cfpdf

Last update:

May 18, 2026

Use the cfpdf tag to read an existing PDF, write meta-data to it, merge PDFs together, delete pages, create thumbnails of the pages, extract text and images, add or remove watermarks, electronically sign or unsign documents, sanitize and redact PDF contents for better security, and safeguard the PDFs with a password.

Description

Manipulates existing PDF documents. The following list describes some of the tasks you can perform with the cfpdf tag:

Merge several PDF documents into one PDF document.
Delete pages from a PDF document.
Merge pages from one or more PDF documents and generate a new PDF document.
Linearize PDF documents for faster web display.
Remove interactivity from forms created in Acrobat to generate flat PDF documents.
Encrypt and add password protection to PDF documents.
Generate thumbnail images from PDF documents or pages.
Add or remove watermarks from PDF documents or pages.
Retrieve information associated with a PDF document, such as the software used to generate the file or the author, and set information for a PDF document, such as the title, author and keywords.
Create PDF portfolios
Add and remove header/footer from PDF documents
Optimize PDF documents

History

New actions for <cfpdf> tag in ColdFusion 2016:

sanitize
export and import comments
export and import metadata
archive
addAttachments
addStamp

ColdFusion 11 has added the following new attributes to the <cfpdf> tag:

keystore
keystorepassword
keyalias
keypassword
author
signaturefieldname
unsignall
height
width

ColdFusion 8: Added this tag.ColdFusion 9: Added new attributes: jpgdpi, maxBreadth, noAttachments, leftMargin, algo, noMetadata, noBookMarks,

noJavaScripts, useStructure, noFonts

Note:

The license could not be verified: License Certificate has expired!

Note:

The tag does not support variables for some attributes. For example,

Incorrect: <cfpdf action="export" type="comment" source="samplePDFVariable" />
Correct: <cfpdf action="export" type="comment" source="c:\source.pdf" exportto="c:\destination.pdf" />

Syntax

Add a watermark to a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "addwatermark" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

one of the following: 

copyfrom = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file from which the first page is 

used as a watermark" 

image = "absolute or relative pathname to image file|image variable used as a 

watermark" 

optional 

foreground = "yes|no" 

isBase64 = "yes|no" 

opacity = "watermark opacity" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

pages = "page or pages to add the watermark" 

password = "user or owner password for the PDF source file" 

position = "position on the page where the watermark is placed" 

rotation = "degree of rotation of the watermark" 

showonprint = "yes|no"> 

// one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

image = "image file name to be used as the footer" 

text = "text to be used in the footer" 

<!---  action=sanitize --->

<cfpdf

// required 

action="sanitize"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable"

// Use any one of the following attributes: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname"

name = “PDF document variable name”>

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=export comments --->

<cfpdf

// required

action="export"

type="comment"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable"

exportTo = "destination of xfdf file">

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=import comments --->

<cfpdf

// required        

action="import"

type="comment"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable"

importFrom = "source of xfdf file"

// Use any one of the following attributes: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname"

name = “PDF document variable name”>

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=export metadata --->

<cfpdf

// required       

action="export"

type="metadata"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable"

exportTo = "destination of xmp file">

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=import metadata --->

<cfpdf

// required        

action="import" 

type="metadata"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable"

importFrom  = "source of xmp file"

// Use any one of the following attributes: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname"

name = “PDF document variable name”>

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=archive --->

<cfpdf

// required

action="archive"

source="#sourcefilename#"

// Use any one of the following attributes: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname"

name = “PDF document variable name”>

// optional

standard = "3b"/>

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=addAttachments --->

<cfpdf

// required       

action="addAttachments"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable|directory path"

// Use any one of the following attributes: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname"

name = “PDF document variable name”  

<cfpdfparam

   // required

   source= "path of attachment"

   filename = "filename for the attachment"

   encoding = "encoding for filename" >

   // optional  

   description = "descriptive text"

   mimetype = "eg: application/pdf, text/html">

>

<!--- end syntax --->

<!--- action=addStamp --->

<cfpdf

// required

action="addStamp"

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable"

// Use any one of the following attributes: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname"

name = “PDF document variable name”>

<cfpdfparam

  pages = "page number|page range|comma-separated page numbers"

  <!--- It is recommended that that ratio of the stamp width:height is

         10:3 ---> 

  coordinates = "llx,lly,urx,ury"

  iconName = "name of icon"

  note = "content of stamp" >

>

<!--- end syntax --->

Add headers 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "addheader" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

pages = "page or pages to add the footer" 

optional 

isBase64 = "yes|no" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "user or owner password for the PDF source file" 

showonprint = "yes|no"> 

align = "left|right|center" 

leftmargin = "value of the header left marign" 

rightmargin = "value of the header right margin" 

numberformat = "LOWERCASEROMAN|NUMERIC|UPPERCASEROMAN" <!---used with either 

_PAGENUMBER or _LASTPAGENUMBER---> 

opacity = "header opacity" 

topmargin = "value of the top margin of the header" 

\\one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

text = _PAGELABEL: add current page label|_LASTPAGELABEL: add last page label| 

_PAGENUMBER: add current page number|_LASTPAGENUMBER: add last page 

number \\text for the header. You can also add a normal text string. 

image = "image file name to be used as the header" 

Add footer 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "addfooter" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

pages = "page or pages to add the footer" 

optional 

isBase64 = "yes|no" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "user or owner password for the PDF source file" 

showonprint = "yes|no"> 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

align = "left|right|center" 

one of the following: 

image = "image file name to be used as the footer" 

text = _PAGELABEL: add current page label|_LASTPAGELABEL: add last page label| 

_PAGENUMBER: add current page number|_LASTPAGENUMBER: add last page 

number \\text for the header 

leftmargin = "value of the footer left marign" 

rightmargin = "value of the footer right margin" 

numberformat 

opacity = "footer opacity" 

bottommargin = "value of the bottom margin" 

Delete pages from a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "deletepages" 

pages = "page or pages to delete" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "PDF source file password" 

one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name"> 

Delete headers and footers 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "removeheaderfooter" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

pages = "page or pages to add the watermark" 

password = "user or owner password for the PDF source file" 

one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

Retrieve information about a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "getinfo" 

name = "structure variable name" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

password = "PDF source file password"> 

Merge PDF documents into an output PDF file 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "merge" 

one of the following: 

directory = "directory of PDF files to merge" 

source = "comma-separated list of PDF source files|absolute or relative pathname 

to a PDF file|PDF document variable|cfdocument variable" 

<cfpdfparam> 

\\required only when package is specified as true 

order = "name|time" 

one of the following if <cfpdfparam> is specified: 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

optional 

package = "true|false" <!---create PDF packages if set to true. You can provide 

description in cfpdfparam tag, such as <cfpdfparam file="filename desc="">---> 

ascending = "yes|no" 

keepBookmark = "yes|no" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

pages = "pages to merge in PDF source file" 

password = "PDF source file password" 

stopOnError = "yes|no" 

\\one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name"> 

Use DDX instructions to manipulate PDF documents 

<cfpdf 

required 

ddxfile = "DDX filepath|DDX string" 

inputfiles = "#inputStruct#" 

outputfiles = "#outputStruct#" 

name = "structure name"> 

optional 

action="processddx" 

Set passwords and encrypt PDF documnets 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "protect" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

at least one of the following: 

newUserPassword = "password" 

newOwnerPassword = "password" 

if newOwnerPassword is specified: 

permissions = "All|AllowAssembly|AllowDegradedPrinting|AllowCopy|AllowFillIn|

AllowModifyAnnotations| 

AllowModifyContents|AllowPrinting|AllowScreenReaders|AllowSecure|None| 

comma-separated list" 

optional 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

encrypt = "RC4_40|RC4_128|RC4_128M|AES_128|AES_256R6|AES_256R5|none" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "source file password"> 

Name a PDF document variable 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "read" 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

password = "PDF source file password"> 

Remove a watermark from a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "removeWatermark" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

pages = "page or pages from which to remove the watermark" 

password = "PDF source file password"> 

one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable name" 

Set information about a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "setinfo" 

info = "#structure variable name#" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "PDF source file password"> 

Generate thumbnails from pages in a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "thumbnail" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

optional 

destination = "directory path where the thumbnail images are written" 

format = "png|jpeg|tiff" 

imagePrefix = "string used as a prefix in the output filename" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "PDF source file password"> 

pages = "page or pages to make into thumbnails" 

resolution= "low|high" 

scale = "percentage between 1 and 100" 

transparent = "yes|no"> 

hires = "yes|no" 

overridepage = "yes|no" 

compresstiffs = "yes|no" 

maxscale = "maximum scale of the thumbnail" 

maxlength = "maximum length of the thumbnail" 

maxbreadth = "maximum width of the thumbnail"

jpgdpi = "sets the dpi (dots per inch) value of the jpeg image. The default value is 96 dpi."

Write a PDF document to an output file 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "write" 

source = "absolute or relative pathname to a PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

\\one of the following 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = #PDF variable# <!---new variable support added now---> 

optional 

flatten = "yes|no" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "PDF source file password" 

saveOption = "linear|incremental|full" 

version = "1.1|1.2|1.3|1.4|1.5|1.6"> 

encodeall = "yes|no" 

Reduce the quality of a PDF document 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "optimize" 

source = "absolute or relative path of the PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

algo = "bilinear|bicubic|nearest_neighbour" <!---algorithm for image 

downsampling---> 

pages = "*" <!----page numbers associated with the objects in the PDF document---> 

optional 

vscale= "Vertical scale of the image to be modified. Valid values are vscale>0" 

hscacle="Horizontal scale of the image to be modified. Valid values are hscale<1" 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable" 

noattachments = "Discard all attachments" 

nobookmarks = "Discard all bookmarks" 

nocomments = "Discard all comments" 

nofonts = "Discard all fonts" 

nojavascripts = "Discard all JavaScript actions" 

nolinks = "Discard external cross-references" 

nometadata = "Discard document information and metadata" 

nothumbnails = "Discard embedded page thumbnails" 

overwrite = "true" <!---Overwrite the specified object in the PDF document---> 

password = "" <!--- PDF document password---> 

Extract text 

<cfpdf 

required 

action="extracttext" <!---extract all the words in the PDF.---> 

source= "absolute or relative path of the PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

pages = "*" <!----page numbers from where the text needs to be extracted from the 

PDF document---> 

optional 

addquads = "add the position or quadrants for the text in the PDF" 

honourspaces = "true|false" 

overwrite = "true" <!---Overwrite the specified object in the PDF document---> 

password = "" <!--- PDF document password---> 

type = "string|xml" <!---format in which the text needs to be extracted---> 

one of the following: 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

name = "PDF document variable" 

usestructure = "true|false" 

Extract image 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "extractimage" <!---extract images and save it to a directory---> 

source = "absolute or relative path of the PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

pages = "*" <!---page numbers from where the images need to be extracted---> 

optional 

overwrite = "true|false" <!---overwrite any existing image when set to true---> 

format = "png|tiff|jpg" <!---format in which the images should be extracted---> 

imageprefix = "*" <!---the string that you want to prefix with the image 

name---> 

password = "" <!--- PDF document password---> 

destination = "PDF output file pathname" 

Page level transformations 

<cfpdf 

required 

action = "transform" 

source = "absolute or relative path of the PDF file|PDF document variable| 

cfdocument variable" 

pages = "page or pages to be transformed" 

optional 

hscale = "value of the horizontal scale of the page" 

overwrite = "yes|no" 

password = "PDF source file password" 

position = "x, y" <!---value in pixels---> 

rotation = "0|90|180|270" 

vscale = "length of the page to be transformed" 

one of the following: 

destination = ""Path of the directory where the PDF document will be saved" 

name = "PDF document variable"

// redact

<cfpdf action="redact" source="source PDF document" destination="destination PDF document" overwrite="true | false">

     <cfpdfparam pages="from page-to page" coordinates="llx,lly,urx,ury">

 </cfpdf>

Note:

You can specify this tag's attributes in an attributeCollection attribute whose value is a structure. Specify the structure name in the attributeCollection attribute and use the tag's attribute names as structure keys.

