Delphi ActiveX Requires Chilkat v11.7.0+

Search for Text in a PDF

See more PDF Text Extraction Examples

Demonstrates the "search" operation, which finds every occurrence of a string in a PDF and returns each match with its page number and the text around it. Matching ignores case unless caseSensitive is true. Delphi ActiveX

var
success: Integer;
pdf: TChilkatPdf;
json: TChilkatJsonObject;
jsonOut: TChilkatJsonObject;
i: Integer;
count_i: Integer;

begin
success := 0;

//  This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
//  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

//  The three-page PDF used in this example is available at search_context.pdf

pdf := TChilkatPdf.Create(Self);
success := pdf.LoadFile('qa_data/pdf/search_context.pdf');
if (success = 0) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(pdf.LastErrorText);
    Exit;
  end;

json := TChilkatJsonObject.Create(Self);
jsonOut := TChilkatJsonObject.Create(Self);

//  The string to find.
json.UpdateString('query','chilkat');

//  The number of characters returned before and after each match.  The default is 40.
json.UpdateInt('context',30);

success := pdf.ExtractText('search',json.ControlInterface,jsonOut.ControlInterface);
if (success = 0) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(pdf.LastErrorText);
    Exit;
  end;

//  "count" is the number of matches.  Each match has the page, the matched text as it appears
//  in the PDF, and the text before and after it.
Memo1.Lines.Add('Matches: ' + IntToStr(jsonOut.IntOf('count')));

i := 0;
count_i := jsonOut.SizeOfArray('matches');
while i < count_i do
  begin
    jsonOut.I := i;
    Memo1.Lines.Add('page ' + IntToStr(jsonOut.IntOf('matches[i].page')) + ': ...' + jsonOut.StringOf('matches[i].before') + '[' + jsonOut.StringOf('matches[i].text')
         + ']' + jsonOut.StringOf('matches[i].after') + '...');
    i := i + 1;
  end;

//  The search ignores case by default.  Set caseSensitive to find only the exact spelling.
json.UpdateBool('caseSensitive',1);
json.UpdateString('query','Chilkat');
success := pdf.ExtractText('search',json.ControlInterface,jsonOut.ControlInterface);
if (success = 0) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(pdf.LastErrorText);
    Exit;
  end;
Memo1.Lines.Add('Case-sensitive matches for Chilkat: ' + IntToStr(jsonOut.IntOf('count')));

//  Sample output:

//  Matches: 5
//  page 1: ...[Chilkat] River Field Notes The Chilkat...
//  page 1: ...Chilkat River Field Notes The [Chilkat] River runs for about fifty mi...
//  page 2: ...DAY ONE: UPPER [CHILKAT] FLATS Clear and cold, minus e...
//  page 2: ...he river is sometimes spelled [chilkat] in older records, and the val...
//  page 3: ...y because the fish run on the [Chilkat] was thinning. Two tagged bird...
//  Case-sensitive matches for Chilkat: 3