java.lang.Object
- com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.PdfObject

Direct Known Subclasses:

PdfArray, PdfDictionary, PdfIndirectReference, PdfPrimitiveObject
```
public abstract class PdfObject
extends java.lang.Object
```

Field Summary

Fields
Modifier and Type	Field	Description
`static byte`	`ARRAY`
`static byte`	`BOOLEAN`
`static byte`	`DICTIONARY`
`protected static short`	`FLUSHED`	Indicates if the object has been flushed.
`protected static short`	`FORBID_RELEASE`	Indicates that the object is highly sensitive and we do not want to release it even if release() is called.
`protected static short`	`FREE`	Indicates that the indirect reference of the object could be reused or have to be marked as free.
`static byte`	`INDIRECT_REFERENCE`
`protected PdfIndirectReference`	`indirectReference`	If object is flushed the indirect reference is kept here.
`static byte`	`LITERAL`
`protected static short`	`MODIFIED`	Indicates that object changed (is used in append mode).
`protected static short`	`MUST_BE_FLUSHED`	Marks objects that shall be written to the output document.
`protected static short`	`MUST_BE_INDIRECT`	Indicates that the object shall be indirect when it is written to the document.
`static byte`	`NAME`
`static byte`	`NULL`
`static byte`	`NUMBER`
`protected static short`	`ORIGINAL_OBJECT_STREAM`	Indicates that the indirect reference of the object represents ObjectStream from original document.
`protected static short`	`READ_ONLY`	Indicates that we do not want this object to be ever written into the resultant document (because of multiple objects read from the same reference inconsistency).
`protected static short`	`READING`	Indicates that definition of the indirect reference of the object still not found (e.g.
`private short`	`state`	Indicate same special states of PdfIndirectObject or PdfObject like @see Free, @see Reading, @see Modified.
`static byte`	`STREAM`
`static byte`	`STRING`
`protected static short`	`UNENCRYPTED`	Indicates that this object is not encrypted in the encrypted document.

Constructor Summary

Constructors
Constructor Description

PdfObject()

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods Concrete Methods
Modifier and Type	Method	Description
`protected boolean`	`checkState(short state)`	Checks state of the flag of current object.
`protected PdfObject`	`clearState(short state)`	Clear state of the flag of current object.
`PdfObject`	`clone()`	Creates clone of the object which belongs to the same document as original object.
`PdfObject`	`clone(ICopyFilter filter)`	Creates clone of the object which belongs to the same document as original object.
`boolean`	`containsIndirectReference()`	Checks recursively whether the object contains indirect reference at any level.
`protected void`	`copyContent(PdfObject from, PdfDocument document)`	Copies object content from object 'from'.
`protected void`	`copyContent(PdfObject from, PdfDocument document, ICopyFilter filter)`	Copies object content from object 'from'.
`PdfObject`	`copyTo(PdfDocument document)`	Copies object to a specified document.
`PdfObject`	`copyTo(PdfDocument document, boolean allowDuplicating)`	Copies object to a specified document.
`PdfObject`	`copyTo(PdfDocument document, boolean allowDuplicating, ICopyFilter copyFilter)`	Copies object to a specified document.
`PdfObject`	`copyTo(PdfDocument document, ICopyFilter copyFilter)`	Copies object to a specified document.
`(package private) static boolean`	`equalContent(PdfObject obj1, PdfObject obj2)`
`void`	`flush()`	Flushes the object to the document.
`void`	`flush(boolean canBeInObjStm)`	Flushes the object to the document.
`PdfIndirectReference`	`getIndirectReference()`	Gets the indirect reference associated with the object.
`abstract byte`	`getType()`	Gets object type.
`boolean`	`isArray()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfArray`.
`boolean`	`isBoolean()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfBoolean`.
`boolean`	`isDictionary()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfDictionary`.
`boolean`	`isFlushed()`	Indicates is the object has been flushed or not.
`boolean`	`isIndirect()`	Checks if object is indirect.
`boolean`	`isIndirectReference()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfIndirectReference`.
`boolean`	`isLiteral()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfLiteral`.
`boolean`	`isModified()`	Indicates is the object has been set as modified or not.
`boolean`	`isName()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfName`.
`boolean`	`isNull()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfNull`.
`boolean`	`isNumber()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfNumber`.
`boolean`	`isReleaseForbidden()`	Checks if it's forbidden to release this `PdfObject` instance.
`boolean`	`isStream()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfStream`.
`boolean`	`isString()`	Checks if this `PdfObject` is of the type `PdfString`.
`PdfObject`	`makeIndirect(PdfDocument document)`	Marks object to be saved as indirect.
`PdfObject`	`makeIndirect(PdfDocument document, PdfIndirectReference reference)`	Marks object to be saved as indirect.
`protected abstract PdfObject`	`newInstance()`	Creates new instance of object.
`(package private) PdfObject`	`processCopying(PdfDocument documentTo, boolean allowDuplicating)`	Processes two cases of object copying: copying to the other document cloning inside of the current document
`(package private) PdfObject`	`processCopying(PdfDocument documentTo, boolean allowDuplicating, ICopyFilter filter)`	Processes two cases of object copying: copying to the other document cloning inside of the current document
`void`	`release()`
`protected PdfObject`	`setIndirectReference(PdfIndirectReference indirectReference)`
`PdfObject`	`setModified()`	Sets the 'modified' flag to the indirect object, the flag denotes that the object was modified since the document opening.
`protected PdfObject`	`setState(short state)`	Sets special states of current object.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

