Perl Requires Chilkat v11.7.0+

Extract Text from a Password-Protected PDF

See more PDF Text Extraction Examples

Demonstrates extracting text from a PDF that requires a password to open. The PDF loads without the password (its structure can be read), but the "text" operation fails because the content cannot be decrypted; "assess" reports that a password is required. With the UserPassword property set before loading, extraction works normally. Chilkat2 Perl

use strict;
use warnings;
use Chilkat2;

# This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
# See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

# The PDF used in this example (user password: secret) is available at encrypted_user_password.pdf

my $pdf = Chilkat2::Pdf->new;
my $json = Chilkat2::JsonObject->new;
my $jsonOut = Chilkat2::JsonObject->new;

# The PDF loads without its password: the file's structure is readable, so properties such as
# NumPages and the security settings are available...
my $success = $pdf->LoadFile('qa_data/pdf/encrypted_user_password.pdf');
if (!$success) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText, "\n";
    exit;
}

# ...but the content cannot be decrypted, so extracting text fails.
$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text', $json, $jsonOut);
if (!$success) {
    print 'Cannot extract: ', $pdf->LastErrorText, "\n";
}

# "assess" still works: it reports that a password is required and nothing else.
$success = $pdf->ExtractText('assess', $json, $jsonOut);
if (!$success) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText, "\n";
    exit;
}

print 'passwordRequired: ', ($jsonOut->BoolOf('quality.passwordRequired') ? 1 : 0), "\n";
print 'rating: ', $jsonOut->StringOf('quality.rating'), "\n";

# Set the password and load again.
$pdf->UserPassword('secret');
$success = $pdf->LoadFile('qa_data/pdf/encrypted_user_password.pdf');
if (!$success) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText, "\n";
    exit;
}

$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text', $json, $jsonOut);
if (!$success) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText, "\n";
    exit;
}

print $jsonOut->StringOf('text'), "\n";

# Sample output:

# Cannot extract: ChilkatLog:
#   ExtractText:
#     ...
#       The PDF is encrypted and could not be opened (wrong or missing password); its text cannot be read.
#     ...
# passwordRequired: true
# rating: none
# Board Minutes (Confidential)
#
# The board met on 3 November 2026. Present: the chair, the treasurer and four members. The treasurer reported that spending for the season came in under budget.
#
# The meeting closed at 8.45 p.m.