdfexplorer.AddObject("", 5, "", "true", true);

5 0 obj
<<
...
/Creator (Microsoft Word)
>>
endobj

...

6 0 obj
true
endobj

The value of a primitive object can then be modified if desired: pdfexplorer.Select(stringPath, true); pdfexplorer.SelectedObjects[0].Value = "nsoftware.SecurePDF"; pdfexplorer.Select(booleanPath, true); pdfexplorer.SelectedObjects[0].Value = "false";

5 0 obj
<<
...
/Creator (nsoftware.SecurePDF)
>>
endobj

...

6 0 obj
false
endobj

Array and Dictionary Objects

Unlike primitives, arrays and dictionaries are objects that contain other objects. Elements within array objects are arranged sequentially and have implicit zero-based indices, whereas dictionary objects contain named key-value pairs that are unordered. Use the AddContainer method to add a direct or indirect array or dictionary object: // Adding a direct array object to the first page's /Page dictionary string arrayPath = pdfexplorer.AddContainer("/Root/Pages/Kids[0]", "CropBox", false, false); // Adding an indirect dictionary object to the root string dictPath = pdfexplorer.AddContainer("", "", true, true);

3 0 obj
<< /Type /Page
...
/CropBox [
]>>
endobj

...

7 0 obj
<<
>>
endobj

An array or dictionary object can then be modified by adding elements to it. The example below populates the /CropBox array with four integer objects and adds a /Type key to the newly created dictionary. string cropBox0Path = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive(arrayPath, "", "0"); string cropBox1Path = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive(arrayPath, "", "0"); string cropBox2Path = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive(arrayPath, "", "612"); string cropBox3Path = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive(arrayPath, "", "792"); string typePath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive(dictPath, "Type", "/SampleType");

3 0 obj
<< /Type /Page
...
/CropBox [
0
0
612
792
]>>
endobj

...

7 0 obj
<<
/Type /SampleType
>>
endobj

Stream Objects

A stream object is a compound object consisting of a dictionary and a sequence of bytes. Stream objects are always indirect and are used to store data such as images, fonts, and other resources. Use the AddStream method to add a stream object: // Adding a stream object to the root byte[] image1Data = File.ReadAllBytes("image1.png"); string streamPath = pdfexplorer.AddStream("", "", image1Data);

8 0 obj
<<
/Length 6317
>>stream
... % binary data for image1.png
endstream
endobj

To modify a stream object, use the SetObjectData or SetObjectStream method: byte[] image2Data = File.ReadAllBytes("image2.png"); pdfexplorer.SetObjectData(streamPath, image2Data); // or pdfexplorer.SetObjectStream(streamPath, new MemoryStream(image2Data));

8 0 obj
<<
/Length 197
>>stream
... % binary data for image2.png
endstream
endobj

Object References

An (indirect) object reference is a reference to an indirect object from another object. Its syntax consists of the destination object's object number, its generation number, and R (e.g., 1 0 R). Use the AddReference method to add a reference to an existing object: // Creating a reference to the stream at 8 0 obj and adding it to the dictionary at 7 0 obj string path = pdfexplorer.AddReference("7 0 obj", "Image", "8 0 obj");

7 0 obj
<<
/Image 8 0 R
/Type /SampleType
>>
endobj

The contents of the destination object can be modified using the path returned by AddReference in the same way as any other indirect object - the reference will remain intact because the object and generation numbers of the destination object will not be affected.

Removing Objects

The RemoveObject method can be used to remove an object from the document. While this method will invalidate the former path of the object itself, if it was an indirect object any references to it will not be removed. pdfexplorer.RemoveObject("7 0 obj/Image");
7 0 obj
<<
/Type /SampleType
>>
endobj

When finished adding, modifying, or removing objects, call the Close method to close the document and save the changes to either OutputFile, OutputData, or the stream set in SetOutputStream.

Property List


The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

InputDataA byte array containing the PDF document to process.
InputFileThe PDF file to process.
OutputDataA byte array containing the PDF document after processing.
OutputFileThe path to a local file where the output will be written.
OverwriteWhether or not the class should overwrite files.
RootObjectsA collection of all the root objects contained in the document.
SelectedObjectsA collection of objects that match the current selection.

Method List


The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AddContainerAdds a dictionary or array object to the document.
AddObjectInserts an object into the document.
AddOpaqueAdds an opaque piece of PDF to the document.
AddPrimitiveAdds a primitive object to the document.
AddReferenceAdds an object reference to the document.
AddStreamAdds a stream object to the document.
CloseCloses the opened document.
ConfigSets or retrieves a configuration setting.
CreateNewCreates a new PDF document.
GetObjectDataReturns the content of a stream object.
OpenOpens the document for processing.
RemoveObjectRemoves an object from the document.
ResetResets the class.
SelectSelects an object or multiple objects from the document.
SetInputStreamSets the stream containing the PDF document to process.
SetObjectDataSets the content of a stream object.
SetOutputStreamSets the stream to write the processed document to.

Event List


The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ErrorFired when information is available about errors during data delivery.
LogFired once for each log message.

Config Settings


The following is a list of config settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

CloseInputStreamAfterProcessingWhether to close the input stream after processing.
CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessingWhether to close the output stream after processing.
LogLevelThe level of detail that is logged.
OwnerPasswordThe owner password to decrypt the document with.
SaveChangesWhether to save changes made to the document.
StringEncodingThe encoding to use for string objects.
TempPathThe location where temporary files are stored.
BuildInfoInformation about the product's build.
CodePageThe system code page used for Unicode to Multibyte translations.
LicenseInfoInformation about the current license.
MaskSensitiveDataWhether sensitive data is masked in log messages.
ProcessIdleEventsWhether the class uses its internal event loop to process events when the main thread is idle.
SelectWaitMillisThe length of time in milliseconds the class will wait when DoEvents is called if there are no events to process.
UseInternalSecurityAPIWhether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation.