- Field Detail
  - ARRAY
```
public static final byte ARRAY
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - BOOLEAN
```
public static final byte BOOLEAN
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - DICTIONARY
```
public static final byte DICTIONARY
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - LITERAL
```
public static final byte LITERAL
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - INDIRECT_REFERENCE
```
public static final byte INDIRECT_REFERENCE
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - NAME
```
public static final byte NAME
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - NULL
```
public static final byte NULL
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - NUMBER
```
public static final byte NUMBER
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - STREAM
```
public static final byte STREAM
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - STRING
```
public static final byte STRING
```
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - FLUSHED
```
protected static final short FLUSHED
```
    Indicates if the object has been flushed.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - FREE
```
protected static final short FREE
```
    Indicates that the indirect reference of the object could be reused or have to be marked as free.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - READING
```
protected static final short READING
```
    Indicates that definition of the indirect reference of the object still not found (e.g. keys in XRefStm).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MODIFIED
```
protected static final short MODIFIED
```
    Indicates that object changed (is used in append mode).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - ORIGINAL_OBJECT_STREAM
```
protected static final short ORIGINAL_OBJECT_STREAM
```
    Indicates that the indirect reference of the object represents ObjectStream from original document. When PdfReader read ObjectStream reference marked as OriginalObjectStream to avoid further reusing.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MUST_BE_FLUSHED
```
protected static final short MUST_BE_FLUSHED
```
    Marks objects that shall be written to the output document. Shouldn't be used on purpose since this flag is handled internally: option is needed to build the correct PDF objects tree when closing the document. As a result it avoids writing unused (removed) objects.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MUST_BE_INDIRECT
```
protected static final short MUST_BE_INDIRECT
```
    Indicates that the object shall be indirect when it is written to the document. It is used to postpone the creation of indirect reference for the objects that shall be indirect, so it is possible to create such objects without PdfDocument instance.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - FORBID_RELEASE
```
protected static final short FORBID_RELEASE
```
    Indicates that the object is highly sensitive and we do not want to release it even if release() is called. This flag can be set in stamping mode in object wrapper constructors and is automatically set when setModified flag is set (we do not want to release changed objects). The flag is set automatically for some wrappers that need document even in reader mode (FormFields etc).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - READ_ONLY
```
protected static final short READ_ONLY
```
    Indicates that we do not want this object to be ever written into the resultant document (because of multiple objects read from the same reference inconsistency).
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - UNENCRYPTED
```
protected static final short UNENCRYPTED
```
    Indicates that this object is not encrypted in the encrypted document. E.g. digital signature dictionary /Contents entry shall not be encrypted.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - indirectReference
```
protected PdfIndirectReference indirectReference
```
    If object is flushed the indirect reference is kept here.
  - state
```
private short state
```
    Indicate same special states of PdfIndirectObject or PdfObject like @see Free, @see Reading, @see Modified.
- Constructor Detail
  - PdfObject
```
public PdfObject()
```
- Method Detail
  - getType
```
public abstract byte getType()
```
    Gets object type.
    
    Returns:
    
    object type.
  - flush
```
public final void flush()
```
    Flushes the object to the document.
  - flush
```
public final void flush(boolean canBeInObjStm)
```
    Flushes the object to the document.
    
    Parameters:
    
    canBeInObjStm - indicates whether object can be placed into object stream.
  - getIndirectReference
```
public PdfIndirectReference getIndirectReference()
```
    Gets the indirect reference associated with the object. The indirect reference is used when flushing object to the document.
    
    Returns:
    
    indirect reference.
  - containsIndirectReference
```
public boolean containsIndirectReference()
```
    Checks recursively whether the object contains indirect reference at any level.
    
    Returns:
    
    true if indirect reference was found, false otherwise
  - isIndirect
```
public boolean isIndirect()
```
    Checks if object is indirect.
    Note: Return value true doesn't necessarily mean that indirect reference of this object is not null at the moment. Object could be marked as indirect and be transformed to indirect on flushing.
    E.g. all PdfStreams are transformed to indirect objects when they are written, but they don't always have indirect references at any given moment.
    
    Returns:
    
    returns true if object is indirect or is to be indirect in the resultant document.
  - makeIndirect
```
public PdfObject makeIndirect(PdfDocument document,
                              PdfIndirectReference reference)
```
    Marks object to be saved as indirect.
    
    Parameters:
    
    document - a document the indirect reference will belong to.
    
    reference - indirect reference which will be associated with this document
    
    Returns:
    
    object itself.
  - makeIndirect
```
public PdfObject makeIndirect(PdfDocument document)
