Extracting Text from PDFs

OCR software is frequently used to extract text from PDF documents and export it to editable documents, or to extract specific information, such as social security numbers, for database storage. PDF files are often difficult, and sometimes impossible, to edit; extracting the text from them allows you to work with the information they contain rather than just viewing it. It is possible to copy and paste text directly from text-searchable PDF files, but this doesn't allow you to retain any of the formatting or look of the original document.

The process by which OCR software extracts text from PDFs (and other types of files) is similar to that by which it creates text-searchable PDF files. In order to create searchable PDFs, the OCR software first recognizes the text contained in the document being processed, and then creates an invisible layer of searchable text that lines up with the visible text in the document. In order to extract text for editing from PDFs, the OCR software exports the recognized text to a text document instead of creating the searchable PDF layer. Customized data-extraction solutions only extract information from specific zones in the PDF file so that you can store selective information in a database for easy indexing and retrieval. Most OCR software just makes text-searchable PDF files, so it is important to look into any product you are considering purchasing and make sure that it has the features you need. If you are looking to extract, store, and index specific data, the only way to get good results is to use a solution that is custom-tailored to fit your requirements.