# Save files attached to a PDF

A PDF can carry other files: attached to the whole document (listed in the Bookmarks sidebar) or to a spot on a page (a paperclip or pushpin icon). Open or save them from SumatraPDF, or save them all from the command line.

**Right-click the attachment and choose Save Attachment.** At a glance:

- **Files attached to the document:** listed at the end of the **Bookmarks** sidebar (`F12`); right-click → **Save Attachment...** or **Open Attachment**.
- **File attachment on a page:** click the icon to open the file; right-click → **Save Attachment**.
- **Command line:** `sumatrapdf-tool extract file.pdf` saves every attached file (plus images and fonts).
- **Command line, original names:** a short `run` script, see [below](#save-attachments-with-their-names).

## Save a file attached to the document

1. Open the PDF and show the sidebar: `F12`, or **View → Show Bookmarks**. Attached files are listed after the table of contents, by file name. Hover one to see `Attachment: ...`.
2. Right-click the file name and choose:
   - **Save Attachment...** (`CmdSaveAttachment`): a save dialog opens with the attachment's name in the PDF's folder.
   - **Open Attachment** (`CmdOpenAttachment`): opens it in a new tab. Shown only for `.pdf` attachments.

Clicking an attachment in the sidebar does nothing; use the right-click menu.

Note: the sidebar menu can also show **Save Embedded File...** (`CmdSaveEmbeddedFile`) and **Open Embedded PDF** (`CmdOpenEmbeddedPDF`), for bookmark entries that link to an embedded file. They work the same way.

## Save a file attached to a page

A file attachment annotation shows as an icon on the page, for example a paperclip or a pushpin.

- **Open it:** click the icon. A file SumatraPDF can open (a PDF, an image, ...) opens in a new tab (ver 3.7+). For other files, save them.
- **Save it:** right-click the icon → **Save Attachment**, then pick where to save. The name defaults to the attachment's name in the PDF's folder.
- **In Edit PDF mode:** click the annotation; its property row has **Save Attachment** (see [Editing annotations](Editing-annotations.md)).

To attach a file yourself, use the **File Attachment** annotation (see [Editing annotations](Editing-annotations.md)).

None of these commands are in the [Command Palette](Command-Palette.md): they act on the attachment you right-click.

## Save attachments from the command line

**Available in [pre-release 3.7](https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/prerelease)**

### Save everything

```
sumatrapdf-tool extract report.pdf
```

```
extracting file-0017.csv (data.csv)
extracting file-0019.txt (notes.txt)
```

- Files attached to the document and to pages are both saved, as `file-<object number>.<extension>`. The original name is printed in parentheses.
- Files go to the current folder, not the PDF's folder.
- `extract` also saves every image and font in the PDF. To save only one file, give its object number: `sumatrapdf-tool extract report.pdf 17`.

To find the object numbers of document attachments without extracting anything:

```
sumatrapdf-tool show report.pdf trailer/Root/Names/EmbeddedFiles/Names
```

```
[ (data.csv) 17 0 R ]
```

More options: [sumatrapdf-tool extract](Tool-extract.md).

### Save attachments with their names

This script saves document attachments and page attachments to the current folder, under their own names. Save it as `save-attachments.js`:

```js
// usage: sumatrapdf-tool run save-attachments.js file.pdf
var doc = Document.openDocument(scriptArgs[0]);
function save(name, fs) {
    var buf = doc.getEmbeddedFileContents(fs);
    if (buf) {
        buf.save(name);
        print("saved " + name);
    }
}
var files = doc.getEmbeddedFiles();
for (var name in files) {
    save(name, files[name]);
}
for (var i = 0; i < doc.countPages(); i++) {
    doc.loadPage(i).getAnnotations().forEach(function (a) {
        if (a.getType() == "FileAttachment" && a.hasFilespec()) {
            var fs = a.getFilespec();
            save(doc.getFilespecParams(fs).filename, fs);
        }
    });
}
```

```
sumatrapdf-tool run save-attachments.js report.pdf
```

```
saved data.csv
saved notes.txt
```

A file with the same name is overwritten. Use `SumatraPDF.exe` instead of `sumatrapdf-tool` if you only have SumatraPDF installed (see [Tools](Tools.md)).

## Tips

- Use `sumatrapdf-tool extract` in an empty folder: it can write many image and font files.
- Use [Batch process PDFs](Batch-process-PDFs.md) to run the script over a folder of PDFs.
- If nothing is listed, the PDF has no attached files; a link to an outside file is not an attachment.

## See also

- [Editing annotations](Editing-annotations.md): add a file attachment
- [sumatrapdf-tool extract](Tool-extract.md) and [sumatrapdf-tool run](Tool-run.md)
- [JavaScript reference](Tool-run-javascript-reference.md): `getEmbeddedFiles`, `getEmbeddedFileContents`
- [Show PDF info](Show-PDF-info.md)