Xpdf-tools-win-4.04 | Bonus Inside

pdftohtml input.pdf output.html

Use -c for complex/complex output.

pdfinfo -isodates secret_document.pdf > metadata.txt
type metadata.txt

This outputs creation dates and modification dates in an ISO-compliant format.

Before diving into version 4.04 specifically, it is important to understand the lineage. Xpdf is an open-source PDF viewer and toolkit originally written by Derek Noonburg. Unlike Adobe Acrobat or modern web-based PDF tools, Xpdf is built for speed and minimalism. It does not rely on external libraries like Qt or GTK for its core utilities, making it incredibly portable. xpdf-tools-win-4.04

The win in xpdf-tools-win-4.04 indicates this is the native Windows build (as opposed to Linux or macOS). Version 4.04, released in late 2020, is a sweet spot: it includes years of bug fixes and security patches while remaining compatible with older Windows versions (Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11).

Because it is entirely offline and does not phone home, Xpdf Tools is ideal for secure environments (government, legal, medical). You can process sensitive PDFs without risking cloud uploads. pdftohtml input

When you download xpdf-tools-win-4.04, you are not getting a single program. You are getting a Swiss Army knife of PDF tools. Here are the key executables included in the bin64 or bin32 folder:

This is the most famous utility in the suite. It extracts raw text from PDF files. For version 4.04, improvements include better handling of Unicode characters and layout preservation. Use -c for complex/complex output

While robust, users report a few hiccups with version 4.04 on Windows 10/11:

Issue 1: "The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found." Solution: Unlike older 3.x versions, 4.04 requires the VC++ 2015 runtime. Install the "Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022."

Issue 2: pdftotext outputs garbage characters. Solution: The PDF likely contains CID (Character ID) fonts or non-standard encoding. Try the -raw switch to skip text normalization, or -enc UTF-8 to enforce correct output.

Issue 3: pdftoppm produces huge files. Solution: Lower the DPI using -r. The default is 150 DPI. For thumbnails, use -r 75.