PDFText Component

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The PDFText component provides text and media extraction capabilities for PDF documents.

Syntax

nsoftware.PDFSDK.PDFText

Remarks

The PDFText component automates text and image extraction from PDF documents.

Start with providing the document that you want to extract information from as a file (InputFile), byte array (InputData), or stream (SetInputStream) and calling the Open method. Once the document is opened, call the GetDocumentText or GetPageText methods to extract text content to a string. Use SaveMedia to extract images: pdftext.InputFile = "othello.pdf"; pdftext.Open(); string text = pdftext.GetDocumentText(); pdftext.SaveMedia(0, "picture.jpg"); pdftext.Close();

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Attachments Property (PDFText Component)

A collection of all attached files found in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFAttachmentList Attachments { get; }

Public Property Attachments As PDFAttachmentList

Remarks

This property is used to access the details of all the attached files identified in the document. Use the SaveAttachment method to save attachments from this collection.

This property is not available at design time.

DecryptionCert Property (PDFText Component)

The decryption certificate.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate DecryptionCert { get; set; }

Public Property DecryptionCert As Certificate

Remarks

This property is used to provide the certificate used for decryption. Note that this certificate must have a private key associated with it.

This property is not available at design time.

InputData Property (PDFText Component)

A byte array containing the PDF document to process.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public byte[] InputData { get; set; }

Public Property InputData As Byte()

Remarks

This property is used to assign a byte array containing the PDF document to be processed.

This property is not available at design time.

InputFile Property (PDFText Component)

The PDF file to process.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string InputFile { get; set; }

Public Property InputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property is used to provide a path to the PDF document to be processed.

Media Property (PDFText Component)

A collection of all media objects found in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFMediaList Media { get; }

Public Property Media As PDFMediaList

Remarks

This property is used to access the details of all the media objects identified in the document. The only media type that is currently supported is bitmap (a fixed-size image).

Use the SaveMedia method to extract the embedded media object to a local file.

This property is not available at design time.

Password Property (PDFText Component)

The password to decrypt the document with.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Password { get; set; }

Public Property Password As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property is used to provide the user password for decryption. Though it may be different from OwnerPassword, most implementations use the same value for both.

Close Method (PDFText Component)

Closes the opened document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Close();

Async Version
public async Task Close();
public async Task Close(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Close()

Async Version
Public Sub Close() As Task
Public Sub Close(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method is used to close the previously opened document. It should always be preceded by a call to the Open method.

Example: component.InputFile = "input.pdf"; component.Open(); // Some operation component.Close();

Config Method (PDFText Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Config(string configurationString);

Async Version
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString);
public async Task<string> Config(string configurationString, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Encrypted Method (PDFText Component)

Checks whether the document is encrypted.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Encrypted();

Async Version
public async Task<bool> Encrypted();
public async Task<bool> Encrypted(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function Encrypted() As Boolean

Async Version
Public Function Encrypted() As Task(Of Boolean)
Public Function Encrypted(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of Boolean)

Remarks

This method is used to determine whether or not the document is encrypted. It will return false if the document is pseudo-encrypted with an empty password.

Example: component.InputFile = "input.pdf"; if (component.Encrypted()) { // Set Password or DecryptionCert } component.Open(); // Some operation component.Close(); NOTE: If the document is not already opened, this method will open it, perform the operation, then close it.

GetDocumentProperty Method (PDFText Component)

Returns the value of a document property.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetDocumentProperty(string documentProperty);

Async Version
public async Task<string> GetDocumentProperty(string documentProperty);
public async Task<string> GetDocumentProperty(string documentProperty, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function GetDocumentProperty(ByVal DocumentProperty As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function GetDocumentProperty(ByVal DocumentProperty As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function GetDocumentProperty(ByVal DocumentProperty As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

This method is used to obtain the value of a document property. The list of settings below may be extended in the future.

DocumentProperty specifies the document property to read. Possible values are:

Example: pdftext.InputFile = "input.pdf"; pdftext.Open(); string description = pdftext.GetDocumentProperty("Xmp[dc:description]"); string metadataXml = pdftext.GetDocumentProperty("Xmp"); // Use language descriptors for multi-language properties string descriptionEs = pdftext.GetDocumentProperty("Xmp[dc:description[es]]"); pdftext.Close(); NOTE: Each document property is only populated once the document has been loaded, which is reported by the DocumentInfo event.

