Converts PDF pages into portable pixmap ( .ppm ), portable graymap ( .pgm ), or portable anymap ( .pnm ) images.
pdftotext.exe input.pdf output.txt
If you need to generate thumbnails or high-quality image renders of a PDF document, pdftoppm is highly efficient. To convert a document into high-resolution PNG images: pdftoppm -png -r 150 document.pdf page_output Use code with caution. -png specifies the output format (you can also use -jpeg ).
What do you prefer to use? (e.g., Command Prompt, PowerShell, Python)
The Xpdf package for Windows includes several command-line tools: xpdf-tools-win-4.04
A diagnostic tool that lists all fonts used within a PDF document.
Incorporating PDF processing into batch scripts ( .bat or .ps1 ). Server-side processing: Handling PDF tasks on web servers. Batch processing: Converting thousands of files at once.
: Identifies and extracts embedded images out of a PDF file.
: Converts PDF files to plain text, maintaining layout and handling various encodings like UTF-8. pdftopng / pdftoppm : Converts PDF pages to image formats (PNG/PPM). : Extracts metadata such as title, author, and page count. Converts PDF pages into portable pixmap (
Complete Guide to Xpdf command-line tools for Windows (v4.04)
pdfimages -j -png -tiff report.pdf images/prefix
The xpdf-tools-win-4.04 release represents a significant evolution of the classic Xpdf toolkit, carefully balancing stability with modern improvements. For developers, system administrators, or any power user who needs to automate PDF data extraction, text conversion, or image processing, these tools are an indispensable, free, and open-source asset in your toolkit.
Open the Start Menu, search for , and click it. Click Environment Variables at the bottom right. Under System variables , select Path and click Edit . -png specifies the output format (you can also use -jpeg )
Before diving into version 4.04 specifically, it is important to understand the lineage. Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer and toolkit originally written by Derek Noonburg. Unlike Adobe Acrobat or modern web-based PDF tools, Xpdf is built for speed and minimalism. It does not rely on external libraries like Qt or GTK for its core utilities, making it incredibly portable.
Unlike pdftoppm which converts whole pages into images, pdfimages scans the internal structure of a PDF and extracts the embedded images (like JPEGs or PNGs) in their original formats.
If you need help building custom scripts or fixing errors with this toolkit, tell me:
Even though 4.04 is secure, always run it on a machine with updated antivirus. Use the -q (quiet) flag in scripts to suppress unnecessary output that might be logged.
While powerful, Xpdf is a text-based tool. Here's how it stacks up against other popular PDF software:
