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PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:30 am
by Midas
[Moderator note: this is the primary PDFArranger program thread; https://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=2917]

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PDF tools are very popular here at TPFC, so I though I'd post about another one I just found that advertises itself as portable (untested!)...

[PDFArranger is a] Small python-gtk application, which helps the user to merge or split pdf documents and rotate, crop and rearrange their pages using an interactive and intuitive graphical interface.
It is a frontend for pikepdf. pdfarranger is a fork of Konstantinos Poulios’s pdfshuffler.
@ https://github.com/pdfarranger/pdfarranger

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PDFArranger latest release is v1.7.0: changelog and downloads at https://github.com/pdfarranger/pdfarranger/releases.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:58 pm
by webfork
Great stuff -- the visual rearrange function is something I've been so frustrated is only available in commercial PDF tools. I'll def add this to my list of stuff to test.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:53 am
by Cornflower
Just playing with it for functionality (not portability). This may finally replace my pdftkBuilder (https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1066) that I've used for 17 years!

Some features.
  • Drag and drop to specific locations within the file (insert)
  • In one process can rotate individual pages (if I had some pages to rotate left and others right, I would have to run pdftkBuilder twice)
  • Scales pdf pages such as tabloid down to letter size
  • Can insert blank page. Previously, I always had to calculate chapter page lengths for double-sided printing, and have a blank, on-page pdf file on hand. Choosing Select odd- or even- pages makes this visual.
  • Remembers original page number from within multipage files. If for example, I am rearranging a pdf for a pocketmod, it is easy forget the original order.
That's it. There are probably a couple of other functions for uses some others might have.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 6:29 am
by webfork
Cornflower wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:53 am Just playing with it for functionality (not portability). This may finally replace my pdftkBuilder (https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1066) that I've used for 17 years!
Based on your description, this sounds like it'll replace multiple PDF tools that I use as well.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 7:05 am
by Cornflower
I agree, webfork. I just wish it hadn't so many dozens of .dll and support files. I favoured pdftkBuilder and i2pdf and some others because they were literally single executable or had minimal support files to keep track of.

That said, one other note: you have to have the working directory set if it is not in the path, due to all the dependency files.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2021 10:04 pm
by webfork
Just an amazing find. If all this program did was just auto-crop the whitespace around selected pages, I would already want to add it the database. Instead you can select multiple pages, rotate, rearrange, duplicate, interleave, and way more. You can also easily import images, export to pdf, export individual pages to their own PDF files, etc.

It isn't enough that it has loads of functions formerly only available in commercial tools, but it's also faster, easier to use, and open source.

License: GPLv3

Resource usage: 80 M disk, 138 M (the sum of 3 processes)

Status: Portable, Stealth: No, writes minor window settings (size and maximized status) to appdata\roaming\pdfarranger\config.ini. You can make additional changes to the ini file using a text editor that may affect the program, but I don't think that affects portability.

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Thanks Cornflower and Midas.

File data:
File data: pdfarranger-1.7.0-windows-portable.zip:
Verified: Unsigned
MD5: 6D4993C4CD59347FE136EAA5E58FC762
SHA1: DF94EC3B415F87484DF83029BF9DF26D2CAC61B9
SHA256: 23D26008A173E03046314563084ABA676DA2A058D6FCF04A758E03CAA8072BAF
VT detection: 1/74
VT link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/23d ... /detection

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 4:08 am
by Cornflower
All thanks go to Midas. I'm just a happy recipient.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:10 am
by Midas
Hey, people, thanks and all, but I didn't even test it yet... :oops:

@webfork: A little nit-picking, tough -- I really like your summary format, which I even consider adopting myself, but I have a question...

What's the use of that SHA1 hash, considering that its algorithm is now deprecated in favor of the stronger SHA256 (and for file integrity, the MD5 is both smaller and faster to check)?

Make that two questions: care to explain how you're checking certificate inclusion?

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:52 am
by Andrew Lee
Excellent find, definitely should be added to the database.

My findings is the same as webfork. The visual re-ordering feature alone is typically only found in commercialware, or available as a premium feature. The minimal settings in appdata is not an issue for this program (unless you are a stealth purist).