GetDocumentText Method (PDFText Component)

Returns the entire text content contained in the document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetDocumentText();

Async Version
public async Task<string> GetDocumentText();
public async Task<string> GetDocumentText(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function GetDocumentText() As String

Async Version
Public Function GetDocumentText() As Task(Of String)
Public Function GetDocumentText(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

This method is used to obtain the whole body of text from the opened document.

GetPageProperty Method (PDFText Component)

Returns the value of a page property.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetPageProperty(int pageIndex, string pageProperty);

Async Version
public async Task<string> GetPageProperty(int pageIndex, string pageProperty);
public async Task<string> GetPageProperty(int pageIndex, string pageProperty, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function GetPageProperty(ByVal PageIndex As Integer, ByVal PageProperty As String) As String

Async Version
Public Function GetPageProperty(ByVal PageIndex As Integer, ByVal PageProperty As String) As Task(Of String)
Public Function GetPageProperty(ByVal PageIndex As Integer, ByVal PageProperty As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

This method is used to obtain general information about the pages of the document, such as their dimensions and content positioning details.

PageIndex specifies the page to read information about (with a valid range from 0 to PageCount - 1), and PageProperty specifies the page property to read. Possible values are:

Example: int pageCount = 0; component.OnDocumentInfo += (s, e) => { pageCount = e.PageCount; }; component.InputFile = "input.pdf"; component.Open(); for (int i = 0; i < pageCount; i++) component.GetPageProperty(i, "Height"); component.Close(); The page properties can be used to adjust the position of the signature widget based on the page dimensions. For example: int x = int.Parse(pdfsign.GetPageProperty(0, "Width")) - 100; int y = int.Parse(pdfsign.GetPageProperty(0, "Height")) - 100; pdfsign.SetWidgetProperty("OffsetX", x.ToString()); pdfsign.SetWidgetProperty("OffsetY", y.ToString()); NOTE: Each page property is only populated once the document has been loaded, which is reported by the DocumentInfo event.

NOTE: If the document is not already opened, this method will open it, perform the operation, then close it.

GetPageText Method (PDFText Component)

Returns the text content residing on a specific page.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string GetPageText(int pageIndex);

Async Version
public async Task<string> GetPageText(int pageIndex);
public async Task<string> GetPageText(int pageIndex, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Function GetPageText(ByVal PageIndex As Integer) As String

Async Version
Public Function GetPageText(ByVal PageIndex As Integer) As Task(Of String)
Public Function GetPageText(ByVal PageIndex As Integer, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of String)

Remarks

This method is used to obtain a part of the document text residing on the page specified by PageIndex (zero-based).

Open Method (PDFText Component)

Opens the document for processing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Open();

Async Version
public async Task Open();
public async Task Open(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Open()

Async Version
Public Sub Open() As Task
Public Sub Open(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method is used to open the document specified in InputFile, InputData, or SetInputStream before performing some operation on it, such as extracting, editing, or replacing text. When finished, call Close to complete or discard the operation.

It is recommended to use this method (alongside Close) when performing multiple operations on the document at once.

Reset Method (PDFText Component)

Resets the component.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Reset();

Async Version
public async Task Reset();
public async Task Reset(CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub Reset()

Async Version
Public Sub Reset() As Task
Public Sub Reset(cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method is used to reset the component's properties and configuration settings to their default values.

SaveAttachment Method (PDFText Component)

Saves a PDF attachment to a file.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SaveAttachment(int index, string fileName);

Async Version
public async Task SaveAttachment(int index, string fileName);
public async Task SaveAttachment(int index, string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SaveAttachment(ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal FileName As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SaveAttachment(ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal FileName As String) As Task
Public Sub SaveAttachment(ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal FileName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method is used to retrieve the contents of an attachment from the document and save it to a file. It does not modify the contents of the Attachments collection.

Index is the index of the attachment in the Attachments collection to be saved.

FileName specifies the filename that the attachment will be saved to.

Example: component.InputFile = "input_with_attachment.pdf"; component.Open(); component.SaveAttachment(0, "a.dat"); component.Close(); Example (saving to a stream): component.InputFile = "input_with_attachment.pdf"; component.Attachments[0].OutputStream = myStream; component.SaveAttachment(0, null); // null means use the OutputStream field if it's set NOTE: If the document is not already opened, this method will open it, perform the operation, then close it.

