PDF Settings Commands

The following command line arguments to Image to PDF all control what can be done with the PDF document. These items notify the PDF viewer what activity has been allowed by the author, and whether outlines/bookmarks have been enabled.

  -DPI
Parameters: resolution - must be between 9 and 2880 inclusive.
Notes: PDF documents use a default resolution setting of 72 DPI. Images created for screen display under Windows will probably have a resolution of 96 DPI. If you have created images for printing then you will probably need to use 300 or 600 DPI. If you do not adjust the default resolution setting then when displayed within a PDF document on screen a 96 DPI image will appear 25% larger than expected. This gets much worse for a 300 DPI image which will appear 416% larger than expected.


  -UseActualImageDPI
Parameters: None
Notes: This command overrides the specified (or default) -DPI setting and uses the actual DPI recorded in the image file. Please note that where an image format does not explicitly record a DPI value a default one will be used that is appropriate to that image format (this will most likely be either 72 DPI or the current DPI of the main display on your PC).


  -Outline
Parameters: format - must be one of the following:
  • Filename - this is the name of the image file including the image extension but not including the full filepath.
  • Name - same as filename but without the image extension.

  • style - must be one of the following:
  • Lowercase
  • Uppercase
  • Capitalise or Capitalize
  • None

  • title - of the outline root node which can be up to 256 characters long. If spaces are required within the title then enclose it within quotes.
    Notes:
  • This turns on the generation of a bookmark for each image that is converted into the output PDF document.
  • If the image is a multi-page TIFF or animated GIF, then a bookmark is generated for the first image only.
  • The title parameter is optional, if it is not specified then a default is shown by the PDF viewer application (eg "OutlineRoot").

  •   -PDFVersion
    Parameters: version number - must be one of the following:
  • 1.2 - compatible with Acrobat 3.x
  • 1.3 - compatible with Acrobat 4.x
  • 1.4 - compatible with Acrobat 5.x
  • 1.5 - compatible with Acrobat 6.x
  • 1.6 - compatible with Acrobat 7.x
  • Notes:
  • Sets the PDF version number which can normally be viewed from the "Document Properties" dialog display (this is normally located in the "File" menu in Adobe Reader)
  • This command is optional - if not specified it uses a suitable default value - normally 1.3

  •   -OutlineTitle
    Parameters: title - of the outline root node which can be up to 256 characters long. If spaces are required within the title then enclose it within quotes.
    Notes:
  • If an outline is produced (either using -Outline or -ImageBookmark) this sets the outline root title rather than the default that is shown by the PDF viewer application (eg "OutlineRoot").

  •   -OwnerPassword
    Parameters: password - can be up to 32 characters long. If spaces are required within the password then enclose it within quotes.
    Notes:
  • The owner of a PDF document would enter this password in order to view it and make changes and perform actions that may be restricted to a normal user.
  • Please note that the owner and user passwords cannot be the same.
  • The PDF document will be encrypted using the default encryption level of 40 bits. You can use an encryption level of 128 bits if you use the -EncryptionLevel command below.

  •   -UserPassword
    Parameters: password - can be up to 32 characters long. If spaces are required within the password then enclose it within quotes.
    Notes:
  • In order that only the intended user can view the PDF document, they must type in this password, otherwise the user is not allowed to access the PDF document.
  • Please note that you cannot have a user password without an owner one - if you do not specify an owner password your license code will be used as the owner password. If you are evaluating this utility then a default owner password of "evaluation" is used instead.
  • Please note that he owner and user passwords cannot be the same.
  • The PDF document will be encrypted using the default encryption level of 40 bits. You can use an encryption level of 128 bits if you use the -EncryptionLevel command below.

  •   -EncryptionLevel
    Parameters: level - must be either 40 (low) or 128 (high)
    Notes:
  • Specifies the level of encryption that is to be used on the PDF document. If not specified the default level of 40 bits is used.

  •   -ForceEncryption
    Parameters: None
    Notes:
  • Normally, a PDF can only be encrypted if the owner and user passwords are specified as these form the basis for the encryption key. However, it may be required to force the encryption of the document without supplying either of these passwords and this command will ensure that this takes place.
  • WARNING: A PDF document that has been force encrypted in this way is NOT secure - it just prevents simple eavesdropping during electronic transmission.

  • Note: the following commands which set the PDF usage rights can be over-ridden with the owner password. Some PDF viewers may, or may not, obey these restrictions. Additionally, some PDF viewers may only enforce these restrictions if the User password is specified.

      -Edit
    Parameters: None
    Notes: Allows editing/changing of the PDF document but NOT adding or changing of text notes and AcroForm fields.


      -EditExtra
    Parameters: None
    Notes: Allows the adding and changing of text notes and AcroForm fields within a PDF document.


      -Copy
    Parameters: None
    Notes: Allows the copying of text and graphics from the PDF document.


      -Print
    Parameters: None
    Notes: Allows printing of the PDF document.