processing-pdfs

# PDF Processing Essential PDF operations using Python libraries and CLI tools. ## Decision Matrix | Task | Best Tool | Reference | |------|-----------|-----------| | Merge / split / metadata / rotate | pypdf | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) | | Extract text (layout preserved) | pdfplumber | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) | | Extract tables | pdfplumber | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) | | Create new PDF | reportlab | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) | | Batch CLI ops | qpdf / pdftk | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) | | OCR scanned PDFs | pytesseract + pdf2image | [advanced.md](references/advanced.md) | | Add watermark / extract images / encrypt | pypdf / pdfimages | [advanced.md](references/advanced.md) | | Fill PDF forms | pdf-lib / pypdf | [FORMS.md](FORMS.md) | | Advanced pypdfium2 / pdf-lib JS | — | [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md) | ## Quick Start ```python from pypdf import PdfReader reader = PdfReader("document.pdf") print(f"Pages: {len(reader.pages)}") text = "".join(page.extract_text() for page in reader.pages) ``` ## Workflow 1. **Identify task** — text extraction? table? creation? form? Pick row from matrix above. 2. **Load reference** — recipes.md covers 90% of tasks; advanced.md for OCR / encrypt; FORMS.md for forms. 3. **Implement** — copy-adapt recipe; verify output. 4. **Validate** — open in a viewer or grep extracted text. ## Library Selection | Library | Use for | |---------|---------| | pypdf | Merge, split, metadata, encryption,...