Create Image From PDF using n8n action

PDF4me Create Image From PDF converts PDF pages into high-quality images through n8n automation workflows. Process PDFs via n8n triggers, binary data, base64 strings, or public URLs to generate images (JPEG, PNG) from specific pages, page ranges, or all pages with customizable resolution, width settings, quality control, and flexible page selection options. When you choose Specific Pages, type what you need in Page Numbers—single pages, ranges, or keywords like all. This solution is ideal for PDF previews, thumbnail generation, web content creation, image extraction, presentation slides, and automated PDF-to-image conversion workflows that require accurate rendering with professional quality and seamless integration.

Setup

Add the PDF4me "Create Image From PDF" node to your n8n workflow and configure the required parameters. For initial setup instructions, see our n8n Integration Guide.

Prerequisites:

• PDF4me API credentials
• n8n workflow access

Get Your API Key

Configuration:

1. Add PDF4me node to workflow
2. Select "Create Image From PDF" action
3. Configure input parameters (see below)

Parameters

Complete list of parameters for the Create Image From PDF action. Configure these parameters to control PDF to image conversion.

Important: Parameters marked with an asterisk (***) are required and must be provided for the action to function correctly.

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
Input Data Type	String	Yes	PDF4me PDF input format selection Choose the format of your source PDF data input. PDF4me supports multiple input types with different field requirements
	1) Binary Data	Yes (One Required)	1) Binary Data - Use "Input Binary Field" to reference PDF file from previous node
	2) Base64 String	Yes (One Required)	2) Base64 String - Use "Base64 PDF Content" field for encoded PDF data
	3) URL	Yes (One Required)	3) URL - Use "PDF URL" field to provide a public/open permission URL to the PDF file to convert
Input Binary Field	Binary	Yes (If Binary Data)	PDF4me binary PDF file input - Reference source PDF file from previous n8n node or file upload. PDF4me processes binary PDF files with automatic format detection and validation. Required when Input Data Type is "Binary Data"
Base64 PDF Content	String	Yes (If Base64 String)	PDF4me base64 encoded PDF input - Provide source PDF data as base64 encoded string for secure transmission. PDF4me automatically decodes and processes the PDF content. Required when Input Data Type is "Base64 String"
PDF URL	String	Yes (If URL)	PDF4me public PDF URL input - Provide a public/open permission URL to the source PDF file to be converted to images. PDF4me downloads and processes the file from the provided URL. Required when Input Data Type is "URL"
Document Name	String	Yes	PDF4me source document identifier - Specify a name for the source PDF document for reference and tracking purposes. This helps identify the document in logs and processing workflows
Image Settings	Object	No	PDF4me image output configuration - Configure advanced image output settings including resolution, quality, and format-specific options. Leave empty for default settings or specify custom parameters for optimized output
Image Width	Number	No	PDF4me image width in pixels - Specify the width of the generated images in pixels. If not specified, PDF4me uses the original PDF page dimensions. Higher values create larger, higher-quality images
Image Format	String	No	PDF4me output image format - Choose the output format for generated images. Options include PNG for lossless quality or JPEG for smaller file sizes
Page Selection	String	Yes	PDF4me page range selection - Choose which pages to convert to images. Options include all pages, specific page ranges, or individual page numbers
	All Pages	Yes (One Required)	All Pages - Convert all pages to images
	Specific Pages	Yes (One Required)	Specific Pages - Convert only specific page numbers
	Page Range	Yes (One Required)	Page Range - Convert a range of pages
Page Numbers	String	Yes (If Specific Pages)	Pages to convert (when Page Selection is Specific Pages) • Type one line of text in the Page Numbers field—plain numbers, commas, hyphens, and a few keywords (see below) • First page is 1 (the opening page of the PDF is page 1) • Separate picks with commas—for example 1,3,5 is three single pages; 1,2-3,5,7- mixes singles and spans • Hyphen means “through”—2-5 is pages 2, 3, 4, and 5. A dash with nothing after it (7-) means “from page 7 to the last page” • Keywords: all or a lone * for the whole file; last for the final page only; first, 0, or 1 for the first page only; -1 and -2 to count from the end • Too-large page numbers are ignored, and you can type the same page more than once if you need more than one image from it
Output File Name Prefix	String	Yes	PDF4me output filename prefix - Specify the prefix for generated image files. PDF4me will append page numbers to create unique filenames (e.g., "page" creates "page-1.webp", "page-2.webp")
Output Binary Field Name	String	Yes	PDF4me output variable configuration - Define the variable name for accessing the generated image binary data in your n8n workflow. This binary data can be used as input data in subsequent actions within your workflow

How to fill the page field

• Type all to convert every page. A lone * (asterisk) does the same job if you prefer it.
• last is only the final page.
• first, 0, or plain 1 all mean “just the first page.” 0 is simply another way to say page 1; after that you still count 2, 3, 4…
• -1 is the last page. -2 is the page before that (on a 12-page file that is page 11).
• Commas let you stitch pieces together. 1,2-3,5,7- reads as: page 1, pages 2 through 3, page 5, then page 7 all the way to the end. The empty spot after 7- is what tells the service “run to the last page.”

Why we show 1,2-3,5,7- instead of 0,1-2,5,7-

0,1-2,5,7- is legal, but 0 and 1-2 both include page 1, so you can accidentally render the first page twice. 1,2-3,5,7- says the same kind of thing with less overlap.