Attributes

Attribute	Action	Req/Opt	Description
action	N/A	Optional	Action to take: archive addAttachments addStamp addWatermark deletePages export getInfo import merge processddx protect read removeWatermark sanitize setInfo sign thumbnail write optimize extracttext extractimage addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter transform unsign validatesignature New in ColdFusion 11–Validates all the signatures in the document. The name attribute will then store the resultant struct of this operation. The name attribute will contain 2 elements: A Boolean field that indicates whether all the signatures have been deemed valid or not. An array list consisting of the names of all the signatures that were invalid. If all the signatures are valid, the array list will be empty. readsignaturefields New in ColdFusion 11–Reads all the signature fields and returns a query object in the variable indicated by the attribute name. This query object will have 4 columns: Name–A fully qualified name of the signature field Certifiable--Indicates if this field can contain an author signature or not Signable–Indicates whether this field can be signed or not Is signed–Indicates whether this field is already signed or not New in ColdFusion 2016: sanitize export import archive addAttachments addStamp redact
addquads	extracttext	Optional	Add the position or quadrants of the thumbnail
align	addheader addfooter	Optional	Aligns the header and footer in PDF.
algo	optimize	Required	Specifies the algorithm for image downsampling. The values are bilinear, bicubic, and nearest_neighbour
ascending	merge	Optional	Order in which the PDF files are sorted: yes: Files are sorted in ascending order no: Files are sorted in descending order Applicable only when you specify the directory attribute.
author	sign	Optional	Business transactions, including financial, legal, and other regulated transactions, require high assurance when signing documents. When documents are distributed electronically, it is important that recipients can: Verify document authenticity – confirm the identity of person who signed the document Verify document integrity – confirm that the document has not been altered in transit Author-based signatures provide both of these security services. If attribute is not mentioned then it is treated as author=false
bottomMargin	addfooter	Optional	Specifies the value of the bottomMargin
copyFrom	addWatermark	Optional	Pathname of the PDF document from which to use the first page as a watermark
compresstiffs	thumbnail	Optional	Compress thumbnail which are in TIFF format.
ddxfile	processddx	Required	Pathname of the DDX file, or a string with DDX instructions
destination	addWatermark archive deletePages merge protect removeWatermark sign setInfo thumbnail write optimize extracttext extractimage addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter transform	Required for the write action Optional for all other actions	Pathname of the modified PDF document. If the destination file exists, set the overwrite attribute to yes. If the destination file does not exist, ColdFusion creates the file, if the parent directory exists. You can specify the destination attribute or the name attribute, but not both. For the thumbnail action, the destination is the directory path where the images are written. If you specify a relative pathname to the destination directory, the destination directory is relative to the template directory. If you do not specify a destination directory, ColdFusion creates a directory called thumbnails in the directory in the template directory. For the optimize action, destination is the path where the PDF document which needs to be optimized is located. For extracttext and extractimage , destination is the path of the PDF document from which the text or image needs to be extracted. For addheader , addfooter , removeheader footer, destination is the path of the PDF document where you need to add a header or footer, or remove the header and footer. For transform, destination specifies the directory path of the PDF document where you need to perform page level transformations.
directory	merge	Optional	Directory of the PDF documents to merge. Specify either the directory attribute or the source attribute. If you specify the directory attribute, ColdFusion orders the documents by filename in descending order, by default. To change the order of the files, use the order attribute.
encodeall	write	Optional	Encode streams that are not encoded to optimize page content
encrypt	protect	Optional	Encryption type for the PDF output file. In ColdFusion 2016, there is support for two new encryption algorithms, AES_256R6 and AES_256R5. RC4_40 RC4_128 RC4_128M AES_128 AES_256R6 AES_256R5 None Note: The JRE must have "Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files" installed. This is only required for the new encryption algorithms. For more information, see the section Encryption for PDF documents.
flatten	write	Optional	Applies to forms created in Acrobat only (not forms created in LiveCycle); specifies whether interactivity is turned off: yes: the form fields are no longer interactive. no: the form fields remain interactive.
foreground	addWatermark	Optional	Placement of the watermark on the page: yes: the watermark appears in the foreground (over the page content). no: the watermark appears in the background (behind the page content).
format	thumbnail	Optional	File type of thumbnail image output: jpg tiff png
hires	thumbnail	optional	Sets a high resolution for the thumbnail if set to yes.
height	sign	Optional	Height of the signature field.
honourspaces	extracttext	optional	Set this option to "true", for improved readability and spacing.
hscale	optimize	optional	Horizontal scale of the image to be modified. Valid values are hscale<1.
image	addWatermark	Optional	Image used as a watermark. You can specify a pathname, a variable that contains an image file, or a ColdFusion image variable.
imagePrefix	thumbnail	Optional	Prefix used for each image thumbnail file generated. The image filenames use the format: imagePrefixpagen.format. For example, the thumbnail for page 1 of a document with the imagePrefix attribute set to myThumbnail is myThumbnail_page_1.jpg.
info	setInfo	Required	Structure variable for relevant information, for example, " #infoStruct#" . You can specify the Author, Subject, Title, and Keywords for the PDF output file.
inputFiles	processddx	Required	Structure that maps the PDF source files to the input variables in the DDX file, or a string of elements and their pathname.
isBase64	addWatermark	Optional	Valid only when the image attribute is specified. Specifies whether the image used as a watermark is in Base64 format: yes: the image is in Base64 format. no: the image is not in Base64 format.
jpgdpi	addThumbnail	Optional	Sets the DPI of the jpeg image. Default is 96 dpi.
keepBookmark	merge	Optional	Specifies whether bookmarks from the source PDF documents are retained in the merged document: yes: the bookmarks are retained. no: the bookmarks are removed.
keyalias	sign	Optional	Alias of the key with which the certificate and private key are stored in the keystore . If it is not specified, the first entry in the keystore is chosen as the alias.
keystore	sign	Required	The location of the keystore file. For example, C:\OpenSSL\bin\keystore.jks.
keypassword	sign	Optional	Password for your private key. If not specified the keystorepassword is used.
keystorepassword	sign	Required	The password of the keystore .
leftmargin	addheader	Optional	Specifies the value of the header left margin
maxbreadth	thumbnail	Optional	Specifies maximum width of the thumbnail
maxlength	thumbnail	Optional	Specifies the maximum length of the thumbnail
maxscale	thumbnail	Optional	Specifies the maximum scale of the thumbnail
name	addWatermark deletePages getInfo merge processddx protect read readsignaturefields removeWatemark write tranform addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter	Required: getInfo processddx read readsignaturefields Optional: addWatermark deletePages merge protect removeWatermark tranform addheader addfooter removeheader footer	PDF document variable name, for example, myBook. If the source is a PDF document variable, you cannot specify the name attribute again; you can write the modified PDF document to the destination. You can specify the destination attribute or the name attribute, but not both. For the processddxaction , the name represents the structure that is populated with the success or failure of the output variables. For the readsignaturefields action, the name represents the structure thats is populated with the info of all the signature fields in the source PDF document.
newOwner Password	protect	Optional (see Description)	Password used to set permissions on a PDF document. To change the default permissions, specify the newOwnerPassword attribute. For more information, see the section PDF document passwords.
newUser Password	protect	Optional (see Description)	Password used to open PDF document.Specify either the newUserPassword attribute or a newOwnerPassword attribute; if you specify both, the passwords must differ. For more information, see the section PDF document passwords.
noattachments	thumbnail	Optional	Removes all attachments from PDF documents.
noattachments	optimize	Optional	Remove all file attachments
nobookmarks	optimize	Optional	Remove bookmarks from PDF document
nocomments	optimize	Optional	Remove comments from PDF document
nofonts	optimize	Optional	Remove font styling
nojavascripts	optimize	Optional	Remove all document level JavaScript actions
nolinks	optimize	Optional	Remove external cross-references
nometadata	optimize	Optional	Remove document information and metadata
nothumbnails	optimize	Optional	Remove embedded page thumbnails
numberformat	addfooter	Optional	Specify the numbering format for PDF pages in the footer.
opacity	addWatermark addheader addfooter	Optional	Opacity of the watermark. Valid values are integers in the range 0 (transparent) through 10 (opaque).
order	merge	Optional	Order in which the PDF documents in the directory are merged: name: orders the documents alphabetically by filename. time: orders the documents by timestamp. By default, ColdFusion merges the files in descending order (for example, from Z to A). To change this, set the ascending attribute to yes.
outputFiles	processddx	Required	Structure that contains the output files in the DDX file or string as keys and the pathname to the result file as the value.
overwrite	addSign addWatermark archive deletePages merge protect removeWatermark Sign setInfo thumbnail write tranform addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter	Optional	Specifies whether PDF output overwrites the destination file: yes: overwrites the destination file. no: does not overwrite the destination file. For the thumbnail action, specifies whether to overwrite the destination directory. If the directory exists, the thumbnails are not generated unless overwrite is set to yes.
package	merge	Optional	Create PDF packages
pages	addWatermark deletePages merge removeWatermark optimize extracttext extractimage sign addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter transform	Required: deletePages Optional: addWatermark merge removeWatermark thumbnail optimize extractext extractimage tranform addheader addfooter removeheader footer	Page or pages in the source PDF document on which to perform the action. You can specify multiple pages and page ranges as follows: "1,6-9,56-89,100, 110-120". For the removeWatermark action, the pages attribute applies only to the watermark type. ColdFusion ignores duplicate pages and numbers greater than the total page count. For action=sign, value of attribute pages should consist of just one page number.
password	addWatermark addSign archive deletePages getInfo merge protect read readsignaturefields removeWatermark setInfo sign thumbnail unsign write optimize extracttext extractimage addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter validatesignaturefields transform	Optional	Owner or user password of the source PDF document, if the document is password-protected.
permissions	protect	Optional	Type of permissions on the PDF document: All AllowAssembly AllowCopy AllowDegradedPrinting AllowFillIn AllowModifyAnnotations AllowModifyContents AllowPrinting AllowScreenReaders AllowSecure None Except for All or None, you can specify a comma-separated list of permissions. To set permissions, you must also set the newOwnerPassword attribute.
position	addWatermark sign	Optional	The position attribute is the coordinate of the lower left corner of the signature field.
resolution	thumbnail	Optional	Image quality used to generate thumbnail images: high: use high resolution (uses more memory). low: use low resolution.
rotation	addWatermark transform	Optional	Degree of rotation of the watermark image on the page, for example, "30".
saveOption	write	Optional	Save options for the PDF output: full: normal save (default) incremental: required to save modifications to a signed PDF document. linear: for faster display.
scale	thumbnail	Optional	Size of the thumbnail relative to the source page. The value represents a percentage from 1 through 100.
showOnPrint	addWatermark	Optional	Specify whether to print the watermark with the PDF document: yes: the watermark is printed with the PDF document. no: the watermark is display-only.
signature fieldname	sign unsign	Optional	Name of signature field in which the user wants to sign or the name of the signature field that the user wants to unsign.
source	archive addWatermark deletePages getInfo merge protect read removeWatermark setInfo sign thumbnail write optimize extracttext extractimage addheader addfooter removeheaderfooter unsign transform	Required (see Usage section for merge)	PDF document used as the source. The source can be one of the following: An absolute or relative pathname to a PDF document, for example, c:\work\myPDF.pdf or myPDF.pdf. A PDF document variable in memory that is generated by the cfdocument tag or the cfpdf tag, for example, " myPDFdoc".
stopOnError	merge	Optional	Valid only if the directory attribute is specified. If the specified directory contains files other than ColdFusion-readable PDF files, ColdFusion either stops merge process or continues. yes: stops the merge process if invalid PDF files exist in the specified directory. no: continues the merge process even if invalid files exist in the specified directory.
transparent	thumbnail	Optional	(format="png" only) Specifies whether the image background is transparent or opaque: yes: the background is transparent. no: the background is opaque.
unsignall	unsign	Optional	Unsigns all the signatures in the document.
useStructure	extracttext	Optional	Let's you extract content based on the PDF structure. For better readability of the extracted text, use this attribute together with the attribute honourspaces .
version	write	Optional	Version of the PDF used to write the document: 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 For more information, see the section PDF versions.
width	sign	optional	Width of the signature field.

Note:

To modify the PDF source document, specify the same file pathname for the source and destination attributes, and set the overwrite attribute to yes.

Archiving a signed PDF created using ColdFusion behaves abnormally when opened using Adobe Acrobat. To fix the document for archiving enable the "Changing the Document" permission under the Security options of Acrobat.

Usage

You use the cfpdf tag to manipulate and assemble existing PDF documents. Although the cfpdf tag provides much of the functionality available in Acrobat, you cannot use this tag to generate a PDF document from another file format. To create PDF output from HTML and CFML content, use the cfdocument tag.
You cannot embed a cfpdf tag within a cfdocument tag or embed a cfdocument tag within a cfdpdf tag; however, you can write the output of a cfdocument tag to a variable and pass the variable to the cfpdf tag. The following example shows how to use the cfdocument tag to create a cover page and add it to a merged PDF document:

<!--- Use the cfdocument tag to create a cover page and write the output to a variable called 

cfdoc. ---> 

<cfdocument format="PDF" name="cfdoc"> 

<html> 

<body> 

<h1>Here is a cover page</h1> 

</body> 

</html> 

</cfdocument> 

<!--- Use the cfpdf tag and cfpdfparam tags to merge individual PDF documents into a new PDF document called new.pdf. Notice that the cfdoc variable created by using the cfdocument tag is the source value of the first cfpdfparam tag. ---> 

<cfpdf action="merge" destination="/samtemp/pdfs/new.pdf" overwrite="yes"> 

<cfpdfparam source="cfdoc"> 

<cfpdfparam source="/samtemp/pdfs/pdf2.pdf"> 

<cfpdfparam source="/samtemp/pdfs/pdf1.pdf"> 

</cfpdf>

You can use the cfpdf tag to assemble interactive PDF form files into a single PDF document and flatten forms created in Acrobat (by using the flatten attribute with the write action); however, to process PDF form data, use the cfpdfform and related tags. You cannot use the cfpdf tag to flatten forms created in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES.

