How to use the command "pdffonts" (with examples)

The “pdffonts” command is a tool used to view information about the fonts used in a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. This command provides details about the font type, embedding status, and other relevant information. It can also be used to bypass security restrictions by specifying user or owner passwords for the PDF file.

Use case 1: Print PDF file fonts information

Code:

pdffonts path/to/file.pdf

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to quickly view the fonts used in a PDF file. By running this command with the file path argument, you can obtain a detailed summary of the fonts within the PDF.

Explanation: The “pdffonts” command is followed by the file path to the PDF file you want to analyze. This command provides a table with columns representing each font’s name, type, encoding, embedded status, and subset status.

Example output:

name                 type         encoding     emb sub uni object ID
-------------------  -----------  -----------  --- --- --- ---------
Arial-Bold          TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      12  0
Arial-Italic        TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      13  0
ArialMT              TrueType    WinAnsi      no  no  no      14  0
...

Use case 2: Specify user password for PDF file to bypass security restrictions

Code:

pdffonts -upw password path/to/file.pdf

Motivation: You may encounter PDF files that are protected with a user password, which restricts certain operations. In such cases, using the “-upw” option with the associated password allows you to bypass these security restrictions and access font information.

Explanation: The “-upw” flag is used to specify a user password that will be used to unlock the PDF file. This command requires the password as an argument immediately following the flag.

Example output:

name                 type         encoding     emb sub uni object ID
-------------------  -----------  -----------  --- --- --- ---------
Arial-Bold          TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      12  0
Arial-Italic        TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      13  0
ArialMT              TrueType    WinAnsi      no  no  no      14  0
...

Use case 3: Specify owner password for PDF file to bypass security restrictions

Code:

pdffonts -opw password path/to/file.pdf

Motivation: In scenarios where a PDF file has an owner password set, which imposes more stringent restrictions than a user password, using the “-opw” option with the associated password allows you to bypass these security restrictions and access font information.

Explanation: The “-opw” flag is used to specify an owner password that will be used to unlock the PDF file. This command requires the password as an argument immediately following the flag.

Example output:

name                 type         encoding     emb sub uni object ID
-------------------  -----------  -----------  --- --- --- ---------
Arial-Bold          TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      12  0
Arial-Italic        TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      13  0
ArialMT              TrueType    WinAnsi      no  no  no      14  0
...

Use case 4: Print additional information on location of the font used when the PDF file is rasterized

Code:

pdffonts -loc path/to/file.pdf

Motivation: If you need to determine the exact location of the fonts that will be used during the rasterization of a PDF file, using the “-loc” option will provide you with that additional information.

Explanation: The “-loc” flag is used to indicate that you want to view information about the font’s location when the PDF file is rasterized. By adding this flag to the command, the resulting table will include an extra column displaying the font’s location.

Example output:

name                 type         encoding     emb sub uni object ID     location
-------------------  -----------  -----------  --- --- --- ---------     ---------
Arial-Bold          TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      12  0       path/to/fonts/Arial-Bold.ttf
Arial-Italic        TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      13  0       path/to/fonts/Arial-Italic.ttf
ArialMT              TrueType    WinAnsi      no  no  no      14  0       path/to/fonts/ArialMT.ttf
...

Use case 5: Print additional information on location of the font used when the PDF file is converted to PostScript

Code:

pdffonts -locPS path/to/file.pdf

Motivation: When converting a PDF file to PostScript format, it can be helpful to know the location of the fonts that will be utilized during the process. The “-locPS” option provides this additional information.

Explanation: The “-locPS” flag is used to specify that you want to view information about the font’s location when the PDF file is converted to PostScript. By including this flag in the command, the resulting table will include an extra column displaying the font’s location.

Example output:

name                 type         encoding     emb sub uni object ID     location
-------------------  -----------  -----------  --- --- --- ---------     ---------
Arial-Bold          TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      12  0       path/to/fonts/Arial-Bold.ttf
Arial-Italic        TrueType     Custom       yes yes no      13  0       path/to/fonts/Arial-Italic.ttf
ArialMT              TrueType    WinAnsi      no  no  no      14  0       path/to/fonts/ArialMT.ttf
...

Conclusion:

The “pdffonts” command is a useful tool for viewing and analyzing the fonts in a PDF file. Whether you simply need to print font information or require additional details about font locations during rasterization or conversion to PostScript, this command provides flexible options for extracting the desired information.