InputData Property (PDFExplorer Class)

A byte array containing the PDF document to process.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int GetInputData(char* &lpInputData, int &lenInputData);
int SetInputData(const char* lpInputData, int lenInputData); Unicode (Windows) INT GetInputData(LPSTR &lpInputData, INT &lenInputData);
INT SetInputData(LPCSTR lpInputData, INT lenInputData);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getinputdata(void* lpObj, char** lpInputData, int* lenInputData);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setinputdata(void* lpObj, const char* lpInputData, int lenInputData);
QByteArray getInputData();
int setInputData(QByteArray qbaInputData);

Remarks

This property is used to assign a byte array containing the PDF document to be processed.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Byte Array

InputFile Property (PDFExplorer Class)

The PDF file to process.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* GetInputFile();
int SetInputFile(const char* lpszInputFile); Unicode (Windows) LPWSTR GetInputFile();
INT SetInputFile(LPCWSTR lpszInputFile);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getinputfile(void* lpObj);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setinputfile(void* lpObj, const char* lpszInputFile);
QString getInputFile();
int setInputFile(QString qsInputFile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property is used to provide a path to the PDF document to be processed.

Data Type

String

OutputData Property (PDFExplorer Class)

A byte array containing the PDF document after processing.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int GetOutputData(char* &lpOutputData, int &lenOutputData);

Unicode (Windows)
INT GetOutputData(LPSTR &lpOutputData, INT &lenOutputData);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getoutputdata(void* lpObj, char** lpOutputData, int* lenOutputData);
QByteArray getOutputData();

Remarks

This property is used to read the byte array containing the produced output after the operation has completed. It will only be set if an output file and output stream have not been assigned via OutputFile and SetOutputStream respectively.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Byte Array

OutputFile Property (PDFExplorer Class)

The path to a local file where the output will be written.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* GetOutputFile();
int SetOutputFile(const char* lpszOutputFile); Unicode (Windows) LPWSTR GetOutputFile();
INT SetOutputFile(LPCWSTR lpszOutputFile);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getoutputfile(void* lpObj);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setoutputfile(void* lpObj, const char* lpszOutputFile);
QString getOutputFile();
int setOutputFile(QString qsOutputFile);

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property is used to provide a path where the resulting PDF document will be saved after the operation has completed.

Data Type

String

Overwrite Property (PDFExplorer Class)

Whether or not the class should overwrite files.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int GetOverwrite();
int SetOverwrite(int bOverwrite); Unicode (Windows) BOOL GetOverwrite();
INT SetOverwrite(BOOL bOverwrite);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getoverwrite(void* lpObj);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setoverwrite(void* lpObj, int bOverwrite);
bool getOverwrite();
int setOverwrite(bool bOverwrite);

Default Value

FALSE

Remarks

This property indicates whether or not the class will overwrite OutputFile, OutputData, or the stream set in SetOutputStream. If set to false, an error will be thrown whenever OutputFile, OutputData, or the stream set in SetOutputStream exists before an operation.

Data Type

Boolean

RootObjects Property (PDFExplorer Class)

A collection of all the root objects contained in the document.

Syntax

SecurePDFList<SecurePDFPDFObject>* GetRootObjects();

int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectcount(void* lpObj);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectcontainer(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectdisposition(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectelementcount(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectgennumber(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectkeys(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectobjectnumber(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectobjecttype(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int64 securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectoffset(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectpath(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int64 securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectsize(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getrootobjectvalue(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setrootobjectvalue(void* lpObj, int rootobjectindex, const char* lpszRootObjectValue);
int getRootObjectCount();

bool getRootObjectContainer(int iRootObjectIndex);

int getRootObjectDisposition(int iRootObjectIndex);

int getRootObjectElementCount(int iRootObjectIndex);

int getRootObjectGenNumber(int iRootObjectIndex);

QString getRootObjectKeys(int iRootObjectIndex);

int getRootObjectObjectNumber(int iRootObjectIndex);

int getRootObjectObjectType(int iRootObjectIndex);

qint64 getRootObjectOffset(int iRootObjectIndex);

QString getRootObjectPath(int iRootObjectIndex);

qint64 getRootObjectSize(int iRootObjectIndex);

QString getRootObjectValue(int iRootObjectIndex);
int setRootObjectValue(int iRootObjectIndex, QString qsRootObjectValue);

Remarks

This property is used to access the list of root objects of the document object tree.

The logical structure of the document (the "root") starts at the document trailer. The trailer contains such entries as /Info and /Root, which provide a pathway for accessing deeper objects such as pages, forms, and signatures.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

SecurePDFPDFObject

SelectedObjects Property (PDFExplorer Class)

A collection of objects that match the current selection.

Syntax

SecurePDFList<SecurePDFPDFObject>* GetSelectedObjects();

int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectcount(void* lpObj);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectcontainer(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectdisposition(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectelementcount(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectgennumber(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectkeys(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectobjectnumber(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectobjecttype(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int64 securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectoffset(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectpath(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int64 securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectsize(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getselectedobjectvalue(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setselectedobjectvalue(void* lpObj, int selectedobjectindex, const char* lpszSelectedObjectValue);
int getSelectedObjectCount();

bool getSelectedObjectContainer(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

int getSelectedObjectDisposition(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

int getSelectedObjectElementCount(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

int getSelectedObjectGenNumber(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

QString getSelectedObjectKeys(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

int getSelectedObjectObjectNumber(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

int getSelectedObjectObjectType(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

qint64 getSelectedObjectOffset(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

QString getSelectedObjectPath(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

qint64 getSelectedObjectSize(int iSelectedObjectIndex);

