---
title: "Processing PDFs"
slug: "processing-pdfs"
updated: 2024-09-17T13:24:30Z
published: 2024-09-17T13:24:30Z
canonical: "help.hyperscience.ai/processing-pdfs"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.hyperscience.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Processing PDFs

This article describes the customization options available for processing PDF files in Hyperscience.

## PDF Page Box

*PDF Page Boxes* are page dimensions defined in a PDF’s metadata that are primarily used for commercial printing purposes. However, with the *PDF_PAGE_BOX* “.env” file variable, you can also use these properties to control how your PDF files’ pages appear in the Hyperscience application.

The value of the *PDF_PAGE_BOX* variable determines which PDF Page Box type the system uses to display PDFs in the application. The possible values for this variable are listed below:

- ***MediaBox*** — defines the physical page size of your document. It includes the crop marks, bleed box, trim box, and art box described below.
- ***BleedBox*** — (default) represents the region to which the page’s contents or elements should be extended. This region may include any extra bleed area needed to accommodate the physical limitations when output in a production environment.
- ***TrimBox*** — defines the intended dimensions. It determines the final size of the page when printed.
- ***ArtBox*** — the content area of the page (i.e., the area covered with graphics and text).
- ***CropBox*** — specifies the region to which the contents of the page should be cropped when displayed on screen.

To learn more about PDF Page Boxes, see ActivePDF’s [What are PDF Page Boxes](https://supportz.activepdf.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002401273-What-are-PDF-Page-Boxes).

> [!NOTE]
> Sometimes, images of PDF pages may appear as thumbnails if the PDF file defines incorrect page dimensions. To resolve this issue, you need to set *PDF_PAGE_BOX* to *CropBox*. Learn more about editing environment variables in [Editing the ".env" file and running the application](/deployment/docs/editing-the-env-file-and-running-the-application).

## Mutool and Ghostscript

Hyperscience uses Mutool and Ghostscript to process PDF pages.

- Mutool is a command line tool that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files. It’s used to compress the size of the PDF or convert the file to a PNG, JPEG, TIFF, or SVG.
- Ghostscript is a tool for working with PostScript and PDF files. It allows you to view, convert, or manipulate these document formats.

### Order of tools

In v39.0.1-39.0.10, v38, and earlier versions, the system attempts to use Ghostscript before Mutool when processing PDFs, and this order cannot be edited.

In v39.0.11+, v39.1, and later versions, you can define the order in which these tools are used by editing the *PDF_PAGINATION_LIBS* “.env” file variable. By default, the system attempts to use Mutool before Ghostscript, and the variable is defined as follows:

```plaintext
PDF_PAGINATION_LIBS=mutool,gs
```

> [!NOTE]
> If you have defined a value for *PDF_PAGE_BOX*, *PDF_PAGINATION_LIBS* will be ignored, and Ghostscript will be used as the default tool for PDF processing.