Replace Text in PDF with Java

Aspose.PDF for Java provides both simple replacement and layout-aware replacement features through TextFragmentAbsorber and replace options.

Replace text on all pages

Use this example when the same phrase should be replaced throughout the entire document.

  1. Open the source PDF document.
  2. Search all pages for the target phrase with TextFragmentAbsorber.
  3. Replace the matched text and save the updated PDF.
public static void replaceTextOnAllPages(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
        String searchPhrase = "PDF";
        String replacePhrase = "pdf";

        try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
            TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber(searchPhrase);
            document.getPages().accept(absorber);

            for (TextFragment fragment : absorber.getTextFragments()) {
                fragment.setText(replacePhrase);
            }

            document.save(outputFile.toString());
        }
    }

Replace text in a specific page region

Use this example when replacement should be limited to a selected rectangle on one page.

  1. Open the source PDF document.
  2. Configure TextSearchOptions with page bounds and a target rectangle.
  3. Replace the matched text inside that region and save the document.
public static void replaceTextInParticularPageRegion(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    String searchPhrase = "doc";
    String replacePhrase = "DOC";

    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber(searchPhrase);
        absorber.getTextSearchOptions().setLimitToPageBounds(true);
        absorber.getTextSearchOptions().setRectangle(new Rectangle(300, 442, 500, 742, true));
        document.getPages().get_Item(1).accept(absorber);

        for (TextFragment fragment : absorber.getTextFragments()) {
            fragment.setText(replacePhrase);
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace text and adjust spacing inside a shifted rectangle

Use this example when replacement text should stay on the page with adjusted spacing but the font size should remain unchanged.

  1. Open the source PDF and collect text fragments from the target page.
  2. Modify the replacement rectangle and choose AdjustSpaceWidth behavior.
  3. Set the new text and save the document.
public static void replaceTextAndResizeAndShiftWithoutChangingFontSize(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.visit(document.getPages().get_Item(1));

        TextFragment fragment = absorber.getTextFragments().get_Item(1);
        String text = fragment.getText();
        Rectangle rectangle = fragment.getRectangle();
        rectangle.setLLX(rectangle.getLLX() + 50);
        rectangle.setURX(rectangle.getURX() - 50);
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setRectangle(rectangle);
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setReplaceAdjustmentAction(TextReplaceOptions.ReplaceAdjustment.AdjustSpaceWidth);
        fragment.setText(text + " " + text);

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace text inside a larger paragraph rectangle

Use this example when replacement text should expand into a larger page area.

  1. Open the source PDF and get the first text fragment from the target page.
  2. Build a larger replacement rectangle from the page media box.
  3. Apply the replacement options and save the PDF.
public static void replaceTextAndResizeAndShiftParagraph(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.visit(document.getPages().get_Item(1));

        TextFragment fragment = absorber.getTextFragments().get_Item(1);
        String text = fragment.getText();
        Rectangle rectangle = document.getPages().get_Item(1).getMediaBox();
        rectangle.setLLX(rectangle.getLLX() + 20);
        rectangle.setURX(rectangle.getURX() - 20);
        rectangle.setURY(rectangle.getURY() - 20);
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setRectangle(rectangle);
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setReplaceAdjustmentAction(TextReplaceOptions.ReplaceAdjustment.AdjustSpaceWidth);
        fragment.setText(text + " " + text);

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace text and scale the font to fill the rectangle

Use this example when replacement text should enlarge to fill a target area.

  1. Open the source PDF and access the target text fragment.
  2. Define a replacement rectangle and enable ScaleToFill font adjustment.
  3. Set the new text and save the updated document.
public static void replaceTextAndResizeAndExpandFont(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.visit(document.getPages().get_Item(1));

        TextFragment fragment = absorber.getTextFragments().get_Item(1);
        String text = fragment.getText();
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setRectangle(new Rectangle(100, 300, 512, 692, true));
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setReplaceAdjustmentAction(TextReplaceOptions.ReplaceAdjustment.AdjustSpaceWidth);
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setFontSizeAdjustmentAction(TextReplaceOptions.FontSizeAdjustment.ScaleToFill);
        fragment.setText(text + " " + text);

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace text and shrink it to fit

Use this example when the replacement text must stay inside the original text rectangle.

  1. Open the source PDF and select the target fragment.
  2. Reuse the current fragment rectangle and enable ShrinkToFit.
  3. Replace the text and save the document.
public static void replaceTextAndFitTextIntoRectangle(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.visit(document.getPages().get_Item(1));

        TextFragment fragment = absorber.getTextFragments().get_Item(1);
        String text = fragment.getText();
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setRectangle(fragment.getRectangle());
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setFontSizeAdjustmentAction(TextReplaceOptions.FontSizeAdjustment.ShrinkToFit);
        fragment.getReplaceOptions().setReplaceAdjustmentAction(TextReplaceOptions.ReplaceAdjustment.AdjustSpaceWidth);
        fragment.setText(text + " " + text);

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace text by regular expression

Use this example when matched text should be found by a regex pattern and restyled during replacement.