Example strings (picture a 12-page PDF)

What you type	What you get
1,2-3,5,7-	Page 1, pages 2–3, page 5, then pages 7–12
all	Pages 1 through 12
*	Same as all
-1	Page 12 (last)
-2	Page 11 (second from the end)
last	Page 12 only
first	Page 1 only
0	Page 1 only (same idea as first)

Practical notes

• 7- with nothing after the dash means “from page 7 through the last page.”
• Page numbers that do not exist are ignored.
• 7-3 (backwards) still keeps page 7 from that chunk when page 7 exists; do not expect pages 6 and 5 from that piece.
• Listing the same page more than once is allowed—each mention can produce another image.

Supported PDF Formats

Format	Description	File Extensions	Max Size	Page Limit	Best Use Cases
PDF	Portable Document Format with vector and raster content	.pdf	100MB	1000 pages	Documents, reports, presentations, forms

Supported Output Image Formats

Format	Description	File Extensions	Quality	Best Use Cases
PNG	Portable Network Graphics with lossless compression and transparency support	.png	High	Screenshots, graphics with transparency, high-quality images
JPEG	Joint Photographic Experts Group with lossy compression optimized for photographs	.jpg, .jpeg	Configurable	Photos, web content, compressed images

Output

Output Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
fileName	String	PDF4me generated image filename - The complete filename of the successfully created image with proper extension. PDF4me ensures unique naming and validates file format compliance for seamless integration with downstream processes	document_1.jpeg
pageNumber	Number	PDF4me source page number - The page number from the original PDF that was converted to create this image. Useful for tracking and organizing multiple images from the same document	1
imageFormat	String	PDF4me output image format - The format of the generated image file (e.g., "jpeg", "png"). Indicates the specific image format used for the conversion output	jpeg
fileSize	Number	PDF4me generated image file size in bytes - The exact size of the generated image file in bytes, provided by PDF4me for storage planning, bandwidth optimization, and file transfer monitoring. Essential for enterprise image management and workflow automation	76832
success	Boolean	PDF4me conversion status indicator - Boolean flag indicating the success or failure of the PDF-to-image conversion process. PDF4me returns true for successful operations and false for any errors, enabling robust error handling in automated workflows	true
operation	String	PDF4me operation identifier - The specific operation performed by PDF4me, useful for logging and tracking different types of operations in automated workflows	Create Images From PDF
inputType	String	PDF4me input data type - The type of input data used for the conversion (e.g., "base64", "binary", "url"). Helps identify the source data format in workflow processing	base64

N8N Action Response

The PDF4me Create Image From PDF API returns a response that can be viewed in multiple formats. Choose the view that best fits your needs:

JSON

JSON Response Format

The raw JSON response from the API:

[
  {
    "fileName": "document_1.jpeg",
    "pageNumber": 1,
    "imageFormat": "jpeg",
    "fileSize": 76832,
    "success": true,
    "operation": "Create Images From PDF",
    "inputType": "base64"
  },
  {
    "fileName": "document_2.jpeg",
    "pageNumber": 2,
    "imageFormat": "jpeg",
    "fileSize": 76939,
    "success": true,
    "operation": "Create Images From PDF",
    "inputType": "base64"
  }
]

Table

Table View

Response data in a structured table format:

Parameter	Value
fileName	document_1.jpeg
pageNumber	1
imageFormat	jpeg
fileSize	76832
success	true
operation	Create Images From PDF
inputType	base64

Schema

Schema View

The data structure and types of the response:

2 items
[0]
  fileName: AB document_1.jpeg
  pageNumber: # 1
  imageFormat: AB jpeg
  fileSize: # 76832
  success: ☑ true
  operation: AB Create Images From PDF
  inputType: AB base64
[1]
  fileName: AB document_2.jpeg
  pageNumber: # 2
  imageFormat: AB jpeg
  fileSize: # 76939
  success: ☑ true
  operation: AB Create Images From PDF
  inputType: AB base64

Type Indicators:

• AB = String
• # = Number
• ☑ = Boolean

Binary

Binary Data View

The actual image file data and metadata:

OUTPUT
─────────────────────────────
2 items

data_1
─────────────────────────────
File Name: document_1.jpeg
File Extension: jpeg
Mime Type: image/jpeg
File Size: 76.8 kB

data_2
─────────────────────────────
File Name: document_2.jpeg
File Extension: jpeg
Mime Type: image/jpeg
File Size: 76.9 kB

Binary Data Access:

• n8n Binary Objects: $binary.data_1.data, $binary.data_2.data
• Multiple Files: Each page generates a separate binary object
• Base64 Content: Available for direct use in subsequent nodes
• File Operations: Ready for download, email, or storage
• View/Download: Each binary object can be viewed or downloaded individually

Use Cases

Document Visualization and Presentation

• Convert PDF presentations to images for web display and mobile viewing
• Create thumbnail previews for document libraries and content management systems
• Generate visual summaries of PDF reports and documents for quick review

Content Management and Archival

• Extract images from PDF documents for digital asset management
• Create searchable visual indexes of PDF content
• Convert historical documents to images for preservation and accessibility

E-commerce and Marketing

• Generate product images from PDF catalogs and specifications
• Create visual content for social media and marketing campaigns
• Convert PDF brochures to web-friendly image formats

Enterprise Document Processing

• Automate document-to-image conversion for workflow systems
• Create visual documentation for training materials and procedures
• Generate images from PDF forms and reports for data visualization

Get Help

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