Tcl Requires Chilkat v11.7.0+

Extract PDF to Markdown

See more PDF Text Extraction Examples

Demonstrates the "markdown" operation, which returns the PDF's content as Markdown: headings (inferred from the font sizes when the PDF is not tagged), bold and italic, bullet and numbered lists, links, and ruled tables. Markdown output is well suited to AI and search pipelines. Tcl

load ./chilkat.dll

set success 0

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

#  The PDF used in this example is available at markdown_features.pdf

set pdf [new_CkPdf]

set success [CkPdf_LoadFile $pdf "qa_data/pdf/markdown_features.pdf"]
if {$success == 0} then {
    puts [CkPdf_lastErrorText $pdf]
    delete_CkPdf $pdf
    exit
}

set json [new_CkJsonObject]

set jsonOut [new_CkJsonObject]

#  The "markdown" operation uses the same options as "text" (pages, reading order, filters, clean-up)
#  plus its own options (see the pdf_extract_markdown_options example).  The defaults convert everything.
set success [CkPdf_ExtractText $pdf "markdown" $json $jsonOut]
if {$success == 0} then {
    puts [CkPdf_lastErrorText $pdf]
    delete_CkPdf $pdf
    delete_CkJsonObject $json
    delete_CkJsonObject $jsonOut
    exit
}

#  The Markdown of all pages is in the "markdown" member.
puts [CkJsonObject_stringOf $jsonOut markdown]

#  The quality report says where the headings came from: "structure" for a tagged PDF,
#  "inferred" when they were recognized from the font size and weight, or "none".
puts "Headings: [CkJsonObject_stringOf $jsonOut {quality.pages[0].structure.headings}]"

#  Sample output:

#  <!-- page 1 -->
#  
#  # Field Guide to Backyard Birds
#  
#  This short guide covers the birds most often seen at a suburban feeder in the eastern United States. The **bold** names are species you can expect in every season; the *italic* names are winter visitors only.
#  
#  ## What to Watch For
#  
#  - Size relative to a sparrow or a robin
#  - Beak shape: thick for seed eaters, thin for insect eaters
#  - Wing bars and tail markings seen in flight
#  
#  ## Getting Started
#  
#  1. Hang the feeder where it can be seen from a window.
#  2. Fill it with black oil sunflower seed, which almost every species takes.
#  3. Keep a notebook by the window and write down the date of each first sighting.
#  
#  For regional checklists and recordings of each song, see the [online bird atlas](https://www.example.com/birds).
#  
#  ## Common Visitors
#  
#  | Species | Size | Season | Preferred Food |
#  | --- | --- | --- | --- |
#  | Northern Cardinal | Robin | All year | Sunflower seed |
#  | Black-capped Chickadee | Sparrow | All year | Sunflower seed, suet |
#  | Dark-eyed Junco | Sparrow | Winter | Millet on the ground |
#  | Downy Woodpecker | Sparrow | All year | Suet |
#  
#  Headings: inferred

delete_CkPdf $pdf
delete_CkJsonObject $json
delete_CkJsonObject $jsonOut