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Question

Extracting data from PDF to build HTML

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
August 31, 2021
3 replies
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Used the PDF Extract API to extract info from PDF and build an HTML. Would be helpful if you can answer the following questions regarding the API:

1. Can you share details on how to identify the location of elements from the json output? "Bounds" key in the JSON seems to have info. But unsure if that's the right location info.

2. The documentation page here states that 'The output does not include headers or footers'. Is there any way this can be accessed?

3. The documentation page here mentions that 'headings that repeat across pages are reported for the first occurrence only.'. Does the structuredData include information about subsequent occurrences about the header? If not can you share details on how to identify different locations of the same header?

4. Text overlayed on an image (Test, $10M+ Rev) in this PDF (attached as PHT4) is extracted as a part of the image and not as text. The sections highlighted in the image are added as text. Anyway to extract them as text and not image?

5. The below section in the PDF has a gradient background with a surrounding boundary. Can you help in locating this information in the json output?

6. The line of text below has different formatting for different words. Had noted somewhere in the doc that formatting is only based on first character in a line. But, I am unable to find formatting info.

Here is the relevant section from the json:

  {
      "Bounds": [
        72.02400207519531,
        721.4035034179688,
        271.4056091308594,
        742.0164947509766
      ],
      "ClipBounds": [
        72.02400207519531,
        721.4035034179688,
        271.4056091308594,
        742.0164947509766
      ],
      "Font": {
        "alt_family_name": "Calibri",
        "embedded": true,
        "encoding": "WinAnsiEncoding",
        "family_name": "Calibri",
        "font_type": "TrueType",
        "italic": false,
        "monospaced": false,
        "name": "BCDGEE+Calibri-Light",
        "subset": true,
        "weight": 300
      },
      "HasClip": true,
      "Lang": "en",
      "Page": 0,
      "Path": "//Document/Sect/P",
      "Text": "PDF to HTML Conversion ",
      "TextSize": 20.039993286132812,
      "attributes": {
        "LineHeight": 21.625,
        "SpaceAfter": 11.375
      }
    }

Clarity on the above 6 queries would help in integrating and consuming the API.

Thanks!

PHT4.pdf

This topic has been closed for replies.

Nikhil RankaAuthor

Known Participant

Clarity on the above from the Adobe team would greatly help.

Ben Vanderberg

Community Manager

Hi @Nikhil Ranka ,

Clarity on the above from the Adobe team would greatly help.

By @Nikhil Ranka

That is correct. Those are the coordinates of the location of the element on the page. The difference between this and the ClipBounds is that something technically can be clipped (or cropped). In the practical example above, they are the same.

Clarity on the above from the Adobe team would greatly help.

By @Nikhil Ranka

This is something that has been requested and in our roadmap to include.

Clarity on the above from the Adobe team would greatly help.

By @Nikhil Ranka

Can you help illustrate the scenario of the headings repeating across pages in your scenario? There are many scenarios where that might occur and I would probably handle it a little differently.

Clarity on the above from the Adobe team would greatly help.

By @Nikhil Ranka

If it is recognizing it as part of the image and not as text, then it probably is not picking it up. You could try extracting the image out, running OCR on the image to get that text out, but not as part of PDF Extract API. If it recognizes it as part of the image there isn't any configuration change you can make. You can only try taking the images and seeing if you can extract the data out of the images separately.

Nikhil RankaAuthor

Known Participant

@Ben Vanderberg

Can you help illustrate the scenario of the headings repeating across pages in your scenario? There are many scenarios where that might occur and I would probably handle it a little differently.

In a PDF report containing measurements/stats about different aspects of a machine, the heading measurements/stats would be repeated. Can you share your insights on how can one detect repetition of a heading?

You could try extracting the image out, running OCR on the image to get that text out, but not as part of PDF Extract API.

Does the API follow any specific pattern? ie: if text is overlayed over an image it will be rasterized? Without an understanding of the rule followed it becomes cumbersome to republish the pdf into html/other formats, because one needs to figure out using OCR if an image has text or not. In cases where images are overlayed with placeholders, eg: {firstName}, for dynamic replacement no replacement would take place.

PS: Appears that in your response, the same section of my message is quoted. Was simpler for me to understand. But it would be difficult for someone else to get information.

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

Just a small point on Q.6. The example does not show so many text formats as you suggest. Text formatting is ONLY a font and size, possibly an outline style. Nothing else. As a graphical object it also has a colour. Underlining is lines drawn on the page near text. Highlighting is boxes drawn behind the text, or highlighting annotations. "Background colour" is not a text attribute in PDF.

Detailed study of ISO 32000-1 (or -2) may help understand the specific limits of what is actually represented as an entity in PDF, and what will be simulated using multiple graphical or other entities not associated with each other. Study of this would show you, for example, that there is no such thing as a table.

Re Q:5. A gradient may be

- a single gradient object giving end colours and mapping rules (very complex). Rarely actually found.

- a scaled image

- multiple separate graphical objects

Nikhil RankaAuthor

Known Participant

Thanks for your response @8550316.

Q.6 (Regarding text formatting):

So, is there no way to extract the formatting information of the text from the API as of now?

Q.5 Was unable to find the gradient info in any form in the output. Anyway to access gradient information? An image or something else.

Would be helpful if you can respond to other queries.

Thanks!

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

"So, is there no way to extract the formatting information of the text from the API as of now?" This is not a software limitation, it is a design aim of PDF. So it is working correctly.

I do not have any knowledge of the API in question, I just look for questions relating more generally to PDF internals.

C

Chandrashekar5E6E

Participant

Some of these are issues that I am also facing, would be very curious to understand what can be done here.

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