The use of PDF/A-3 files is set to become mandatory in various countries within the European Community (see here for France and here for Germany). As a result, the ability to extract the XML files they contain will become essential. Moreover, PDF/A-3 files can contain a variety of embedded files, which you will undoubtedly need to extract. Understanding and utilizing tools to manage these files effectively is becoming increasingly important in ensuring compliance and maximizing the utility of embedded documents.

The 4D-QPDF component provides you with a single command to simply extract attachments from PDF/A-3 files.

PDF Get attachments

PDF Get attachments ( pdfFile : 4D.File ) : Collection

Parameter	Type		Description
pdfFile	4D.File	->	4D file object referencing a PDF/A3 file with attachments
Function result	Collection	<-	Collection of objects OR Null

Description

This command retrieves PDF/A3 file attachments from the pdfFile object and returns them in a collection of objects.

Each object of the returned collection represents an included attachment file and can contain the following properties:

Property	Type	Description	Example
name	string	file name without extension	"4dlogo"
fullname	string	file name with extension	"4dlogo.png"
extension	string	file extension	".png"
mimeType	string	Mime type	"image/png"
content	4D.Blob	Blob containing the attachment file
size	number	(if available) File size in bytes	72184
creationDate	date	(if available) Date of attachment file creation
modificationDate	date	(if available) Date of attachment file modification
checksum	integer	(if available) File checksum
success	boolean	True if all is ok, False if the extraction failed	true
error	text	Error text, available only if success is false

If pdfFile file does not contain PDF attachments, an empty collection is returned.

If pdfFile file is not a valid PDF file , Null value is returned and an error is generated

Example

var $path : 4D.File
var $_attachments : Collection
var $_errors : Collection

$path:=File("/RESOURCES/tests/Many Included Files.pdf")

// user error mode 
$_attachments:=PDF Get attachments($path)

// silent mode
$_attachments:=Try(PDF Get attachments($path)) // if failed $_attachments is Null

// code error management
Try
    $_attachments:=PDF Get attachments($path) 
Catch
    // some errors are accessibles with Last errors command
    // $_attachments is Null
    $_errors:=Last errors
End try