Reading and writing PDF files

The cfpdf tag provides several options for reading and writing PDF files. You can specify a PDF variable or a PDF file as the source, and you can write the output to a variable or to a file (but not both). The following table explains the read and write operations:

Task	Attributes	Example
Overwrite a source PDF file	Specify the PDF file pathname as the source and do not specify a destination.	<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="myPDF.pdf" image="myImage.jpg">
Write a PDF document in memory to a file	Specify the PDF variable as the source and a PDF file pathname for the destination.	<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="myPDF" image="myImage.jpg" destination="outputFile.pdf">
Write a PDF document to a new file	Specify a PDF file pathname as the source and a different PDF file pathname as the destination.	<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="sourceFile.pdf" image="myImage.jpg" destination="outputFile.pdf">
Write a PDF file to a PDF variable	Specify the PDF file pathname as the source and a PDF variable name.	<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="sourceFile.pdf" image="myImage.jpg" name="myPDF">
Overwrite a PDF document in memory	Specify the PDF variable name as the source and do not specify a destination.	<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="myPDF" image="myImage.jpg">

Working with PDF files in memory

ColdFusion gives you the option to write a PDF file to a variable by using the name attribute, which is useful if you want to perform multiple operations on a document before writing it to a file. However, this is practical for small files only because of memory requirements. If you are working with large PDF documents, write the PDF documents to files.ColdFusion recommends that you do not specify the name attribute when you specify a variable as the source because it creates a copy, which increases processing. In most cases, this is unnecessary because you can reuse variables even after you write them to files.

Note:

When you use PDF variables within a try/catch block and ColdFusion generates an error, the variables are unusable after the error is generated.

Printing PDF documents

Use the cfprint tag to print PDF documents. Markups, such as sticky notes, comments, and editorial revisions, are not printed with the document.

addWatermark action Use the addwatermarkaction to add a watermark to specified pages in a PDF document. You can add a watermark in one of the following ways:
- Use the first page of another PDF document as a watermark. ColdFusion overlays the copyfrom page on the source document, without enlarging the image.
- Specify an image file to use as a watermark.
- Specify an image in memory by using an image variable.
  
  The following code shows how to use the first page of a PDF document as a watermark:

<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="c:\myBook.pdf" copyFrom="e:\yourBook.pdf" 

destination="ourBook.pdf" overwrite="yes">

By default, ColdFusion applies the watermark to all of the pages in the output file, with the watermark image centered on the page. The following code applies a JPEG image as a watermark to the first page of the output file:

<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="Book.pdf" 

image="../cfdocs/images/artgallery/paul01.jpg" destination="newBook.pdf" pages="1" 

overwrite="yes">

To specify a ColdFusion image as a watermark, use the cfimage tag or Image functions. The addwatermark action also supports RGB and ARGB images, especially the images added using the cfimagetag and related functions. The following example converts an image to grayscale and applies it as a watermark to a PDF file:

<!--- Use the ImageNew function to create a ColdFusion image from a JPEG file. ---> 

<cfset myImage=ImageNew("../cfdocs/images/artgallery/jeff05.jpg")>

<!--- Use the ImageGrayscale function to convert the image to grayscale in memory. ---> 

<cfset ImageGrayscale(myImage)> 

<!--- Specify the image variable to apply the grayscale image as a watermark in the Book.pdf file. Because the source and destination are the same and the overwrite attribute is set to yes, ColdFusion overwrites the source file. ---> 

<cfpdf action="addWatermark" source="Book.pdf" destination="Book.pdf" overwrite="yes" image="#myImage#">

For more information on ColdFusion images, see Creating and Manipulating ColdFusion Images in the Developing ColdFusion Applications.

addfooter Use this action to add a footer in a PDF document. Specify the source where the PDF document is located and the destination where the new PDF document with the footer is saved, as shown in the following code snippet:

<cfpdf action = "addfooter" 

source = "../myBook.pdf" 

destination = "../myBookwithfooter.pdf" 

image = "adobelogo.JPG" // Use this attribute to add an image in the 

footer 

align = "right"> // By default, the alignemnt is center

You can also specify an image or text that you have to insert in the footer along with various other attributes such as align, bottommargin, leftmargin, numberformat, and opacity.

addheader Use this action to add header in a PDF document. Specify the source and destination for the PDF document and specify the text or image that you want to insert in the header, as shown in the following code:

<cfpdf action = "addheader" 

source = "../myBook.pdf" 

destination = "../myBookwithheader.pdf" 

text = "Adobe" 

align = "left">

deletePages action Use the deletePagesaction to remove pages from a specified PDF document. You can specify a single page, a page range, or a comma-separated list of pages, as the following code shows:

<cfpdf action="deletePages" source="c:\myBook.pdf" pages="1,16-32,89,100-147" 

destination="myLittleBook.pdf">

extracttext Use the extracttextaction to extract all words from the specified page numbers in the PDF document, as shown in the following code snippet:

<cfpdf action = "extracttext" source = "../myBook.pdf" pages = "5-20, 29, 80" destination = "../adobe/textdoc.txt"

extractimage Use the extractimage action to extract all images from the specified page number in a PDF document, as shown in the following code snippet:

<cfpdf action = "extractimage" source = "../myBook.pdf" pages = "1-200" destination = "..\mybookimages" imageprefix = "mybook">

The images are extracted and saved in the directory that you specify in the destination attribute. You can specify a prefix for the images (imageprefix) being extracted, otherwise the system prefixes the i

on to extract information associated with the PDF document, such as the author, title, and creation date. You specify the name of the structure variable that contains the relevant data associated with the file, as the following code shows:

<cfpdf action="getInfo" source="myBook.pdf" name="PDFInfo"> 

<p><cfoutput>#PDFInfo.title#</cfoutput></p> 

<p><cfoutput>#PDFInfo.author#</cfoutput></p> 

<p><cfoutput>#PDFInfo.keywords#</cfoutput></p> 

<p><cfoutput>#PDFInfo.created#</cfoutput></p>

For a complete list of information elements, use the cfdumptag, as the following code shows:

<cfdump var="#PDFInfo#">

Note:

To view the permissions for a PDF document that is password-protected, specify the user password, not the owner password. If you specify the owner password, all permissions are set to Allowed.

Reducing quality of PDF document

The optimize action is used to downsample images and discard unused objects in a PDF document.

optimize To downsample images in a PDF document, the algos attribute is used with values bilinear, bicubic, and nearest_neighbour. The following code snippet generates a PDF after image downsampling:

<cfpdf action = "optimize" algo = "bicubic" source "..\myBook.pdf" name = #mybook#>

You can also discard unused objects such as comments, JavaScripts, attachments, bookmarks, and metadata from your PDF document using the following attributes with optimize action:

<cfpdf action = "optimize" 

noJavaScripts 

noThumbnails 

noBookmarks 

noComments 

noMetadata 

noFileAttachments 

noLinks 

nofonts>

Transforming pages in a PDF document

You can scale a page, specify the position, and rotation values for pages in a PDF document.

transform The transform action has four attributes that define the size (hscale, vscale), position(position), and rotation (rotation) of a page. The following code snippet shows the usage:

<cfpdf action = "transform" 

required 

source = "..\myBook.pdf" 

optional 

destination = "..\new\myBook.pdf"> 

hscale = ".5" 

vscale = ".15" 

position = "8, 10" 

rotation = "180">

The value for rotation must be in steps (0, 90, 180, 270). If you specify any other value, the system generates an error.

PDF file information elements

The following table describes the information elements you can retrieve with the getinfo action:

Element	Example	Description
Application	Acrobat PDFMaker 7.0.7 for Word	Application used to create the PDF document. This value is read-only.
Author	Harper Lee	Author of the PDF document. You can specify a text string with the setInfo action.
CenterWindowOnScreen	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
ChangingDocument	Not Allowed	Permissions assigned for editing the PDF content. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
Commenting	Allowed	Permissions assigned for adding comments to the PDF document. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
ContentExtraction	Allowed	Permissions assigned for extracting content from the PDF document. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
CopyContent	Allowed	Permissions assigned for copying content from the PDF document. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
Created	D:20061121155226-05'00'	System-generated creation date of the PDF document. You can specify a text string with the setInfo action.
DocumentAssembly	Not Allowed	Permissions assigned for merging the PDF document with other PDF documents. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
Encryption	Password Security	Specifies whether the PDF file is password-protected. To change the encryption algorithm, or add a password, use the protect action.
FilePath	C:\ColdFusion\wwwroot\lion\myDoc.pdf	Absolute pathname for the PDF file. This value is read-only.
FillingForm	Allowed	Permissions assigned for entering data in form fields. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
FitToWindow	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
HideMenubar	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
HideToolbar	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
HideWindowUI	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
Keywords	marketing, sales, production	Keywords specified for searches in the PDF document. You can specify a comma-separated list of keywords with the setInfo action.
Language	EN-US	Language version used to create the source file for the PDF document. This value is read-only.
Modified	D:20061121155226-06'00'	System-generated timestamp for when the PDF file was last modified. You can specify a text string with the setInfo action
PageLayout	OneColumn	Display setting for the initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
Printing	Allowed	Permissions assigned for printing the document. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
Producer	Acrobat Distiller 7.0.5 (Windows)	Version of Acrobat Distiller used to generate the PDF document. This value is read-only.
Properties	empty string	This value is read-only.
Secure	Not Allowed	Display setting that shows whether the PDF document is password protected.
ShowDocumentsOption	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
ShowWindowsOption	empty string	Display setting for initial view of the PDF document. To change this setting, use the processddx action with the InitialViewProfile DDX element.
Signing	Allowed	Permissions for allowing electronic signatures to the PDF document. To change this setting, use the permissions attribute with the protect action.
Subject	Product Marketing	The subject assigned to the PDF document. You can specify a text string with the setInfo action.
Title	Chapter 1: Getting Started	The title assigned to the PDF document. You can specify a text string with the setInfo action.
TotalPages	25	Total pages in the PDF document. This value is read-only.
Trapped	empty string	Indicates whether trapping is applied to the PDF document. Trapping is used in printing to eliminate gaps between two adjoining ink colors. You can specify a text string with the setInfo action.
Version	1.6	Version of the Adobe PDF generator used to create the PDF document. To change this setting use the version attribute with the write action. For more information, see the section PDF versions.

merge action Use the merge action to assemble PDF documents or pages from PDF source files into one output file. The following code shows how to merge all the PDF files in a directory:

<cfpdf action="merge" directory="c:\myPDFfiles" destination="oneBigFile.pdf" 

overwrite="yes">

By default, ColdFusion adds the files in descending order by timestamp. The following code merges the source files in ascending order by filename:

<cfpdf action="merge" directory="c:\book" order="name" ascending="yes" 

destination="c:\book\output1.pdf" overwrite="yes">

This is useful if the source files have logical names, such as Chap0.pdf, Chap1.pdf, Chap2.pdf, and so on.By default, ColdFusion continues the merge process even if it encounters a file in the specified directory that is not a valid PDF document. To stop the merge process if the directory contains files other than valid PDF documents, set the stopOnError attribute to yes:

<cfpdf action="merge" directory="c:\bookfiles" destination="book.pdf" overwrite="yes" 

order="name" ascending="yes" keepBookmark="yes" stopOnError="yes">

To create a PDF file from specific pages in a document, use the source attribute with the pagesattribute. The following code creates a file from pages 1-5 of the source document:

<cfpdf action="merge" source="myBigBook.pdf" pages="1-5" destination="myShortBook.pdf" 

overwrite="yes">

To merge several files into one document, specify the absolute pathnames of the files in a comma-separated list, as the following code shows:

<cfpdf action="merge" source="c:\PDFdocs\myBook\Chap1.pdf, 

c:\PDFdocs\myBook\Chap2.pdf,c:\PDFdocs\myBook\Chap3,pdf" destination="myBook.pdf" 

package = "true" overwrite="yes">

You can now create PDF packages using the package = "true" attribute with the merge action. For more control over the order of files, to assemble files in different locations, and to extract pages from multiple PDF files, use the cfpdfparam tag with the merge action. For more information on merging PDF files, see Assembling PDF Documents in the Developing ColdFusion Applications.
If cfpdf action="merge" and package="yes", all file formats can be used as source. The following sample code has ZIP and JPEG file formats as source:

<cfpdf action="merge" package="yes" destination="./myBook/adobetest.pdf" overwrite="yes"> 

<cfpdfparam source="./inputFiles/c.zip" > 

<cfpdfparam source="./inputFiles/d.jpg" > 

</cfpdf>

processddx action Use the proccessddx action to assemble PDF files by processing Document Description XML (DDX) instructions. DDX is a declarative markup language used by Adobe LiveCycle Assembler. You can use DDX instructions to perform advanced tasks, such as adding table of contents pages, headers and footers, automatic page numbers, and text-string watermarks to PDF documents.ColdFusion provides a subset of LiveCycle Assembler functionality. To determine whether you can perform your tasks in ColdFusion or whether you have to purchase LiveCycle Assembler, see the tables in the following sections. For complete DDX syntax, see the Adobe LiveCycle Assembler Document Description XML Reference.

Supported DDX elements

The following table lists the DDX elements that ColdFusion supports:

About	Author	Background
Center	DatePattern	DDX
DocumentInformation	DocumentText	Footer
Header	InitialViewProfile	Keyword
Keywords	Left	MasterPassword
Metadata	NoBookmarks	OpenPassword
PageLabel	Password	PasswordAccessProfile
PasswordEncryptionProfile	PDF (see Note)	PDFGroup
Permissions	Right	StyledText
StyleProfile	Subject	TableOfContents
TableOfContentsEntryPattern	TableOfContentsPagePattern	Title
Watermark

Note:

ColdFusion does not support the certification and mergeLayers attributes of the PDF element.

