Run PDFEdit in Docker (was Install PDFEdit on Ubuntu)

pdfedit-docker.md

Run PDFEdit in Docker

(Recommended) Use x11docker

1. Install x11docker

   https://github.com/mviereck/x11docker

2. Run PDFEdit, e.g

   x11docker --share "$PWD" ghcr.io/bmaupin/pdfedit
   

   ⓘ --share "$PWD" will share your current directory with PDFEdit so you can see files from your PC

Run without x11docker

This is a lot more complicated and not secure.

There are many ways to do this, here's just one example:

1. CD to the directory containing the PDF to edit

2. Run PDFEdit

   xhost +; docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/workdir" -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY -v "$HOME/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority:rw" --net=host ghcr.io/bmaupin/pdfedit; xhost -
   

Dockerfile

This is the Dockerfile that was used to create the ghcr.io/bmaupin/pdfedit image:

FROM ubuntu:12.04

WORKDIR /workdir

# Change the default shell to bash
SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-c"]

# Curl command from https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/421318/14436
RUN echo -e 'function __curl() { \n  read proto server path <<<$(echo ${1//// }) \n  DOC=/${path// //} \n  HOST=${server//:*} \n  PORT=${server//*:} \n  [[ x"${HOST}" == x"${PORT}" ]] && PORT=80 \n  exec 3<>/dev/tcp/${HOST}/$PORT \n  echo -en "GET ${DOC} HTTP/1.0\\r\\nHost: ${HOST}\\r\\n\\r\\n" >&3 \n  (while read line; do \n   [[ "$line" == $'"'"'\\r'"'"' ]] && break \n  done && cat) <&3 \n  exec 3>&- \n}' > curl.sh

