Adding a custom page to a PDF document

PDF documents often need modifications beyond text edits. Adding custom pages at specific positions enables organizations to insert cover pages, divider sheets, or additional content into existing documents. This capability is essential for creating professional document packages, adding disclaimers, or organizing multi-section reports.

The ability to programmatically add pages with custom dimensions provides flexibility in document assembly workflows. Whether you’re creating custom forms, adding signature pages, or inserting blank pages for notes, having precise control over page placement and sizing ensures documents meet specific requirements.

For document processing systems, the combination of format conversion and page manipulation enables sophisticated document assembly from various sources while maintaining complete control over the final output structure.

Streamlining document editing with our Java SDK

What makes this feature particularly valuable is how effortlessly it can be implemented using our SDK. With just a few lines of code, developers can convert documents from various formats and add custom pages with specific dimensions. Whether you’re building a document generation system or adding editing functionality to an existing application, our SDK delivers comprehensive page manipulation capabilities right out of the box.

Preparing the project

Start by specifying a package name and importing the required classes:

package io.nutrient.Sample;

import io.nutrient.sdk.*;
import io.nutrient.sdk.exceptions.NutrientException;
import io.nutrient.sdk.editors.*;
import io.nutrient.sdk.exporters.*;

Then, create the main function and specify that it can throw a NutrientException. This exception could also be caught in the program logic for custom error management, but this is left as an exercise for the reader:

public class PDFEditor {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws NutrientException {

Once the inherent setup from a Java application is done, focus on what’s specific to our SDK.

The first step is to initialize the SDK by registering the license. This needs to be done only once during the application’s lifetime and must occur before executing any additional logic:

        License.registerKey("");

Working with documents and adding custom pages

With the SDK successfully initialized, you can begin working with the classes it offers. This guide demonstrates how to open a Word document, add a custom page, and export it as a PDF.

The SDK supports multiple integration methods, enabling flexibility in how you connect with your application. The source file can be specified either via a file path or a stream. This guide uses a file path as the source:

        try (Document document = Document.open("input.docx")) {

Create a PdfEditor instance to manipulate the document:

            PdfEditor editor = PdfEditor.edit(document);

Adding custom pages

Now you can add a custom page with specific dimensions at a desired position. The addPage method takes width, height, and position parameters:

            editor.addPage(500, 800, 5);

This adds a page that’s 500 units wide and 800 units tall at position 5 in the document.

Saving and exporting

After making modifications, save the changes and export the document as a PDF:

            editor.save();
            editor.close();

            document.exportAsPdf("output.pdf");
        }
    }
}

That’s it! You’ve successfully added a custom page to a document and exported it as a PDF.

Error handling

Nutrient Java SDK handles errors with exception handling. The methods presented in this guide throw a NutrientException in case of failure. This helps with troubleshooting and implementing error handling logic.

Conclusion

That’s all it takes to add custom pages to a document and export it as a PDF! With the SDK’s intuitive API, you can manipulate document structure, add pages with custom dimensions, and convert between formats, enabling sophisticated document processing workflows with minimal code. You can also download this ready-to-use sample package, fully configured to help you dive into the Java SDK right away.