Search and Replace with Text

Replaces text in a PDF file with a new text.

Try it live: Search and Replace with Text → API Tester — send a real request from your browser.

POST /v1/pdf/edit/replace-text

When using regular expressions in JSON payloads, ensure that backslashes are properly escaped. For example, a single backslash \ should be written as \\.

Attributes

Attributes are case-sensitive and should be inside JSON for POST request. for example: { "url": "https://example.com/file1.pdf" }

Attribute	Type	Required	Default	Description
url	string	Yes	-	URL to the source file url attribute
httpusername	string	No	-	HTTP auth user name if required to access source URL.
httppassword	string	No	-	HTTP auth password if required to access source URL.
searchStrings	array[string]	Yes	-	The array of strings to search.
replacementLimit	integer	No	0	Limit the number of searches & replacements for every item. The value 0 means every found occurrence will be replaced.
caseSensitive	boolean	No	true	Set to false to don’t use case-sensitive search.
regex	boolean	No	false	Set to true to use regular expression for search string(s).
name	string	No	-	File name for the generated output, the input must be in string format.
expiration	integer	No	60	Set the expiration time for the output link in minutes. After this specified duration, any generated output file(s) will be automatically deleted from PDF.co Temporary Files Storage. The maximum duration for link expiration varies based on your current subscription plan. To store permanent input files (e.g. re-usable images, pdf templates, documents) consider using PDF.co Built-In Files Storage.
pages	string	No	all pages	Specify page indices as comma-separated values or ranges to process (e.g. “0, 1, 2-” or “1, 2, 3-7”). The first-page index is 0. Use ”!” before a number for inverted page numbers (e.g. “!0” for the last page). If not specified, the default configuration processes all pages. The input must be in string format.
password	string	No	-	Password for the PDF file.
async	boolean	No	false	Set async to true for long processes to run in the background, API will then return a jobId which you can use with the Background Job Check endpoint. Also see Webhooks & Callbacks
replaceStrings	array[string]	Yes	-	The array of replacements strings.
profiles	object	No	-	See Profiles for more information.
AutoCropImages	boolean	No	false	If you require to crop empty space around an inserted image use the following: profiles": { 'AutoCropImages': true }
outputDataFormat	string	No	-	If you require your output as base64 format, set this to base64
DataEncryptionAlgorithm	string	No	-	Controls the encryption algorithm used for data encryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. The available algorithms are: AES128, AES192, AES256.
DataEncryptionKey	string	No	-	Controls the encryption key used for data encryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information.
DataEncryptionIV	string	No	-	Controls the encryption IV used for data encryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information.
DataDecryptionAlgorithm	string	No	-	Controls the decryption algorithm used for data decryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. The available algorithms are: AES128, AES192, AES256.
DataDecryptionKey	string	No	-	Controls the decryption key used for data decryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information.
DataDecryptionIV	string	No	-	Controls the decryption IV used for data decryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information.
YAdjustmentForReplacementText	integer	No	-	Adjust the vertical position of the replaced text, ensuring proper alignment with the rest of the document. See Adjust Text Alignment for more details.

Adjust Text Alignment

Users may have encountered an issue when using this API endpoint to replace text in a PDF document. The replaced text might appear slightly higher than the original text or the surrounding text, causing alignment issues.

To fix this issue, we have added a new parameter called YAdjustmentForReplacementText in the profiles parameter of the API request. This parameter allows you to adjust the vertical position of the replaced text, ensuring proper alignment with the rest of the document. Negative values for this parameter move text up, positive values move text down.

Here’s an example of how to use the YAdjustmentForReplacementText parameter. In this example API request, the YAdjustmentForReplacementText parameter has been set to -1, which moves the replaced text 1 unit up vertically, resulting in better alignment with the original text.

{
 "profiles": "{'YAdjustmentForReplacementText': '-1'}"
}

Query parameters

No query parameters accepted.

