Marisol

Marisol is a Python library that can be used to add bates numbers, static text, and redactions to existing PDF files.

What's a Bates Number?

Bates numbers are identifiers placed on each page in a collection of documents so that they can be uniquely identified. They are frequently used in the legal field when producing documents in connection with a legal proceeding. The name "Bates number" comes from a time when the numbers were stamped on paper documents using a hand stamp that would increment the number each time it was used. These hand stamps were invented by Edwin G. Bates in 1891 and the name has stuck, even though the vast majority of these identifiers are now applied electronically.

Installation

To install Marisol, simply:

pip install Marisol

Marisol requires the pypdf2 and reportlab libraries, as well as any associated dependencies.

Usage

>>> from marisol import Marisol
>>> m = Marisol('TEST', 6, 1)  # Begin numbering with TEST000001
>>> m.append('first.pdf')  # Path to PDF (1 page)
>>> m.append('second.pdf')  # Path to PDF (3 pages)
>>> m.save()  # Export numbered PDFs, named for the bates number.

Loading

Documents can be loaded using a file name or by passing a file-like object.

>>> m.append('myPdf.pdf')  # Load by file name
>>> m.append(open('myOtherPdf.pdf', 'rb'))  # Load with a file object

Areas

Bates numbers can be placed in four different areas on the page. Top-left, top-right, bottom-right, and bottom-left. To set the area, simply specify it when calling Marisol. If no area is specified, the bates number will be placed in the bottom-right.

>>> from marisol import Area, Marisol
>>> m = Marisol("TEST", 6, 1, area=Area.TOP_LEFT)

Static Text

Static text overlays are used when you want to apply the same text to every page in a document. Since the text may change between documents, it is applied at the document level using a StaticOverlay.

>>> from marisol import Area, Marisol
>>> m = Marisol("TEST", 6, 1)
>>> m.append('myPdf.pdf')
>>> overlay = StaticOverlay("CONFIDENTIAL")
>>> doc = m[0]
>>> doc.add_overlay(overlay, Area.BOTTOM_LEFT)

These overlays may be applied to any of the defined areas, but each may contain only be one StaticOverlay. A StaticOverlay can not occupy the same area as the bates number.

Redaction

To draw a redaction on a page, you must first create a Redaction object and specify a location and size for it. Then apply the redaction to a Page object using the add_redaction() method. When creating the Redaction object, you may also include some text to draw inside the redaction box and a RedactionStyle. If no text or style is specified, the redaction will be drawn as a solid black box with no text.

>>> from marisol import Marisol, Redaction, RedactionStyle
>>> m = Marisol("TEST", 6, 1)
>>> m.append('myPdf.pdf')
>>> doc = m[0]
>>> first_page = doc[0]
>>> location = (144, 216)  # offset from the left and bottom of the page.
>>> size = (72, 36)  # width and height of the redaction
>>> redaction = Redaction(location, size)  # create a plain redaction
>>> first_page.add_redaction(redaction)  # add the redaction to the page
>>> second_page = doc[1]
>>> another_redaction = Redaction(location, size, "PRIVILEGED", RedactionStyle.OUTLINE) # with text and a style
>>> second_page.add_redaction(another_redaction)

Page positions and dimensions are specified in points (1/72nd of an inch). The example above draws a redaction where the bottom-left corner is 2 inches from the left of the page and 3 inches from the bottom of the page. It is one inch wide and 1/2 inches tall.

Exporting

Exports can be performed at the document-level, or against all documents using the save() method. When a file name is not specified, the resulting PDFs will be named for the beginning bates number of that document.

>>> m.save()  # save all documents
>>> doc = next(m)
>>> doc.save()  # save one document
>>> another_doc = next(m)
>>> another_doc.save("customName.pdf")  # specify a custom file name

Testing

Marisol is automatically tested against the development and production branches of Python 3.4 - 3.7. Tests can be run manually using pytest.

py.test --cov=marisol/ --cov-report=term-missing

Performance

Page-per-second performance can be measured using the run_benchmark.py script in the benchmark folder.

python run_benchmark.py
Creating test files...
Starting Benchmark...
Benchmark Complete.
34.294837610624 seconds elapsed.
145.794537847617 pages per second.
Cleaning up...

On a workstation with a dual-core Pentium G3258 CPU and SSD hard drive, Marisol is currently capable of bates-numbering over 140 pages per second. Marisol uses multiple threads during processing and performance is CPU-bound, so a faster processor with additional cores will result in better performance.

License

The source code for Marisol is published under the MIT License.