Using the terminal

The guide also assumes some familiarity with using the command line interface on your operating system. If you’re unsure the following should help get you started.

Windows

This guide shows how to start a Windows command line client: https://www.computerhope.com/issues/chusedos.htm. If you’ve installed veraPDF to the default location then it should be available directly below the directory the command shell starts in. The initial prompt on my machine reads C:\Users\cfw>, so to go to the veraPDF install directly simply issue the command cd verapdf, the session output should look as follows:

C:\Users\cfw>cd verapdf
C:\Users\cfw\verapdf>

You’re now ready to start, you can check which version of veraPDF is installed by typing verapdf.bat --version from the installation directory. You should see something like:

C:\Users\cfw\verapdf>verapdf.bat --version
veraPDF 1.26.1
Built: Fri Jan 13 11:30:00 GMT 2023
Developed and released by the veraPDF Consortium.
Funded by the PREFORMA project.
Released under the GNU General Public License v3
and the Mozilla Public License v2 or later.

although the version information might be different.

Important note for Windows users

The instructions below assume you’re running a Linux or Mac OS environment. You’ll still be able to follow them on a Windows machine but you’ll have to change the command slightly. Windows batch files have to end with a .bat extension, this isn’t necessary on other platforms. This means that you’ll have to use verpdf.bat to run the Windows batch script instead of executing the verapdf command used on other platforms.

Mac OS

This is a good guide to starting a terminal session on a Mac: https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac-software/get-more-out-of-os-x-terminal-3608274/. If you’ve installed veraPDF in the default directory then you should be able to type the command cd verapdf to move into the installation directory. The session output should look like this:

dm-macmini:~ cfw$ cd verapdf
dm-macmini:verapdf cfw$

You can now check which version of the software is installed by typing ./verapdf --version, the output will look something like this:

dm-macmini:verapdf cfw$ ./verapdf --version
veraPDF 1.26.1
Built: Fri Jan 13 11:30:00 GMT 2023
Developed and released by the veraPDF Consortium.
Funded by the PREFORMA project.
Released under the GNU General Public License v3
and the Mozilla Public License v2 or later.

but perhaps with different version information.

Linux

We’ll assume that Linux users are quite comfortable with the command line terminal. The name of the client and how you start it will depend upon your particular distribution. If you’re using a Debian based distribution you can often start a terminal using the CTRL+ALT+t shortcut. If you’ve installed veraPDF in the default directory then you should be able to type the command cd verapdf to move into the installation directory. The session output should look like this:

cfw@dm-wrkstn:~$ cd verapdf
cfw@dm-wrkstn:~/verapdf$

You can now check which version of the software is installed by typing ./verapdf --version, the output will look something like this:

cfw@dm-wrkstn:~/verapdf$ ./verapdf --version
veraPDF 1.26.1
Built: Fri Jan 13 11:30:00 GMT 2023
Developed and released by the veraPDF Consortium.
Funded by the PREFORMA project.
Released under the GNU General Public License v3
and the Mozilla Public License v2 or later.

Commands, aliases and paths

As installed you’ll only be able to use the veraPDF CLI by typing ./verapdf from the installation directory. If you want to use it from another location you’ll have to add the full path to the command, i.e. /home/cfw/verapdf/verapdf on Linux or C:\Users\cfw\verapdf\verapdf.bat on Windows which can get a little awkward. Use the platform dependent tips below to avoid this. This guide assumes you’ve done this to avoid typing long commands.

Windows: adding the installation directory to the path

You can add the installation directory to the PATH environment variable on Windows. The operating system will search all directories on the path for the command issued. To add the default veraPDF installation directory to the path issue the command: set PATH=%PATH%;C:\Users\cfw\verapdf BUT replace cfw with the name of your user home directory. On my machine this looks as follows:

C:\Users\cfw>set PATH=%PATH%;C:\Users\cfw\verapdf

C:\Users\cfw>

Linux or Mac OS: set up an alias for the veraPDF command

On these platforms you can extend the path, but it’s often as convenient to define an alias for the command. To be able to use the verapdf command from any location type the command alias verapdf='~/verapdf/verapdf'. This assumes you’ve used the default installation directory, the ~ is shorthand for the current users home directory.