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 useful tool for handling PDF documents. Every PDF user should have one in the top drawer of his/her desktop.
Use it to:
- Merge PDF Documents
- Split PDF Pages into a New Document
- Decrypt Input as Necessary (Password Required)
- Encrypt Output as Desired
- Burst a PDF Document into Single Pages
- Report on PDF Metrics, including Metadata and Bookmarks
- Uncompress and Re-Compress Page Streams
- Repair Corrupted PDF (Where Possible)
Pdftk is also an example of how to use a library of Java classes in a stand-alone C++ program. Specifically, it demonstrates how GCJ and CNI allows C++ code to use iText´s (itext-paulo) Java classes.