# TODO: use __curl to get wget or curl or something better for better output if one of the below downloads fails ...

RUN source curl.sh && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/389235809/liblcms1_1.19.dfsg-1ubuntu3.1_amd64.deb > liblcms1_1.19.dfsg-1ubuntu3.1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/83092708/libmng1_1.0.10-3_amd64.deb > libmng1_1.0.10-3_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/377985985/libpng12-0_1.2.46-3ubuntu4.3_amd64.deb > libpng12-0_1.2.46-3ubuntu4.3_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/86479683/libqt3-mt_3.3.8-b-8ubuntu3_amd64.deb > libqt3-mt_3.3.8-b-8ubuntu3_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/58578046/pdfedit_0.4.5-2_amd64.deb > pdfedit_0.4.5-2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/279293539/fontconfig_2.8.0-3ubuntu9.2_amd64.deb > fontconfig_2.8.0-3ubuntu9.2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/149258100/libaudio2_1.9.3-4ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb > libaudio2_1.9.3-4ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/279293538/libfontconfig1_2.8.0-3ubuntu9.2_amd64.deb > libfontconfig1_2.8.0-3ubuntu9.2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/440576614/libfreetype6_2.4.8-1ubuntu2.7_amd64.deb > libfreetype6_2.4.8-1ubuntu2.7_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/94947351/libice6_1.0.7-2build1_amd64.deb > libice6_1.0.7-2build1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/94579504/libjpeg8_8c-2ubuntu7_amd64.deb > libjpeg8_8c-2ubuntu7_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/94947900/libsm6_1.2.0-2build1_amd64.deb > libsm6_1.2.0-2build1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/496048808/libx11-6_1.4.99.1-0ubuntu2.5_amd64.deb > libx11-6_1.4.99.1-0ubuntu2.5_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/140925309/libxcursor1_1.1.12-1ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb > libxcursor1_1.1.12-1ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/203090918/libxext6_1.3.0-3ubuntu0.2_amd64.deb > libxext6_1.3.0-3ubuntu0.2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/94948951/libxft2_2.2.0-3ubuntu2_amd64.deb > libxft2_2.2.0-3ubuntu2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/203091986/libxi6_1.7.1.901-1ubuntu1~precise3_amd64.deb > libxi6_1.7.1.901-1ubuntu1~precise3_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/140930018/libxinerama1_1.1.1-3ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb > libxinerama1_1.1.1-3ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/203094691/libxrandr2_1.3.2-2ubuntu0.3_amd64.deb > libxrandr2_1.3.2-2ubuntu0.3_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/202510483/libxrender1_0.9.6-2ubuntu0.2_amd64.deb > libxrender1_0.9.6-2ubuntu0.2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/279293542/fontconfig-config_2.8.0-3ubuntu9.2_all.deb > fontconfig-config_2.8.0-3ubuntu9.2_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/442009060/libexpat1_2.0.1-7.2ubuntu1.7_amd64.deb > libexpat1_2.0.1-7.2ubuntu1.7_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/483376388/libjpeg-turbo8_1.1.90+svn733-0ubuntu4.6_amd64.deb > libjpeg-turbo8_1.1.90+svn733-0ubuntu4.6_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/496048599/libx11-data_1.4.99.1-0ubuntu2.5_all.deb > libx11-data_1.4.99.1-0ubuntu2.5_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/84788368/libxau6_1.0.6-4_amd64.deb > libxau6_1.0.6-4_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/140864111/libxcb1_1.8.1-1ubuntu0.2_amd64.deb > libxcb1_1.8.1-1ubuntu0.2_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/203092202/libxfixes3_5.0-4ubuntu4.4_amd64.deb > libxfixes3_5.0-4ubuntu4.4_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/141012031/libxt6_1.1.1-2ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb > libxt6_1.1.1-2ubuntu0.1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/127495438/x11-common_7.6+12ubuntu2_all.deb > x11-common_7.6+12ubuntu2_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/70775788/gsfonts-x11_0.22_all.deb > gsfonts-x11_0.22_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/84805563/libxdmcp6_1.1.0-4_amd64.deb > libxdmcp6_1.1.0-4_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/52149269/ttf-bitstream-vera_1.10-8_all.deb > ttf-bitstream-vera_1.10-8_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/100987553/ttf-dejavu-core_2.33-2ubuntu1_all.deb > ttf-dejavu-core_2.33-2ubuntu1_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/70804192/ttf-freefont_20100919-1_all.deb > ttf-freefont_20100919-1_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/71073801/ucf_3.0025+nmu2ubuntu1_all.deb > ucf_3.0025+nmu2ubuntu1_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/56199369/gsfonts_8.11+urwcyr1.0.7~pre44-4.2ubuntu1_all.deb > gsfonts_8.11+urwcyr1.0.7~pre44-4.2ubuntu1_all.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/74357981/xfonts-utils_7.6+1_amd64.deb > xfonts-utils_7.6+1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/59359929/libfontenc1_1.1.0-1_amd64.deb > libfontenc1_1.1.0-1_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/200541371/libxfont1_1.4.4-1ubuntu0.3_amd64.deb > libxfont1_1.4.4-1ubuntu0.3_amd64.deb && \
  __curl http://launchpadlibrarian.net/97312039/xfonts-encodings_1.0.4-1ubuntu1_all.deb > xfonts-encodings_1.0.4-1ubuntu1_all.deb

RUN dpkg -i *.deb && \
  rm -rf *.deb curl.sh

CMD pdfedit

Old instructions

⚠ These steps no longer work. The links are broken (see above for working links), but the bigger issue is that the packages are too old to work in a modern version of Ubuntu.

sudo -v

# Setup
mkdir tmp
cd tmp

# Install PDFEdit and dependencies
wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/main/l/lcms/liblcms1_1.19.dfsg-1ubuntu3_amd64.deb
wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/main/libm/libmng/libmng1_1.0.10-3_amd64.deb
wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/main/libp/libpng/libpng12-0_1.2.54-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb
wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/main/q/qt-x11-free/libqt3-mt_3.3.8-b-8ubuntu3_amd64.deb
wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/universe/p/pdfedit/pdfedit_0.4.5-2_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

# Cleanup
rm *.deb
cd ..
rmdir tmp

# To uninstall:
# sudo apt autoremove liblcms1 libmng1 libpng12-0 libqt3-mt pdfedit

pdfedit-docker.png

@dungsaga @USRFSledge I removed that line, thanks for the heads up!

Thanks, does also work with 18.04 with minor extension:
Needs libpng12, too:
wget http://fr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/libp/libpng/libpng12-0_1.2.54-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb

I would love if someone actually maintains a proper package or a PPA, but I guess that is true for everyone.

Thanks for this, was very helpful. It's disappointing how much software was removed from the repos between 14.04 and 16.04.

@JulianKunkel Thanks for your message. I confirm @AntiSol's observation

@JulianKunkel @AntiSol @VincentTam Updated, thanks!