SaveMedia Method (PDFText Component)

Saves a media object to a file.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SaveMedia(int index, string fileName);

Async Version
public async Task SaveMedia(int index, string fileName);
public async Task SaveMedia(int index, string fileName, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SaveMedia(ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal FileName As String)

Async Version
Public Sub SaveMedia(ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal FileName As String) As Task
Public Sub SaveMedia(ByVal Index As Integer, ByVal FileName As String, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method is used to retrieve the contents of a media object from the document and save it to a file. It does not modify the contents of the Media collection.

Index is the index of the media object in the Media collection to be saved.

FileName specifies the filename that the media object will be saved to.

Example: pdftext.InputFile = "input_with_pictures.pdf"; pdftext.Open(); pdftext.SaveMedia(0, "picture.jpg"); pdftext.Close(); Example (saving to a stream): pdftext.InputFile = "input_with_pictures.pdf"; pdftext.Open(); pdftext.Media[0].OutputStream = myStream; pdftext.SaveMedia(0, null); // null means use the OutputStream field if it's set pdftext.Close();

SetInputStream Method (PDFText Component)

Sets the stream containing the PDF document to process.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream);

Async Version
public async Task SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream);
public async Task SetInputStream(System.IO.Stream inputStream, CancellationToken cancellationToken);

Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream)

Async Version
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream) As Task
Public Sub SetInputStream(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task

Remarks

This method is used to set the stream from which the component will read the PDF document to be processed. If an input stream is set before the component attempts to perform operations on the document, the component will read the data from the input stream instead of from the InputFile or InputData properties.

NOTE: It may be useful to additionally set the CloseInputStreamAfterProcessing configuration setting to true when using input streams.

DocumentInfo Event (PDFText Component)

Fired when the document has been loaded into memory.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnDocumentInfoHandler OnDocumentInfo;

public delegate void OnDocumentInfoHandler(object sender, PDFTextDocumentInfoEventArgs e);

public class PDFTextDocumentInfoEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int PageCount { get; }
}

Public Event OnDocumentInfo As OnDocumentInfoHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnDocumentInfoHandler(sender As Object, e As PDFTextDocumentInfoEventArgs)

Public Class PDFTextDocumentInfoEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property PageCount As Integer
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired once per document processing routine to report that the document has been processed and loaded into memory.

The handler for this event is a good place to check the document structure and access document-related information such as page number and document file details.

PageCount reports the number of pages in the document.

This event is fired when the Open method is called, but only after Password or RecipientInfo is fired (if applicable) and the document has been decrypted.

Error Event (PDFText Component)

Fired when information is available about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

public delegate void OnErrorHandler(object sender, PDFTextErrorEventArgs e);

public class PDFTextErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}

Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnErrorHandler(sender As Object, e As PDFTextErrorEventArgs)

Public Class PDFTextErrorEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ErrorCode As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Description As String
End Class

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the component throws an exception.

The ErrorCode parameter contains an error code, and the Description parameter contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

Log Event (PDFText Component)

Fired once for each log message.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnLogHandler OnLog;

public delegate void OnLogHandler(object sender, PDFTextLogEventArgs e);

public class PDFTextLogEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int LogLevel { get; }
  public string Message { get; }
  public string LogType { get; }
}

Public Event OnLog As OnLogHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnLogHandler(sender As Object, e As PDFTextLogEventArgs)

Public Class PDFTextLogEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property LogLevel As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Message As String
  Public ReadOnly Property LogType As String
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired once for each log message generated by the component. The verbosity is controlled by the LogLevel configuration setting.

LogLevel indicates the detail level of the message. Possible values are:

Message is the log message.

LogType identifies the type of log entry. Possible values are:

• CertValidator
• Font
• HTTP
• PDFInvalidSignature
• PDFRevocationInfo
• Timestamp
• TSL

Password Event (PDFText Component)

Fired when the component detects that the document is encrypted with a password.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnPasswordHandler OnPassword;

public delegate void OnPasswordHandler(object sender, PDFTextPasswordEventArgs e);

public class PDFTextPasswordEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public bool Available { get; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnPassword As OnPasswordHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnPasswordHandler(sender As Object, e As PDFTextPasswordEventArgs)

Public Class PDFTextPasswordEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Available As Boolean
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired during document processing to report that the document is encrypted with a password. It may be used to supply the correct decryption password to the Password property.

Available indicates whether the decryption password is already available to the component or still needs to be set. If this parameter is set to false, the correct password must be provided for the decryption attempt to succeed.

Cancel determines whether the component will stop firing this event to request a password.

