Send PDF Files over WhatsApp in Python 2 - Complete Guide

Automate WhatsApp Document Sharing with Python 2 (Legacy)

⚠️ Python 2 Notice: Python 2 reached end-of-life in January 2020 and is no longer maintained. This guide is provided for legacy systems that still require Python 2 support. For new projects, we strongly recommend using Python 3 instead.

Looking to automate PDF delivery, document notifications, or file sharing from legacy Python 2 applications? This guide walks you through sending PDF files to WhatsApp users using Python 2 and the WhatsMate WA Gateway REST API. Perfect for maintaining legacy Python 2 systems that need WhatsApp document delivery capabilities.

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

1. A WhatsMate WA Gateway account - Required for API access
2. Recipient registration - Each recipient must register with the Gateway first
3. Python 2 installed - Version 2.7+ (legacy Python 2 environment)
4. PDF file ready - Have the document you want to send available locally
5. Requests library - Install via pip install requests if not already available

⚠️ Important: Recipients must register with the WhatsMate WA Gateway before they can receive messages. Unregistered users will not receive any messages from the Gateway. Registration instructions are available on the official WhatsMate site.

📝 Step-by-Step Implementation

Follow these steps to send your first PDF document to a WhatsApp user from a Python 2 application:

1. Copy the Python 2 Code Template

Start by copying the following source code into your Python file:

2. Configure a few Parameters

Customize these key parameters in the Python 2 code:

• Lines 8-10: Replace YOUR_GATEWAY_INSTANCE_ID_HERE, YOUR_OWN_ID_HERE, and YOUR_OWN_SECRET_HERE with your WhatsApp gateway instance ID, Client ID, and Secret
• Line 13: Replace 12025550108 with the target phone number (including the country code)
• Line 14: Replace ../assets/subwaymap.pdf with the path to your PDF file
• Line 15: Replace anyname.pdf with the desired filename for the document
• Line 16: Replace You will find it useful with an optional caption for your PDF

3. Install Required Library

Ensure you have the requests library installed for Python 2:

pip install requests

Note: For Python 2 systems, you may need to use pip2 instead of pip depending on your system configuration.

4. Send Your PDF Document

Run the Python 2 script to deliver your PDF to WhatsApp:

python send-pdf-individual.py

🔧 Common Use Cases

This legacy automation approach is ideal for:

• Maintaining legacy systems - Send PDF reports from existing Python 2 applications that cannot be upgraded
• Document sharing for legacy infrastructure - Deliver invoices or contracts via WhatsApp from Python 2 systems
• Legacy system documentation - Share configuration files or logs as PDF documents from Python 2 environments
• Educational content for legacy platforms - Distribute materials through WhatsApp from Python 2 scripts
• Integration with legacy document generation - Combine with Python 2 libraries that create PDFs for WhatsApp delivery

🚀 Get Started Today

Ready to automate your document sharing over WhatsApp with Python 2? You’ll need a trial account to access the API. Sign up for a 2-week trial and start sending PDF files within minutes!

Next Steps:

• For new projects: Use Python 3 instead for modern Python development with ongoing support
• Explore advanced features: Once you’ve mastered basic PDF sending, explore sending images or group messages through the WhatsMate WA Gateway API documentation.