You could change the line

Tested on Ubuntu 16.04

to

Tested on Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04.4

Tested on Ubuntu 20.04 - it works

I fear that installing pdfedit may have broken the rest of my
system. I'm running Ubuntu with "lubuntu" as my desktop
environment.

uname -a yields:

Linux bobpenguin 4.15.0-96-generic #97~16.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Wed Apr 1 03:03:31 UTC 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

When I try to perform any system updates now, I get a large
number of errors, including:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libpng12-0 : Breaks: libpng12-0:i386 (!= 1.2.54-1ubuntu1) but 1.2.54-1ubuntu1.1 is installed
libpng12-0:i386 : Breaks: libpng12-0 (!= 1.2.54-1ubuntu1.1) but 1.2.54-1ubuntu1 is installed

Most packages will no longer update, as there seems to be a conflict between libpng, libqt3,
and many existing programs.

Help?

@wwone I'd recommend uninstalling one of the libpng12-0 packages and seeing if it fixes the problem. Maybe remove the i386 one since you're running a 64-bit OS?:

sudo apt remove libpng12-0:i386

There's always a risk of package conflicts when installing things manually. If that doesn't work, it might be best just to uninstall this (see the last line of the script above) and use a different product. One I've used with success in the past to edit PDFs is Master PDF Editor: https://code-industry.net/free-pdf-editor/

It used to be free to edit PDFs with, although apparently starting with version 5 this is a paid feature. It's possible you can still edit PDFs with it and it will add a watermark. Alternatively, you can probably find a package for version 4 somewhere on the internet. Here are some of the v4 package names that you might use to search in case it helps :)

• master-pdf-editor-4.3.82_qt5.amd64.deb
• master-pdf-editor-4.3.61_qt5.amd64.deb
• master-pdf-editor-4.2.70_qt5.amd64.deb
• master-pdf-editor-4.1.30_qt5.amd64.deb
• master-pdf-editor-4.1.01_qt5.amd64.deb
• master-pdf-editor-4.0.30_qt5.amd64.deb

If you need further help, I'd recommend asking here: https://askubuntu.com/

Cheers!

Thanks for the assistance. I tried removing the 32-bit libpng as suggested, and got:

You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libfreetype6:i386 : Depends: libpng12-0:i386 (>= 1.2.13-4) but it is not going to be installed
libgd3:i386 : Depends: libpng12-0:i386 (>= 1.2.13-4) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt-get -f install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

This may not be worth pursuing, except that installation of general Ubuntu patches and updates seems to be jammed by these errors.

Regarding PDF handling, I have enough Java knowledge to be able to use PDFBOX. Even for users without specific Java skills, this suite of stand-alone programs and Java libraries is very rich. For instance, I was able to programmatically "cleanse" some IRS forms, so that our office could actually perform form fill-in using them. I regularly use both my own created Java programs, as well as the command-line programs offered by this great package.

https://pdfbox.apache.org/

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

I know this isn't something you asked for, but in case it helps somebody else, it seems the latest official packages for Master PDF Editor 4 are still available from the vendor's site. I'm not personally comfortable downloading random packages off the internet so I was excited to see these still available from the official source.

• Qt5 version (64bit only):
  • http://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_qt5.amd64.tar.gz
  • http://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_qt5.amd64.deb
  • http://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_qt5.x86_64.rpm
• Qt4 version:
  • 32bit:
    • https://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_i386.tar.gz
    • https://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_i386.deb
    • https://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_i386.rpm
  • 64bit:
    • https://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_qt4.amd64.tar.gz

(Source: https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/04/download-master-pdf-editor-4-for-linux.html)

Thanks for the link. I had to perform a clean install, which at least got me up to Ubuntu 20 and stopped all of the update errors. I did not try to use "pdfedit", and am now successfully using "pdftk" for my needs. When anything more esoteric is needed, I can still fall back on the Java system "PDFBox".

Works perfectly in Ubuntu 20.04. Thanks!

Does not work for me: 404: Not Found

@moi90 I haven't personally used PDFEdit in a long time so the mirror links may be broken. If you find ones that work let me know and I'll udpate the script. Thanks!

I found the version Qt5 version (64bit only):
http://sft.if.usp.br/proprietary/master-pdf-editor-4.3.89_qt5.amd64.deb

https://code-industry.net/free-pdf-editor/?-update&x&ver=4389
https://code-industry.net/public/master-pdf-editor-5.8.70-qt5.x86_64.deb

The package links have been broken for a long time. Updating them doesn't really work because the packages are too old to work in modern Ubuntu, so I updated the instructions to use PDFEdit in a container.