  1. Open the source PDF document.
  2. Search the page with a regex-enabled TextFragmentAbsorber.
  3. Replace each match, update its text style, and save the result.
public static void replaceTextBasedOnRegex(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber(Pattern.compile("\\d{4}-\\d{4}"));
        absorber.setTextSearchOptions(new TextSearchOptions(true));
        document.getPages().get_Item(1).accept(absorber);

        for (TextFragment fragment : absorber.getTextFragments()) {
            fragment.setText("ABC1-2XZY");
            fragment.getTextState().setFont(FontRepository.findFont("Verdana"));
            fragment.getTextState().setFontSize(12);
            fragment.getTextState().setForegroundColor(Color.getBlue());
            fragment.getTextState().setBackgroundColor(Color.getLightGreen());
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace placeholder text and let the page rearrange

Use this example when a placeholder must be replaced by a longer real value while preserving page layout.

  1. Open the source PDF and search for the placeholder text.
  2. Assign the replacement text and update its font settings.
  3. Save the document so the layout is recalculated.
public static void automaticallyRearrangePageContents(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber("[Long_placeholder_Long_placeholder]");
        document.getPages().accept(absorber);

        for (TextFragment textFragment : absorber.getTextFragments()) {
            textFragment.setText("John Smith, South Development Studio");
            textFragment.getTextState().setFont(FontRepository.findFont("Calibri"));
            textFragment.getTextState().setFontSize(12);
            textFragment.getTextState().setForegroundColor(Color.getNavy());
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace one font with another

Use this example when text using a specific embedded font should be switched to another font.

  1. Open the source PDF and collect all text fragments.
  2. Check the font name of each fragment and replace the target font.
  3. Save the updated PDF.
public static void replaceFonts(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        document.getPages().accept(absorber);

        for (TextFragment fragment : absorber.getTextFragments()) {
            if ("Arial-BoldMT".equals(fragment.getTextState().getFont().getFontName())) {
                fragment.getTextState().setFont(FontRepository.findFont("Verdana"));
            }
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Replace fonts and remove unused font resources

Use this example when the document should be cleaned up after font replacement.

  1. Open the source PDF and configure TextEditOptions to remove unused fonts.
  2. Absorb the text fragments and assign the replacement font.
  3. Save the optimized document.
public static void removeUnusedFonts(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextEditOptions options = new TextEditOptions(TextEditOptions.FontReplace.RemoveUnusedFonts);
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber(options);
        document.getPages().accept(absorber);

        for (TextFragment textFragment : absorber.getTextFragments()) {
            textFragment.getTextState().setFont(FontRepository.findFont("TimesNewRoman"));
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Remove all text from the document

Use this example when all text content must be deleted from every page.

  1. Open the source PDF document.
  2. Create a TextFragmentAbsorber and call removeAllText(document).
  3. Save the cleaned PDF.
public static void removeAllTextUsingAbsorber1(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.removeAllText(document);
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Remove all text from one page

Use this example when all text should be removed only from a specific page.

  1. Open the source PDF document.
  2. Create a TextFragmentAbsorber and remove text from the target page.
  3. Save the updated document.
public static void removeAllTextUsingAbsorber2(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.removeAllText(document.getPages().get_Item(1));
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Remove text from a selected rectangle

Use this example when text should be deleted only inside a chosen page area.

  1. Open the source PDF document.
  2. Create a TextFragmentAbsorber and define the rectangle to clean.
  3. Remove the text from that region and save the document.
public static void removeAllTextUsingAbsorber3(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber absorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        absorber.removeAllText(document.getPages().get_Item(1), new Rectangle(10, 200, 120, 600, true));
        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}

Remove hidden text

Use this example when invisible text fragments should be stripped from the PDF.

  1. Open the source PDF and absorb all text fragments.
  2. Check each fragment for the invisible text state.
  3. Clear the hidden text and save the document.
public static void removeHiddenText(Path inputFile, Path outputFile) {
    try (Document document = new Document(inputFile.toString())) {
        TextFragmentAbsorber textAbsorber = new TextFragmentAbsorber();
        textAbsorber.setTextReplaceOptions(new TextReplaceOptions(TextReplaceOptions.ReplaceAdjustment.None));
        document.getPages().accept(textAbsorber);

        for (TextFragment fragment : textAbsorber.getTextFragments()) {
            if (fragment.getTextState().isInvisible()) {
                fragment.setText("");
            }
        }

        document.save(outputFile.toString());
    }
}
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