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PDF Enhancement CLI

The VIESUS PDF processing tool handles PDF documents containing embedded images, with support for both automated and direct processing modes.

PDF CLI Modes

PDF Version Information

ParameterDescription
-vPrint version information and exit

PDF Hotfolder Mode

Hotfolder mode provides automated PDF processing by monitoring a designated folder for new files.

Basic Syntax

viesusPDF -h [-g <guid>] [options]

Parameters

ParameterRequiredDescription
-hYesStart application in hotfolder mode
-g <guid>OptionalStart with specific GUID (library-dependent)

Usage Example

# Start in hotfolder mode
viesusPDF -h

# Start with specific GUID
viesusPDF -h -g 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc

PDF Stand-Alone Mode

Stand-alone mode processes individual PDF files or folders directly from the command line.

Basic Syntax

viesusPDF <source> <destFolder> <viesusIniFile> [options]

Required Parameters

ParameterPositionTypeDescription
<source>1StringPath to PDF file or source folder
<destFolder>2StringPath to destination folder for processed files
<viesusIniFile>3StringPath to INI file containing VIESUS enhancement settings

Optional Parameters

Optional parameters can appear in any order after the required parameters.

File Handling Options

ParameterTypeDescription
[deleteSrc]FlagDelete source files after successful processing
[archive <path>]StringArchive original files to specified folder path
[useSoftMasked]FlagEnable processing of images with soft masks
[justAnalyze]FlagAnalyze and count images only (results in status file)

Page Processing Options

ParameterFormatDescription
-s <pages>StringSkip specified pages (stand-alone mode only)

Page Skip Format:

  • f = first page
  • l = last page
  • Numbers = specific page numbers
  • Example: -s f,l,5,10,14 (skip first, last, and pages 5, 10, 14)

Network and Debugging Options

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
-p <portNr>Integer12033Port number for TraceConsumer

Image Processing Options

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
[noResize]FlagOffDisable resizing of small images
-r <targetRes>Integer300Target resolution in DPI for size calculations
-T <resizeThres>Float1.2Minimum factor required to trigger resizing

PDF Usage Examples

PDF Stand-Alone Mode Examples

Basic Processing

viesusPDF "C:\input\document.pdf" "C:\output" "C:\config\enhance.json"

With Archive and Source Deletion

viesusPDF "C:\input\document.pdf" "C:\output" "C:\config\enhance.json" deleteSrc archive "C:\archive"

Skip Specific Pages

viesusPDF "C:\input\document.pdf" "C:\output" "C:\config\enhance.json" -s "1,3,5"

Analysis Only

viesusPDF "C:\input\document.pdf" "C:\output" "C:\config\enhance.json" justAnalyze

Custom Resolution and Resize Settings

viesusPDF "C:\input\document.pdf" "C:\output" "C:\config\enhance.json" -r 600 -T 1.5

Batch Processing with Custom Port

viesusPDF "C:\input\folder" "C:\output" "C:\config\enhance.json" -p 15000 useSoftMasked

Complex Example

viesusPDF "C:\batch\pdfs" "C:\enhanced" "C:\settings\config.json" deleteSrc archive "C:\backup" useSoftMasked -r 400 -T 1.3 -p 15000

PDF Parameter Details

Source Path

  • File: Process single PDF file
  • Folder: Process all PDF files in the specified directory
  • Must be accessible and contain valid PDF files

Destination Folder

  • Must exist or be creatable by the application
  • Processed files will be saved with enhanced images
  • Original PDF structure is preserved

INI Configuration File

  • Contains VIESUS enhancement parameters
  • Must be valid INI format
  • See VIESUS parameter documentation for configuration options

Archive Behavior

  • Original files are copied to archive folder before processing
  • Only occurs if archive <path> parameter is specified
  • Archive folder is created if it doesn't exist

Page Skipping

  • Only available in stand-alone mode
  • Useful for excluding cover pages, blank pages, or specific content
  • Pages are numbered starting from 1

Resize Logic

  • Images smaller than target resolution are candidates for resizing
  • resizeThres determines minimum scale factor to trigger enhancement
  • noResize flag completely disables image resizing

Common Processing Workflows

# 1. Process PDF with archiving
viesusPDF "document.pdf" "output" "config.json" archive "backup"

# 2. Batch process folder
viesusPDF "pdf_folder" "enhanced_pdfs" "config.json" deleteSrc

Best Practices

  • Validate paths before running batch operations
  • Use appropriate resize thresholds to balance quality and processing time
  • Archive originals when processing important documents
  • Monitor memory usage with large PDF files containing many images

Performance Considerations

  • Batch Processing: Use folder input for better performance on multiple files
  • Memory Usage: Large PDFs with many images may require significant memory
  • Resize Threshold: Higher values reduce processing time but may skip beneficial enhancements
  • Soft Masked Images: Enabling may increase processing time but improves quality
  • Thread count (-T): Use number of CPU cores for optimal performance
    • Multi-threading is not possible when using GPU features with a single GPU
  • Network paths: Avoid processing over slow network connections when possible
  • checkAdjacentImages: Disable for complex PDFs with many small images
  • streamReading: Disable if processing PDFs with compressed image content
  • Super Resolution: All modes except mode 6 significantly increase processing time
  • maxFactor: Limit to prevent excessive memory usage on large images and PDFs
  • debug: Disable in production for better performance