PDF to Text / Python Guide

Overview

This page serves as a guide for using the PDFCrowd API to extract text from PDF in Python applications.

pip install pdfcrowd

git clone https://github.com/pdfcrowd/pdfcrowd-python
cd pdfcrowd-python
pip install .

Quick Start

Below are Python examples to help you quickly get started with the API. Explore our additional examples for more insights.

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # Create an API client instance.
    client = pdfcrowd.PdfToTextClient('demo', 'ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d')

    # Run the conversion and save the result to a file.
    client.convertFileToFile('/path/to/invoice.pdf', 'invoice.txt')
    
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))
    raise

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # Create an API client instance.
    client = 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')
    
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))
    raise

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # Create an API client instance.
    client = pdfcrowd.PdfToTextClient('demo', 'ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d')

    # Run the conversion and save the result to a file.
    client.convertRawDataToFile(open('/path/to/hello_world.pdf', 'rb').read(), 'invoice.txt')
    
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))
    raise

Authentication

To access the API, you will need to use your PDFCrowd username and API key. For initial testing, you may use the following demo credentials without registering:

• Username: demo
• API key: ce544b6ea52a5621fb9d55f8b542d14d

To obtain your personal API credentials, start a free trial or purchase the API license.

Error Handling

It is recommended that you implement error handling to catch errors the API may return. Effective error handling is vital as it ensures application stability and provides clearer diagnostics. See the example code below for guidance on implementing error handling, and refer to this list of status codes for more information.

try: 
    # call the API 
except pdfcrowd.Error as why: 
    # print the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # print the error code
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error Code: {}\n'.format(why.getCode()))

    # print the error message
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error Message: {}\n'.format(why.getMessage()))

Troubleshooting

• If you are receiving an error, refer to the API Status Codes for more information.
• Use setDebugLog() and getDebugLogUrl() to obtain detailed information about the conversion process, including load errors, load times, browser console output, etc.
• Consult the FAQ for answers to common questions.
• Contact us if you need assistance or if there is a feature you are missing.

API Method Reference

Refer to the PDF to Text Python Reference for a description of all API methods.