QString getSelectedObjectValue(int iSelectedObjectIndex);
int setSelectedObjectValue(int iSelectedObjectIndex, QString qsSelectedObjectValue);

Remarks

This property is used to access the list of objects that match the selection criteria specified in the Select method.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

SecurePDFPDFObject

AddContainer Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Adds a dictionary or array object to the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* AddContainer(const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, int bDictionary, int bIndirect);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR AddContainer(LPCWSTR lpszBasePath, LPCWSTR lpszObjectName, BOOL bDictionary, BOOL bIndirect);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_addcontainer(void* lpObj, const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, int bDictionary, int bIndirect);
QString addContainer(const QString& qsBasePath, const QString& qsObjectName, bool bDictionary, bool bIndirect);

Remarks

This method is used to add a new dictionary or array object to the document at BasePath. If adding to an existing dictionary, set ObjectName to the key that the new object will be added or referenced under.

The Dictionary parameter specifies whether to create a dictionary object.

The Indirect parameter specifies whether to add the dictionary or array to the indirect (numbered) object list and reference it from BasePath instead of creating an in-place object.

This method returns the path of the new object in the document.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

AddObject Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Inserts an object into the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* AddObject(const char* lpszBasePath, int iObjectType, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszValue, int bIndirect);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR AddObject(LPCWSTR lpszBasePath, INT iObjectType, LPCWSTR lpszObjectName, LPCWSTR lpszValue, BOOL bIndirect);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_addobject(void* lpObj, const char* lpszBasePath, int iObjectType, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszValue, int bIndirect);
QString addObject(const QString& qsBasePath, int iObjectType, const QString& qsObjectName, const QString& qsValue, bool bIndirect);

Remarks

This method is used to add a new object with value Value to the document at BasePath. If adding to an existing dictionary, set ObjectName to the key that the new object will be added or referenced under.

The ObjectType parameter specifies the type of the object and can be one of the following values:

  • 1 (Name)
  • 2 (String)
  • 3 (Real)
  • 4 (Integer)
  • 5 (Boolean)
  • 6 (Array)
  • 7 (Dictionary)
  • 8 (Stream)
The Indirect parameter specifies whether to add the object to the indirect (numbered) object list and reference it from BasePath instead of creating an in-place object.

NOTE: This method can be particularly useful to add a primitive object (name, string, real, integer, or boolean) to the list of indirect (numbered) objects.

This method returns the path of the new object in the document.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

AddOpaque Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Adds an opaque piece of PDF to the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* AddOpaque(const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszValue);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR AddOpaque(LPCWSTR lpszBasePath, LPCWSTR lpszObjectName, LPCWSTR lpszValue);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_addopaque(void* lpObj, const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszValue);
QString addOpaque(const QString& qsBasePath, const QString& qsObjectName, const QString& qsValue);

Remarks

This method is used to add an uninterpreted string of PDF objects with value Value to the document at BasePath. If adding to an existing dictionary, set ObjectName to the key that the new object will be added under.

Example: pdfexplorer.InputFile = "input.pdf"; pdfexplorer.OutputFile = "modified.pdf"; pdfexplorer.Open(); string value = "<< /Producer (Secure PDF)\r\n" + "/CreationDate (D:20250725102001Z00'00')\r\n" + "/ModDate (D:20250725102001Z00'00')\r\n" + "/Author (Edvard Grieg)\r\n" + "/Title (In the Hall of the Mountain King)\r\n" + ">>"; string path = pdfexplorer.AddOpaque("/", "Info", value); pdfexplorer.Close(); This method returns the path of the new object in the document.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

AddPrimitive Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Adds a primitive object to the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* AddPrimitive(const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszValue);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR AddPrimitive(LPCWSTR lpszBasePath, LPCWSTR lpszObjectName, LPCWSTR lpszValue);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_addprimitive(void* lpObj, const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszValue);
QString addPrimitive(const QString& qsBasePath, const QString& qsObjectName, const QString& qsValue);

Remarks

This method is used to add a new name, string, real (double), integer, or boolean object with value Value to the document at BasePath. If adding to an existing dictionary, set ObjectName to the key that the new object will be added under.

The class will automatically determine the type of the object based on the Value parameter.

Examples: pdfexplorer.InputFile = "input.pdf"; pdfexplorer.OutputFile = "modified.pdf"; pdfexplorer.Open(); // Adding a name object to the dictionary at 3 0 obj string namePath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive("3 0 obj", "Type", "/Font"); // Adding a string object to the dictionary at 1 0 obj string stringPath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive("1 0 obj", "Name", "John Doe"); // Adding a real object to an array string realPath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive("5 0 obj/Rect", "", "100.5"); // Adding an integer object to an array string integerPath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive("/Root/Pages/Kids[0]/MediaBox", "", "792"); // Adding a boolean object to a dictionary string booleanPath = pdfexplorer.AddPrimitive("/Root/AcroForm", "NeedAppearances", "true"); pdfexplorer.Close(); This method returns the path of the new object in the document.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

AddReference Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Adds an object reference to the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* AddReference(const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszRefPath);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR AddReference(LPCWSTR lpszBasePath, LPCWSTR lpszObjectName, LPCWSTR lpszRefPath);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_addreference(void* lpObj, const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpszRefPath);
QString addReference(const QString& qsBasePath, const QString& qsObjectName, const QString& qsRefPath);

Remarks

This method is used to create a new reference to an existing object, such as a page dictionary, at BasePath. If adding to an existing dictionary, set ObjectName to the key that the new reference will be added under.

The RefPath parameter specifies the destination object and must point to one of the indirect (numbered) objects.

This method returns the path of the new object in the document.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

AddStream Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Adds a stream object to the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* AddStream(const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpValue, int lenValue);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR AddStream(LPCWSTR lpszBasePath, LPCWSTR lpszObjectName, LPCSTR lpValue, INT lenValue);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_addstream(void* lpObj, const char* lpszBasePath, const char* lpszObjectName, const char* lpValue, int lenValue);
QString addStream(const QString& qsBasePath, const QString& qsObjectName, QByteArray& qbaValue);

Remarks

This method is used to create a new stream object with value Value at BasePath. If adding to an existing dictionary, set ObjectName to the key that the new stream will be referenced under.

NOTE: Stream objects are always indirect (i.e., part of the numbered object list).

This method returns the path of the new object in the document.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

Close Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Closes the opened document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int Close();

Unicode (Windows)
INT Close();
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_close(void* lpObj);
int close();

Remarks

This method is used to close the previously opened document. It should always be preceded by a call to the Open method.

Example: component.InputFile = "input.pdf"; component.Open(); // Some operation component.Close(); If any changes are made to the document, they will be saved automatically to OutputFile, OutputData, or the stream set in SetOutputStream when this method is called. To configure this saving behavior, set the SaveChanges configuration setting.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

Config Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* Config(const char* lpszConfigurationString);

Unicode (Windows)
LPWSTR Config(LPCWSTR lpszConfigurationString);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_config(void* lpObj, const char* lpszConfigurationString);
QString config(const QString& qsConfigurationString);

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every class. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the class.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a String value; after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

CreateNew Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Creates a new PDF document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int CreateNew();

Unicode (Windows)
INT CreateNew();
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_createnew(void* lpObj);
int createNew();

Remarks

This method is used to create a blank PDF document with one empty page. Having created the baseline document, use the class's methods (such as AddStream) to add objects to it.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

GetObjectData Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Returns the content of a stream object.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
char* GetObjectData(const char* lpszPath, int *lpSize = NULL);

Unicode (Windows)
LPSTR GetObjectData(LPCWSTR lpszPath, LPINT lpSize = NULL);
char* securepdf_pdfexplorer_getobjectdata(void* lpObj, const char* lpszPath, int *lpSize);
QByteArray getObjectData(const QString& qsPath);

Remarks

This method is used to retrieve the content of the PDF stream object at Path.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a Binary String value (with length lpSize); after it returns, call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain its result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

Open Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Opens the document for processing.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int Open();

Unicode (Windows)
INT Open();
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_open(void* lpObj);
int open();

Remarks

This method is used to open the document specified in InputFile, InputData, or SetInputStream before performing some operation on it, such as accessing or modifying individual PDF objects. When finished, call Close to complete or discard the operation.

It is recommended to use this method (alongside Close) when performing multiple operations on the document at once.

NOTE: This method will populate the RootObjects properties with the keys found in the document trailer dictionary.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

RemoveObject Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Removes an object from the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int RemoveObject(const char* lpszPath);

Unicode (Windows)
INT RemoveObject(LPCWSTR lpszPath);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_removeobject(void* lpObj, const char* lpszPath);
int removeObject(const QString& qsPath);

Remarks

This method is used to remove the object at Path from the document.

Note the following peculiarities of the PDF format:

  • Certain objects ("indirect objects") are global, numbered objects that can be referenced from other objects in the document. To remove an indirect object, all the references to it must be removed first, followed by the object itself.
  • Indirect objects may have more than one reference. Removing such an object may inadvertently invalidate other references in the document.
Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

Reset Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Resets the class.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int Reset();

Unicode (Windows)
INT Reset();
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_reset(void* lpObj);
int reset();

Remarks

This method is used to reset the class's properties and configuration settings to their default values.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

Select Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Selects an object or multiple objects from the document.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int Select(const char* lpszFilter, int bClearExistingSelection);

Unicode (Windows)
INT Select(LPCWSTR lpszFilter, BOOL bClearExistingSelection);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_select(void* lpObj, const char* lpszFilter, int bClearExistingSelection);
int select(const QString& qsFilter, bool bClearExistingSelection);

Remarks

This method is used to select objects from the document using an XPath-like language. Upon completion of this method, objects with paths matching the Filter parameter will be populated in the SelectedObjects properties.

The ClearExistingSelection parameter specifies whether SelectedObjects will be cleared before performing the select operation.

NOTE: Since streams are compound objects consisting of a dictionary and data, when selecting a stream object this method will select its dictionary. Use the GetObjectData or GetObjectStream methods to extract the content of stream objects.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

SetInputStream Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Sets the stream containing the PDF document to process.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int SetInputStream(SecurePDFStream* sInputStream);

Unicode (Windows)
INT SetInputStream(SecurePDFStream* sInputStream);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setinputstream(void* lpObj, SecurePDFStream* sInputStream);
int setInputStream(SecurePDFStream* sInputStream);

Remarks

This method is used to set the stream from which the class will read the PDF document to be processed. If an input stream is set before the class attempts to perform operations on the document, the class will read the data from the input stream instead of from the InputFile or InputData properties.

NOTE: It may be useful to additionally set the CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing configuration setting to true when using input streams.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

SetObjectData Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Sets the content of a stream object.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int SetObjectData(const char* lpszPath, const char* lpValue, int lenValue);

Unicode (Windows)
INT SetObjectData(LPCWSTR lpszPath, LPCSTR lpValue, INT lenValue);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setobjectdata(void* lpObj, const char* lpszPath, const char* lpValue, int lenValue);
int setObjectData(const QString& qsPath, QByteArray& qbaValue);

Remarks

This method is used to set the content of the PDF stream object at Path. The Value parameter specifies the data of the stream.

