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Convert PDF file content into string using C#

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2.07/5 (7 votes)
18 May 2012CPOL1 min read 85.2K   5   14
Convert PDF content into text using C#, for beginners.

Introduction

Hello friends, this is my first article in CodeProject.com. This article is mainly intended to read content from a PDF file and convert that into a string using C#.

Background

This was actually assigned as a task for me. Actually I Googled about this and finally did it with a simple code. I'm sure this code will be very helpful for beginners.

Using the code

The following steps will guide you to read content from a PDF file:

  1. To start with this, you need to download itextsharp-all-5.2.1, which can be download from here.
  2. Extract the whole archive (inside itextsharp-all-5.2.1 folder also) to your local directory.
  3. You have successfully completed the initial step in the process..... hurrah.....! ! ! !

    Now open Microsoft Visual studio. For me it is Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Express.

  4. New project --> WindowsFormsApplication --> Give project name (I named mine PDF_To_Text).
  5. Add itextsharp-all-5.2.1.dll as reference.
  6. Select Project menu --> Select Browse tab --> Select itextsharp.dll from the local directory.

  7. Place a "richTextBox1" control in the Form work space.
  8. Now paste the following code in Form1.cs.
  9. C#
    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.ComponentModel;
    using System.Data;
    using System.Drawing;
    using System.Linq;
    using System.Text;
    using System.Windows.Forms;
    using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
    using iTextSharp.text.pdf.parser;
    
    
    namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
    {
        public partial class Form1 : Form
        {
            public Form1()
            {
                InitializeComponent();
                ExtractTextFromPDFPage("c:\sample.pdf", 1);
            }
    
            public void ExtractTextFromPDFPage(string pdfFile, int pageNumber)
            {
                PdfReader reader = new PdfReader(pdfFile);
                string text = PdfTextExtractor.GetTextFromPage(reader, pageNumber);
                try { reader.Close(); }
                catch { }
                richTextBox1.Text = text;
            }
        }
    }

    Look how simple it is....!!! Smile | <img src= " src="http://www.codeproject.com/script/Forums/Images/smiley_smile.gif" />

  10. Now Build the solution using Ctrl+Shift+B, or Build the solution by selecting the Build menu from the menu bar.
  11. Once succeeded, Run the application by pressing F5.
  12. You will find the file content is converted into text and displayed in the RichTextBox control.

That's it, you have successfully converted a PDF file into text.

Note

Here c:\sample.pdf is where I kept my PDF file. So you should update the path to your file. The second parameter denotes which page you need to get converted. 

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer
India India
There are only 10 type of people in this programming world....
one who knows the binary and other who doesn't.

Comments and Discussions

 
Questionitextsharp Pin
Member 108101451-Feb-16 6:36
Member 108101451-Feb-16 6:36 
Questionhtml string builder to pdf Pin
Member 108101451-Feb-16 6:31
Member 108101451-Feb-16 6:31 
QuestionRegarding Content Pin
Member 109749613-Sep-14 0:17
Member 109749613-Sep-14 0:17 
GeneralNot always getting text from PdfTextExtractor.GetText Pin
Member 1032371117-Oct-13 7:57
Member 1032371117-Oct-13 7:57 
Questionmore pages Pin
saurabh49parikh27-Aug-12 8:03
saurabh49parikh27-Aug-12 8:03 
AnswerRe: more pages Pin
♥…ЯҠ…♥15-Oct-12 18:46
professional♥…ЯҠ…♥15-Oct-12 18:46 
GeneralRe: more pages Pin
voodark27-Nov-14 2:35
voodark27-Nov-14 2:35 
Questionno text in rich text box Pin
mlan sopno9-Jun-12 0:04
mlan sopno9-Jun-12 0:04 
AnswerRe: no text in rich text box Pin
♥…ЯҠ…♥28-Aug-12 23:01
professional♥…ЯҠ…♥28-Aug-12 23:01 
QuestionHelpful post Pin
Member 287297829-May-12 6:50
Member 287297829-May-12 6:50 
AnswerRe: Helpful post Pin
♥…ЯҠ…♥29-May-12 18:57
professional♥…ЯҠ…♥29-May-12 18:57 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
stooboo19-May-12 3:33
stooboo19-May-12 3:33 
I agree with Tom, I don't think this is an article.

Suggestion: please look into using Nuget, (iTextSharp is just one of the packges on there) and it will make you life a lot easier in the future
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
stooboo19-May-12 3:36
stooboo19-May-12 3:36 
Question[My vote of 1] Not really an article PinPopular
Tom Clement18-May-12 6:58
professionalTom Clement18-May-12 6:58 

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