Restricted DDX elements

New in ColdFusion 11 - The following restricted DDX elements are supported in ColdFusion 11 (Enterprise Edition).

If you are using ColdFusion 10 or earlier, the following DDX elements are excluded by ColdFusion:

ArtBox	AttachmentAppearance	Bookmarks
BlankPage	BleedBox	Comments
Description	FileAttachments	FilenameEncoding
LinkAlias	Links	NoBackgrounds
NoComments	NoFileAttchments	NoFooters
NoForms	NoHeaders	NoLinks
NoPageLabels	NoThumbnails	NoWatermarks
NoXFA	PageMargins	PageSize
PageRotation	PageOverlay	PageUnderlay
PDFsFromBookmarks	Transform	TrimBox

Simple DDX instructions

You can create DDX instructions in any text editor and save the file with a DDX extension. The following example shows the DDX instructions for merging several documents and generating a table of contents with bookmarks from the source PDF documents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 

<DDX xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/DDX/1.0/" 

xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 

xsi:schemaLocation="http://ns.adobe.com/DDX/1.0/ coldfusion_ddx.xsd"> 

<PDF result="Out1"> 

<PDF source="Title"/> 

<TableOfContents/> 

<PDF source="Doc1"/> 

<PDF source="Doc2"/> 

<PDF source="Doc3"/> 

</PDF> 

</DDX>

Processing DDX instructions in ColdFusion

The following code processes the DDX instructions in ColdFusion:

<!--- The following code verifies that the DDX file exists and the DDX instructions are valid. ---> 

<cfif IsDDX("Book.ddx")> 

<!--- The following code maps the PDF source files to the PDF source variables in the 

DDX file. ---> 

<cfset inputStruct=StructNew()> 

<cfset inputStruct.Title="Title.pdf"> 

<cfset inputStruct.Doc1="Chap1.pdf"> 

<cfset inputStruct.Doc2="Chap2.pdf"> 

<cfset inputStruct.Doc3="Chap3.pdf"> 

<!--- The following code maps the PDF output file to the PDF result variable in the DDX 

file. ---> 

<cfset outputStruct=StructNew()> 

<cfset outputStruct.Out1="output.pdf"> 

<!--- The following code process the DDX instructions in the Book.ddx file to generate 

a merged document. ---> 

<cfpdf action="processddx" ddxfile="Book.ddx" inputfiles="#inputStruct#" 

outputfiles="#outputStruct#" name="ddxVar"> 

<cfelse> 

<p>The DDX instructions are not valid.</p> 

</cfif> 

<!--- The following code displays a success or failure message. ---> 

<cfoutput>#ddxVar.Out1#</cfoutput>

The name attribute defines a variable that you use to determine the success or failure of the process. Use the cfoutput tag to display the success or failure message, as the previous example shows, or use the cfdump tag to display a structure:

<cfdump var="#ddxVar#">

This code returns the following information for each output file in the structure:

"Successful", if the file is assembled successfully.
"Reason for failure", if the file is not assembled successfully and the reason for failure is known.
"Failure", if the file is not assembled successfully and the reason for failure is not known. Use the IsDDX function to determine whether a DDX file or set of instructions is valid. For detailed examples, see Assembling PDF Documents in the Developing ColdFusion Applications.

protect action Use the protect action to password-protect PDF output files, set permissions, and encrypt PDF output files. When you use the protect action, set a newUserPassword or a newOwnerPassword. (You can set both, as long as the passwords differ.) When you assign a user password to a document, all users must use this password to open the PDF document. The following code adds a user password to a PDF document:

<cfpdf action="protect" source="Finances.pdf" destination="myFinances.pdf" 

newUserPassword="keepOut">

To set the permissions on the output file, set the newOwnerPassword. A user who enters the owner password when accessing the PDF file is considered the owner of file. The following example shows how to set a new owner password:

<cfpdf action="protect" encrypt="AES_128"source="Book.pdf" destination="MysteryBook.pdf" 

overwrite="yes" newOwnerPassword="pssst" permissions="AllowDegradedPrinting">

Because the permissions are set to AllowDegradedPrinting in this example, ColdFusion lets users print the document at 150 DPI, but prohibits all other actions. If a user tries to delete the file, for example, ColdFusion generates an error message indicates that the password was entered incorrectly or the permissions do not allow the action to be performed.ColdFusion does not retain permissions: if you add a newUserPassword attribute, you also must set the permission explicitly.

To work with myVar, you specify newownerpw as the password.

PDF document passwords

A PDF document can have two kinds of passwords: a user password and an owner password. The following table describes the two types of ColdFusion passwords and their equivalents in Acrobat:

ColdFusion password	Acrobat equivalent	Description
User password	Document Open password, user password	Anyone who tries to open the PDF document must enter the password that you specify. A user password does not allow a user to change restricted features in the PDF document.
Owner password	Permissions password, master password	Lets the person who enters the password restrict access to features in a PDF document.

When you protect a PDF, your password changes to the one you provide. ColdFusion updates the variable's saved password to the one you provide. However, if you provide both passwords, ColdFusion uses the owner password. The following protects a PDF:

<cfpdf action="protect" source="myVar" password="oldpassword" 

permissions="none" newuserpassword="newuserpw" 

newownerpassword="newownerpw">

To get all the properties of the PDF, you do the following:

<cfpdf action="info" source="myVar" name="info">

To get only the properties allowed for the user, you do the following:

<cfpdf action="info" source="myVar" password=" newuserpw" name="info">

Permissions for PDF documents

The following table lists the permissions an owner can set for PDF documents:

Permissions	Description
All	There are no restrictions on the PDF document.
AllowAssembly	Users can add the PDF document to a merged document.
AllowCopy	Users can copy text, images, and other file content. This setting is required to generate thumbnail images with the thumbnail action.
AllowDegradedPrinting	Users can print the document at low-resolution (150 DPI).
AllowFillIn	Users can enter data into PDF form fields. Users can sign PDF forms electronically.
AllowModifyAnnotations	Users can add or change comments in the PDF document.
AllowModifyContents	Users can change the file content. Users can add the PDF document to a merged document.
AllowPrinting	Users can print the document at high-resolution (print-production quality). This setting is required for use with the cfprint tag.
AllowScreenReaders	Users can extract content from the PDF document.
AllowSecure	Users can sign the PDF document (with an electronic signature).
None	Users can view the document only.

Encryption for PDF documents

The encrypt attribute sets the type of encryption used for opening a password-protected document. By default, ColdFusion uses the RC4 128-bit encryption algorithm to encrypt PDF files. To change the encryption algorithm, use the encrypt attribute with the protect action. The following code encrypts the PDF output file with the AES algorithm:

<cfpdf action="protect" encrypt="AES_128" source="Book.pdf" destination="MysteryBook.pdf" 

overwrite="yes" newOwnerPassword="pssst" permissions="AllowDegradedPrinting">

ColdFusion supports the following encryption algorithms:

Encryption algorithm	Compatibility	Description
AES_128	Adobe Acrobat 7.0 and later	Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) specifies the Rijndael algorithm, a symmetric block cipher that can process data blocks of 128 bits. This is the highest encryption level. This encryption algorithm lets users do the following: Encrypt all document contents. Encrypt all document contents except for the metadata. Encrypt only the file attachments.
RC4_128M	Adobe Acrobat 6.0 and later	RC4 specifies the RSA Security software stream cipher for algorithms such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), to protect Internet traffic, and WEP, to secure wireless networks. This encryption algorithm lets users do the following: Encrypt all document contents. Encrypt all document contents except for the metadata.
RC4_128	Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and later	RC4 128-bit encryption. This encryption algorithm lets users encrypt the document contents, but not the document metadata.
RC4_40	Adobe Acrobat 3.0 and later	RC4 40-bit encryption. This is the lowest encryption level.
None	-	The document is not encrypted.

Note:

Document metadata is used in Internet searches. If the metadata is encrypted, search engines cannot search the PDF document. Users running an earlier version of Acrobat cannot open a PDF document with a higher encryption setting. For example, if you specify AES 128 encryption, a user cannot open the document in Acrobat 6.0 or earlier.

read action Use the read action to read the source PDF document into the namevariable, as the following code shows:

<cfif IsPDFFile("Book.pdf")> 

<cfpdf action="read" source="Book.pdf" name="myBook"> 

... 

</cfif>

removeWatermark action Use the removewatermarkaction to remove a watermark from a PDF document or specified pages in a document. The following example removes a watermark from the first page of a PDF document and writes the output to a new file:

<cfpdf action="removeWatermark" source="Book.pdf" pages="1" destination="newBook.pdf" overwrite="yes">

removeheaderfooter action Use this action to remove the header and footer from a PDF document or from specified pages in a document. The following example removes the header and footer from the entire document:

<cfpdf action = "removeheaderfooter" source="..\mybook.pdf" destination = "new.pdf">

setInfo action Use the setinfo action to specify information associated with a PDF document to be saved with it. Create a structure that contains the relevant information. Use the info attribute of the cfpdf tag to refer to the structure. The following code shows the elements that you can modify by using the setInfoaction:

<cfset PDFinfo=StructNew()> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Title="Make Way for Ducklings"> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Author="Donald Duck"> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Keywords="Huey,Dewy,Louie"> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Subject="Ducks"> 

<cfpdf action="setInfo" source="chap1.pdf" info="#PDFinfo#" destination="meta1.pdf" overwrite="yes">

thumbnail action Use the thumbnail action to generate thumbnail images from the source PDF document. If you do not specify a destination directory for the thumbnail files, ColdFusion creates a directory for the thumbnails in the directory where the CFM page is located. If you specify a filename as the source, the thumbnail directory name is a concatenation of the name of the source file and _thumbnails. For example, the following code generates a thumbnail image for each page in myBook.pdf and stores them in a directory called myBook_thumbnails:

<cfpdf action="thumbnail" source="myBook.pdf">

If the CFM page is located in the directory c:\myProject\genThumbnails.cfm, the pathname for the thumbnails directory is c:\myProject\myBook_thumbnails.By default, ColdFusion generates thumbnail files in JPEG format and the images are scaled to 25% of the original.

You can specify individual pages within the source document to generate thumbnails. Also, you can change the size of the thumbnail; the resolution, the output format (JPEG, PNG, or TIFF); and the prefix used for the thumbnail filenames. The following code generates a low-resolution thumbnail from the first page of the source document that is scaled at 50% of the original size:

<cfpdf action="thumbnail" source="myBook.pdf" pages="1" destination="c:\myBook\images" 

imagePrefix="Cover" format="png" scale="50" resolution="low">

The full output file pathname is as follows:

c:\myBook\images\Cover_page_1.png

Note:

To generate thumbnail images, the permissions of the source document must include AllowCopy. For more information, see Permissions for PDF documents in cfpdf.

With ColdFusion 9, the following new attributes were introduced for the thumbnail action:

hires: You can set this attribute to true to extract high-resolution images from the page. If a document contains high-resolution images and you want to retain the resolution of the images, then this attribute is useful.

For example:

<cfpdf action="thumbnail" source="./WORK/myBook.pdf" destination="./WORK/Testing_CFPDF" overwrite="true" hires="yes">

overridepage: If you set this attribute to true, the thumbnail generated does not adhere to the PDF page size, but to the image size that is present in that page. If the image is not present, the size is set to the maximum size of the page.
compresstiffs: Use this attribute to compress the size of the thumbnail images. As the name of the attribute suggests, it is only valid for the TIFF format. Following is an example:

<cfpdf action="thumbnail" source="C:\WORK\myBook.pdf" destination="C:\WORK\Testing_CFPDF" overwrite="true" hires="yes" format="tiff" compresstiffs="yes">

maxscale : Use this attribute to specify an integer value for the maximum scale of the thumbnail images.
maxlength: Use this attribute to specify an integer value of the maximum length of the thumbnail images.
maxbreadth: Use this attribute to specify an integer value of the maximum width of the thumbnail.

The following example illustrates the use of maxscale, maxlength, and maxbreadth:

Note: Typically, the value of the scale attribute is set to 100 when using the maxscale attribute.

write action Use the writeaction to write the source PDF document, or the PDF document stored in memory as a variable, to a file. The following code converts a PDF file stored in memory to a different PDF version and writes the output to a new file:

<cfpdf action="read" source="Book.pdf" name="myBook"> 

<cfpdf action="write" source="myBook" destination="myBook1.pdf" 

version="1.4">

You can now use either name or destination attributes with the write action. The name attribute takes the value as the PDF document variable. For example, you can write the preceding code snippet as:

<cfpdf action="read" source="Book.pdf" name="myBook"> 

<cfpdf action="write" source="myBook" name=#myBook# 

version="1.4">

The new encodeall attribute encodes all the unencoded streams in the source. However, it does not discriminate between dumb encodings like LZW and encodings like flate, so only unencoded streams get flateencoded.

Note:

You can now register thumbnail fonts using the font management screen.

