---
title: PDFTextWritingTool
description: A tool for adding text to specific positions in PDF documents with custom font support
icon: file-pdf
---

## PDFTextWritingTool

The PDFTextWritingTool allows you to add text to specific positions in PDF documents with support for custom fonts, colors, and positioning. It's particularly useful for adding annotations, watermarks, or any text overlay to existing PDFs.

## Installation

```bash
pip install 'crewai[tools]'
```

## Usage Example

```python
from crewai import Agent
from crewai_tools import PDFTextWritingTool

# Basic initialization
pdf_tool = PDFTextWritingTool()

# Create an agent with the tool
document_processor = Agent(
    role='Document Processor',
    goal='Add text annotations to PDF documents',
    backstory='Expert at PDF document processing and text manipulation.',
    tools=[pdf_tool],
    verbose=True
)
```

## Input Schema

```python
class PDFTextWritingToolSchema(BaseModel):
    pdf_path: str = Field(
        description="Path to the PDF file to modify"
    )
    text: str = Field(
        description="Text to add to the PDF"
    )
    position: tuple = Field(
        description="Tuple of (x, y) coordinates for text placement"
    )
    font_size: int = Field(
        default=12,
        description="Font size of the text"
    )
    font_color: str = Field(
        default="0 0 0 rg",
        description="RGB color code for the text"
    )
    font_name: Optional[str] = Field(
        default="F1",
        description="Font name for standard fonts"
    )
    font_file: Optional[str] = Field(
        default=None,
        description="Path to a .ttf font file for custom font usage"
    )
    page_number: int = Field(
        default=0,
        description="Page number to add text to"
    )
```

## Function Signature

```python
def run(
    self,
    pdf_path: str,
    text: str,
    position: tuple,
    font_size: int,
    font_color: str,
    font_name: str = "F1",
    font_file: Optional[str] = None,
    page_number: int = 0,
    **kwargs
) -> str:
    """
    Add text to a specific position in a PDF document.

    Args:
        pdf_path (str): Path to the PDF file to modify
        text (str): Text to add to the PDF
        position (tuple): (x, y) coordinates for text placement
        font_size (int): Font size of the text
        font_color (str): RGB color code for the text (e.g., "0 0 0 rg" for black)
        font_name (str, optional): Font name for standard fonts (default: "F1")
        font_file (str, optional): Path to a .ttf font file for custom font
        page_number (int, optional): Page number to add text to (default: 0)

    Returns:
        str: Success message with output file path
    """
```

## Best Practices

1. File Handling:
   - Ensure PDF files exist before processing
   - Use absolute paths for reliability
   - Handle file permissions appropriately

2. Text Positioning:
   - Use appropriate coordinates based on PDF dimensions
   - Consider page orientation and margins
   - Test positioning with small changes first

3. Font Usage:
   - Verify custom font files exist
   - Use standard fonts when possible
   - Test font rendering before production use

4. Error Handling:
   - Check page numbers are valid
   - Verify font file accessibility
   - Handle file writing permissions

## Integration Example

```python
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import PDFTextWritingTool

# Initialize tool
pdf_tool = PDFTextWritingTool()

# Create agent
document_processor = Agent(
    role='Document Processor',
    goal='Process and annotate PDF documents',
    backstory='Expert at PDF manipulation and text placement.',
    tools=[pdf_tool]
)

# Define task
annotation_task = Task(
    description="""Add a watermark saying 'CONFIDENTIAL' to 
    the center of the first page of the document at 
    '/path/to/document.pdf'.""",
    agent=document_processor
)

# The tool will use:
# {
#   "pdf_path": "/path/to/document.pdf",
#   "text": "CONFIDENTIAL",
#   "position": (300, 400),
#   "font_size": 24,
#   "font_color": "1 0 0 rg",  # Red color
#   "page_number": 0
# }

# Create crew
crew = Crew(
    agents=[document_processor],
    tasks=[annotation_task]
)

# Execute
result = crew.kickoff()
```

## Advanced Usage

### Custom Font Example
```python
# Using a custom font
result = pdf_tool.run(
    pdf_path="/path/to/input.pdf",
    text="Custom Font Text",
    position=(100, 500),
    font_size=16,
    font_color="0 0 1 rg",  # Blue color
    font_file="/path/to/custom_font.ttf",
    page_number=0
)
```

### Multiple Text Elements
```python
# Add multiple text elements
positions = [(100, 700), (100, 650), (100, 600)]
texts = ["Header", "Subheader", "Body Text"]
font_sizes = [18, 14, 12]

for text, position, size in zip(texts, positions, font_sizes):
    pdf_tool.run(
        pdf_path="/path/to/input.pdf",
        text=text,
        position=position,
        font_size=size,
        font_color="0 0 0 rg"  # Black color
    )
```

### Color Text Example
```python
# Add colored text
colors = {
    "red": "1 0 0 rg",
    "green": "0 1 0 rg",
    "blue": "0 0 1 rg"
}

for y_pos, (color_name, color_code) in enumerate(colors.items()):
    pdf_tool.run(
        pdf_path="/path/to/input.pdf",
        text=f"This text is {color_name}",
        position=(100, 700 - y_pos * 50),
        font_size=14,
        font_color=color_code
    )
```

## Notes

- Supports custom TrueType fonts (.ttf)
- Allows RGB color specifications
- Handles multi-page PDFs
- Preserves original PDF content
- Supports text positioning with x,y coordinates
- Maintains PDF structure and metadata
- Creates new output file for safety
- Thread-safe operations
- Efficient PDF manipulation
- Supports various text attributes