Remove Attachments from PDF in Python

Aspose.PDF for Python can remove attachments from PDF files. A PDF document’s attachments are held in the Document object’s EmbeddedFiles collection.

This workflow is useful when you need to clean up outdated embedded files, reduce package size, or prepare a PDF for redistribution without attached source materials.

To delete all attachments associated with a PDF file:

  1. Call the EmbeddedFiles collection’s delete() method.
  2. Save the updated file using the Document object’s save() method.

The following code snippet shows how to remove attachments from a PDF document.


import aspose.pdf as ap

def remove_attachment(infile, outfile):
    # Open PDF document
    with ap.Document(infile) as document:
        document.embedded_files.delete()
        document.save(outfile)

Remove a specific attachment by name

If you need to remove only one attachment and keep the others, use the delete_by_key() method and pass the attachment name.

To delete a specific attachment:

  1. Open the source PDF file.
  2. Call document.embedded_files.delete_by_key(attachment_name).
  3. Save the updated PDF file.

The following code snippet removes one attachment by its name.


import aspose.pdf as ap

def remove_attachment(infile, attachment_name, outfile):
    # Open PDF document
    with ap.Document(infile) as document:
        document.embedded_files.delete_by_key(attachment_name)
        document.save(outfile)
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