Responses

Parameter	Type	Description
url	string	Direct URL to the final PDF file stored in S3.
outputLinkValidTill	string	Timestamp indicating when the output link will expire
pageCount	integer	Number of pages in the PDF document.
error	boolean	Indicates whether an error occurred (false means success)
status	string	Status code of the request (200, 404, 500, etc.). For more information, see Response Codes.
name	string	Name of the output file
credits	integer	Number of credits consumed by the request
remainingCredits	integer	Number of credits remaining in the account
duration	integer	Time taken for the operation in milliseconds

Example Payload

To see the request size limits, please refer to the Request Size Limits.

{
  "url": "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-search-and-replace/sample-agreement-template-signature-page-1.pdf",
  "searchStrings": [
    "[CLIENT-NAME]",
    "[CLIENT-COMPANY]"
  ],
  "replaceStrings": [
    "John Doe",
    "Skynet 3000"
  ],
  "caseSensitive": true,
  "replacementLimit": 1,
  "pages": "",
  "password": "",
  "name": "finalFile",
  "async": false
}

Example Response

To see the main response codes, please refer to the Response Codes page.

{
  "url": "https://pdf-temp-files.s3.amazonaws.com/e79f0b9c82984740973ca670d7c93cad/finalFile.pdf",
  "pageCount": 1,
  "error": false,
  "status": 200,
  "name": "finalFile.pdf",
  "remainingCredits": 99089875,
  "credits": 21
}

Inconsistent URL Encoding in cURL Output: When using cURL to make API requests, the output JSON may show URL characters encoded as Unicode escape sequences. For example, the ampersand character (&) may appear as \u0026 in the cURL output. This is normal JSON encoding behavior and does not affect the validity of the URL. The URL will function correctly when used, as JSON parsers automatically decode these escape sequences. If you’re parsing the response programmatically, your JSON parser will handle this conversion automatically.

Code Samples

CURL

curl --location --request POST 'https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/replace-text' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'x-api-key: *******************' \
--data-raw '{
"url": "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf",
"name": "pdfWithTextReplaced",
"caseSensitive": "false",
"searchString": "Your Company Name",
"replaceString": "Acme ltd.",
"replacementLimit": 0,
"async": false
}'

JavaScript/Node.js

var https = require("https");
var path = require("path");
var fs = require("fs");

// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
const API_KEY = "***********************************";

// Direct URL of source PDF file.
// You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/pdfdotco/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/    
const SourceFileUrl = "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf";
// PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
const Password = "";
// Destination PDF file name
const DestinationFile = "./result.pdf";


// Prepare request to `Replace Text from PDF` API endpoint
var queryPath = `/v1/pdf/edit/replace-text`;

// JSON payload for api request
var jsonPayload = JSON.stringify({
    name: path.basename(DestinationFile), password: Password, url: SourceFileUrl, searchString: 'Your Company Name', replaceString: 'XYZ LLC'
});

var reqOptions = {
    host: "api.pdf.co",
    method: "POST",
    path: queryPath,
    headers: {
        "x-api-key": API_KEY,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Content-Length": Buffer.byteLength(jsonPayload, 'utf8')
    }
};
// Send request
var postRequest = https.request(reqOptions, (response) => {
    response.on("data", (d) => {
        // Parse JSON response
        var data = JSON.parse(d);
        if (data.error == false) {
            // Download PDF file
            var file = fs.createWriteStream(DestinationFile);
            https.get(data.url, (response2) => {
                response2.pipe(file)
                    .on("close", () => {
                        console.log(`Generated PDF file saved as "${DestinationFile}" file.`);
                    });
            });
        }
        else {
            // Service reported error
            console.log(data.message);
        }
    });
}).on("error", (e) => {
    // Request error
    console.log(e);
});

// Write request data
postRequest.write(jsonPayload);
postRequest.end();

Python

import os
import requests # pip install requests

# The authentication key (API Key).
# Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
API_KEY = "******************************************"

# Base URL for PDF.co Web API requests
BASE_URL = "https://api.pdf.co/v1"

# Direct URL of source PDF file.
# You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/pdfdotco/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/    
SourceFileURL = "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf"
# PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
Password = ""
# Destination PDF file name
DestinationFile = ".\\result.pdf"

def main(args = None):
    replaceStringFromPdf(SourceFileURL, DestinationFile)


def replaceStringFromPdf(uploadedFileUrl, destinationFile):
    """Replace Text from PDF using PDF.co Web API"""