Please see Navigating the Document for more details about object paths.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

SetOutputStream Method (PDFExplorer Class)

Sets the stream to write the processed document to.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
int SetOutputStream(SecurePDFStream* sOutputStream);

Unicode (Windows)
INT SetOutputStream(SecurePDFStream* sOutputStream);
int securepdf_pdfexplorer_setoutputstream(void* lpObj, SecurePDFStream* sOutputStream);
int setOutputStream(SecurePDFStream* sOutputStream);

Remarks

This method is used to set the stream to which the class will write the resulting PDF document. If an output stream is set before the class attempts to perform operations on the document, the class will write the data to the output stream instead of writing to OutputFile or populating OutputData.

NOTE: It may be useful to additionally set the CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing configuration setting to true when using output streams.

Error Handling (C++)

This method returns a result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message. (Note: This method's result code can also be obtained by calling the GetLastErrorCode() method after it returns.)

Error Event (PDFExplorer Class)

Fired when information is available about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
virtual int FireError(PDFExplorerErrorEventParams *e);
typedef struct {
int ErrorCode;
const char *Description; int reserved; } PDFExplorerErrorEventParams;
Unicode (Windows) virtual INT FireError(PDFExplorerErrorEventParams *e);
typedef struct {
INT ErrorCode;
LPCWSTR Description; INT reserved; } PDFExplorerErrorEventParams;
#define EID_PDFEXPLORER_ERROR 1

virtual INT SECUREPDF_CALL FireError(INT &iErrorCode, LPSTR &lpszDescription);
class PDFExplorerErrorEventParams {
public:
  int errorCode();

  const QString &description();

  int eventRetVal();
  void setEventRetVal(int iRetVal);
};
// To handle, subclass PDFExplorer and override this emitter function. virtual int fireError(PDFExplorerErrorEventParams *e) {...} // Or, connect one or more slots to this signal. void error(PDFExplorerErrorEventParams *e);

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the class fails with an error.

The ErrorCode parameter contains an error code, and the Description parameter contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

Log Event (PDFExplorer Class)

Fired once for each log message.

Syntax

ANSI (Cross Platform)
virtual int FireLog(PDFExplorerLogEventParams *e);
typedef struct {
int LogLevel;
const char *Message;
const char *LogType; int reserved; } PDFExplorerLogEventParams;
Unicode (Windows) virtual INT FireLog(PDFExplorerLogEventParams *e);
typedef struct {
INT LogLevel;
LPCWSTR Message;
LPCWSTR LogType; INT reserved; } PDFExplorerLogEventParams;
#define EID_PDFEXPLORER_LOG 2

virtual INT SECUREPDF_CALL FireLog(INT &iLogLevel, LPSTR &lpszMessage, LPSTR &lpszLogType);
class PDFExplorerLogEventParams {
public:
  int logLevel();

  const QString &message();

  const QString &logType();

  int eventRetVal();
  void setEventRetVal(int iRetVal);
};
// To handle, subclass PDFExplorer and override this emitter function. virtual int fireLog(PDFExplorerLogEventParams *e) {...} // Or, connect one or more slots to this signal. void log(PDFExplorerLogEventParams *e);

Remarks

This event is fired once for each log message generated by the class. The verbosity is controlled by the LogLevel configuration setting.

The LogLevel parameter indicates the detail level of the message. Possible values are:

0 (None) No messages are logged.
1 (Info - default) Informational events such as the basics of the chain validation procedure are logged.
2 (Verbose) Detailed data such as HTTP requests are logged.
3 (Debug) Debug data including the full chain validation procedure are logged.

The Message parameter is the log message.

The LogType parameter identifies the type of log entry. Possible values are:

  • CertValidator
  • Font
  • HTTP
  • PDFInvalidSignature
  • PDFRevocationInfo
  • Timestamp
  • TSL

PDFObject Type

A single PDF object.

Syntax

SecurePDFPDFObject (declared in securepdf.h)

Remarks

This type provides access to the properties of an individual document object.

The following fields are available:

Fields

Container
int (read-only)

Default Value: FALSE

Whether the object is a container for other objects (i.e., a dictionary, array, or stream).

Disposition
int (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The method by which the object is addressed in the document.

Possible values are:

0 (Direct - default) The object is recorded in-place.
1 (Reference) The object is recorded as a reference to an indirect object.
2 (Indirect) The object is an indirect object.

Example:

5 0 obj
<<
  /KeyM (Electricity)
>>

...

<<
  /KeyA (Some Value)
  /KeyB << /X /Y >>
  /KeyC 5 0 R
>>

  • The value of /KeyA (Some Value) is a direct string object.
  • The value of /X (/Y) is a direct name object.
  • The value of /KeyB is a direct dictionary object.
  • The value of /KeyC is a reference to the indirect dictionary object 5 0 obj.
  • The value of 5 0 obj is an indirect dictionary object.

ElementCount
int (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The number of sub-elements in the object, such as keys in the dictionary or elements in the array.

GenNumber
int (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The generation number of the indirect (top-level) object.

Keys
char* (read-only)

Default Value: ""

A CRLF-separated list of the keys of the dictionary or indices of the array.

ObjectNumber
int (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The object number of the indirect (top-level) object.

ObjectType
int (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The type of the object.

Possible values are:

0 (Undefined - default)
1 (Name)
2 (String)
3 (Real)
4 (Integer)
5 (Boolean)
6 (Array)
7 (Dictionary)
8 (Stream)

Offset
int64 (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The start offset of the object, in bytes, from the beginning of the PDF document.

Path
char* (read-only)

Default Value: ""

The path to the object, for example /Root/Pages.

Size
int64 (read-only)

Default Value: 0

The physical length of the object in bytes.

Value
char*

Default Value: ""

The value of the object.

NOTE: This field only applies to primitive objects (strings, names, integers, reals, and booleans). To access and modify contents of complex objects such as streams, use the GetObjectData and SetObjectData methods.