PDF versions

Change the PDF version so that users running an older version of Acrobat or Adobe Reader can open the file. The following table shows the compatibility between the PDF version and the corresponding Acrobat and Adobe Reader versions:

PDF version	Compatibility
1.1	Acrobat and Adobe Reader 2
1.2	Acrobat and Adobe Reader 3
1.3	Acrobat and Adobe Reader 4
1.4	Acrobat and Adobe Reader 5
1.5	Acrobat and Adobe Reader 6
1.6	Acrobat and Adobe Reader 7

To linearize PDF documents for faster web display, set the saveOption attribute to linear, as the following code shows:

<cfpdf action="write" source="myBook" destination="myBook1.pdf" saveOption="linear" 

overwrite="yes">

Do not use the linear save option if you have to maintain interactivity in PDF forms or if the PDF document is enabled for electronic signatures. To allow for electronic signatures, set the saveOption attribute to incremental, as the following code shows:

<cfpdf action="write" source="myDraft" destination="mySignedDoc.pdf" 

saveOption="incremental" overwrite="yes">

Use the flatten attribute to flatten forms created in Acrobat:

<cfpdf action="write" source="myAcrobatForm.pdf" 

destination="myFlatForm.pdf" flatten="yes" overwrite="yes">

Note:

ColdFusion does not support flattening forms created in Adobe LiveCycle. For more information about forms created in LiveCycle and Acrobat, see Manipulating PDF Forms in ColdFusion in the Developing ColdFusion Applications.

Example

The following example generates thumbnail images from pages in a PDF document and links the thumbnail images to the pages in the PDF document:

<h3>PDF Thumbnail Demo</h3> 

<!--- Create a variable for the name of the PDF document. ---> 

<cfset mypdf="myBook"> 

<cfset thisPath=ExpandPath(".")> 

<!--- Use the getInfo action to retrieve the total page count for the 

PDF document. ---> 

<cfpdf action="getInfo" source="#mypdf#.pdf" name="PDFInfo"> 

<cfset pageCount="#PDFInfo.TotalPages#"> 

<!--- Generate a thumbnail image for each page in the PDF source document, 

create a directory (if it doesn't already exist) in the web root that is 

a concatenation of the PDF source name and the word "thumbnails", and 

save the thumbnail images in that directory. ---> 

<cfpdf action="thumbnail" source="#mypdf#.pdf" overwrite="yes" 

destination="#mypdf#_thumbnails" scale=60> 

<!--- Loop through the images in the thumbnail directory and generate a link 

from each image to the corresponding page in the PDF document. ---> 

<cfloop index="LoopCount" from ="1" to="#pageCount#" step="1"> 

<cfoutput> 

<!--- Click the thumbnail image to navigate to the page in the PDF 

document. ---> 

<a href="#mypdf#.pdf##page=#LoopCount#" target="_blank"> 

<img src="#mypdf#_thumbnails/#mypdf#_page_#LoopCount#.jpg"></a> 

</cfoutput> 

</cfloop>

Archiving PDF documents

Introduced in ColdFusion 11: Use the action type=”archive” to archive the PDF files based on the ISO's PDF/A standards.PDF/A is one set of standards among a suite of PDF-based standards managed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It was developed to enable the long-term preservation of electronic documents and provides specifications for the creation, viewing, and printing of PDF documents, with the intent of preserving final documents of record as self-contained documents. The standard does not define an archiving strategy or the goals of an archiving system. Rather, it identifies a "profile" for a PDF file that makes it possible to reproduce the visual appearance of the document the exact same way in the future. This profile specifies what must be included in the file, while prohibiting features that are not suitable for long-term archiving.

<!---- Create an archived pdf from source pdf ---à

<cftry>

<cfpdf action="archive" source="#sourcefilename#" destination="#destinationfilename#" overwrite="true" />

<cfcatch>

<cfoutput>#cfcatch.detail#</cfoutput><br><br>

</cfcatch>

</cftry>

Digitally signing the documents

Introduced in ColdFusion 11: Use the action =”sign”,”unsign”,”validatesignature”,"readsignaturefields" for creating a digital signature, removing the digital signature, validating the signatures of a document, and for reading the signature fields respectively.

For action =”sign”, the following attributes are available:
- keystore attribute(Required):The location of the keystore file. For example:C:\OpenSSL\bin\keystore.jks.
- keystorepassword attribute (Required): The password for the keystore.
- keyalias attribute (Optional):Alias of the key with which the certificate and private key are stored in the keystore. If it is not specified, the first entry in the keystore is chosen as the alias.
- keypassword attribute (Optional):Password for your private key. If not specified, the keystorepassword is used.

author attribute (Optional): If true, generates an authored signature. If false, then generate an ordinary signature.

<!---- Sign a specific pdf by creating a signature field and signing it with authoured signature -->

<cfpdf action="sign"

source="#inputfilepath##inputfilename#"

destination="#signedfilepath##signedfilename#"

keystore="#certpath#cert.pfx" keystorepassword="certpass"

overwrite="true" pages="1" height="100"

width="100" position="100,100" author="false"

/>

For action =”sign” and "unsign", the following attribute is available:

signaturefieldname attribute(Optional):Fully qualified name of the existing field on which the user wants to sign (or) the signature field which has to be unsigned.

<!---- Sign a specific signature field in a input pdf ---->

<cfpdf action="sign"

source=”#inputfilepath##inputfilename#"

destination="#signedfilepath##signedfilename#"

keystore="#certpath#cert.jks" keystorepassword="password"

overwrite="true" author="true"

signaturefieldname="sign_me"/>

For action =”unsign”, the following attribute is available:

Unsignall attribute (Optional): If true, then will unsign all signature fields in the source document.

<cfpdf action="unsign" source="../cfpdf_normalPDFSign.pdf" destination="../results/cfpdf_normalPDFSign.pdf" unsignall="true" overwrite="true">

For action =”validatesignature”, the following attribute is available:

Name attribute which will store the resultant structure of this operation. It consists of two elements. One is the boolean field which indicates whether all signatures have been deemed valid or not. The second is an array list consisting of the names of all the signatures which were invalid.

<cfpdf action="validatesignature" source="../cfpdf_normalPDFSign.pdf" name="pdfInfo">

<cfoutput>#pdfInfo.SUCCESS#</cfoutput>

For action =”readsignaturefields”:

Reads all the signature fields and returns a query object in the variable indicated by attribute name. This query object will have five columns. The five columns are:

a) Signed - fully qualified name of the signature field.

b) Authored - indicates if this field can contain an author signature or not.

c) Can_Be_Signed - whether this field can be signed.

d) Can_Be_Authored - tells if this field is already signed or not

e) Visible - tells if the field is visible.

<!--- Read info about signature fields in a 

input pdf in a variable and dump it --->

<cfpdf action="readsignaturefields"

source="#filepath##inputfilename#" name="signinfo"

password="owner" />

<cfdump var=”#signinfo#”/>

Examples

addAttachments

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destinationfile="#ExpandPath('file_result.pdf')#">

<cftry>

 <cfpdf action="addAttachments" source="#sourcefile#" destination="#destinationfile#" overwrite="true">

  <cfpdfparam source="#ExpandPath('file1.txt')#" filename="attachment1.txt" Encoding="ASCII" description="file attachment one">

  <cfpdfparam source="#ExpandPath('file2.txt')#" filename="attachment2.txt" Encoding="UTF-16" description="file attachment one"></cfpdfparam>

 </cfpdf>

 <cfcatch type="any">

  <cfdump var="#cfcatch#">

 </cfcatch>

</cftry>

Output

addFooter

<!--- image as footer --->

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destfile="#ExpandPath('file_footer.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="addfooter" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination="#destfile#"

  image="adobe.png" 

  overwrite="yes" 

>

<!--- text as footer --->

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destfile="#ExpandPath('file_footer.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="addfooter" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination="#destfile#"

  text="This is a sample footer" 

  align="center" 

  overwrite="yes" 

>

Output

addHeader

<!--- text as header --->

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destfile="#ExpandPath('file_header.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="addheader" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination="#destfile#"

  text="This is a sample header" 

  align="center" 

  overwrite="yes" 

>

<!--- image as header --->

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destfile="#ExpandPath('file_header.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="addheader" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination="#destfile#"

  image="adobe.png"

  overwrite="yes" 

>

Output

addStamp

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath('addStamp.pdf')/>

<cfset destinationfile=ExpandPath("addStamp_result.pdf")/>

<cftry>

 <cfpdf action="addStamp" source="#sourcefile#" destination="#destinationfile#" overwrite="true">

  <cfpdfparam pages="2" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Approved" note="stamp1">

  <cfpdfparam pages="3-4" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Experimental" >

  <cfpdfparam pages="5" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="NotApproved" >

  <cfpdfparam pages="6" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="AsIs" note="stamp2">

  <cfpdfparam pages="7-8" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Expired" note="stamp3">

  <cfpdfparam pages="9" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="NotForPublicRelease" >

  <cfpdfparam pages="10" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Confidential" >

  <cfpdfparam pages="11" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Final" note="stamp4">

  <cfpdfparam pages="12" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Sold">

  <cfpdfparam pages="13" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Departmental" note="stamp1">

  <cfpdfparam pages="14" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="Draft">

  <cfpdfparam pages="15" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="ForPublicRelease">

  <cfpdfparam pages="16" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="TopSecret">

  <cfpdfparam pages="17" coordinates = "397,532,519,564" iconname="ForComment">

 </cfpdf>

<cfcatch  name="myvar">

 <cfdump  var="#myvar#">

</cfcatch>

</cftry>

Output

addWatermark

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destfile="#ExpandPath('file_watermark.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="addwatermark" source="#sourcefile#"  

  destination="#destfile#" 

  image="image.png"

  pages="1-2"

  overwrite="yes">

Output

deletePages

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('file.pdf')#">

<cfset destfile="#ExpandPath('file_pages_deleted.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="deletepages" 

  pages="5-10" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination="#destfile#" 

  overwrite="yes"

>

export comment

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath("comment.pdf")/>

<cfset destinationfile=ExpandPath("comment_exported.fdf")/>

<cfpdf action="export" 

  type="comment" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  exportto="#destinationfile#" 

  overwrite="true" 

>

Output

export metadata

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('metadata.pdf')#"/>

<cfset destinationfile="#ExpandPath('metadata_exported.xmp')#"/>

<cfpdf action="export" 

  type="metadata" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  exportto="#destinationfile#" 

  overwrite="true"

>

Output

extractImage

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action = "extractimage" 

  source = "#sourcefile#" 

  pages = "1-20" 

  destination = "images" 

  imageprefix = "cf_" 

  format="jpg" 

  overwrite="yes"

>

extractText

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="extracttext" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  name="myXML" 

  pages="1-10" 

  overwrite="yes" 

>

<cfcontent type="text/xml" />

<cfoutput>#myXML#</cfoutput>

getInfo

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath("coldfusion.pdf")/>

<cfpdf action="getInfo" source="#sourcefile#" name="PDFInfo">

<cfdump var="#PDFInfo#" >

Output

import comments

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('noComment.pdf')#"/>

<cfset destinationfile="#ExpandPath('withComment.pdf')#"/>

<cfset importfromfilename = "#ExpandPath('comment_exported.xfdf')#">

<cfpdf action="import" 

  type="comment" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  importfrom="#importfromfilename#" 

  destination="#destinationfile#" 

  overwrite="true"

>

Output

import metadata

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('noMetadata.pdf')#"/>

<cfset destinationfile="#ExpandPath('metadataImported.pdf')#"/>

<cfset importfromfilename = "#ExpandPath('metadata_exported.xmp')#">

<cftry>

 <cfpdf action="import" type="metadata" source="#sourcefile#" 

 importfrom="#importfromfilename#" destination="#destinationfile#" overwrite="true" >

 <cfcatch name="mycatch">

  <cfdump var="#mycatch#" >

 </cfcatch>

</cftry>

merge

Merge using a list of pdfs.

<cfset source1="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfset source2="#ExpandPath('security.pdf')#"/>

<cfset source3="#ExpandPath('sessionsecurity.pdf')#"/>

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('merged.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="merge" 

  source="#source1#,#source2#,#source3#"

  destination="#desfile#" 

  overwrite="yes"

>

Merge pdfs using cfpdfparam

<cfset source1="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfset source2="#ExpandPath('security.pdf')#"/>

<cfset source3="#ExpandPath('sessionsecurity.pdf')#"/>

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('merged_new_PDF.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="merge" destination="#desfile#" overwrite="yes">

    <cfpdfparam source="#source1#" pages="1-5"/>

    <cfpdfparam source="#source2#" pages=2 />

    <cfpdfparam source="#source3#" pages="3-6" />

</cfpdf>

optimize

Using the Nearest Neighbor algorithm, which is the default.

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('optimized_nn.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="optimize" source="#sourcefile#" destination="#desfile#" algo="Nearest_Neighbour" overwrite="yes">

Using the bilinear algorithm.

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('optimized_biliear.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="optimize" source="#sourcefile#" destination="#desfile#" algo="bilinear" overwrite="yes">

Using the bicubic algorithm.