```
    Marks object to be saved as indirect.
    
    Parameters:
    
    document - a document the indirect reference will belong to.
    
    Returns:
    
    object itself.
  - isFlushed
```
public boolean isFlushed()
```
    Indicates is the object has been flushed or not.
    
    Returns:
    
    true if object has been flushed, otherwise false.
  - isModified
```
public boolean isModified()
```
    Indicates is the object has been set as modified or not. Useful for incremental updates (e.g. appendMode).
    
    Returns:
    
    true is object has been set as modified, otherwise false.
  - clone
```
public PdfObject clone()
```
    Creates clone of the object which belongs to the same document as original object. New object shall not be used in other documents.
    
    Overrides:
    
    clone in class java.lang.Object
    
    Returns:
    
    cloned object.
  - clone
```
public PdfObject clone(ICopyFilter filter)
```
    Creates clone of the object which belongs to the same document as original object. New object shall not be used in other documents.
    
    Parameters:
    
    filter - Filter what will be copied or not
    
    Returns:
    
    cloned object.
  - copyTo
```
public PdfObject copyTo(PdfDocument document)
```
    Copies object to a specified document.
    
    NOTE: Works only for objects that are read from document opened in reading mode, otherwise an exception is thrown.
    
    Parameters:
    
    document - document to copy object to.
    
    Returns:
    
    copied object.
  - copyTo
```
public PdfObject copyTo(PdfDocument document,
                        boolean allowDuplicating)
```
    Copies object to a specified document.
    
    NOTE: Works only for objects that are read from document opened in reading mode, otherwise an exception is thrown.
    
    Parameters:
    
    document - document to copy object to.
    
    allowDuplicating - indicates if to allow copy objects which already have been copied. If object is associated with any indirect reference and allowDuplicating is false then already existing reference will be returned instead of copying object. If allowDuplicating is true then object will be copied and new indirect reference will be assigned.
    
    Returns:
    
    copied object.
  - copyTo
```
public PdfObject copyTo(PdfDocument document,
                        ICopyFilter copyFilter)
```
    Copies object to a specified document.
    
    NOTE: Works only for objects that are read from document opened in reading mode, otherwise an exception is thrown.
    
    Parameters:
    
    document - document to copy object to.
    
    copyFilter - ICopyFilter a filter to apply while copying arrays and dictionaries Use NullCopyFilter for no filtering
    
    Returns:
    
    copied object.
  - copyTo
```
public PdfObject copyTo(PdfDocument document,
                        boolean allowDuplicating,
                        ICopyFilter copyFilter)
```
    Copies object to a specified document.
    
    NOTE: Works only for objects that are read from document opened in reading mode, otherwise an exception is thrown.
    
    Parameters:
    
    document - document to copy object to.
    
    allowDuplicating - indicates if to allow copy objects which already have been copied. If object is associated with any indirect reference and allowDuplicating is false then already existing reference will be returned instead of copying object. If allowDuplicating is true then object will be copied and new indirect reference will be assigned.
    
    copyFilter - ICopyFilter a filter to apply while copying arrays and dictionaries Use NullCopyFilter for no filtering
    
    Returns:
    
    copied object.
  - setModified
```
public PdfObject setModified()
```
    Sets the 'modified' flag to the indirect object, the flag denotes that the object was modified since the document opening. It is recommended to set this flag after changing any PDF object.
    For example flag is used in the append mode (see StampingProperties.useAppendMode()). In append mode the whole document is preserved as is, and only changes to the document are appended to the end of the document file. Because of this, only modified objects need to be flushed and are allowed to be flushed (i.e. to be written).
    
    Returns:
    
    this PdfObject instance.
  - isReleaseForbidden
```
public boolean isReleaseForbidden()
```
    Checks if it's forbidden to release this PdfObject instance. Some objects are vital for the living period of PdfDocument or may be prevented from releasing by high-level entities dealing with the objects. Also it's not possible to release the objects that have been modified.
    
    Returns:
    
    true if releasing this object is forbidden, otherwise false
  - release
```
public void release()
```
  - isNull
```
public boolean isNull()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfNull.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isBoolean
```
public boolean isBoolean()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfBoolean.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isNumber
```
public boolean isNumber()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfNumber.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isString
```
public boolean isString()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfString.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isName
```
public boolean isName()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfName.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isArray
```
public boolean isArray()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfArray.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isDictionary
```
public boolean isDictionary()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfDictionary.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isStream
```
public boolean isStream()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfStream.
    
    Returns:
    
    true or false
  - isIndirectReference
```
public boolean isIndirectReference()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfIndirectReference.
    