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 9:44 am
by webfork
Midas wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:10 am @webfork: A little nit-picking, tough -- I really like your summary format, which I even consider adopting myself, but I have a question...
No I welcome these questions. I'm refining my testing process and having a lot of fun with it. I'm happy to share all programs/functions/setup/screenshots about the process if anyone's interested. I've seriously considered creating a video intro for a still unrefinded effort.
Midas wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:10 am... care to explain how you're checking certificate inclusion?
It's just a program dump from the sysinternals' SigCheck program. I'm just posting it's output. If it makes sense, I might go further and actually check the included signature.
Midas wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:10 amWhat's the use of that SHA1 hash
There's a saying that the camera you have on you at the time is the best camera. In other words, if the only hash program you have available is something that outputs SHA1, that's the best hash. If anyone wanted me to host any other hashes (like Blake2), I could post those as well, I'm just trying to play the greatest hits.
Andrew Lee wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:52 am Excellent find, definitely should be added to the database.
It's been a while since we had one that resonated with so many users -- I'll push this one to the top of my list.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:39 am
by webfork
Update: I went ahead and posted the software to the database: https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=2917 -- please vote.

Please ignore the comment at the base of the post -- I'm actually overwriting an old entry that wasn't actually portable (something I think billon would appreciate).
Cornflower wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 4:08 am All thanks go to Midas. I'm just a happy recipient.
I often find posts reviewing and explaining software, features, reasons someone would use it are just as important as digging around for good programs. I tend to read those more closely and you may notice in this case that the draft entry I put together was written using much of your initial impressions.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:03 pm
by Andrew Lee
webfork wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:39 am Please ignore the comment at the base of the post -- I'm actually overwriting an old entry that wasn't actually portable (something I think billon would appreciate).
webfork PM-ed me about this, and I've removed the old comment. So all's good now.

BTW webfork, since you resurrected an old entry, your vote wasn't added automatically. You need to do it manually yourself.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 3:05 pm
by freakazoid
I had a need to scan something and I wanted to crop the borders of the PDF manually. However, this app doesn't offer the ability to set the cropping. It only has an auto-crop, which doesn't work for my needs.

Is there another app that can do manual cropping of PDFs? It might be possible to do so in Ifranview, but I need to crop a multi-page PDF.

Update - Found a nice little java app called Briss. You can use jPortable and jPortable Launcher to open the briss-0.9.jar file. I can set the crop to whatever dimensions in millimeters. Works great!

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 4:38 am
by Cornflower
A couple of options for cropping PDF files, none of which is perfect for all needs, and all are awkward, to say the least.

1. Briss http://briss.sourceforge.net/ This is a gui that I believe to be portable (requires Java). It allows up to 2 crop boxes per page, and while it is not intuitive, right-clicking the boxes, will give you the sense of it. It was created to prepare PDF for eBook readers, so its limitations are assuming most crop boxes have that as a goal.

2. cpdf. CLI talked about at viewtopic.php?f=22&t=23606&hilit=cpdf#p99331 I use this for many other things, but if you measure the points, it can do almost any kind of cropping you want. Be prepared to create many pages that need to be put together.

3. K2pdfOpt meaning Kindle to PDF Optimizer, writes to registry at HKCU\Environment, which keeps the session settings. See discussion at viewtopic.php?f=20&t=21561&hilit=K2pdfopt
Does a credible job using default (tested on some published studies that go from single- to double-column with graphs, etc.). If you clean up the four or so settings in HKCU or may a YaP for it, this might be good to use. I recommend running

Code: Select all

K2pdfOpt.exe -sm
so the preview pane shows the crop boxes. There appear to be a lot of options to modify things, such as ignoring headers and footers, so I will want to play with this when I have time--go to the many help and customize pages here: https://willus.com/k2pdfopt/help/

I won't have time to play with these for a few weeks, but if any of them help, let everyone know how you made them sing.

Re: PDFArranger (PDF changer utility)

Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 7:38 pm
by webfork
Cornflower wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 4:38 am A couple of options for cropping PDF files, none of which is perfect for all needs, and all are awkward, to say the least.
Thanks for the info -- since we're posting to this thread, how do those compare to the PDFArranger?