Constructors

PDFObject()
PDFObject(int iObjectType, const char* lpszPath)

SecurePDFList Type

Syntax

SecurePDFList<T> (declared in securepdf.h)

Remarks

SecurePDFList is a generic class that is used to hold a collection of objects of type T, where T is one of the custom types supported by the PDFExplorer class.

Methods

GetCount This method returns the current size of the collection.

int GetCount() {}

SetCount This method sets the size of the collection. This method returns 0 if setting the size was successful; or -1 if the collection is ReadOnly. When adding additional objects to a collection call this method to specify the new size. Increasing the size of the collection preserves existing objects in the collection.

int SetCount(int count) {}

Get This method gets the item at the specified position. The index parameter specifies the index of the item in the collection. This method returns NULL if an invalid index is specified.

T* Get(int index) {}

Set This method sets the item at the specified position. The index parameter specifies the index of the item in the collection that is being set. This method returns -1 if an invalid index is specified. Note: Objects created using the new operator must be freed using the delete operator; they will not be automatically freed by the class.

T* Set(int index, T* value) {}

SecurePDFStream Type

Syntax

SecurePDFStream (declared in securepdf.h)

Remarks

The PDFExplorer class includes one or more API members that take a stream object as a parameter. To use such API members, create a concrete class that implements the SecurePDFStream interface and pass the PDFExplorer class an instance of that concrete class.

When implementing the SecurePDFStream interface's properties and methods, they must behave as described below. If the concrete class's implementation does not behave as expected, undefined behavior may occur.

Properties

CanRead Whether the stream supports reading.

bool CanRead() { return true; }
CanSeek Whether the stream supports seeking.

bool CanSeek() { return true; }
CanWrite Whether the stream supports writing.

bool CanWrite() { return true; }
Length Gets the length of the stream, in bytes.

int64 GetLength() = 0;

Methods

Close Closes the stream, releasing all resources currently allocated for it.

void Close() {}

This method is called automatically when a SecurePDFStream object is deleted.

Flush Forces all data held by the stream's buffers to be written out to storage.

int Flush() { return 0; }

Must return 0 if flushing is successful; or -1 if an error occurs or the stream is closed. If the stream does not support writing, this method must do nothing and return 0.

Read Reads a sequence of bytes from the stream and advances the current position within the stream by the number of bytes read.

int Read(void* buffer, int count) = 0;

Buffer specifies the buffer to populate with data from the stream. Count specifies the number of bytes that should be read from the stream.

Must return the total number of bytes read into Buffer; this may be less than Count if that many bytes are not currently available, or 0 if the end of the stream has been reached. Must return -1 if an error occurs, if reading is not supported, or if the stream is closed.

Seek Sets the current position within the stream based on a particular point of origin.

int64 Seek(int64 offset, int seekOrigin) = 0;

Offset specifies the offset in the stream to seek to, relative to SeekOrigin. Valid values for SeekOrigin are:

  • 0: Seek from beginning.
  • 1: Seek from current position.
  • 2: Seek from end.

Must return the new position within the stream; or -1 if an error occurs, if seeking is not supported, or if the stream is closed (however, see note below). If -1 is returned, the current position within the stream must remain unchanged.

Note: If the stream is not closed, it must always be possible to call this method with an Offset of 0 and a SeekOrigin of 1 to obtain the current position within the stream, even if seeking is not otherwise supported.

Write Writes a sequence of bytes to the stream and advances the current position within the stream by the number of bytes written.

int Write(const void* buffer, int count) = 0;

Buffer specifies the buffer with data to write to the stream. Count specifies the number of bytes that should be written to the stream.

Must return the total number of bytes written to the stream; this may be less than Count if that many bytes could not be written. Must return -1 if an error occurs, if writing is not supported, or if the stream is closed.

Config Settings (PDFExplorer Class)

The class accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

PDFExplorer Config Settings

CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing:   Whether to close the input stream after processing.

This setting determines whether the input stream specified in SetInputStream will be closed after processing is complete. The default value is true.

CloseOutputStreamAfterProcessing:   Whether to close the output stream after processing.

This setting determines whether the output stream specified in SetOutputStream will be closed after processing is complete. The default value is true.

LogLevel:   The level of detail that is logged.

This setting controls the level of detail that is logged through the Log event. Possible values are:

0 (None) No messages are logged.
1 (Info - default) Informational events such as the basics of the chain validation procedure are logged.
2 (Verbose) Detailed data such as HTTP requests are logged.
3 (Debug) Debug data including the full chain validation procedure are logged.
OwnerPassword:   The owner password to decrypt the document with.

This setting is used to provide the document owner password for decryption. Though it may be different from Password, most implementations use the same value for both.

SaveChanges:   Whether to save changes made to the document.

This setting specifies whether and how changes made to the PDF document will be saved when the Close method is called. Possible values are:

0 Discard all changes.
1 Save the document to OutputFile, OutputData, or the stream set in SetOutputStream, even if it has not been modified.
2 (default) Save the document to OutputFile, OutputData, or the stream set in SetOutputStream, but only if it has been modified.
StringEncoding:   The encoding to use for string objects.

This setting specifies how the class will encode strings when processing string objects. Possible values are:

Auto (default) Encode the string as a hex string if no human-readable text is identified; otherwise, encode it as a literal string.
Hex Encode the string as a hex string (e.g., hex:48656C6C6F20776F726C6421).
Binary Encode the string as a literal string, converting to human-readable text when possible (e.g., Hello world!).
TempPath:   The location where temporary files are stored.

This setting specifies an absolute path to the location on disk where temporary files are stored. It can be useful to reduce memory usage.

Base Config Settings

BuildInfo:   Information about the product's build.

When queried, this setting will return a string containing information about the product's build.

CodePage:   The system code page used for Unicode to Multibyte translations.

The default code page is Unicode UTF-8 (65001).