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('optimized_bicubic.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="optimize" source="#sourcefile#" destination="#desfile#" algo="bicubic" overwrite="yes">

processDDX

merge.ddx

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 

<DDX xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/DDX/1.0/"  

    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 

    xsi:schemaLocation="http://ns.adobe.com/DDX/1.0/ coldfusion_ddx.xsd"> 

<PDF result="Out1"> 

<PDF source="Doc1"/> 

<PDF source="Doc2"/> 

</PDF> 

</DDX>

processDDX .cfm

<cfset source1="#ExpandPath('security.pdf')#"/>

<cfset source2="#ExpandPath('sessionsecurity.pdf')#"/>

<cfset outfile="#ExpandPath('book.pdf')#"/>

<cfset ddxloc="#ExpandPath('merge.ddx')#"/>

<!--- This code creates a structure for the input files. ---> 

<cfset inputStruct=StructNew()> 

<cfset inputStruct.Doc1="#source1#"> 

<cfset inputStruct.Doc2="#source2#">

<!--- This code creates a structure for the output file. --->

<cfset outputStruct=StructNew()>

<cfset outputStruct.Out1="#outfile#">

<!--- This code processes the DDX instructions and generates the book. --->

<cfpdf action="processddx" ddxfile="#ddxloc#" inputfiles="#inputStruct#" outputfiles="#outputStruct#" name="myBook">

<cfdump var="#myBook#">

protect

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion_protected.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="protect" 

  source="#sourceFile#" 

  destination="#desfile#"

  newUserPassword="password"

>

Output

read

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="read" name="myBook" source="#sourcefile#" >

<cfdump var="#myBook#" >

Output

redact

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath('redact.pdf')/>

<cfset destinationfile=ExpandPath("redact_result.pdf")/>

<cfpdf action="redact" source="#sourcefile#" destination="#destinationfile#" overwrite="true">

 <cfpdfparam pages="1,2" coordinates="306,426,366,496" >

 <cfpdfparam pages="3" coordinates="100,100,400,400">

 <cfpdfparam pages="*" coordinates="0,0,100,100">

</cfpdf>

Output

removeHeaderFooter

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath('coldfusion_header_footer.pdf')/>

<cfset desfile=ExpandPath('coldfusion_no_header_footer.pdf')/>

<cfpdf action = "removeheaderfooter" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination = "#desfile#" 

  pages="1-5" 

  overwrite="yes" 

>

removeWatermark

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath('coldfusion_watermark.pdf')/>

<cfset desfile=ExpandPath('coldfusion_no_watermark.pdf')/>

<cfpdf action = "removewatermark" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination = "#desfile#" 

  pages="3-5" 

  overwrite="yes" 

>

sanitize

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('CF_Hotfix.pdf')#"/>

<cfset destinationfile="#ExpandPath('CF_Hotfix_Sanitized.pdf')#"/>

<cfpdf action="sanitize" 

  source="#sourcefile#" 

  destination="#destinationfile#" 

  overwrite="true" 

>

Output - before sanitization

Output - after sanitization

setInfo

<cfset PDFinfo=StructNew()> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Title="Apply Hotfixes to ColdFusion"> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Author="ColdFusion Developer"> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Keywords="ColdFusion,Update, Hotfix, Security Update"> 

<cfset PDFinfo.Subject="ColdFusion Hotfixes">

<cfset sourcefile="file.pdf"/>

<cfset desfile="file_info.pdf"/>

<cfpdf action="setInfo" 

 source="#sourcefile#" 

 info="#PDFinfo#" 

 destination="#desfile#" 

 overwrite="yes"

>

Output

sign

Create a Keystore and generate a key pair. Answer each question when prompted.

keytool - genkey -alias pdfdomain - keyalg RSA - keystore KeyStore.jks - keysize 2048

Generate a CSR based on the new keystore .

keytool - certreq -alias pdfdomain - keystore KeyStore.jks -file pdfdomain . csr

<!---- Sign a specific pdf by creating a signature field and signing it with authoured signature --->

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')/>

<cfset destinationfile=ExpandPath("cf_signed.pdf")/>

<cfset pathtokeystore=ExpandPath("KeyStore.jks")/>

<cfpdf action="sign"

  source="#sourcefile#"

  destination="#destinationfile#"

  keystore="#pathtokeystore#" 

  keystorepassword="password"

  overwrite="true" 

  pages="1" 

  height="100"

  width="100" 

  position="100,100" 

  author="true"

>

Output

thumbnail

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="read" name="myDoc" source="#sourcefile#" />

<cfpdf action="thumbnail" source="myDoc" destination="C:\cfpdf\" overwrite="yes" />

<cfimage action="read" name="img" source="C:\cfpdf\thumbnail_page_1.jpg" format="jpg" />

Output

transform

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#">

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion_transformed.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action = "transform"

source = "#sourcefile#"

destination = "#desfile#" 

hscale = ".5"

vscale = ".8"

position = "8, 10"

rotation = "180"

overwrite="yes" 

>

Output

unsign

<cfset sourcefile=ExpandPath('cf_signed.pdf')/>

<cfset destinationfile=ExpandPath("cf_unsigned.pdf")/>

<cfpdf action="unsign" 

 source="#sourcefile#" 

 destination="#destinationfile#" 

 unsignall="true" 

 overwrite="true"

>

Output

validatesSignature

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('cf_signed.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="validatesignature" source="#sourceFile#" name="pdfInfo">

<cfoutput>#pdfInfo.SUCCESS#</cfoutput> <!--- returns YES --->

write

<!--- write the properties of the PDF --->

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="write" 

 source="#sourcefile#" 

 name="PDFout" 

 overwrite="yes">

<cfdump var="#PDFout#" >

<!--- Write the PDF document to another PDF --->

<cfset sourcefile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion.pdf')#">

<cfset desfile="#ExpandPath('coldfusion_write.pdf')#">

<cfpdf action="write" 

 source="#sourcefile#" 

 destination="#desfile#"

 overwrite="yes"

>

Real-world uses of the cfpdf function

Legal document management system

Your law firm needs to combine multiple PDF documents (contract, exhibits, signatures, disclosures) into a single comprehensive PDF file for court filing or client delivery. Each case has multiple documents that must be assembled in the correct order.

Problem statement

Need to combine multiple separate PDF files into one document
Documents arrive from different sources (scanned, generated, emailed)
Must maintain proper order and page numbering
Should preserve quality and formatting of original PDFs

Solution

The cfpdf tag combines any number of PDFs into one, includes specific pages from each document, or specifies exact sequence of merged documents.

<cfparam name="url.action" default="">

<cfif url.action EQ "merge">

    <cftry>

        <!--- Document 1: Service Agreement (Page 1) --->

        <cfdocument format="pdf" name="doc1_agreement">

            <html>

            <head>

                <style>

                    body { font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin: 60px; line-height: 1.8; }

                    .header { text-align: center; border-bottom: 3px solid ##000; padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 30px; }

                    h1 { font-size: 24px; text-transform: uppercase; margin: 0; }

                    h2 { font-size: 18px; margin-top: 30px; border-bottom: 1px solid ##666; padding-bottom: 5px; }

                    .parties { background-color: ##f9f9f9; padding: 20px; margin: 20px 0; border-left: 4px solid ##333; }

                </style>

            </head>

            <body>

                <div class="header">

                    <h1>Professional Services Agreement</h1>

                    <p style="font-size: 14px; margin-top: 10px;">Contract No. PSA-2024-00147</p>

                </div>

                <div class="parties">

                    <p><strong>This Agreement</strong> is entered into as of January 15, 2024, between:</p>

                    <p><strong>CLIENT:</strong> Acme Corporation, a Delaware corporation<br>

                    123 Business Plaza, Suite 500, New York, NY 10001</p>

                    <p><strong>CONSULTANT:</strong> Professional Tech Solutions LLC<br>

                    456 Innovation Drive, San Francisco, CA 94105</p>

                </div>

                <h2>ARTICLE I: SCOPE OF SERVICES</h2>

                <p>Consultant agrees to provide the following professional services to Client:</p>

                <ol>

                    <li><strong>System Architecture Design:</strong> Design and document enterprise-level system architecture for Client's new customer management platform.</li>

                    <li><strong>Technical Implementation:</strong> Oversee the implementation phase including database design, API development, and integration with existing systems.</li>

                    <li><strong>Quality Assurance:</strong> Conduct comprehensive testing and quality assurance processes to ensure system reliability and performance.</li>

                    <li><strong>Documentation:</strong> Provide complete technical documentation, user manuals, and training materials.</li>

                </ol>

                <h2>ARTICLE II: COMPENSATION AND PAYMENT TERMS</h2>

                <p><strong>2.1 Project Fee:</strong> The total project fee is <strong>$125,000 USD</strong>, payable as follows:</p>

                <ul>

                    <li>30% ($37,500) upon contract execution</li>

                    <li>40% ($50,000) upon completion of design phase (estimated 60 days)</li>

                    <li>30% ($37,500) upon final delivery and acceptance</li>

                </ul>

                <p><strong>2.2 Payment Terms:</strong> All invoices are due within 30 days of receipt. Late payments will incur interest at 1.5% per month.</p>

                <h2>ARTICLE III: TERM AND TERMINATION</h2>

                <p><strong>3.1 Term:</strong> This Agreement shall commence on February 1, 2024, and continue for a period of six (6) months, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2024.</p>

                <p><strong>3.2 Termination:</strong> Either party may terminate this Agreement with 30 days' written notice. Upon termination, Client shall pay for all services rendered through the termination date.</p>

                <cfdocumentitem type="footer">

                    <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10px; color: ##666; margin-top: 40px; padding-top: 10px; border-top: 1px solid ##ddd;">

                        Service Agreement - Document 1 - Page #cfdocument.currentpagenumber# of #cfdocument.totalpagecount#

                    </div>

                </cfdocumentitem>

            </body>

            </html>

        </cfdocument>

        <!--- Document 2: Statement of Work (Page 2) --->

        <cfdocument format="pdf" name="doc2_sow">

            <html>

            <head>

                <style>

                    body { font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin: 60px; line-height: 1.8; }

                    .header { text-align: center; border-bottom: 3px solid ##000; padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 30px; }

                    h1 { font-size: 24px; text-transform: uppercase; margin: 0; }

                    h2 { font-size: 18px; margin-top: 30px; border-bottom: 1px solid ##666; padding-bottom: 5px; }

                    table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 20px 0; }

                    th, td { border: 1px solid ##333; padding: 12px; text-align: left; }

                    th { background-color: ##333; color: white; font-weight: bold; }

                </style>

            </head>

            <body>

                <div class="header">

                    <h1>Statement of Work (SOW)</h1>

                    <p style="font-size: 14px; margin-top: 10px;">Exhibit A to Professional Services Agreement</p>

                </div>

                <h2>PROJECT DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE</h2>

                <table>

                    <tr>

                        <th>Phase</th>

                        <th>Deliverable</th>

                        <th>Timeline</th>

                        <th>Payment</th>

                    </tr>

                    <tr>

                        <td><strong>Phase 1</strong><br>Discovery</td>

                        <td>Requirements Document<br>Architecture Design<br>Technical Specifications</td>

                        <td>Weeks 1-4<br>(Feb 1-28)</td>

                        <td>$37,500<br>(30%)</td>

                    </tr>

                    <tr>

                        <td><strong>Phase 2</strong><br>Development</td>

                        <td>Database Schema<br>API Implementation<br>Integration Layer</td>

                        <td>Weeks 5-16<br>(Mar 1-May 15)</td>

                        <td>$50,000<br>(40%)</td>

                    </tr>

                    <tr>

                        <td><strong>Phase 3</strong><br>Testing & Delivery</td>

                        <td>QA Testing Report<br>Documentation<br>Training Materials<br>Final Deployment</td>

                        <td>Weeks 17-24<br>(May 16-Jul 31)</td>

                        <td>$37,500<br>(30%)</td>

                    </tr>

                </table>

                <h2>ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA</h2>

                <p>Each deliverable must meet the following criteria for acceptance:</p>

                <ul>

                    <li>All specified functionality is implemented and operational</li>

                    <li>System passes all defined test cases with 95% success rate</li>

                    <li>Documentation is complete, accurate, and professionally formatted</li>

                    <li>Client has 14 business days to review and provide written acceptance</li>

                </ul>

                <h2>RESOURCES AND RESPONSIBILITIES</h2>

                <p><strong>Consultant will provide:</strong></p>

                <ul>

                    <li>Senior System Architect (lead consultant)</li>

                    <li>Two Backend Developers</li>

                    <li>Quality Assurance Specialist</li>

                    <li>Technical Writer</li>

                </ul>

                <p><strong>Client will provide:</strong></p>

                <ul>

                    <li>Access to existing systems and databases</li>

                    <li>Dedicated project manager for coordination</li>

                    <li>Timely feedback and approvals</li>

                    <li>Development and testing environments</li>

                </ul>

                <cfdocumentitem type="footer">

                    <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10px; color: ##666; margin-top: 40px; padding-top: 10px; border-top: 1px solid ##ddd;">

                        Statement of Work - Document 2 - Page #cfdocument.currentpagenumber# of #cfdocument.totalpagecount#

                    </div>

                </cfdocumentitem>

            </body>

            </html>

        </cfdocument>

        <!--- Document 3: Signature Page (Page 3) --->

        <cfdocument format="pdf" name="doc3_signatures">

            <html>

            <head>

                <style>

                    body { font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin: 60px; line-height: 1.8; }

                    .header { text-align: center; border-bottom: 3px solid ##000; padding-bottom: 20px; margin-bottom: 30px; }

                    h1 { font-size: 24px; text-transform: uppercase; margin: 0; }

                    .signature-block { margin-top: 60px; page-break-inside: avoid; }

                    .signature-line { border-bottom: 2px solid ##000; width: 350px; margin: 10px 0; }

                    .execution { background-color: ##f9f9f9; padding: 20px; margin: 30px 0; border: 2px solid ##333; }

                </style>

            </head>

            <body>

                <div class="header">

                    <h1>Execution of Agreement</h1>

                    <p style="font-size: 14px; margin-top: 10px;">Signature Page</p>

                </div>

                <div class="execution">

                    <p><strong>IN WITNESS WHEREOF</strong>, the parties hereto have executed this Professional Services Agreement as of the date first written above.</p>

                </div>

                <div class="signature-block">

                    <p><strong>CLIENT: Acme Corporation</strong></p>

                    <div class="signature-line"></div>

                    <p>Signature</p>

                    <p><strong>Name:</strong> Michael Chen<br>

                    <strong>Title:</strong> Chief Technology Officer<br>

                    <strong>Date:</strong> <cfoutput>#dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#</cfoutput></p>

                </div>

                <div class="signature-block">

                    <p><strong>CONSULTANT: Professional Tech Solutions LLC</strong></p>

                    <div class="signature-line"></div>

                    <p>Signature</p>

                    <p><strong>Name:</strong> Sarah Rodriguez<br>

                    <strong>Title:</strong> Managing Partner<br>

                    <strong>Date:</strong> <cfoutput>#dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#</cfoutput></p>

                </div>

                <div style="margin-top: 80px; padding: 20px; background-color: ##f0f0f0; border-left: 4px solid ##333;">

                    <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0;"><strong>NOTARY:</strong> This document has been executed and delivered by the parties as a sealed instrument on the date indicated above.</p>

                </div>

                <cfdocumentitem type="footer">

                    <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10px; color: ##666; margin-top: 40px; padding-top: 10px; border-top: 1px solid ##ddd;">

                        Signature Page - Document 3 - Page #cfdocument.currentpagenumber# of #cfdocument.totalpagecount#

                    </div>

                </cfdocumentitem>

            </body>

            </html>

        </cfdocument>

        <!--- MERGE ALL DOCUMENTS USING CFPDF --->

        <cfpdf action="merge" name="completePackage">

            <cfpdfparam source="#doc1_agreement#">

            <cfpdfparam source="#doc2_sow#">

            <cfpdfparam source="#doc3_signatures#">

        </cfpdf>

        <!--- Output merged PDF to browser --->

        <cfheader name="Content-Disposition" value="inline; filename=Complete_Service_Agreement_Package.pdf">

        <cfcontent type="application/pdf" variable="#completePackage#" reset="true">

        <cfcatch>

            <h2 style="color: red;">Error Creating PDF</h2>

            <cfoutput>

                <p><strong>Error:</strong> #cfcatch.message#</p>

                <p><strong>Detail:</strong> #cfcatch.detail#</p>

            </cfoutput>

        </cfcatch>

    </cftry>

<cfelse>

    <!--- Landing Page --->

    <h1>Use Case 1: Merging Multiple PDFs</h1>

    <div style="background-color: ##fff3e0; border-left: 6px solid ##ff9800; padding: 25px; margin: 25px 0;">

        <h2 style="margin-top: 0; color: ##e65100;">⚖️ Business Scenario: Law Firm Case Assembly</h2>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Challenge:</strong> A law firm needs to assemble complete case packages for court filing. Each case requires combining the service agreement, statement of work, and signature pages into a single PDF document.</p>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Solution:</strong> Use <code>cfpdf action="merge"</code> to automatically combine all documents into one professional package.</p>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Benefits:</strong> Eliminates manual PDF assembly, ensures correct document order, reduces filing errors, and saves time.</p>

    </div>

    <div style="background-color: ##e3f2fd; border: 2px solid ##1976d2; padding: 25px; margin: 25px 0;">

        <h3 style="margin-top: 0;">📄 This Demo Will Merge:</h3>

        <ol style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 2;">

            <li><strong>Document 1:</strong> Professional Services Agreement (detailed contract terms)</li>

            <li><strong>Document 2:</strong> Statement of Work (project deliverables and timeline)</li>

            <li><strong>Document 3:</strong> Signature Page (execution and notarization)</li>

        </ol>

        <p style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Result:</strong> One complete, professionally formatted PDF ready for filing.</p>

    </div>

    <div style="text-align: center; margin: 50px 0;">

        <a href="?action=merge" 

           style="display: inline-block; padding: 25px 60px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##1976d2 0%, ##1565c0 100%); 

                  color: white; text-decoration: none; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; border-radius: 8px; 

                  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.2); transition: all 0.3s;">

            📑 Merge Documents & View PDF

        </a>

        <p style="margin-top: 15px; color: ##666;">Click to generate and view the complete merged PDF package</p>

    </div>

    <hr style="margin: 40px 0;">

</cfif>

Document review and approval system

Your organization needs to mark PDF documents with watermarks like "DRAFT", "CONFIDENTIAL", "APPROVED", or "COPY" to indicate document status. This prevents confusion about which version is final and protects sensitive information.

Problem statement

Need to mark documents with status indicators
Must distinguish drafts from final versions
Should protect confidential documents with visible warnings
Need to prevent unauthorized distribution
Must add watermarks without modifying original content

Solution

The cfpdf tag adds text or image-based watermarks, places watermarks at specific locations, or controls watermark transparency.

<cfparam name="url.status" default="">

<cfif len(url.status) GT 0>

    <cftry>

        <!--- Create realistic manuscript document --->

        <cfdocument format="pdf" name="manuscript">

            <html>

            <head>

                <style>

                    body { font-family: 'Georgia', serif; margin: 70px; line-height: 1.8; font-size: 12pt; }

                    .title-page { text-align: center; margin-top: 150px; }

                    .title-page h1 { font-size: 32pt; margin-bottom: 20px; }

                    .title-page .author { font-size: 18pt; margin-top: 40px; }

                    .chapter { page-break-before: always; }

                    .chapter h2 { font-size: 20pt; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: center; }

                    p { text-align: justify; text-indent: 40px; }

                    p.first { text-indent: 0; }

                </style>

            </head>

            <body>

                <div class="title-page">

                    <h1>The Digital Transformation Journey</h1>

                    <p class="author">by Dr. Jennifer Martinez</p>

                    <p style="margin-top: 60px; font-size: 14pt;">A Comprehensive Guide to Enterprise Innovation</p>

                    <p style="margin-top: 150px; font-size: 11pt;">

                        <cfoutput>

                            <cfif url.status EQ "draft">

                                DRAFT VERSION - #dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#

                            <cfelseif url.status EQ "review">

                                REVIEW COPY - #dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#

                            <cfelseif url.status EQ "final">

                                APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION - #dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#

                            <cfelse>

                                CONFIDENTIAL MANUSCRIPT - #dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#

                            </cfif>

                        </cfoutput>

                    </p>

                </div>

                <div class="chapter">

                    <h2>Chapter 1: Understanding Digital Transformation</h2>

                    <p class="first">In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, digital transformation has emerged as a critical imperative for organizations seeking to remain competitive and relevant. The concept extends far beyond mere technological adoption; it represents a fundamental reimagining of how businesses operate, deliver value, and engage with customers in an increasingly digital world.</p>

                    <p>Digital transformation is not simply about implementing new technology solutions. Rather, it encompasses a holistic shift in organizational culture, processes, and mindset. Companies that successfully navigate this journey recognize that technology serves as an enabler, not an end in itself. The true power of digital transformation lies in its ability to reshape business models, create new revenue streams, and deliver enhanced customer experiences.</p>

                    <p>Consider the case of traditional retail organizations. Those that embraced digital transformation early integrated e-commerce platforms, mobile applications, and data analytics into their core operations. They didn't merely add online sales channels; they fundamentally reconsidered how customers discover, evaluate, and purchase products. This comprehensive approach enabled them to compete effectively against digital-native competitors while leveraging their existing brand equity and physical presence.</p>

                    <p>The journey begins with leadership commitment. Executives must champion the transformation initiative, allocating resources and setting clear strategic objectives. This top-down support proves essential for overcoming organizational resistance and ensuring sustained momentum throughout the transformation process.</p>

                    <p>However, successful transformation also requires bottom-up engagement. Employees at all levels must understand the vision, embrace new ways of working, and contribute innovative ideas. Organizations that foster a culture of experimentation and learning position themselves to capitalize on emerging opportunities and adapt quickly to market changes.</p>

                </div>

                <div class="chapter">

                    <h2>Chapter 2: Building the Foundation</h2>

                    <p class="first">Establishing a solid foundation for digital transformation requires careful attention to several critical elements. First and foremost, organizations must invest in robust technology infrastructure capable of supporting current and future needs. Cloud computing platforms provide the scalability and flexibility essential for modern digital operations.</p>

                    <p>Data management capabilities represent another crucial foundation element. Companies generate vast amounts of data daily, but raw data holds little value without proper collection, storage, and analysis mechanisms. Implementing comprehensive data governance frameworks ensures information quality, security, and compliance while enabling data-driven decision-making across the organization.</p>

                    <p>Cybersecurity considerations must be integrated into every aspect of digital transformation initiatives. As organizations expand their digital footprint, they simultaneously increase their exposure to potential cyber threats. A proactive security posture, incorporating both technical controls and employee awareness training, protects valuable digital assets and maintains customer trust.</p>

                    <p>Perhaps most importantly, organizations must cultivate digital talent. This involves both recruiting individuals with specialized digital skills and upskilling existing employees. Training programs, mentorship opportunities, and continuous learning initiatives help build internal capabilities necessary for sustaining transformation efforts over time.</p>

                </div>

                <cfdocumentitem type="footer">

                    <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10pt; color: ##666; margin-top: 40px;">

                        Page #cfdocument.currentpagenumber# of #cfdocument.totalpagecount#

                    </div>

                </cfdocumentitem>

            </body>

            </html>

        </cfdocument>

        <!--- Apply appropriate watermark based on status using cfpdf --->

        <cfif url.status EQ "draft">

            <cfpdf action="addWatermark" 

                   source="#manuscript#" 

                   name="watermarkedDoc"

                   text="DRAFT" 

                   opacity="0.3" 

                   rotation="45">

        <cfelseif url.status EQ "review">

            <cfpdf action="addWatermark" 

                   source="#manuscript#" 

                   name="watermarkedDoc"

                   text="FOR REVIEW ONLY" 

                   opacity="0.25" 

                   rotation="0" 

                   position="0,50">

        <cfelseif url.status EQ "final">

            <cfpdf action="addWatermark" 

                   source="#manuscript#" 

                   name="watermarkedDoc"

                   text="APPROVED" 

                   opacity="0.2" 

                   rotation="0">

        <cfelse>

            <cfpdf action="addWatermark" 

                   source="#manuscript#" 

                   name="watermarkedDoc"

                   text="CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISTRIBUTE" 

                   opacity="0.4" 

                   rotation="45">

        </cfif>

        <!--- Output watermarked PDF --->

        <cfheader name="Content-Disposition" value="inline; filename=Manuscript_#uCase(url.status)#.pdf">

        <cfcontent type="application/pdf" variable="#watermarkedDoc#" reset="true">

        <cfcatch>

            <h2 style="color: red;">Error Creating PDF</h2>

            <cfoutput>

                <p><strong>Error:</strong> #cfcatch.message#</p>

            </cfoutput>

        </cfcatch>

    </cftry>

<cfelse>

    <!--- Landing Page --->

    <h1>Use Case 2: Adding Status Watermarks</h1>

    <div style="background-color: ##e8f5e9; border-left: 6px solid ##4caf50; padding: 25px; margin: 25px 0;">

        <h2 style="margin-top: 0; color: ##2e7d32;">📚 Business Scenario: Publishing Company Workflow</h2>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Challenge:</strong> A publishing company receives manuscripts in various stages of production. Editors, reviewers, and designers need to instantly identify whether a document is a draft, under review, confidential, or approved for publication.</p>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Solution:</strong> Use <code>cfpdf action="addWatermark"</code> to automatically mark each document with its current status.</p>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Benefits:</strong> Prevents publication of draft versions, clearly identifies review copies, protects confidential content, and streamlines editorial workflow.</p>

    </div>

    <div style="background-color: ##fff3e0; border: 2px solid ##ff9800; padding: 25px; margin: 25px 0;">

        <h3 style="margin-top: 0;">📝 Sample Manuscript: "The Digital Transformation Journey"</h3>

        <p style="font-size: 16px;">A professional business book manuscript with multiple chapters. Select the document status to see how watermarks identify different workflow stages.</p>

    </div>

    <h2 style="text-align: center; margin: 40px 0;">Select Document Status:</h2>

    <div style="display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(250px, 1fr)); gap: 25px; margin: 40px 0;">

        <a href="?status=draft" style="text-decoration: none;">

            <div style="border: 3px solid ##f44336; padding: 30px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##fff 0%, ##ffebee 100%); 

                        text-align: center; border-radius: 10px; transition: transform 0.2s;">

                <div style="font-size: 48px; margin-bottom: 15px;">✏️</div>

                <h3 style="color: ##f44336; margin: 10px 0;">DRAFT</h3>

                <p style="color: ##666; margin: 10px 0;">Diagonal watermark<br>30% opacity<br>Initial version</p>

            </div>

        </a>

        <a href="?status=review" style="text-decoration: none;">

            <div style="border: 3px solid ##2196f3; padding: 30px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##fff 0%, ##e3f2fd 100%); 

                        text-align: center; border-radius: 10px; transition: transform 0.2s;">

                <div style="font-size: 48px; margin-bottom: 15px;">👁️</div>

                <h3 style="color: ##2196f3; margin: 10px 0;">FOR REVIEW</h3>

                <p style="color: ##666; margin: 10px 0;">Top watermark<br>25% opacity<br>Editor review copy</p>

            </div>

        </a>

        <a href="?status=final" style="text-decoration: none;">

            <div style="border: 3px solid ##4caf50; padding: 30px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##fff 0%, ##e8f5e9 100%); 

                        text-align: center; border-radius: 10px; transition: transform 0.2s;">

                <div style="font-size: 48px; margin-bottom: 15px;">✓</div>

                <h3 style="color: ##4caf50; margin: 10px 0;">APPROVED</h3>

                <p style="color: ##666; margin: 10px 0;">Center watermark<br>20% opacity<br>Ready for publication</p>

            </div>

        </a>

        <a href="?status=confidential" style="text-decoration: none;">

            <div style="border: 3px solid ##d32f2f; padding: 30px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##fff 0%, ##ffcdd2 100%); 

                        text-align: center; border-radius: 10px; transition: transform 0.2s;">

                <div style="font-size: 48px; margin-bottom: 15px;">🔒</div>

                <h3 style="color: ##d32f2f; margin: 10px 0;">CONFIDENTIAL</h3>

                <p style="color: ##666; margin: 10px 0;">Diagonal watermark<br>40% opacity<br>Do not distribute</p>

            </div>

        </a>

    </div>

</cfif>

Password protect sensitive PDF documents

Your HR department distributes sensitive documents like salary information, performance reviews, and employee contracts. These PDFs must be password-protected to ensure only authorized recipients can view them. Each employee should receive documents protected with their unique password.

