What is IronPDF for Java used for?

IronPDF for Java is a library that helps open, read, and manipulate PDF files in Java applications. It allows users to extract text, convert file formats, and customize PDF pages, among other functionalities.

How can I read a PDF file in Java using IronPDF?

To read a PDF file using IronPDF in Java, use the `fromFile` method of the `PdfDocument` class to load a PDF, then call `extractAllText` to extract the text.

How do I extract text from a specific page of a PDF using IronPDF?

IronPDF allows you to extract text from a specific page using the `extractTextFromPage` method alongside the `PageSelection.singlePage` object, which specifies the page index.

What are the prerequisites for using IronPDF in Java?

To use IronPDF in Java, you need to have the Java Development Kit (JDK), an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as Eclipse or IntelliJ, Maven for dependency management, and IronPDF added to your Maven project's `pom.xml`.

Can IronPDF convert URLs into PDFs?

Yes, IronPDF can generate PDFs from URLs using the `renderUrlAsPdf` method, enabling you to capture the text content of a web page.

What additional features does IronPDF provide?

IronPDF supports various additional features such as PDF creation from HTML, password protection, digital signing, and both merging and splitting of PDF documents.

Is there a trial version of IronPDF available?

Yes, IronPDF offers a 30-day free trial license key which allows you to explore its features for creating, reading, and manipulating PDFs in Java.

How do I set up IronPDF in my Java project?

You must add IronPDF as a dependency in your Maven project's `pom.xml` and include necessary imports in your Java source file to reference IronPDF methods. Don't forget to set a valid IronPDF license key using the `setLicenseKey` method.

Can I extract images from a PDF using IronPDF?

Yes, IronPDF can be used to extract images from PDF files by utilizing specific methods designed for image extraction.

How does IronPDF compare to other libraries like Apache PDFBox?

IronPDF is built on the .NET Framework and offers versatile tools for working with PDF documents, providing features like content extraction, file conversion, and extensive document customization options that might be more limited in other libraries such as Apache PDFBox.

The Java PDF Library

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HTML to PDF

Online Demo See All Code Examples

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;  
import java.io.IOException;  
import java.nio.file.Paths;  
  
// Apply your license key
License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

// Set a log path
Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

// Render the HTML as a PDF. Stored in myPdf as type PdfDocument;
PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1> ~Hello World~ </h1> Made with IronPDF!");

// Save the PdfDocument to a file
myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("html_saved.pdf"));


import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;  
import java.io.IOException;  
import java.nio.file.Paths;  
  
// Apply your license key
License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

// Set a log path
Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

// Render the HTML as a PDF. Stored in myPdf as type PdfDocument;
PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1> ~Hello World~ </h1> Made with IronPDF!");

// Save the PdfDocument to a file
myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("html_saved.pdf"));

USING IRONPDF FOR JAVA

How to Read PDF File in Java

Curtis Chau

Updated: April 21, 2026

This article will explore how to create a PDF reader, to open a PDF file in your software application programmatically. To perform this task effectively, IronPDF for Java is one such system library which helps open and read PDF files using the filename in Java programs.

How to Read PDF Files in Java

Download the IronPDF Java Library
Use fromFile method to load existing PDF documents
Call extractAllText method to extract embedded text in PDFs
Extract text from a specific page with extractTextFromPage method
Retrieve text from PDFs rendered from URL

IronPDF

The IronPDF - Java Library is built on top of the already successful .NET Framework. This makes IronPDF a versatile tool for working with PDF documents compared to other class libraries such as Apache PDFBox. It provides the facility to extract and parse content, load text, and load images. It also provides options to customize the PDF pages such as page layout, margins, header and footer, page orientation, and much more.

In addition to this, IronPDF also supports conversion from other file formats, protecting PDFs with a password, digital signing, merging, and splitting PDF documents.

How to Read PDF Files in Java

Prerequisites

To use IronPDF to make a Java PDF reader, it is necessary to ensure that the following components are installed on the computer:

JDK - Java Development Kit is required for building and running Java programs. If it is not installed, download it from the Oracle Website.
IDE - Integrated Development Environment is software that helps write, edit, and debug a program. Download any IDE for Java, e.g., Eclipse, NetBeans, IntelliJ.
Maven - Maven is an automation tool that helps download libraries from the Central Repository. Download it from the Apache Maven Website.
IronPDF - Finally, IronPDF is required to read the PDF file in Java. This needs to be added as a dependency in your Java Maven Project. Include the IronPDF artifact along with the slf4j dependency in the pom.xml file as shown in the example below:

<!-- Add Maven dependencies for IronPDF -->
<dependencies>
    <!-- IronPDF Dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>your-version-here</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- SLF4J Dependency necessary for logging -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>1.7.32</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

<!-- Add Maven dependencies for IronPDF -->
<dependencies>
    <!-- IronPDF Dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>your-version-here</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- SLF4J Dependency necessary for logging -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>1.7.32</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

XML

Adding Necessary Imports

Firstly, add the following code on top of the Java source file to reference all the required methods from IronPDF:

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;
// Necessary imports from IronPDF library

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;
// Necessary imports from IronPDF library

Java

Next, configure IronPDF with a valid license key to use its methods. Invoke the setLicenseKey method in the main method.