The following is a list of valid code page identifiers:

IdentifierName
037IBM EBCDIC - U.S./Canada
437OEM - United States
500IBM EBCDIC - International
708Arabic - ASMO 708
709Arabic - ASMO 449+, BCON V4
710Arabic - Transparent Arabic
720Arabic - Transparent ASMO
737OEM - Greek (formerly 437G)
775OEM - Baltic
850OEM - Multilingual Latin I
852OEM - Latin II
855OEM - Cyrillic (primarily Russian)
857OEM - Turkish
858OEM - Multilingual Latin I + Euro symbol
860OEM - Portuguese
861OEM - Icelandic
862OEM - Hebrew
863OEM - Canadian-French
864OEM - Arabic
865OEM - Nordic
866OEM - Russian
869OEM - Modern Greek
870IBM EBCDIC - Multilingual/ROECE (Latin-2)
874ANSI/OEM - Thai (same as 28605, ISO 8859-15)
875IBM EBCDIC - Modern Greek
932ANSI/OEM - Japanese, Shift-JIS
936ANSI/OEM - Simplified Chinese (PRC, Singapore)
949ANSI/OEM - Korean (Unified Hangul Code)
950ANSI/OEM - Traditional Chinese (Taiwan; Hong Kong SAR, PRC)
1026IBM EBCDIC - Turkish (Latin-5)
1047IBM EBCDIC - Latin 1/Open System
1140IBM EBCDIC - U.S./Canada (037 + Euro symbol)
1141IBM EBCDIC - Germany (20273 + Euro symbol)
1142IBM EBCDIC - Denmark/Norway (20277 + Euro symbol)
1143IBM EBCDIC - Finland/Sweden (20278 + Euro symbol)
1144IBM EBCDIC - Italy (20280 + Euro symbol)
1145IBM EBCDIC - Latin America/Spain (20284 + Euro symbol)
1146IBM EBCDIC - United Kingdom (20285 + Euro symbol)
1147IBM EBCDIC - France (20297 + Euro symbol)
1148IBM EBCDIC - International (500 + Euro symbol)
1149IBM EBCDIC - Icelandic (20871 + Euro symbol)
1200Unicode UCS-2 Little-Endian (BMP of ISO 10646)
1201Unicode UCS-2 Big-Endian
1250ANSI - Central European
1251ANSI - Cyrillic
1252ANSI - Latin I
1253ANSI - Greek
1254ANSI - Turkish
1255ANSI - Hebrew
1256ANSI - Arabic
1257ANSI - Baltic
1258ANSI/OEM - Vietnamese
1361Korean (Johab)
10000MAC - Roman
10001MAC - Japanese
10002MAC - Traditional Chinese (Big5)
10003MAC - Korean
10004MAC - Arabic
10005MAC - Hebrew
10006MAC - Greek I
10007MAC - Cyrillic
10008MAC - Simplified Chinese (GB 2312)
10010MAC - Romania
10017MAC - Ukraine
10021MAC - Thai
10029MAC - Latin II
10079MAC - Icelandic
10081MAC - Turkish
10082MAC - Croatia
12000Unicode UCS-4 Little-Endian
12001Unicode UCS-4 Big-Endian
20000CNS - Taiwan
20001TCA - Taiwan
20002Eten - Taiwan
20003IBM5550 - Taiwan
20004TeleText - Taiwan
20005Wang - Taiwan
20105IA5 IRV International Alphabet No. 5 (7-bit)
20106IA5 German (7-bit)
20107IA5 Swedish (7-bit)
20108IA5 Norwegian (7-bit)
20127US-ASCII (7-bit)
20261T.61
20269ISO 6937 Non-Spacing Accent
20273IBM EBCDIC - Germany
20277IBM EBCDIC - Denmark/Norway
20278IBM EBCDIC - Finland/Sweden
20280IBM EBCDIC - Italy
20284IBM EBCDIC - Latin America/Spain
20285IBM EBCDIC - United Kingdom
20290IBM EBCDIC - Japanese Katakana Extended
20297IBM EBCDIC - France
20420IBM EBCDIC - Arabic
20423IBM EBCDIC - Greek
20424IBM EBCDIC - Hebrew
20833IBM EBCDIC - Korean Extended
20838IBM EBCDIC - Thai
20866Russian - KOI8-R
20871IBM EBCDIC - Icelandic
20880IBM EBCDIC - Cyrillic (Russian)
20905IBM EBCDIC - Turkish
20924IBM EBCDIC - Latin-1/Open System (1047 + Euro symbol)
20932JIS X 0208-1990 & 0121-1990
20936Simplified Chinese (GB2312)
21025IBM EBCDIC - Cyrillic (Serbian, Bulgarian)
21027Extended Alpha Lowercase
21866Ukrainian (KOI8-U)
28591ISO 8859-1 Latin I
28592ISO 8859-2 Central Europe
28593ISO 8859-3 Latin 3
28594ISO 8859-4 Baltic
28595ISO 8859-5 Cyrillic
28596ISO 8859-6 Arabic
28597ISO 8859-7 Greek
28598ISO 8859-8 Hebrew
28599ISO 8859-9 Latin 5
28605ISO 8859-15 Latin 9
29001Europa 3
38598ISO 8859-8 Hebrew
50220ISO 2022 Japanese with no halfwidth Katakana
50221ISO 2022 Japanese with halfwidth Katakana
50222ISO 2022 Japanese JIS X 0201-1989
50225ISO 2022 Korean
50227ISO 2022 Simplified Chinese
50229ISO 2022 Traditional Chinese
50930Japanese (Katakana) Extended
50931US/Canada and Japanese
50933Korean Extended and Korean
50935Simplified Chinese Extended and Simplified Chinese
50936Simplified Chinese
50937US/Canada and Traditional Chinese
50939Japanese (Latin) Extended and Japanese
51932EUC - Japanese
51936EUC - Simplified Chinese
51949EUC - Korean
51950EUC - Traditional Chinese
52936HZ-GB2312 Simplified Chinese
54936Windows XP: GB18030 Simplified Chinese (4 Byte)
57002ISCII Devanagari
57003ISCII Bengali
57004ISCII Tamil
57005ISCII Telugu
57006ISCII Assamese
57007ISCII Oriya
57008ISCII Kannada
57009ISCII Malayalam
57010ISCII Gujarati
57011ISCII Punjabi
65000Unicode UTF-7
65001Unicode UTF-8
The following is a list of valid code page identifiers for Mac OS only:
IdentifierName
1ASCII
2NEXTSTEP
3JapaneseEUC
4UTF8
5ISOLatin1
6Symbol
7NonLossyASCII
8ShiftJIS
9ISOLatin2
10Unicode
11WindowsCP1251
12WindowsCP1252
13WindowsCP1253
14WindowsCP1254
15WindowsCP1250
21ISO2022JP
30MacOSRoman
10UTF16String
0x90000100UTF16BigEndian
0x94000100UTF16LittleEndian
0x8c000100UTF32String
0x98000100UTF32BigEndian
0x9c000100UTF32LittleEndian
65536Proprietary