RecipientInfo Event (PDFText Component)

Fired for each recipient certificate of the encrypted document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnRecipientInfoHandler OnRecipientInfo;

public delegate void OnRecipientInfoHandler(object sender, PDFTextRecipientInfoEventArgs e);

public class PDFTextRecipientInfoEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Issuer { get; }
  public string SerialNumber { get; }
  public string SubjectKeyIdentifier { get; }
  public bool Available { get; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnRecipientInfo As OnRecipientInfoHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnRecipientInfoHandler(sender As Object, e As PDFTextRecipientInfoEventArgs)

Public Class PDFTextRecipientInfoEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Issuer As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SerialNumber As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SubjectKeyIdentifier As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Available As Boolean
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired during document processing for each recipient certificate that the document has been encrypted for (if applicable). It may be used to identify the certificate(s) to load and supply to the DecryptionCert property.

Issuer specifies the subject of the issuer certificate.

SerialNumber specifies the serial number of the encryption certificate.

SubjectKeyIdentifier specifies the X.509 subjectKeyIdentifier extension value of the encryption certificate, encoded as a hex string.

Available indicates whether the decryption certificate is already available to the component or still needs to be set. If this parameter is set to false, the correct certificate must be provided for the decryption attempt to succeed.

Cancel determines whether the component will stop firing this event to request a certificate.

NOTE: The document may be encrypted with more than one certificate (or have "more than one recipient"), in which case each certificate will cause its own invocation of this event.

Certificate Type

This is the digital certificate being used.

Remarks

This type describes the current digital certificate. The certificate may be a public or private key. The fields are used to identify or select certificates.

• EffectiveDate
• ExpirationDate
• ExtendedKeyUsage
• Fingerprint
• FingerprintSHA1
• FingerprintSHA256
• Issuer
• PrivateKey
• PrivateKeyAvailable
• PrivateKeyContainer
• PublicKey
• PublicKeyAlgorithm
• PublicKeyLength
• SerialNumber
• SignatureAlgorithm
• Store
• StorePassword
• StoreType
• SubjectAltNames
• ThumbprintMD5
• ThumbprintSHA1
• ThumbprintSHA256
• Usage
• UsageFlags
• Version
• Subject
• Encoded

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate();

Public Certificate()

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(string certificateFile);

Public Certificate(ByVal CertificateFile As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(byte[] encoded);

Public Certificate(ByVal Encoded As Byte())

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, string store, string storePassword, string subject);

Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As String, ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, string store, string storePassword, string subject, string configurationString);

Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As String, ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String, ByVal ConfigurationString As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, string store, string storePassword, byte[] encoded);

Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As String, ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Encoded As Byte())

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, byte[] store, string storePassword, string subject);

Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As Byte(), ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, byte[] store, string storePassword, string subject, string configurationString);

Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As Byte(), ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Subject As String, ByVal ConfigurationString As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate(CertStoreTypes storeType, byte[] store, string storePassword, byte[] encoded);

Public Certificate(ByVal StoreType As CertStoreTypes, ByVal Store As Byte(), ByVal StorePassword As String, ByVal Encoded As Byte())

PDFAttachment Type

The file being attached to the PDF document.

Remarks

This type contains information about the file that is being attached to the document.

• ContentType
• CreationDate
• Data
• Description
• FileName
• InputStream
• ModificationDate
• Name
• OutputStream
• Size

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFAttachment();

Public PDFAttachment()

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFAttachment(string fileName);

Public PDFAttachment(ByVal FileName As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFAttachment(string fileName, string description);

Public PDFAttachment(ByVal FileName As String, ByVal Description As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFAttachment(byte[] data, string name, string description);

Public PDFAttachment(ByVal Data As Byte(), ByVal Name As String, ByVal Description As String)

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFAttachment(System.IO.Stream inputStream, string name, string description);

Public PDFAttachment(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream, ByVal Name As String, ByVal Description As String)

PDFMedia Type

The media object that is included as part of the PDF document.

Remarks

This type contains information about the media object (such as an image) that is included in the document.

• ContentType
• Data
• Height
• InputStream
• OutputStream
• Size
• Width

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFMedia();

Public PDFMedia()

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFMedia(byte[] data);

Public PDFMedia(ByVal Data As Byte())

• C#
• VB.NET

public PDFMedia(System.IO.Stream inputStream);

Public PDFMedia(ByVal InputStream As System.IO.Stream)

Config Settings (PDFText Component)

PDFText Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (PDFText Component)

PDF Errors

Parsing Errors