Deleting Content

PDFDancer provides consistent deletion methods across all content types. This guide covers how to remove pages, paragraphs, text lines, and images from your PDFs.

Deleting Pages

Delete a Single Page

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Delete the third page (page number 3)
    pdf.page(3).delete()

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');

// Delete the third page (page number 3)
await pdf.page(3).delete();

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");

// Delete the third page (page number 3)
pdf.page(3).delete();

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Delete Multiple Pages

When deleting multiple pages, delete in reverse order to avoid page number shifting.

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Delete pages 2, 3, and 5
    # Delete in reverse order to avoid page number shifting
    for page_number in reversed([2, 3, 5]):
        pdf.page(page_number).delete()

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');

// Delete pages 2, 3, and 5
// Delete in reverse order to avoid page number shifting
for (const pageNumber of [5, 3, 2]) {
  await pdf.page(pageNumber).delete();
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collections;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");

// Delete pages 2, 3, and 5
// Delete in reverse order to avoid page number shifting
Integer[] pageNumbers = {5, 3, 2};
Arrays.sort(pageNumbers, Collections.reverseOrder());

for (int pageNumber : pageNumbers) {
    pdf.page(pageNumber).delete();
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Why Delete in Reverse Order?

When you delete page 2 from a 5-page document, page 3 becomes page 2, page 4 becomes page 3, and so on. Deleting in reverse order (highest page numbers first) ensures that earlier page numbers remain valid throughout the deletion process.

Deleting Text

Delete a Paragraph

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Find and delete a paragraph
    paragraph = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_starting_with("The Complete")[0]
    paragraph.delete()

    # Verify deletion
    remaining = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_starting_with("The Complete")
    assert remaining == []

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');

// Find and delete a paragraph
const paragraphs = await pdf.page(1).selectParagraphsStartingWith('The Complete');

if (paragraphs.length > 0) {
    await paragraphs[0].delete();

    // Verify deletion
    const remaining = await pdf.page(1).selectParagraphsStartingWith('The Complete');
    console.log(`Remaining paragraphs: ${remaining.length}`);
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");

// Find and delete a paragraph
List<Paragraph> paragraphs = pdf.page(1).selectParagraphsStartingWith("The Complete");
if (!paragraphs.isEmpty()) {
    paragraphs.get(0).delete();

    // Verify deletion
    List<Paragraph> remaining = pdf.page(1).selectParagraphsStartingWith("The Complete");
    System.out.println("Remaining paragraphs: " + remaining.size());
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Delete a Text Line

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Find and delete a text line
    text_line = pdf.page(1).select_text_lines_starting_with("Footer")[0]
    text_line.delete()

    # Verify deletion
    remaining = pdf.page(1).select_text_lines_starting_with("Footer")
    assert remaining == []

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');

// Find and delete a text line
const textLines = await pdf.page(1).selectTextLinesStartingWith('Footer');

if (textLines.length > 0) {
    await textLines[0].delete();

    // Verify deletion
    const remaining = await pdf.page(1).selectTextLinesStartingWith('Footer');
    console.log(`Remaining text lines: ${remaining.length}`);
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");

// Find and delete a text line
List<TextLine> textLines = pdf.page(1).selectTextLinesStartingWith("Footer");
if (!textLines.isEmpty()) {
    textLines.get(0).delete();

    // Verify deletion
    List<TextLine> remaining = pdf.page(1).selectTextLinesStartingWith("Footer");
    System.out.println("Remaining text lines: " + remaining.size());
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Delete All Matching Text

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Delete all paragraphs containing "DRAFT"
    drafts = pdf.select_paragraphs_containing("DRAFT")
    for paragraph in drafts:
        paragraph.delete()

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');

// Delete all paragraphs containing "DRAFT"
const drafts = await pdf.selectParagraphsContaining('DRAFT');
for (const paragraph of drafts) {
    await paragraph.delete();
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");

// Delete all paragraphs containing "DRAFT"
List<Paragraph> drafts = pdf.selectParagraphsContaining("DRAFT");
for (Paragraph paragraph : drafts) {
    paragraph.delete();
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Deleting Images

Delete a Single Image

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    images = pdf.page(1).select_images()

    if images:
        # Delete the first image
        images[0].delete()

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');
const images = await pdf.page(1).selectImages();

if (images.length > 0) {
    // Delete the first image
    await images[0].delete();
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;
import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.common.model.*;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");
List<Image> images = pdf.page(1).selectImages();

if (!images.isEmpty()) {
    // Delete the first image
    images.get(0).delete();
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Delete All Images on a Page

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    images = pdf.page(1).select_images()

    # Delete all images on page 1
    for image in images:
        image.delete()

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');
const images = await pdf.page(1).selectImages();

// Delete all images on page 1
for (const image of images) {
    await image.delete();
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;
import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.common.model.*;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");
List<Image> images = pdf.page(1).selectImages();

// Delete all images on page 1
for (Image image : images) {
    image.delete();
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Delete Images at Specific Location

Python
TypeScript
Java

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Find and delete images at specific coordinates
    images = pdf.page(1).select_images_at(x=100, y=200)

    for image in images:
        image.delete()

    pdf.save("output.pdf")

import { PDFDancer } from 'pdfdancer-client-typescript';

const pdf = await PDFDancer.open('document.pdf');

// Find and delete images at specific coordinates
const images = await pdf.page(1).selectImagesAt(100, 200);

for (const image of images) {
    await image.delete();
}

await pdf.save('output.pdf');

import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.PDFDancer;
import com.tfc.pdf.pdfdancer.api.common.model.*;

PDFDancer pdf = PDFDancer.createSession("document.pdf");

// Find and delete images at specific coordinates
List<Image> images = pdf.page(1).selectImagesAt(100, 200);

for (Image image : images) {
    image.delete();
}

pdf.save("output.pdf");

Deleting vs Redaction

Deletion removes content from the document entirely. If you need to permanently remove sensitive information while leaving a visual indicator (black box), use redaction instead.

Use Case	Approach
Remove obsolete pages	Deletion
Remove draft watermarks	Deletion
Remove sensitive data (SSN, etc.)	Redaction
Clean up layout	Deletion
Compliance requirements	Redaction

Next Steps

Redaction - Permanently remove sensitive information
Working with Text - Full text manipulation guide
Working with Images - Complete image operations
Working with Pages - Page manipulation guide

Deleting Pages​

Delete a Single Page​

Delete Multiple Pages​

Deleting Text​

Delete a Paragraph​

Delete a Text Line​

Delete All Matching Text​

Deleting Images​

Delete a Single Image​

Delete All Images on a Page​

Delete Images at Specific Location​

Deleting vs Redaction​

Next Steps​