Skip to main content

Getting Started with Python

This guide walks you through editing your first PDF with PDFDancer, from scratch.

What You'll Build​

By the end of this guide, you'll have a working Python script that:

  • Opens a PDF file
  • Finds and replaces text
  • Saves the modified PDF

Prerequisites​

You need Python 3.10 or higher installed on your computer.

Check your Python version:

python --version

If you see Python 3.10.x or higher, you're good to go.

Don't have Python? Download it from python.org.

Step 1: Create a Project Folder​

Open your terminal and create a new folder for your project:

mkdir my-pdf-project
cd my-pdf-project

Step 2: Install PDFDancer​

Install the PDFDancer SDK:

pip install pdfdancer-client-python

Step 3: Get a Sample PDF​

You need a PDF file to work with. Either:

  • Use any PDF you already have
  • Create a simple one with Google Docs or Word

Place your PDF in the project folder and name it input.pdf.

Step 4: Write Your First Script​

Create a file called edit_pdf.py with this code:

from pathlib import Path
from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

# Open the PDF (no API token needed for anonymous access)
with PDFDancer.open(pdf_data=Path("input.pdf")) as pdf:
    # Find paragraphs matching a pattern
    page = pdf.page(1)
    paragraphs = page.select_paragraphs_matching("Hello")

    # Replace the text if found
    if paragraphs:
        paragraphs[0].edit().replace("Hello World!").apply()

    # Save the result
    pdf.save("output.pdf")

print("Done! Check output.pdf")

What this does:

  1. Opens input.pdf
  2. Looks for any paragraph matching "Hello" on page 1
  3. Replaces that paragraph's text with "Hello World!"
  4. Saves the result as output.pdf

Step 5: Run It​

Run your script:

python edit_pdf.py

You should see Done! Check output.pdf and find a new file called output.pdf in your folder.

What's Next?​

Now that you have PDFDancer working: