Edit PDF Code as Clear Text using a Vim Plug-In
Wednesday, August 10, 2005Happy to find a nice tool at 'AccessPDF-Forum' to edit pdf files using VIM. Using this, VIM users can install a plug-in (pdftk) for easily editing PDF code. When PDF file is opened in Vim, the plug-in calls pdftk to uncompress the page streams, so they are editable. When PDF file is saved, the plug-in uses pdftk to repair and re-compress the PDF.
How?
Download pdftk.vim.zip, unpack, and then move pdftk.vim into your Vim plug-ins directory ( e.g., C:\vim\vim63\plugin). Restart Vim to source the new plug-in.
What is pdftk?From AccessPDF
If PDF is electronic paper, then pdftk is an electronic staple-remover, hole-punch, binder, secret-decoder-ring, and X-Ray-glasses. Pdftk is a command-line tool for doing everyday things with PDF documents. Keep one in the top drawer of your desktop and use it to:
- Merge PDF Documents
- Split PDF Pages into a New Document
- Decrypt Input as Necessary (Password Required)
- Encrypt Output as Desired
- Fill PDF Forms with FDF Data and/or Flatten Forms
- Apply a Background Watermark
- Report on PDF Metrics such as Metadata, Bookmarks, and Page Labels
- Update PDF Metadata
- Attach Files to PDF Pages or the PDF Document
- Unpack PDF Attachments
- Burst a PDF Document into Single Pages
- Uncompress and Re-Compress Page Streams
- Repair Corrupted PDF (Where Possible)
Pdftk allows you to manipulate PDF easily and freely. It does not require Acrobat, and it runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD and Solaris.
Pdftk is free software (GPL).
# posted by Jagadeesh M. N. @ 9:20 PM 