Problem statement

Need to secure sensitive employee documents
Must prevent unauthorized access to confidential information
Should support both user and owner passwords
Need to control document permissions (printing, copying, editing)
Must automate password protection for bulk documents

Solution

The cfpdf tag secures PDFs with user and owner passwords, restricts printing, copying, editing, form filling, or applies encryption level (40-bit, 128-bit, AES).

<cfparam name="url.action" default="">

<cfif url.action EQ "generate">

    <cftry>

        <!--- Generate unique employee ID and password --->

        <cfset employeeID = "EMP" & randRange(10000, 99999)>

        <cfset accessPassword = "HR" & year(now()) & randRange(1000, 9999)>

        <!--- Create confidential compensation document --->

        <cfdocument format="pdf" name="compensationDoc">

            <html>

            <head>

                <style>

                    body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin: 60px; line-height: 1.6; }

                    .header { background-color: ##1565c0; color: white; padding: 25px; margin: -60px -60px 30px -60px; }

                    .header h1 { margin: 0; font-size: 26px; }

                    .confidential { background-color: ##ffebee; border: 3px solid ##c62828; padding: 20px; margin: 20px 0; text-align: center; }

                    .confidential p { color: ##c62828; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; margin: 0; }

                    table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 20px 0; }

                    th, td { border: 1px solid ##ddd; padding: 12px; text-align: left; }

                    th { background-color: ##e3f2fd; font-weight: bold; color: ##1565c0; }

                    .total-row { background-color: ##fff3e0; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px; }

                    .section { margin: 30px 0; }

                    h2 { color: ##1565c0; border-bottom: 2px solid ##1565c0; padding-bottom: 8px; }

                </style>

            </head>

            <body>

                <div class="header">

                    <h1>Annual Compensation Statement</h1>

                    <p style="margin: 10px 0 0 0; font-size: 14px;">Fiscal Year 2024 - CONFIDENTIAL</p>

                </div>

                <div class="confidential">

                    <p>🔒 CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE INFORMATION</p>

                    <p style="font-size: 14px; margin-top: 10px;">This document contains sensitive salary and benefit details</p>

                </div>

                <div class="section">

                    <h2>Employee Information</h2>

                    <table style="width: 70%;">

                        <tr>

                            <th style="width: 40%;">Employee ID:</th>

                            <td><cfoutput>#employeeID#</cfoutput></td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Full Name:</th>

                            <td>Jennifer Martinez</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Position:</th>

                            <td>Senior Software Engineer</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Department:</th>

                            <td>Engineering - Cloud Platform</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Employment Date:</th>

                            <td>March 15, 2019</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Report Date:</th>

                            <td><cfoutput>#dateFormat(now(), "mmmm d, yyyy")#</cfoutput></td>

                        </tr>

                    </table>

                </div>

                <div class="section">

                    <h2>Compensation Breakdown</h2>

                    <table>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Component</th>

                            <th style="text-align: right;">Annual Amount</th>

                            <th style="text-align: right;">Monthly Amount</th>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Base Salary</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$145,000.00</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$12,083.33</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Performance Bonus (Target 15%)</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$21,750.00</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$1,812.50</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Stock Options (Annual Vest)</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$18,000.00</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$1,500.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>401(k) Employer Match (6%)</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$8,700.00</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$725.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr class="total-row">

                            <td>Total Cash Compensation</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$193,450.00</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$16,120.83</td>

                        </tr>

                    </table>

                </div>

                <div class="section">

                    <h2>Benefits Package</h2>

                    <table>

                        <tr>

                            <th>Benefit</th>

                            <th style="text-align: right;">Employer Contribution</th>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Health Insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision)</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$12,500.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Life Insurance & Disability</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$1,200.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Professional Development Allowance</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$3,000.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Wellness Program & Gym Membership</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$800.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr>

                            <td>Commuter Benefits</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$1,500.00</td>

                        </tr>

                        <tr class="total-row">

                            <td>Total Benefits Value</td>

                            <td style="text-align: right;">$19,000.00</td>

                        </tr>

                    </table>

                </div>

                <div class="section">

                    <h2>Total Compensation Package</h2>

                    <table style="width: 60%;">

                        <tr class="total-row" style="font-size: 18px;">

                            <td style="background-color: ##1565c0; color: white;">TOTAL ANNUAL COMPENSATION</td>

                            <td style="background-color: ##1565c0; color: white; text-align: right;">$212,450.00</td>

                        </tr>

                    </table>

                </div>

                <div style="margin-top: 60px; padding: 20px; background-color: ##ffebee; border-left: 6px solid ##c62828;">

                    <p style="margin: 0; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:</strong> This document contains confidential salary and benefit information. Distribution, copying, or disclosure to unauthorized parties is strictly prohibited. This information is provided for your personal records only.</p>

                </div>

                <cfdocumentitem type="footer">

                    <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10px; color: ##666; margin-top: 30px;">

                        Confidential Compensation Statement - Page #cfdocument.currentpagenumber# - Employee ID: <cfoutput>#employeeID#</cfoutput>

                    </div>

                </cfdocumentitem>

            </body>

            </html>

        </cfdocument>

        <!--- APPLY PASSWORD PROTECTION using cfpdf --->

        <cfpdf action="protect" 

               source="#compensationDoc#" 

               name="protectedDoc"

               newUserPassword="#accessPassword#"

               encrypt="AES_128">

        <!--- Show password information page --->

        <h1>🔒 Document Successfully Protected!</h1>

        <div style="background-color: ##ffebee; border: 4px solid ##c62828; padding: 35px; margin: 30px 0; border-radius: 10px;">

            <h2 style="color: ##c62828; margin-top: 0; font-size: 24px;">⚠️ SAVE THIS PASSWORD</h2>

            <p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.8;">The compensation document has been encrypted with AES-128 security. You will need this password to open the PDF:</p>

            <div style="background-color: ##fff; border: 4px dashed ##c62828; padding: 40px; margin: 30px 0; text-align: center;">

                <p style="margin: 0 0 15px 0; font-size: 16px; color: ##666;">Password:</p>

                <p style="margin: 0; font-family: 'Courier New', monospace; font-size: 42px; color: ##c62828; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 3px;">

                    <cfoutput>#accessPassword#</cfoutput>

                </p>

            </div>

            <div style="background-color: ##fff3e0; padding: 20px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 20px 0;">

                <h3 style="margin-top: 0; color: ##e65100;">📋 Document Details:</h3>

                <ul style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 2;">

                    <cfoutput>

                        <li><strong>Employee ID:</strong> #employeeID#</li>

                        <li><strong>Document:</strong> Annual Compensation Statement 2024</li>

                        <li><strong>Protection:</strong> 128-bit AES Encryption</li>

                        <li><strong>Password Type:</strong> User password (required to open)</li>

                        <li><strong>Created:</strong> #dateTimeFormat(now(), "yyyy-mm-dd HH:nn:ss")#</li>

                    </cfoutput>

                </ul>

            </div>

        </div>

        <div style="text-align: center; margin: 40px 0;">

            <!--- Use POST to hide password from URL --->

            <form method="post" action="?action=download">

                <cfoutput>

                    <input type="hidden" name="pdfData" value="#toBase64(protectedDoc)#">

                    <input type="hidden" name="empID" value="#employeeID#">

                </cfoutput>

                <button type="submit" style="padding: 20px 50px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##c62828 0%, ##b71c1c 100%); 

                                            color: white; border: none; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; border-radius: 8px; 

                                            cursor: pointer; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);">

                    📥 Download Protected PDF

                </button>

            </form>

            <p style="margin-top: 15px; color: ##666;">Write down the password before downloading</p>

        </div>

        <cfcatch>

            <h2 style="color: red;">Error Creating Protected PDF</h2>

            <cfoutput>

                <p><strong>Error:</strong> #cfcatch.message#</p>

            </cfoutput>

        </cfcatch>

    </cftry>

<cfelseif url.action EQ "download" AND isDefined("form.pdfData")>

    <!--- Output the protected PDF for download --->

    <cfset protectedPDF = toBinary(form.pdfData)>

    <cfheader name="Content-Disposition" value="attachment; filename=Compensation_Statement_#form.empID#_PROTECTED.pdf">

    <cfcontent type="application/pdf" variable="#protectedPDF#" reset="true">

<cfelse>

    <!--- Landing Page --->

    <h1>Use Case 3: Password Protecting PDFs</h1>

    <div style="background-color: ##e1f5fe; border-left: 6px solid ##01579b; padding: 25px; margin: 25px 0;">

        <h2 style="margin-top: 0; color: ##01579b;">👥 Business Scenario: HR Document Security</h2>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Challenge:</strong> The HR department must distribute annual compensation statements to 500+ employees. Each document contains confidential salary, bonus, and benefits information that must be protected from unauthorized access.</p>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Solution:</strong> Use <code>cfpdf action="protect"</code> to encrypt each PDF with a unique password, ensuring only the intended employee can view their compensation details.</p>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;"><strong>Benefits:</strong> Maintains confidentiality, complies with data protection regulations, prevents unauthorized disclosure, and provides secure document distribution.</p>

    </div>

    <div style="background-color: ##fff3e0; border: 2px solid ##ff6f00; padding: 25px; margin: 25px 0;">

        <h3 style="margin-top: 0;">📊 Sample Document: Annual Compensation Statement</h3>

        <p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8;">A comprehensive breakdown of employee compensation including base salary, bonuses, stock options, 401(k) matching, and full benefits package valuation. This sensitive document will be protected with 128-bit AES encryption.</p>

        <div style="background-color: ##ffe0b2; padding: 15px; margin: 20px 0; border-radius: 5px;">

            <p style="margin: 0; font-size: 14px;"><strong>🔐 Security Features:</strong></p>

            <ul style="margin: 10px 0;">

                <li>AES-128 encryption standard</li>

                <li>Unique password per employee</li>

                <li>Password required to open document</li>

                <li>Prevents copying and printing without password</li>

            </ul>

        </div>

    </div>

    <div style="text-align: center; margin: 50px 0;">

        <a href="?action=generate" 

           style="display: inline-block; padding: 25px 60px; background: linear-gradient(135deg, ##c62828 0%, ##b71c1c 100%); 

                  color: white; text-decoration: none; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; border-radius: 8px; 

                  box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);">

            🔒 Generate Password-Protected PDF

        </a>

        <p style="margin-top: 15px; color: ##666;">Click to create and secure the compensation document</p>

    </div>

    <hr style="margin: 40px 0;">

</cfif>

cfpdf

Description

History

Category

Syntax

See also

Attributes

Usage

Reading and writing PDF files

Working with PDF files in memory

Printing PDF documents

Reducing quality of PDF document

Transforming pages in a PDF document

PDF file information elements

Supported DDX elements

Restricted DDX elements

Simple DDX instructions

Processing DDX instructions in ColdFusion

PDF document passwords

Permissions for PDF documents

Encryption for PDF documents

PDF versions

Example

Archiving PDF documents

Digitally signing the documents

Examples

addAttachments

addFooter

addHeader

addStamp

addWatermark

archive

deletePages

export comment

export metadata

extractImage

extractText

getInfo

import comments

import metadata

merge

optimize

processDDX

protect

read

redact

removeHeaderFooter

removeWatermark

sanitize

setInfo

sign

thumbnail

transform

unsign

validatesSignature

write

Real-world uses of the cfpdf function

Legal document management system

Document review and approval system

Password protect sensitive PDF documents

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