LicenseInfo:   Information about the current license.

When queried, this setting will return a string containing information about the license this instance of a class is using. It will return the following information:

  • Product: The product the license is for.
  • Product Key: The key the license was generated from.
  • License Source: Where the license was found (e.g., RuntimeLicense, License File).
  • License Type: The type of license installed (e.g., Royalty Free, Single Server).
  • Last Valid Build: The last valid build number for which the license will work.
MaskSensitiveData:   Whether sensitive data is masked in log messages.

In certain circumstances it may be beneficial to mask sensitive data, like passwords, in log messages. Set this to true to mask sensitive data. The default is true.

ProcessIdleEvents:   Whether the class uses its internal event loop to process events when the main thread is idle.

If set to False, the class will not fire internal idle events. Set this to False to use the class in a background thread on Mac OS. By default, this setting is True.

SelectWaitMillis:   The length of time in milliseconds the class will wait when DoEvents is called if there are no events to process.

If there are no events to process when DoEvents is called, the class will wait for the amount of time specified here before returning. The default value is 20.

UseInternalSecurityAPI:   Whether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation.

When set to false, the class will use the system security libraries by default to perform cryptographic functions where applicable.

Setting this configuration setting to true tells the class to use the internal implementation instead of using the system security libraries.

On Windows, this setting is set to false by default. On Linux/macOS, this setting is set to true by default.

To use the system security libraries for Linux, OpenSSL support must be enabled. For more information on how to enable OpenSSL, please refer to the OpenSSL Notes section.

Trappable Errors (PDFExplorer Class)

Error Handling (C++)

Call the GetLastErrorCode() method to obtain the last called method's result code; 0 indicates success, while a non-zero error code indicates that this method encountered an error during its execution. Known error codes are listed below. If an error occurs, the GetLastError() method can be called to retrieve the associated error message.

PDFExplorer Errors

1301   Invalid path.
1302   Unsupported object type.
1304   Object with this name already exists.
1307   Cannot add direct object to root.
1308   Cannot add reference to root.

PDF Errors

804   PDF decompression failed.
805   Cannot add entry to cross-reference table.
806   Unsupported field size.
807   Unsupported Encoding filter.
808   Unsupported predictor algorithm.
809   Unsupported document version.
812   Cannot read PDF file stream.
813   Cannot write to PDF file stream.
814   OutputFile already exists and Overwrite is false.
815   Invalid parameter.
817   Bad cross-reference entry.
818   Invalid object or generation number.
819   Invalid object stream.
820   Invalid stream dictionary.
821   Invalid AcroForm entry.
822   Invalid Root entry.
823   Invalid annotation.
824   The input document is empty.
826   OpenType font error. The error description contains the detailed message.
828   Invalid CMS data. The error description contains the detailed message.
835   Cannot change decryption mode for opened document.
836   Unsupported Date string.
838   Cryptographic error. The error description contains the detailed message.
840   DecryptionCert error. The error description contains the detailed message.
841   Encryption failed. The error description contains the detailed message.
842   No proper certificate for encryption found.
846   Unsupported revision.
847   Unsupported security handler SubFilter.
848   Failed to verify permissions.
849   Invalid password.
850   Invalid password information.
852   Unsupported encryption algorithm.
859   Cannot encrypt encrypted document.
864   Cannot modify document after signature update.
868   Cannot encrypt or decrypt object.
869   Invalid security handler information.
870   Invalid encrypted data.
871   Invalid block cipher padding.
872   Failed to reload signature.
873   Object is not encrypted.
874   Unexpected cipher information.
877   Invalid document. Bad document catalog.
878   Invalid document Id.
880   Invalid document. Invalid requirements dictionary.
881   Invalid linearization dictionary.
882   Invalid signature information.
883   Unsupported document format.
890   Unsupported feature.
891   Internal error. The error description contains the detailed message.
892   Unsupported color.
893   This operation is not supported for this PDF/A level.
894   Interactive features (Action) are not supported by PDF/A. Set EnforcePDFA to false or clear the Action property of the field.
895   Font file not found.

Parsing Errors

1001   Bad object.
1002   Bad document trailer.
1003   Illegal stream dictionary.
1004   Illegal string.
1005   Indirect object expected.
1007   Invalid reference.
1008   Invalid reference table.
1009   Invalid stream data.
1010   Unexpected character.
1011   Unexpected EOF.
1012   Unexpected indirect object in cross-reference table.
1013   RDF object not found.
1014   Invalid RDF object.
1015   Cannot create element with unknown prefix.
1021   Invalid type in Root object list.