    # Prepare requests params as JSON
    parameters = {}
    parameters["name"] = os.path.basename(destinationFile)
    parameters["password"] = Password
    parameters["url"] = uploadedFileUrl
    parameters["searchString"] = "Your Company Name"
    parameters["replaceString"] = "XYZ LLC"

    # Prepare URL for 'Replace Text from PDF' API request
    url = "{}/pdf/edit/replace-text".format(BASE_URL)

    # Execute request and get response as JSON
    response = requests.post(url, data=parameters, headers={ "x-api-key": API_KEY })

    if (response.status_code == 200):
        json = response.json()

        if json["error"] == False:
            #  Get URL of result file
            resultFileUrl = json["url"]            
            # Download result file
            r = requests.get(resultFileUrl, stream=True)
            if (r.status_code == 200):
                with open(destinationFile, 'wb') as file:
                    for chunk in r:
                        file.write(chunk)
                print(f"Result file saved as \"{destinationFile}\" file.")
            else:
                print(f"Request error: {response.status_code} {response.reason}")
        else:
            # Show service reported error
            print(json["message"])
    else:
        print(f"Request error: {response.status_code} {response.reason}")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Java

package com.company;

import com.google.gson.JsonObject;
import com.google.gson.JsonParser;
import okhttp3.*;

import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main
{
    // The authentication key (API Key).
    // Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
    final static String API_KEY = "***********************************";

    // Direct URL of source PDF file.
    // You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/pdfdotco/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/    
    final static String SourceFileUrl = "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf";
    // PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
    final static String Password = "";
    // Destination PDF file name
    final static Path DestinationFile = Paths.get(".\\result.pdf");


    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException
    {
        // Create HTTP client instance
        OkHttpClient webClient = new OkHttpClient();

        // Prepare URL for `Replace Text from PDF` API call
        String query = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/replace-text";

        // Make correctly escaped (encoded) URL
        URL url = null;
        try
        {
            url = new URI(null, query, null).toURL();
        }
        catch (URISyntaxException e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }

        // Create JSON payload
    String jsonPayload = String.format("{\"name\": \"%s\", \"password\": \"%s\", \"url\": \"%s\", \"searchString\": \"Your Company Name\", \"replaceString\": \"XYZ LLC\"}",
                DestinationFile.getFileName(),
                Password,
                SourceFileUrl);

        // Prepare request body
        RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("application/json"), jsonPayload);
        
        // Prepare request
        Request request = new Request.Builder()
            .url(url)
            .addHeader("x-api-key", API_KEY) // (!) Set API Key
            .addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
            .post(body)
            .build();
        
        // Execute request
        Response response = webClient.newCall(request).execute();
        
        if (response.code() == 200)
        {
            // Parse JSON response
            JsonObject json = new JsonParser().parse(response.body().string()).getAsJsonObject();

            boolean error = json.get("error").getAsBoolean();
            if (!error)
            {
                // Get URL of generated PDF file
                String resultFileUrl = json.get("url").getAsString();

                // Download PDF file
                downloadFile(webClient, resultFileUrl, DestinationFile.toFile());

                System.out.printf("Generated PDF file saved as \"%s\" file.", DestinationFile.toString());
            }
            else
            {
                // Display service reported error
                System.out.println(json.get("message").getAsString());
            }
        }
        else
        {
            // Display request error
            System.out.println(response.code() + " " + response.message());
        }
    }

    public static void downloadFile(OkHttpClient webClient, String url, File destinationFile) throws IOException
    {
        // Prepare request
        Request request = new Request.Builder()
                .url(url)
                .build();
        // Execute request
        Response response = webClient.newCall(request).execute();

        byte[] fileBytes = response.body().bytes();

        // Save downloaded bytes to file
        OutputStream output = new FileOutputStream(destinationFile);
        output.write(fileBytes);
        output.flush();
        output.close();

        response.close();
    }
}

PHP

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Cloud API asynchronous "Replace Text from PDF" job example (allows to avoid timeout errors).</title>
</head>
<body>

<?php 

// Cloud API asynchronous "Replace Text from PDF" job example.


// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
$apiKey = "***********************************";

// Direct URL of source PDF file. Check another example if you need to upload a local file to the cloud.
// You can also upload your own file into PDF.co and use it as url. Check "Upload File" samples for code snippets: https://github.com/pdfdotco/pdf-co-api-samples/tree/master/File%20Upload/    
$sourceFileUrl = "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdf-to-text/sample.pdf";
// PDF document password. Leave empty for unprotected documents.
$password = "";


// Prepare URL for `Replace Text from PDF` API call
$url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/edit/replace-text";

// Prepare requests params
$parameters = array();
$parameters["password"] = $password;
$parameters["url"] = $sourceFileUrl;
$parameters["searchString"] = "Your Company Name";
$parameters["replaceString"] = "XYZ LLC";
$parameters["async"] = true;  // (!) Make asynchronous job

// Create Json payload
$data = json_encode($parameters);

// Create request
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array("x-api-key: " . $apiKey, "Content-type: application/json"));
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);

// Execute request
$result = curl_exec($curl);

if (curl_errno($curl) == 0)
{
    $status_code = curl_getinfo($curl, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
    
    if ($status_code == 200)
    {
        $json = json_decode($result, true);
        
        if (!isset($json["error"]) || $json["error"] == false)
        {
            // URL of generated PDF file that will available after the job completion
            $resultFileUrl = $json["url"];
            // Asynchronous job ID
            $jobId = $json["jobId"];
            
            // Check the job status in a loop
            do
            {
                $status = CheckJobStatus($jobId, $apiKey); // Possible statuses: "working", "failed", "aborted", "success".
                
                // Display timestamp and status (for demo purposes)
                echo "<p>" . date(DATE_RFC2822) . ": " . $status . "</p>";
                
                if ($status == "success")
                {
                    // Display link to the file with conversion results
                    echo "<div><h2>Conversion Result:</h2><a href='" . $resultFileUrl . "' target='_blank'>" . $resultFileUrl . "</a></div>";
                    break;
                }
                else if ($status == "working")
                {
                    // Pause for a few seconds
                    sleep(3);
                }
                else 
                {
                    echo $status . "<br/>";
                    break;
                }
            }
            while (true);
        }
        else
        {
            // Display service reported error
            echo "<p>Error: " . $json["message"] . "</p>"; 
        }
    }
    else
    {
        // Display request error
        echo "<p>Status code: " . $status_code . "</p>"; 
        echo "<p>" . $result . "</p>"; 
    }
}
else
{
    // Display CURL error
    echo "Error: " . curl_error($curl);
}

// Cleanup
curl_close($curl);


function CheckJobStatus($jobId, $apiKey)
{
    $status = null;
    
  // Create URL
    $url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/job/check";
    
    // Prepare requests params
    $parameters = array();
    $parameters["jobid"] = $jobId;

    // Create Json payload
    $data = json_encode($parameters);

    // Create request
    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array("x-api-key: " . $apiKey, "Content-type: application/json"));
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, true);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
    
    // Execute request
    $result = curl_exec($curl);
    
    if (curl_errno($curl) == 0)
    {
        $status_code = curl_getinfo($curl, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
        
        if ($status_code == 200)
        {
            $json = json_decode($result, true);
        
            if (!isset($json["error"]) || $json["error"] == false)
            {
                $status = $json["status"];
            }
            else
            {
                // Display service reported error
                echo "<p>Error: " . $json["message"] . "</p>"; 
            }
        }
        else
        {
            // Display request error
            echo "<p>Status code: " . $status_code . "</p>"; 
            echo "<p>" . $result . "</p>"; 
        }
    }
    else
    {
        // Display CURL error
        echo "Error: " . curl_error($curl);
    }
    
    // Cleanup
    curl_close($curl);
    
    return $status;
}

?>

</body>
</html>