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.

Embedded fonts

A text field whose default appearance (/DA) names a font embedded in the form resources (/AcroForm /DR) gets its value drawn with that font. The pdffiller embed_font command prepares a form like this. A form made by a PDF editor that embeds its fonts works too.

The font must be a TrueType font in WinAnsi encoding, with its font file in the PDF. When the font cannot draw one of the characters of the value, because the character is out of WinAnsi or because the editor embedded only a subset of the font, the field keeps the default font and the command writes a warning. The other fields keep the default rendering of PyMuPDF.