License.setLicenseKey("Your license key");
// Set your IronPDF license key - required for full version

License.setLicenseKey("Your license key");
// Set your IronPDF license key - required for full version

Java

Note: You can get a free trial license key to create, read, and print PDFs.

Read Existing PDF File in Java

To read PDF files, there must be PDF files, or one can be created. This article will use an already created PDF file. The code is simple and a two-step process to extract text from the document:

// Load the PDF document from file
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("assets/sample.pdf"));
// Extract all text from the PDF
String text = pdf.extractAllText();
// Print the extracted text
System.out.println(text);

// Load the PDF document from file
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("assets/sample.pdf"));
// Extract all text from the PDF
String text = pdf.extractAllText();
// Print the extracted text
System.out.println(text);

Java

In the above code, [fromFile](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/PdfDocument.html#fromFile(java.nio.file.Path) opens a PDF document. The Paths.get method gets the directory of the file and is ready to extract content from the file. Then, [extractAllText](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/PdfDocument.html#extractAllText() reads all the text in the document.

The output is below:

How to Read PDF File in Java, Figure 1: Reading PDF Text Output Reading PDF Text Output

Read Text from a Specific Page

IronPDF can also read content from a specific page in a PDF. The extractTextFromPage method uses a PageSelection object to accept a range of page(s) from which text will be read.

In the following example, the text is extracted from the second page of the PDF document. PageSelection.singlePage takes the index of the page which needs to be extracted (index starting from 0).

// Load the PDF document from file
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("assets/sample.pdf"));
// Extract text from the second page (page index based, starts at 0, so 1 means second page)
String text = pdf.extractTextFromPage(PageSelection.singlePage(1));
// Print the extracted text from the specified page
System.out.println(text);

// Load the PDF document from file
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("assets/sample.pdf"));
// Extract text from the second page (page index based, starts at 0, so 1 means second page)
String text = pdf.extractTextFromPage(PageSelection.singlePage(1));
// Print the extracted text from the specified page
System.out.println(text);

Java

How to Read PDF File in Java, Figure 2: Reading PDF Text Output Reading PDF Text Output

Other methods available in the PageSelection class which can be used to extract text from various pages include: [firstPage](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/edit/PageSelection.html#lastPage(), [lastPage](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/edit/PageSelection.html#firstPage(), [pageRange](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/edit/PageSelection.html#pageRange(int,int), and [allPages](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/edit/PageSelection.html#allPages().

Read Text from a Newly-Generated PDF File

Search text can also be performed from a newly generated PDF file from either an HTML file or URL. The following sample code generates PDFs from URL and extracts all text from the website.

// Generate PDF from a URL
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://unsplash.com/");
// Extract all text from the generated PDF
String text = pdf.extractAllText();
// Print the extracted text from the URL
System.out.println("Text extracted from the website: " + text);

// Generate PDF from a URL
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://unsplash.com/");
// Extract all text from the generated PDF
String text = pdf.extractAllText();
// Print the extracted text from the URL
System.out.println("Text extracted from the website: " + text);

Java

How to Read PDF File in Java, Figure 3: Read from a New File Read from a New File

IronPDF can also be used to extract images from PDF files.

The complete code is as follows:

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.License;
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.PdfDocument;
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.edit.PageSelection;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Set the IronPDF license key for commercial use
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR LICENSE KEY HERE");

        // Read text from a specific page in an existing PDF
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("assets/sample.pdf"));
        String text = pdf.extractTextFromPage(PageSelection.singlePage(1));
        System.out.println(text);

        // Read all text from a PDF generated from a URL
        pdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://unsplash.com/");
        text = pdf.extractAllText();
        System.out.println("Text extracted from the website: " + text);
    }
}

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.License;
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.PdfDocument;
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.edit.PageSelection;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Set the IronPDF license key for commercial use
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR LICENSE KEY HERE");

        // Read text from a specific page in an existing PDF
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("assets/sample.pdf"));
        String text = pdf.extractTextFromPage(PageSelection.singlePage(1));
        System.out.println(text);

        // Read all text from a PDF generated from a URL
        pdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://unsplash.com/");
        text = pdf.extractAllText();
        System.out.println("Text extracted from the website: " + text);
    }
}

Java

Summary

This article explained how to open and read PDFs in Java using IronPDF.

IronPDF helps easily create PDFs from HTML or URL and convert from different file formats. It also helps in getting PDF tasks done quickly and easily.

Try IronPDF for 30 days with a free trial and find out how well it works for you in production. Explore commercial licensing options for IronPDF which start only from $999.

Curtis Chau

Chat with engineering team now

Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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Install with Maven Centralcentral.sonatype.com/artifact/com.ironsoftware/ironpdf

mvn install

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>2026.8.2</version>
</dependency>

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The Java PDF Library

How to Read PDF File in Java

How to Read PDF Files in Java

IronPDF

How to Read PDF Files in Java

Prerequisites

Adding Necessary Imports

Read Existing PDF File in Java

Read Text from a Specific Page

Read Text from a Newly-Generated PDF File

Summary

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