PDF to Text / PHP Examples

This page contains various examples of using the PDF to Text API in PHP. The examples are complete and fully functional. Read more about how to convert PDF to Text in PHP.

Basic examples
PHP website examples
Laravel examples
Symfony examples

Basic examples

PDF file to text file

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Run the conversion and save the result to a file.
    $client->convertFileToFile("/path/to/invoice.pdf", "invoice.txt");
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

PDF file to in-memory text

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
    $txt = $client->convertFile("/path/to/invoice.pdf");

    // at this point the "txt" variable contains TXT raw data and
    // can be sent in an HTTP response, saved to a file, etc.
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

PDF file to text stream

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Create an output stream for the conversion result
    $output_stream = fopen("invoice.txt", "wb");

    // Check for a file creation error.
    if (!$output_stream)
        throw new \Exception(error_get_last()['message']);

    // run the conversion and write the result to the output stream.
    $client->convertFileToStream("/path/to/invoice.pdf", $output_stream);

    // Close the output stream.
    fclose($output_stream);
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

PDF url to text file

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Run the conversion and save the result to a file.
    $client->convertUrlToFile("https://pdfcrowd.com/static/pdf/apisamples/invoice.pdf", "invoice.txt");
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

PDF url to in-memory text

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
    $txt = $client->convertUrl("https://pdfcrowd.com/static/pdf/apisamples/invoice.pdf");

    // at this point the "txt" variable contains TXT raw data and
    // can be sent in an HTTP response, saved to a file, etc.
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

PDF url to text stream

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Create an output stream for the conversion result
    $output_stream = fopen("invoice.txt", "wb");

    // Check for a file creation error.
    if (!$output_stream)
        throw new \Exception(error_get_last()['message']);

    // run the conversion and write the result to the output stream.
    $client->convertUrlToStream("https://pdfcrowd.com/static/pdf/apisamples/invoice.pdf", $output_stream);

    // Close the output stream.
    fclose($output_stream);
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

In-memory PDF to text file

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Run the conversion and save the result to a file.
    $client->convertRawDataToFile(file_get_contents("/path/to/hello_world.pdf"), "invoice.txt");
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

In-memory PDF to in-memory text

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
    $txt = $client->convertRawData(file_get_contents("/path/to/hello_world.pdf"));

    // at this point the "txt" variable contains TXT raw data and
    // can be sent in an HTTP response, saved to a file, etc.
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

In-memory PDF to text stream

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Create an output stream for the conversion result
    $output_stream = fopen("invoice.txt", "wb");

    // Check for a file creation error.
    if (!$output_stream)
        throw new \Exception(error_get_last()['message']);

    // run the conversion and write the result to the output stream.
    $client->convertRawDataToStream(file_get_contents("/path/to/hello_world.pdf"), $output_stream);

    // Close the output stream.
    fclose($output_stream);
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

Get info about the current conversion

<?php
require "pdfcrowd.php";

try
{
    // Create an API client instance.
    $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

    // Configure the conversion.
    $client->setDebugLog(true);
    $client->setPageBreakMode("default");

    // Run the conversion and save the result to a file.
    $client->convertFileToFile("/path/to/invoice.pdf", "invoice.txt");
    
    // print URL of the debug log
    echo "Debug log url: " . $client->getDebugLogUrl() . "\n";
    
    // print the number of conversion credits remaining in your account
    echo "Remaining credit count: " . $client->getRemainingCreditCount() . "\n";
    
    // print the number of credits used for the conversion
    echo "Consumed credit count: " . $client->getConsumedCreditCount() . "\n";
    
    // print the unique identifier for the conversion
    echo "Job id: " . $client->getJobId() . "\n";
    
    // print total number of pages in the output document
    echo "Page count: " . $client->getPageCount() . "\n";
    
    // print size of the output data in bytes
    echo "Output size: " . $client->getOutputSize() . "\n";
}
catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why)
{
    error_log("Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}\n");
    throw $why;
}

?>

PHP website examples

PDF file to text in PHP website

<?php
require 'pdfcrowd.php';

// The recommended method is POST.
if($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') {
    try {
        // Create an API client instance.
        $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

        // Run the conversion.
        $txt = $client->convertFile("/path/to/invoice.pdf");

        // Set HTTP response headers.
        header("Content-Type: text/plain");
        header("Cache-Control: no-cache");
        header("Accept-Ranges: none");
        header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt"));

        echo $txt;
    }
    catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
        // Report the error.
        header("Content-Type: text/plain");
        http_response_code($why->getCode());
        echo "Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}";
    }
}

?>

PDF url to text in PHP website

<?php
require 'pdfcrowd.php';

// The recommended method is POST.
if($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') {
    try {
        // Create an API client instance.
        $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

        // Run the conversion.
        $txt = $client->convertUrl("https://pdfcrowd.com/static/pdf/apisamples/invoice.pdf");

        // Set HTTP response headers.
        header("Content-Type: text/plain");
        header("Cache-Control: no-cache");
        header("Accept-Ranges: none");
        header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt"));

        echo $txt;
    }
    catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
        // Report the error.
        header("Content-Type: text/plain");
        http_response_code($why->getCode());
        echo "Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}";
    }
}

?>

In-memory PDF to text in PHP website

<?php
require 'pdfcrowd.php';

// The recommended method is POST.
if($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') {
    try {
        // Create an API client instance.
        $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