    Returns:
    
    true if this is an indirect reference, otherwise false
  - setIndirectReference
```
protected PdfObject setIndirectReference(PdfIndirectReference indirectReference)
```
  - isLiteral
```
public boolean isLiteral()
```
    Checks if this PdfObject is of the type PdfLiteral.
    
    Returns:
    
    true if this is a literal, otherwise false
  - newInstance
```
protected abstract PdfObject newInstance()
```
    Creates new instance of object.
    
    Returns:
    
    new instance of object.
  - checkState
```
protected boolean checkState(short state)
```
    Checks state of the flag of current object.
    
    Parameters:
    
    state - special flag to check
    
    Returns:
    
    true if the state was set.
  - setState
```
protected PdfObject setState(short state)
```
    Sets special states of current object.
    
    Parameters:
    
    state - special flag of current object
    
    Returns:
    
    this PdfObject
  - clearState
```
protected PdfObject clearState(short state)
```
    Clear state of the flag of current object.
    
    Parameters:
    
    state - special flag state to clear
    
    Returns:
    
    this PdfObject
  - copyContent
```
protected void copyContent(PdfObject from,
                           PdfDocument document)
```
    Copies object content from object 'from'.
    
    Parameters:
    
    from - object to copy content from.
    
    document - document to copy object to.
  - copyContent
```
protected void copyContent(PdfObject from,
                           PdfDocument document,
                           ICopyFilter filter)
```
    Copies object content from object 'from'.
    
    Parameters:
    
    from - object to copy content from.
    
    document - document to copy object to.
    
    filter - ICopyFilter a filter that will apply on dictionaries and array Use NullCopyFilter for no filtering
  - equalContent
```
static boolean equalContent(PdfObject obj1,
                            PdfObject obj2)
```
  - processCopying
```
PdfObject processCopying(PdfDocument documentTo,
                         boolean allowDuplicating)
```
    Processes two cases of object copying:
    
    copying to the other document
    cloning inside of the current document
    
    This two cases are distinguished by the state of document parameter: the second case is processed if document is null.
    Parameters:
    
    documentTo - if not null: document to copy object to; otherwise indicates that object is to be cloned.
    
    allowDuplicating - indicates if to allow copy objects which already have been copied. If object is associated with any indirect reference and allowDuplicating is false then already existing reference will be returned instead of copying object. If allowDuplicating is true then object will be copied and new indirect reference will be assigned.
    
    Returns:
    
    copied object.
  - processCopying
```
PdfObject processCopying(PdfDocument documentTo,
                         boolean allowDuplicating,
                         ICopyFilter filter)
```
    Processes two cases of object copying:
    
    copying to the other document
    cloning inside of the current document
    
    This two cases are distinguished by the state of document parameter: the second case is processed if document is null.
    Parameters:
    
    documentTo - if not null: document to copy object to; otherwise indicates that object is to be cloned.
    
    allowDuplicating - indicates if to allow copy objects which already have been copied. If object is associated with any indirect reference and allowDuplicating is false then already existing reference will be returned instead of copying object. If allowDuplicating is true then object will be copied and new indirect reference will be assigned.
    
    filter - filters what will be copies or not
    
    Returns:
    
    copied object.

Class PdfObject

Field Summary

Constructor Summary

Method Summary

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

Field Detail

ARRAY

BOOLEAN

DICTIONARY

LITERAL

INDIRECT_REFERENCE

NAME

NULL

NUMBER

STREAM

STRING

FLUSHED

FREE

READING

MODIFIED

ORIGINAL_OBJECT_STREAM

MUST_BE_FLUSHED

MUST_BE_INDIRECT

FORBID_RELEASE

READ_ONLY

UNENCRYPTED

indirectReference

state

Constructor Detail

PdfObject

Method Detail

getType

flush

flush

getIndirectReference

containsIndirectReference

isIndirect

makeIndirect

makeIndirect

isFlushed

isModified

clone

clone

copyTo

copyTo

copyTo

copyTo

setModified

isReleaseForbidden

release

isNull

isBoolean

isNumber

isString

isName

isArray

isDictionary

isStream

isIndirectReference

setIndirectReference

isLiteral

newInstance

checkState

setState

clearState

copyContent

copyContent

equalContent

processCopying

processCopying