pdf to structured data

To convert a PDF into structured data, the best approach depends on what kind of PDF you have:

1) Text-based PDF

If the PDF contains selectable text:

• Extract text with tools like:
  • Python: pdfplumber, pymupdf (fitz), pypdf
  • Node.js: pdf-parse
• Then transform the extracted text into a structured format such as:
  • JSON
  • CSV
  • SQLite / database rows

2) Scanned PDF / image-based PDF

If the PDF is just images:

• Run OCR first:
  • Tesseract OCR
  • AWS Textract
  • Google Document AI
  • Azure Form Recognizer
• Then parse the OCR output into structured fields.

3) Forms, tables, invoices, receipts

If you need structured extraction from documents:

• Use document AI tools:
  • Amazon Textract
  • Google Document AI
  • Azure AI Document Intelligence
• Or use table extraction libraries:
  • camelot
  • tabula-py

Typical pipeline

1. Upload PDF
2. Detect whether it’s text or scanned
3. Extract text/OCR
4. Identify fields/tables
5. Output as JSON/CSV/database

Example JSON output

{
  "document_type": "invoice",
  "invoice_number": "INV-2024-001",
  "date": "2024-10-01",
  "vendor": "ABC Corp",
  "total": 1250.50
}

If you want, I can help you with:

• a Python script
• a Node.js example
• a no-code workflow
• or a custom parser for invoices / forms / tables