How to read the content of a .pdf file using nodejs?

Question

I have a scenario to automate the PDF contents. How to retrieve the content of the PDF file in nodejs.

I am completely blocked for this. Although there are few posts on pdf2jsona and jsonreader but those are not working for me. Any help will be appreciated for the same.

var pdfParser = new PDFParser();
fs.readFile(pdfFilePath, function(err, pdfBuffer) {
    pdfParser.parseBuffer(pdfBuffer);
}, function(pdfBuffer){
    pdfParser.parseBuffer(pdfBuffer);
})

Error: Invalid parameter array, need either .data or .url at FSReqWrap.readFileAfterClose [as oncomplete] (fs.js:445:3)

Hi. Is there a particular issue you identified with these 2 libraries? — Sebas
– Sebas, Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 13:19
Hi Sebas, I added the code snippet and error to the question itself. Please have a look and let me know anything I am missing as I am new to nodejs — mfsi_sudhansu
– mfsi_sudhansu, Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 14:08
I am not certain the error comes from the pdfParser but rather the fs object. — Sebas
– Sebas, Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 19:43

Abdulgafur Bersugir · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-24 01:16:20Z

1

I found the answer and it's working perfectly. Install fs and pdf2json by running the below commands. npm install pdf2json and npm install fs

var fs = require('fs');
var PDFParser = require('pdf2json');
var path = osHomedir();
var homepath = path.replace(new RegExp('\\' + path.sep, 'g'), '/');
var pdfFilePath = homepath + '/Downloads/' + 'filename.pdf';

if (fs.existsSync(pdfFilePath)) {
  //Read the content of the pdf from the downloaded path
  var pdfParser = new PDFParser(browser, 1);
  pdfParser.on("pdfParser_dataError", function (errData) {
     console.error(errData.parserError)
  });
  pdfParser.on("pdfParser_dataReady", function (pdfData) {
  //console.log('here is the content: '+pdfParser.getRawTextContent());
  browser.assert.ok(pdfParser.getRawTextContent().indexOf(textToVerify) > -1);
  });

  pdfParser.loadPDF(pdfFilePath);
} else {
    console.log('OOPs file not present in the downloaded folder');
    //Throw an error if the file is not found in the path mentioned
    browser.assert.ok(fs.existsSync(pdfFilePath));
}

edited Oct 24, 2021 at 1:16

Abdulgafur Bersugir

832 silver badges11 bronze badges

answered Jan 24, 2017 at 14:56

mfsi_sudhansu

1832 gold badges3 silver badges10 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Vishnu Chauhan Over a year ago

Can you please tell me that what is browser here . I am also using same but i am getting this error : ReferenceError: browser is not defined Thanks

Wayne Smallman Over a year ago

You need to explain what the browser variable is.

therightstuff Over a year ago

The documentation at npmjs.com/package/pdf2json is a pretty good starting point for using pdf2json

Vimlesh Kumar · Accepted Answer · 2022-03-08 09:39:30Z

1

 const fs = require("fs");
 const PdfReader = require('pdfreader').PdfReader;
  fs.readFile("E://file streaming in node js//demo//read.pdf", (err, pdfBuffer) => {
    // pdfBuffer contains the file content
    new PdfReader().parseBuffer(pdfBuffer, function(err, item){
       if (err)
           callback(err);
        else if (!item)
            callback();
         else if (item.text)
            console.log(item.text);
          });
       });

edited Mar 8, 2022 at 9:39

Vimlesh Kumar

336 bronze badges

answered Aug 31, 2018 at 7:10

shankar singh rajput

5336 silver badges15 bronze badges

Comments

GalAbra · Accepted Answer · 2024-08-31 14:40:14Z

1

pdfreader and pdf2json didn't work properly: weirdly enough, numbers were parsed incorrectly and line breaks were added sporadically around non-alphanumeric characters.

I ended up using pdf-parse, which works like a charm:

const pdf = require("pdf-parse");

const path = '~/Documents/file.pdf';

pdf(path)
  .then((data) => {
    console.log(data);
  })
  .catch((error) => {
    console.error(error);
  });

answered Aug 31, 2024 at 14:40

GalAbra

5,1585 gold badges26 silver badges43 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

How to read the content of a .pdf file using nodejs?

3 Answers 3

3 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

3 Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related