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File attachments

Embedded file streams

Embedded file streams [allow] the contents of referenced files to be embedded directly within the body of the PDF file. This makes the PDF file a self-contained unit that can be stored or transmitted as a single entity.

fpdf2 gives access to this feature through the method embed_file():

pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.embed_file(__file__, desc="Source Python code", compress=True)
pdf.output("embedded_file.pdf")

Annotations

A file attachment annotation contains a reference to a file, which typically shall be embedded in the PDF file.

fpdf2 gives access to this feature through the method file_attachment_annotation():

pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.file_attachment_annotation(__file__, x=50, y=50)
pdf.output("file_attachment_annotation.pdf")

Resulting PDF: file_attachment_annotation.pdf

Browser PDF viewers do not usually display embedded files & file attachment annotations, so you may want to download this file and open it with your desktop PDF viewer in order to visualize the file attachments.

Screenshot of an embedded file & annotation rendered by Sumatra PDF reader