        // Run the conversion.
        $txt = $client->convertRawData(file_get_contents("/path/to/hello_world.pdf"));

        // Set HTTP response headers.
        header("Content-Type: text/plain");
        header("Cache-Control: no-cache");
        header("Accept-Ranges: none");
        header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt"));

        echo $txt;
    }
    catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
        // Report the error.
        header("Content-Type: text/plain");
        http_response_code($why->getCode());
        echo "Pdfcrowd Error: {$why}";
    }
}

?>

Laravel examples

PDF file to text in Laravel

<?php

// The recommended method is POST.
Route::post('/', function () {
    try {
        // Create an API client instance.
        $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

        // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
        $txt = $client->convertFile("/path/to/invoice.pdf");

        // Send the result and set HTTP response headers.
        return response($txt)
            ->header("Content-Type", "text/plain")
            ->header("Cache-Control", "no-cache")
            ->header("Accept-Ranges", "none")
            ->header("Content-Disposition",
                     "attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt"));
    }
    catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
        // Send the error in the HTTP response.
        return response($why->getMessage(), $why->getCode())
            ->header("Content-Type", "text/plain");
    }
});

?>

PDF url to text in Laravel

<?php

// The recommended method is POST.
Route::post('/', function () {
    try {
        // Create an API client instance.
        $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

        // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
        $txt = $client->convertUrl("https://pdfcrowd.com/static/pdf/apisamples/invoice.pdf");

        // Send the result and set HTTP response headers.
        return response($txt)
            ->header("Content-Type", "text/plain")
            ->header("Cache-Control", "no-cache")
            ->header("Accept-Ranges", "none")
            ->header("Content-Disposition",
                     "attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt"));
    }
    catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
        // Send the error in the HTTP response.
        return response($why->getMessage(), $why->getCode())
            ->header("Content-Type", "text/plain");
    }
});

?>

In-memory PDF to text in Laravel

<?php

// The recommended method is POST.
Route::post('/', function () {
    try {
        // Create an API client instance.
        $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

        // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
        $txt = $client->convertRawData(file_get_contents("/path/to/hello_world.pdf"));

        // Send the result and set HTTP response headers.
        return response($txt)
            ->header("Content-Type", "text/plain")
            ->header("Cache-Control", "no-cache")
            ->header("Accept-Ranges", "none")
            ->header("Content-Disposition",
                     "attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt"));
    }
    catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
        // Send the error in the HTTP response.
        return response($why->getMessage(), $why->getCode())
            ->header("Content-Type", "text/plain");
    }
});

?>

Symfony examples

PDF file to text in Symfony

<?php
namespace App\Controller;

use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

class DemoController
{
    /**
     * @Route("/", methods={"POST"})
     * The recommended method is POST.
     */
    public function convert()
    {
        try {
            // Create an API client instance.
            $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

            // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
            $txt = $client->convertFile("/path/to/invoice.pdf");

            // Send the result and set HTTP response headers.
            return new Response(
                $txt,
                Response::HTTP_OK,
                ["Content-Type" => "text/plain",
                 "Cache-Control" => "no-cache",
                 "Accept-Ranges" => "none",
                 "Content-Disposition" => "attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt")]);
        }
        catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
            // Send the error in the HTTP response.
            return new Response($why->getMessage(),
                                $why->getCode(),
                                ["Content-Type" => "text/plain"]);
        }
    }
}

PDF url to text in Symfony

<?php
namespace App\Controller;

use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

class DemoController
{
    /**
     * @Route("/", methods={"POST"})
     * The recommended method is POST.
     */
    public function convert()
    {
        try {
            // Create an API client instance.
            $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

            // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
            $txt = $client->convertUrl("https://pdfcrowd.com/static/pdf/apisamples/invoice.pdf");

            // Send the result and set HTTP response headers.
            return new Response(
                $txt,
                Response::HTTP_OK,
                ["Content-Type" => "text/plain",
                 "Cache-Control" => "no-cache",
                 "Accept-Ranges" => "none",
                 "Content-Disposition" => "attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt")]);
        }
        catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
            // Send the error in the HTTP response.
            return new Response($why->getMessage(),
                                $why->getCode(),
                                ["Content-Type" => "text/plain"]);
        }
    }
}

In-memory PDF to text in Symfony

<?php
namespace App\Controller;

use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

class DemoController
{
    /**
     * @Route("/", methods={"POST"})
     * The recommended method is POST.
     */
    public function convert()
    {
        try {
            // Create an API client instance.
            $client = new \Pdfcrowd\PdfToTextClient("demo", "ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d");

            // Run the conversion and store the result in the `txt` variable.
            $txt = $client->convertRawData(file_get_contents("/path/to/hello_world.pdf"));

            // Send the result and set HTTP response headers.
            return new Response(
                $txt,
                Response::HTTP_OK,
                ["Content-Type" => "text/plain",
                 "Cache-Control" => "no-cache",
                 "Accept-Ranges" => "none",
                 "Content-Disposition" => "attachment; filename*=UTF-8''" . rawurlencode("invoice.txt")]);
        }
        catch(\Pdfcrowd\Error $why) {
            // Send the error in the HTTP response.
            return new Response($why->getMessage(),
                                $why->getCode(),
                                ["Content-Type" => "text/plain"]);
        }
    }
}