pdf2gif

A Python library and command-line tool for converting PDF files to animated GIFs with customizable frame delays and slide multipliers.

Features

• Convert PDF files to animated GIFs
• Customizable frame delay (in milliseconds)
• Configurable first slide multiplier (repeats the first slide multiple times)
• Automatic downsampling for better performance
• Simple command-line interface
• Python library for programmatic use
• Windows Explorer integration with right-click context menu

Installation

From PyPI (Recommended)

pip install pdf2gif

• Poppler installation as required by pdf2image for PDF processing
  • Windows: Download from poppler releases
  • macOS: brew install poppler
  • Linux: sudo apt-get install poppler-utils (Ubuntu/Debian) or sudo yum install poppler-utils (CentOS/RHEL)

Windows Explorer Send-To

Read here how to integrate pdf2gif in the Windows Explorer right-click menu.

Usage

Windows Explorer Send-To

On Windows, just right-click on a PDF-file, select "Send To" and "Convert PDF to GIF"

Command Line Interface

The simplest way to use pdf2gif is through the command line:

# Basic usage
pdf2gif presentation.pdf

# Custom frame delay (200ms)
pdf2gif document.pdf --frame-delay 200

# Custom first slide multiplier (5 times)
pdf2gif slides.pdf --first-slide-multiplier 5

# Both custom parameters
pdf2gif slides.pdf --frame-delay 100 --first-slide-multiplier 3

Command Line Options

• pdf_filename: Path to the input PDF file (required)
• --frame-delay: Frame delay in milliseconds (default: 150)
• --first-slide-multiplier: Number of times to repeat the first slide (default: 10)

Python Library

You can also use pdf2gif as a Python library:

from pdf2gif import convert_pdf_to_gif

# Basic conversion
gif_path = convert_pdf_to_gif("presentation.pdf")

# Custom parameters
gif_path = convert_pdf_to_gif(
    "document.pdf",
    frame_delay=200,
    first_slide_multiplier=5
)

print(f"GIF created at: {gif_path}")

License

This project is licensed under the BSD-3 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• pdf2image for PDF to image conversion
• stackview for GIF animation creation
• Pillow for image processing
• NumPy for array operations

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "poppler not found" error: Install poppler utilities (see Dependencies section)
2. Memory issues with large PDFs: Consider processing PDFs with fewer pages or lower resolution

Getting Help

• Check the Issues page
• Create a new issue with detailed error information
• Include your operating system and Python version