About extract PDF attachments
A PDF can carry other files inside itself. The mechanism is the embedded file stream: an arbitrary byte payload stored as an object, described by a file specification dictionary giving its name, size, MIME type and dates. Documents use it in two ways. A file attachment annotation pins a file to a point on a page, which is how a reviewer attaches a spreadsheet to the paragraph it supports. A names tree entry attaches a file to the document as a whole, which is how a PDF portfolio — a portable collection — presents itself as a folder of files with a PDF cover. The important cases are often invisible: an electronic invoice under the ZUGFeRD or Factur-X schemes is a perfectly ordinary-looking PDF with machine-readable XML embedded inside it, and PDF/A-3 exists specifically to permit archiving a document alongside its source data. This tool lists what is in there and gets it out.
How to extract PDF attachments
- 01
Load the PDF
Both the document names tree and every page annotation are searched for embedded file streams.
- 02
Review what was found
Each attachment is listed with its filename, size, declared type and the page it is anchored to if it is an annotation.
- 03
Download
Everything comes out as a ZIP with original filenames preserved, decompressed from the stream exactly as embedded.
What this tool does
- Document-level attachments read from the embedded files names tree
- Page-level file attachment annotations, reported with the page they sit on
- PDF portfolios and portable collections enumerated as the file sets they are
- Original filenames, sizes, MIME types and creation or modification dates preserved
- Embedded XML invoice payloads such as ZUGFeRD and Factur-X located and extracted
- Nested PDFs extracted as PDFs, ready to open or inspect in turn
Limitations worth knowing
Every PDF tool has constraints. Stating them plainly is more useful than discovering them halfway through your work.
- Many PDFs contain no attachments at all. An empty result is a correct answer about your document, not a failure of the tool.
- Attachments are extracted as embedded, byte-for-byte. A corrupt or truncated payload comes out corrupt; this tool does not repair it.
- Embedded content is untrusted content. A PDF is a perfectly ordinary delivery vehicle for a malicious file, so scan anything you extract from a document you did not create.
- Encrypted documents must be decrypted with their password first, since embedded streams are encrypted along with everything else.
- Files referenced by an external path rather than embedded cannot be extracted — the bytes were never in the PDF.
How your file is handled
This tool runs entirely inside this browser tab. When you choose a file, your browser reads it from your own disk and hands the bytes to JavaScript running on this page — no network request carries your document anywhere. You can confirm that yourself: open your browser’s developer tools, switch to the Network panel, and run the tool. You will see no upload.
Nothing is stored after the fact. Closing or reloading this tab discards the file, the result and everything derived from them, because none of it ever left your machine. Read how local processing works.
Questions about extract PDF attachments
How do I know whether a PDF has attachments?
Run this tool — it reads the names tree and the page annotations and tells you. Viewers normally show attachments in a side panel, but it is easy to miss, and document-level attachments in particular can sit in a file for years without anyone noticing.
It found nothing. Did something go wrong?
Almost certainly not. Most PDFs have no attachments; the feature is used deliberately, for portfolios, review workflows, e-invoicing and archival packages. If you were told a file was attached and none is found, the likely explanations are that it was sent alongside rather than embedded, or that it was stripped by a tool the document passed through.
What is a PDF portfolio?
A PDF that acts as a container for a set of files, presenting them as a browsable collection with a cover sheet for readers that do not support the feature. The member files are embedded file streams in the names tree, so this tool extracts them like any other attachment even in a reader that would show only the cover.
Can I get the XML out of an electronic invoice PDF?
Yes. Hybrid invoice formats such as ZUGFeRD and Factur-X embed a structured XML representation alongside the human-readable page, precisely so that both a person and an accounting system can read the same document. That XML is an embedded file stream and extracts here with its filename intact.
Is it safe to open what I extract?
Treat it with the same caution as any file from the same source as the PDF. Embedding does not sanitise anything, and attachments are a known delivery route for malware. Extraction itself is safe — the bytes are just copied out locally — but what you do with the result is the usual judgement call.
Tools that pair with this one
- Extract Images from PDFGet the actual embedded images out of a PDF, at the resolution they were stored at.
- PDF InspectorA complete technical report on any PDF, produced without uploading it.
- Extract PDF MetadataExport both metadata layers a PDF carries — the info dictionary and the XMP packet.
- PDF/A CheckerCheck the archival indicators in a PDF — clearly labelled as indicators, not certification.
- Extract PDF AnnotationsTurn a marked-up PDF into a readable list of comments with author and page.
- Extract Text from PDFLift the text layer out of a PDF and keep it in reading order.