The tool extracts textual content from a PDF file and converts it into a structured JSON format. For every word on a page, precise coordinates are preserved, allowing you to recreate the original text layout. The result is ideal for programmatic analysis of a document's layout or for transferring data to other applications via an API.
When this is useful
Imagine you need to automatically check hundreds of contracts to ensure critical text does not overflow the margins. You convert the PDFs to JSON and write a script that analyzes word coordinates and flags violations. Another scenario: you are developing a web-based document viewer and want users to be able to select and copy text with exact positioning preserved, just like in the original.
Step-by-step instructions
- First, drag and drop your source PDF file into the upload area on the tool's page or select it using the browse button.
- Wait for the processing to finish; the progress indicator will show the status.
- Once the conversion is complete, click the download button to save the resulting JSON file to your device.
- Open it in any text editor or development environment for further use.
How to verify the result
After downloading, open the JSON file and verify that it starts with a correct structure, typically an array of pages. Check that each page object contains fields for the page number and a list of words, and that each word entry includes a text value and its coordinates. If the file appears empty or contains only structural information, the source PDF was likely a scanned image without a text layer.
Important limitations
It is crucial to understand that the tool works only with digital text, not with pictures. If your PDF was created from scans, the text will not be recognized, and the resulting JSON will be empty. Word coordinates are measured from a specific point on the page, and their interpretation may depend on the software you use them in. The maximum file size for a free upload is 20 MiB.