Introduction
Can you determine if a PDF is searchable for text without opening it? Well you will need some special software. This might be useful if you want to search for keywords on a PDF, without having to manually open it.
In this tutorial we are going to be using the Java PDF library JPedal.
To search a PDF file for text without opening it:
Steps to Search a PDF for Text Without Opening It
Step 1
First you need to download a copy of the jar and add it to your project.
Step 2
Then you can call the various API methods
Extract words on a page
ExtractTextAsWordList.writeAllWordlistsToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", -1);
Extract unstructured text
ExtractTextInRectangle extract = new ExtractTextInRectangle("inputFile.pdf");
extract.setOutputFormat(OUTPUT_FORMAT.TXT);
if (extract.openPDFFile()) {
int pageCount = extract.getPageCount();
for (int page = 1; page <= pageCount; page++) {
String text = extract.getTextOnPage(page);
}
}
Extract structured text
You need to have a tagged PDF file for this to work
ExtractStructuredTextProperties properties = new ExtractStructuredTextProperties();
properties.setFileOutputMode(OutputModes.XML);
ExtractStructuredText extract = new ExtractStructuredText("C:/pdfs/mypdf.pdf", properties);
if (extract.openPDFFile()) {
Document anyStructuredText = extract.getStructuredTextContent();
}
extract.closePDFfile();
Step 3
You can then search through the returned text
int index = text.indexOf("Java");
This tutorial showed you how you can search a PDF for text without opening it. Learn more on our support site.
We have been working with PDF files for more than 2 decades! You can read other posts on our blog to learn more about PDF format.
The JPedal PDF library allows you to solve these problems in Java
//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ExtractClippedImages.writeAllClippedImagesToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", "outputImageFormat", new String[] {"imageHeightAsFloat", "subDirectoryForHeight"});
final PdfManipulator pdf = new PdfManipulator();
pdf.loadDocument(new File("inputFile.pdf"));
pdf.addPage(1, PaperSize.A4_LANDSCAPE);
pdf.addText(1, "Hello World", 10, 10, BaseFont.HelveticaBold, 12, 1, 0.3f, 0.2f);
pdf.addImage(1, new BufferedImage(), new float[] {0, 0, 100, 100});
pdf.rotatePage(1, 90);
pdf.apply();
pdf.writeDocument(new File("outputFile.pdf"));Viewer viewer = new Viewer();
viewer.setupViewer();
viewer.executeCommand(ViewerCommands.OPENFILE, "pdfFile.pdf");
//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ExtractTextAsWordList.writeAllWordlistsToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", -1);
PdfMerge.mergeFiles(new File("inputFile1.pdf"), new File("inputFile2.pdf"), new File("outputFile.pdf"));
PdfManipulator.splitInHalf(new File("inputFile.pdf"), new File("outputFolder"), pageToSplitAt);PrintPdfPages print = new PrintPdfPages("C:/pdfs/mypdf.pdf");
if (print.openPDFFile()) {
print.printAllPages("Printer Name");
}//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ExtractClippedImages.writeAllClippedImagesToDir("inputFileOrDirectory", "outputDir", "outputImageFormat", new String[] {"imageHeightAsFloat", "subDirectoryForHeight"});
//Convenience static method (see class for additional options)
ArrayList resultsForPages = FindTextInRectangle.findTextOnAllPages("/path/to/file.pdf", "textToFind");
java -jar jpedal.jar --inspect "inputFile.pdf"PdfSigner.signPdf(
"inputFile.pdf",
"outputFile.pdf",
"keystorePassword",
"keystoreFile.p12",
"signerName",
"signerLocation",
"signingReason",
ACCESS_PERMISSION.P1
);What is JPedal?
JPedal is a commercial Java PDF Library that makes it easy for Java developers to work with PDF Documents in Java.
Why use JPedal?
JPedal makes it much easier to work with PDF files from Java. Because we have been actively developing our Java PDF Toolkit for over 20 years, it works with all those problem PDF files out there.
What licenses are available?
We have 2 licenses available:
'Server' for on premises and cloud servers and 'OEM' for use in a named end user applications. Both are one time fees with options support renewal after 12 months.
How to use JPedal?
Want to learn more about JPedal and how to use it, we have plenty of tutorials and guides to help you.
