How to quantify indents

[Handlebar]

Looking to convert lots of documents to text.  Need meta data about the document and the text.  One data point that is needed is the indent.  Need to know if a line is indented from the left margin and some sort of quantification of that indent such as spaces, tabs or something else.  If such a tool does not exist I am willing to code it but this new to me.  What tools might help solve this problem?  

[Thom Parker]

Do you need this data before or after the document is converted?  We can only help with analyzing a PDF, i.e. after conversion. 

[Handlebar]

After conversion is acceptable.  

[Thom Parker]

If you want to do this by hand, there is a Ruler and Grid in Acrobat. Look on the View->Show/Hide -> Rulers &Grids.

There is also a Measure Tool, look for it in the "Tools" tab.

This can also be done automatically with a script, but it's quite a job. 

[try67]

There's no way to measure the distance of a word from the margin of a page in spaces or tabs, because those don't exist in a PDF files as such. You can measure the physical distance in points and then convert it to inches, centimeters, etc.

[Handlebar]

What tools/technology are usfull for measuring the physical distance?

[try67 · Accepted solution]

This can be done using Acrobat JavaScript, but it's quite a complex task.