What is the command line to extract text from PDFs using adobe acrobat pro 64-bit?

Report · Feb 26, 2023

I'm using a DOS batch file with this command

for %i in (*.pdf) do "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe" /n /t "%i" "[destination directory]\pdfs%~ni.txt"

It seems to work fine, says it's extracting but generates no text files. I've tried this with and without specifying the destination directory and other versions of the command structure, but no converted files ever show up.

I know there are many programs to do this but I want to do this with Adobe.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

Charlie

Report · Feb 27, 2023

I don't believe that's possible. The "/t" switch is used for printing, not for converting the file to another format.

Report · Feb 27, 2023

Thanks, Try67. So much for having ChatGPT write code for me!

Is there any Adobe product I could use to batch-extract text from pdfs using the Windows command line?

Or an Adobe product on any other OS? I've been using pdftotext.exe, but I want better accuracy.

Thanks!

Charlie

Report · Feb 27, 2023

Not that I'm aware of. However, if you're interested I could develop such a tool for you, as a stand-alone CLI application, with a high degree of accuracy, for a fee of course. You can contact me privately by clicking my user-name and then on "Send a Message".

Report · Feb 27, 2023

But theoretically, depending on the printer, driver & OS, you can print into a file. We are all familiar with print-to-pdf.

I think it is possible, but I have no idea why exactly Charlie's code does not function.