Draw elements

PyPDFForm enables you to draw elements on a PDF, which is useful when a field is missing from your PDF form or when you need to add text, images, lines, or shapes.

This section of the documentation uses this PDF as an example.

Review the PDF coordinate system before using these examples.

In the library examples, optional parameters are marked with # optional.

When drawing multiple elements, collect them in a list and draw them in a single operation for better performance.

Draw text

Text can be drawn by specifying its content, coordinates, and optionally its font, font size, and font color.

LibraryCLI

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

texts = [
    RawElements.RawText(
        text="random text",
        page_number=1,
        x=300,
        y=225,
        font="your_registered_font",  # optional (1)
        font_size=12,  # optional
        font_color=(1, 0, 0),  # optional
    ),
    RawElements.RawText(
        text="random text on page 2",
        page_number=2,
        x=300,
        y=225,
        font="your_registered_font",  # optional (2)
        font_size=12,  # optional
        font_color=(1, 0, 0),  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(texts)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

1. To use a custom font, see how to register it here.
2. To use a custom font, see how to register it here.

data.jsonCommand

{
    "text": [
        {
            "text": "random text",
            "page_number": 1,
            "x": 300,
            "y": 225,
            "font": "path_to_a_ttf_file",
            "font_size": 12,
            "font_color": [
                1,
                0,
                0
            ]
        },
        {
            "text": "random text on page 2",
            "page_number": 2,
            "x": 300,
            "y": 225,
            "font": "path_to_a_ttf_file",
            "font_size": 12,
            "font_color": [
                1,
                0,
                0
            ]
        }
    ]
}

pypdfform create raw sample_template.pdf -f data.json -o output.pdf

Draw image

For the rotation parameter, positive values rotate images counterclockwise, and negative values rotate them clockwise.

LibraryCLI

File PathOpen File ObjectBytes File Stream

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

images = [
    RawElements.RawImage(
        image="sample_image.jpg",
        page_number=1,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=400,
        height=225,
        rotation=0,  # optional
    ),
    RawElements.RawImage(
        image="sample_image.jpg",
        page_number=2,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=400,
        height=225,
        rotation=180,  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(images)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

images = [
    RawElements.RawImage(
        image=open("sample_image.jpg", "rb+"),  # in practice, use a context manager
        page_number=1,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=400,
        height=225,
        rotation=0,  # optional
    ),
    RawElements.RawImage(
        image=open("sample_image.jpg", "rb+"),  # in practice, use a context manager
        page_number=2,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=400,
        height=225,
        rotation=180,  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(images)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

images = [
    RawElements.RawImage(
        image=open("sample_image.jpg", "rb+").read(),  # in practice, use a context manager
        page_number=1,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=400,
        height=225,
        rotation=0,  # optional
    ),
    RawElements.RawImage(
        image=open("sample_image.jpg", "rb+").read(),  # in practice, use a context manager
        page_number=2,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=400,
        height=225,
        rotation=180,  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(images)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

data.jsonCommand

{
    "image": [
        {
            "image": "sample_image.jpg",
            "page_number": 1,
            "x": 100,
            "y": 100,
            "width": 400,
            "height": 225,
            "rotation": 0
        },
        {
            "image": "sample_image.jpg",
            "page_number": 2,
            "x": 100,
            "y": 100,
            "width": 400,
            "height": 225,
            "rotation": 180
        }
    ]
}

pypdfform create raw sample_template.pdf -f data.json -o output.pdf

Draw line

A line can be drawn by specifying starting and ending coordinates, and optionally its color.

LibraryCLI

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

lines = [
    RawElements.RawLine(
        page_number=1,
        src_x=100,
        src_y=100,
        dest_x=100,
        dest_y=200,
    ),
    RawElements.RawLine(
        page_number=1,
        src_x=100,
        src_y=100,
        dest_x=200,
        dest_y=100,
        color=(0, 0, 1),  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(lines)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

data.jsonCommand

{
    "line": [
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "src_x": 100,
            "src_y": 100,
            "dest_x": 100,
            "dest_y": 200
        },
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "src_x": 100,
            "src_y": 100,
            "dest_x": 200,
            "dest_y": 100,
            "color": [
                0,
                0,
                1
            ]
        }
    ]
}

pypdfform create raw sample_template.pdf -f data.json -o output.pdf

Draw rectangle

A rectangle can be drawn by specifying its coordinates and dimensions, and optionally its outline color and fill color.

LibraryCLI

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

rectangles = [
    RawElements.RawRectangle(
        page_number=1,
        x=100,
        y=100,
        width=200,
        height=100,
    ),
    RawElements.RawRectangle(
        page_number=1,
        x=400,
        y=100,
        width=100,
        height=200,
        color=(0, 0, 1),  # optional
        fill_color=(0, 1, 0),  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(rectangles)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

data.jsonCommand

{
    "rectangle": [
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "x": 100,
            "y": 100,
            "width": 200,
            "height": 100
        },
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "x": 400,
            "y": 100,
            "width": 100,
            "height": 200,
            "color": [
                0,
                0,
                1
            ],
            "fill_color": [
                0,
                1,
                0
            ]
        }
    ]
}

pypdfform create raw sample_template.pdf -f data.json -o output.pdf

Draw circle

A circle can be drawn by specifying its center coordinates and radius, and optionally its outline color and fill color.

LibraryCLI

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

circles = [
    RawElements.RawCircle(
        page_number=1,
        center_x=100,
        center_y=100,
        radius=50,
    ),
    RawElements.RawCircle(
        page_number=1,
        center_x=250,
        center_y=100,
        radius=100,
        color=(1, 0, 0),  # optional
        fill_color=(0, 1, 0),  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(circles)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

data.jsonCommand

{
    "circle": [
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "center_x": 100,
            "center_y": 100,
            "radius": 50
        },
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "center_x": 250,
            "center_y": 100,
            "radius": 100,
            "color": [
                1,
                0,
                0
            ],
            "fill_color": [
                0,
                1,
                0
            ]
        }
    ]
}

pypdfform create raw sample_template.pdf -f data.json -o output.pdf

Draw ellipse

An ellipse can be drawn by specifying its bounding box coordinates, and optionally its outline color and fill color.

LibraryCLI

from PyPDFForm import PdfWrapper, RawElements

ellipses = [
    RawElements.RawEllipse(
        page_number=1,
        x1=100,
        y1=100,
        x2=250,
        y2=200,
    ),
    RawElements.RawEllipse(
        page_number=1,
        x1=300,
        y1=100,
        x2=500,
        y2=250,
        color=(1, 0, 0),  # optional
        fill_color=(0, 1, 0),  # optional
    ),
]

pdf = PdfWrapper("sample_template.pdf").draw(ellipses)

pdf.write("output.pdf")

data.jsonCommand

{
    "ellipse": [
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "x1": 100,
            "y1": 100,
            "x2": 250,
            "y2": 200
        },
        {
            "page_number": 1,
            "x1": 300,
            "y1": 100,
            "x2": 500,
            "y2": 250,
            "color": [
                1,
                0,
                0
            ],
            "fill_color": [
                0,
                1,
                0
            ]
        }
    ]
}

pypdfform create raw sample_template.pdf -f data.json -o output.pdf