pdffiller fill_form

$ pdffiller fill-form -h
usage: pdffiller fill-form [-d DATA_PATH] [-o OUTPUT_PATH] [-f | --flatten | --no-flatten]
                           [-L PATH] [-V [LEVEL]] [-h] [INPUT_PATH]

Fill an input PDF's form fields with the data from

positional arguments:
  INPUT_PATH            Path to the input PDF file.

options:
  -d DATA_PATH, --data DATA_PATH
                        Path to the data file defining the field/value pairs.
                        It can be a json or yaml file format.
                        It can be also - to read data file from stdin with JSON format.
  -i JSON_DATA, --input-data JSON_DATA
                        Input data with JSON format defining the field/value pairs.
  -o OUTPUT_PATH, --output OUTPUT_PATH
                        Path to the output PDF file.
  -f, --flatten, --no-flatten
                        Use this option to merge an input PDF's interactive form fields (and their data)
                        with the PDF's pages. Defaults to False.
  -L PATH, --log-file PATH
                        Send output to PATH instead of stderr.
  -V [LEVEL], --verbosity [LEVEL]
                        Level of detail of the output. Valid options from less verbose to more
                        verbose: -Vquiet, -Verror, -Vwarning, -Vnotice, -Vstatus, -V or -Vverbose, -VV or
                        -Vdebug, -VVV or -vtrace
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

Fills the single input PDF’s form fields with the data from an input json or yaml file format.

When - is used to define input data file, pdffiller will read the data from stdin and assume that the input data are given as JSON format.

pdffiller fill-form -d input_data.json -o output.pdf --flatten input.pdf
cat data.json | pdffiller fill-form -d - -o output.pdf --flatten input.pdf
pdffiller fill-form -i '{"field_1": "text value", "radio_1": 1}' -o output.pdf --flatten input.pdf

The pdffiller fill-form command will:

Load the input pdf file
Load the input data file based on the file extension (ex: .json, .yaml, .yml)
Update in memory all required pdf form fields based on values defined through the input data file
Make all fields read-only if flatten option is enabled
Dump the modified PDF file on the disk

Input data

pdffiller supports only json and yaml file format for defining form field values.

"field_1": "text value"
"radio_1": 1
"checkbox_1": "On"
"radio_2": 2

{
  "field_1": "text value",
  "radio_1": 1,
  "checkbox_1": "On",
  "radio_2": 2,
}

Field values may also be given as a list of entries, which is handy when the data comes from a serialized html form or from the pdffiller dump_data_fields command:

[
  {"name": "field_1", "value": "text value"},
  {"name": "checkbox_1", "value": "On"}
]

The FieldName/FieldValue keys, as dumped by the pdffiller dump_data_fields command, are accepted as well, so that a dumped form can be edited and fed back:

[
  {"FieldName": "field_1", "FieldValue": "text value"},
  {"FieldName": "checkbox_1", "FieldValue": "On"}
]

An entry with a name but no value clears the related field.

Whatever the layout, a field value may be a string, a number, a boolean or null. Booleans are mapped to the On/Off pdf states, so that checkboxes can be driven with true/false, while null clears the field.