How to Build a Simple Python Script for PDF Merger

Introduction

PDF merging is a common task that can be easily automated with a Python script. In this article, we'll guide you through creating a simple script that merges multiple PDF files into one.

Step 1: Install Required Libraries

Before you start coding, make sure you have the required libraries installed. You can install them using pip:

pip install PyPDF2

Step 2: Write the Script

Here's a basic script that merges two PDF files:

import PyPDF2

# Open the first PDF file
pdf1 = open('file1.pdf', 'rb')
pdf_reader1 = PyPDF2.PdfFileReader(pdf1)

# Open the second PDF file
pdf2 = open('file2.pdf', 'rb')
pdf_reader2 = PyPDF2.PdfFileReader(pdf2)

# Create a PDF writer object
pdf_writer = PyPDF2.PdfFileWriter()

# Add pages from the first PDF to the writer
for page_num in range(pdf_reader1.numPages):
    pdf_writer.addPage(pdf_reader1.getPage(page_num))

# Add pages from the second PDF to the writer
for page_num in range(pdf_reader2.numPages):
    pdf_writer.addPage(pdf_reader2.getPage(page_num))

# Save the merged PDF to a new file
output_pdf = open('merged_file.pdf', 'wb')
pdf_writer.write(output_pdf)

# Close the files
pdf1.close()
pdf2.close()
output_pdf.close()

Step 3: Test the Script

Save the script as merge_pdfs.py and run it from your terminal:

python merge_pdfs.py

This will create a new PDF file named merged_file.pdf in the same directory.

Conclusion

In this article, we've shown you how to build a simple Python script for merging PDF files. This script can be easily extended and modified to handle more complex scenarios.

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Happy coding!