Provided by: dcmtk_3.6.9-5build1_amd64 
NAME
dcm2pdf - Extract PDF file from DICOM encapsulated PDF
SYNOPSIS
dcm2pdf [options] dcmfile-in pdffile-out
DESCRIPTION
The dcm2pdf utility reads a DICOM file of the Encapsulated PDF Storage SOP Class (dcmfile-in), extracts
the embedded PDF document and writes it to an output file (pdffile-out). Optionally a command can be
executed after the creation of the PDF file.
PARAMETERS
dcmfile-in DICOM input filename ('-' for stdin)
pdffile-out PDF output filename
OPTIONS
general options
-h --help
print this help text and exit
--version
print version information and exit
--arguments
print expanded command line arguments
-q --quiet
quiet mode, print no warnings and errors
-v --verbose
verbose mode, print processing details
-d --debug
debug mode, print debug information
-ll --log-level [l]evel: string constant
(fatal, error, warn, info, debug, trace)
use level l for the logger
-lc --log-config [f]ilename: string
use config file f for the logger
input options
input file format:
+f --read-file
read file format or data set (default)
+fo --read-file-only
read file format only
-f --read-dataset
read data set without file meta information
input transfer syntax:
-t= --read-xfer-auto
use TS recognition (default)
-td --read-xfer-detect
ignore TS specified in the file meta header
-te --read-xfer-little
read with explicit VR little endian TS
-tb --read-xfer-big
read with explicit VR big endian TS
-ti --read-xfer-implicit
read with implicit VR little endian TS
parsing of odd-length attributes:
+ao --accept-odd-length
accept odd length attributes (default)
+ae --assume-even-length
assume real length is one byte larger
handling of undefined length UN elements:
+ui --enable-cp246
read undefined len UN as implicit VR (default)
-ui --disable-cp246
read undefined len UN as explicit VR
handling of defined length UN elements:
-uc --retain-un
retain elements as UN (default)
+uc --convert-un
convert to real VR if known
automatic data correction:
+dc --enable-correction
enable automatic data correction (default)
-dc --disable-correction
disable automatic data correction
bitstream format of deflated input:
+bd --bitstream-deflated
expect deflated bitstream (default)
+bz --bitstream-zlib
expect deflated zlib bitstream
processing options
execution options:
-x --exec [c]ommand: string
execute command c after PDF extraction
NOTES
Option --exec allows for the execution of a certain command line after the creation of the PDF document.
The command line to be executed is passed to this option as a parameter. The specified command line may
contain the placeholder '#f', which will be replaced by the PDF filename at run time. The specified
command line is executed in the foreground, i.e. pdf2dcm will be blocked until the command terminates.
LOGGING
The level of logging output of the various command line tools and underlying libraries can be specified
by the user. By default, only errors and warnings are written to the standard error stream. Using option
--verbose also informational messages like processing details are reported. Option --debug can be used to
get more details on the internal activity, e.g. for debugging purposes. Other logging levels can be
selected using option --log-level. In --quiet mode only fatal errors are reported. In such very severe
error events, the application will usually terminate. For more details on the different logging levels,
see documentation of module 'oflog'.
In case the logging output should be written to file (optionally with logfile rotation), to syslog (Unix)
or the event log (Windows) option --log-config can be used. This configuration file also allows for
directing only certain messages to a particular output stream and for filtering certain messages based on
the module or application where they are generated. An example configuration file is provided in
<etcdir>/logger.cfg.
EXIT CODES
The dcm2pdf utility uses the following exit codes when terminating. This enables the user to check for
the reason why the application terminated.
general
EXITCODE_NO_ERROR 0
EXITCODE_COMMANDLINE_SYNTAX_ERROR 1
input file errors
EXITCODE_CANNOT_READ_INPUT_FILE 20
EXITCODE_NO_INPUT_FILES 21
EXITCODE_INVALID_INPUT_FILE 22
output file errors
EXITCODE_CANNOT_WRITE_OUTPUT_FILE 40
processing errors
EXITCODE_CANNOT_CONVERT_TO_UNICODE 80
EXITCODE_CANNOT_WRITE_VALID_JSON 81
COMMAND LINE
All command line tools use the following notation for parameters: square brackets enclose optional values
(0-1), three trailing dots indicate that multiple values are allowed (1-n), a combination of both means 0
to n values.
Command line options are distinguished from parameters by a leading '+' or '-' sign, respectively.
Usually, order and position of command line options are arbitrary (i.e. they can appear anywhere).
However, if options are mutually exclusive the rightmost appearance is used. This behavior conforms to
the standard evaluation rules of common Unix shells.
In addition, one or more command files can be specified using an '@' sign as a prefix to the filename
(e.g. @command.txt). Such a command argument is replaced by the content of the corresponding text file
(multiple whitespaces are treated as a single separator unless they appear between two quotation marks)
prior to any further evaluation. Please note that a command file cannot contain another command file.
This simple but effective approach allows one to summarize common combinations of options/parameters and
avoids longish and confusing command lines (an example is provided in file <datadir>/dumppat.txt).
ENVIRONMENT
The dcm2pdf utility will attempt to load DICOM data dictionaries specified in the DCMDICTPATH environment
variable. By default, i.e. if the DCMDICTPATH environment variable is not set, the file
<datadir>/dicom.dic will be loaded unless the dictionary is built into the application (default for
Windows).
The default behavior should be preferred and the DCMDICTPATH environment variable only used when
alternative data dictionaries are required. The DCMDICTPATH environment variable has the same format as
the Unix shell PATH variable in that a colon (':') separates entries. On Windows systems, a semicolon
(';') is used as a separator. The data dictionary code will attempt to load each file specified in the
DCMDICTPATH environment variable. It is an error if no data dictionary can be loaded.
SEE ALSO
pdf2dcm(1)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2007-2024 by OFFIS e.V., Escherweg 2, 26121 Oldenburg, Germany.
Version 3.6.9 Thu May 22 2025 08:24:51 dcm2pdf(1)