Extract Attachments from PDF

Aspose.PDF for Java supports several extraction flows depending on how attachments are stored in the document.

Extract a single attachment by name

Use this example when you need to save one specific embedded file from a PDF.

1. Open the source PDF Document.
2. Iterate through the embedded file collection until the required attachment name is found.
3. Copy the attachment stream to the output file and stop after extraction.

public static void extractSingleAttachment(Path inputFile, String attachmentName, Path outputFile) throws Exception {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        System.out.println("Extracting attachment: " + attachmentName);

        boolean attachmentFound = false;
        for (FileSpecification fileSpecification : document.getEmbeddedFiles()) {
            if (attachmentName.equals(fileSpecification.getName())) {
                try (InputStream inputStream = fileSpecification.getContents();
                     OutputStream outputStream = Files.newOutputStream(outputFile)) {
                    inputStream.transferTo(outputStream);
                }
                System.out.println("Attachment extracted successfully");
                attachmentFound = true;
                break;
            }
        }

        if (!attachmentFound) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Attachment '" + attachmentName + "' not found in PDF");
        }
    }
}

Print embedded file parameters

This helper method prints the metadata stored in a FileParams object.

1. Check whether the file parameters object exists.
2. Read the available checksum, creation date, modification date, and size values.
3. Print the values to the console.

public static void printFileParams(FileParams params) {
    if (params != null) {
        try {
            System.out.println("CheckSum: " + params.getCheckSum());
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            System.out.println("CheckSum: null");
        }
        System.out.println("Creation Date: " + params.getCreationDate());
        System.out.println("Modification Date: " + params.getModDate());
        System.out.println("Size: " + params.getSize());
    }
}

Extract all embedded attachments

Use this example when every embedded file in the PDF should be written to an output directory.

1. Open the source PDF Document.
2. Iterate through the embedded file collection and determine a safe output file name for each item.
3. Print the metadata, save each attachment stream, and continue until all files are exported.

public static void extractAttachments(Path inputFile, Path outputDir) throws Exception {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        System.out.println("Total files: " + document.getEmbeddedFiles().size());

        int fileIndex = 1;
        for (FileSpecification fileSpecification : document.getEmbeddedFiles()) {
            String fileName = fileSpecification.getName();
            if (fileName == null || fileName.isBlank()) {
                fileName = fileSpecification.getUnicodeName();
            }
            if (fileName == null || fileName.isBlank()) {
                fileName = "attachment_" + fileIndex + ".bin";
            }

            System.out.println("Name: " + fileName);
            System.out.println("Description: " + fileSpecification.getDescription());
            System.out.println("Mime Type: " + fileSpecification.getMIMEType());
            printFileParams(fileSpecification.getParams());

            Path outputPath = outputDir.resolve(fileName);
            try (InputStream inputStream = fileSpecification.getContents();
                 OutputStream outputStream = Files.newOutputStream(outputPath)) {
                inputStream.transferTo(outputStream);
            }
            fileIndex++;
        }
    }
}

Extract a file attachment annotation

Use this example when the file is attached through a page annotation instead of only through the embedded files collection.

1. Open the source PDF Document.
2. Locate the first FileAttachmentAnnotation on the page.
3. Read its file specification, export the contents, and print the destination path.

public static void extractFileAttachmentAnnotation(Path inputFile, Path outputDir) throws Exception {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        FileAttachmentAnnotation fileAttachment = null;
        for (Annotation annotation : document.getPages().get_Item(1).getAnnotations()) {
            if (annotation.getAnnotationType() == AnnotationType.FileAttachment) {
                fileAttachment = (FileAttachmentAnnotation) annotation;
                break;
            }
        }

        if (fileAttachment == null) {
            System.out.println("File attachment annotation not found.");
            return;
        }

        FileSpecification fileSpecification = fileAttachment.getFile();
        System.out.println("File name: " + fileSpecification.getName());

        Path outputPath = outputDir.resolve("extracted-" + fileSpecification.getName());
        try (InputStream inputStream = fileSpecification.getContents();
             OutputStream outputStream = Files.newOutputStream(outputPath)) {
            inputStream.transferTo(outputStream);
        }

        System.out.println("Extracted to: " + outputPath);
    }
}