PDF Conversion
PDF to XML
Convert PDF to XML with information about text value, tables, fonts, images, objects positions.
POST /v1/pdf/convert/to/xml
Attributes
Attributes are case-sensitive and should be inside JSON for POST request. for example:
{ "url": "https://example.com/file1.pdf" }
Attribute | Type | Required | Default | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
url | string | Yes | - | URL to the source file url attribute |
callback | string | No | - | The callback URL (or Webhook) used to receive the POST data. see Webhooks & Callbacks. This is only applicable when async is set to true . |
httpusername | string | No | - | HTTP auth user name if required to access source URL. |
httppassword | string | No | - | HTTP auth password if required to access source URL. |
pages | string | No | all pages | Specify page indices as comma-separated values or ranges to process (e.g. “0, 1, 2-” or “1, 2, 3-7”). The first-page index is 0. Use ”!” before a number for inverted page numbers (e.g. “!0” for the last page). If not specified, the default configuration processes all pages. The input must be in string format. |
unwrap | boolean | No | false | Unwrap lines into a single line within table cells in provided PDF documents. This is only applicable when lineGrouping is set to 1 . |
rect | string | No | - | Defines coordinates for extraction. UsePDF Edit Add Helper to get or measure PDF coordinates. The format is {x} {y} {width} {height} . |
lang | string | No | eng | Set the language for OCR (text from image) to use for scanned PDF, PNG, and JPG documents input when extracting text. see Language Support. You can also use 2 languages simultaneously like this: eng+deu (any combination). |
inline | boolean | No | false | Set to true to return results inside the response. Otherwise, the endpoint will return a URL to the output file generated. |
lineGrouping | string | No | - | Controls how lines of text are grouped when extracting data from a PDF. Line grouping within table cells. The available modes are: 1 , 2 , 3 . For more information, see Line Grouping. |
password | string | No | - | Password for the PDF file. |
async | boolean | No | false | Set async to true for long processes to run in the background, API will then return a jobId which you can use with the Background Job Check endpoint. Also see Webhooks & Callbacks |
name | string | No | - | File name for the generated output, the input must be in string format. |
expiration | integer | No | 60 | Set the expiration time for the output link in minutes. After this specified duration, any generated output file(s) will be automatically deleted from PDF.co Temporary Files Storage. The maximum duration for link expiration varies based on your current subscription plan. To store permanent input files (e.g. re-usable images, pdf templates, documents) consider using PDF.co Built-In Files Storage. |
profiles | object | No | - | See Profiles for more information. |
OCRMode | string | No | Auto | Specifies how OCR (Optical Character Recognition) should process input content, offering various modes to tailor text extraction based on content type such as images, fonts, and vector graphics. For more information, see OCR Extraction Modes. |
OCRResolution | integer | No | 300 | Use this parameter to change the OCR resolution from the default 300 dpi. The range is from 72 to 1200 dpi. |
RotationAngle | integer | No | - | Use manual rotation to handle PDFs with vertically drawn text. Normally, OCR automatically detects page rotation in PDFs and extracts text accurately. However, in some cases, the PDF might not have an actual rotated page --- Rather, the text itself is drawn vertically. In such scenarios, auto-detection may fail. You can use this parameter to manually set the page rotation. The available angles are: 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 . |
LineGroupingMode | string | No | None | Controls line grouping in PDF text extraction. Modes: None (no grouping), GroupByRows (merge rows if all cells align), GroupByColumns (merge cells by column), JoinOrphanedRows (merge single-cell rows to above if no separator). |
ConsiderFontColors | boolean | No | false | Controls whether font colors should be considered when detecting table structure and merging text objects during PDF extraction. Set to true to consider font colors. |
DetectNewColumnBySpacesRatio | string | No | 1.2 | Controls how spaces between words are interpreted for column detection in PDF text extraction. It defines the ratio of space width that determines when text should be treated as being in separate columns. |
AutoAlignColumnsToHeader | boolean | No | true | Controls how columns are detected and aligned during table extraction from PDF documents. It affects both table structure detection and text extraction with formatting preservation. Set to true to automatically align columns to the header row. When set to true (default), the row with the most columns is used as the header, and all other rows are aligned to this structure --- ideal for well-structured tables. When set to false, columns are analyzed independently across all rows to build the structure, which works better for inconsistent or irregular tables. |
OCRImagePreprocessingFilters.AddGammaCorrection() | array[string (float format)] | No | ["1.4"] | Adds a gamma correction filter to the image preprocessing pipeline used during OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This filter adjusts the brightness and contrast of an image by applying a non-linear gamma correction to improve text recognition quality. |
OCRImagePreprocessingFilters.AddGrayscale() | boolean | No | false | Set to true to preprocessing filter that converts a colored document/image to grayscale before performing OCR |
SaveVectors | boolean | No | false | Controls whether to save vector graphics during PDF to HTML conversion. Set to true to save vector graphics. |
SaveImages | string | No | None | Controls how images are saved during PDF to HTML conversion. Modes: None (no images), OuterFile (save to sub-folder), Embed (embed as Base64 data:URI). |
ConsiderFontSizes | boolean | No | false | Set to true to this parameter makes the converter consider font size differences in document text when detecting and parsing table structures. This can be helpful in cases where tables are formatted using different font sizes to distinguish between headers, data cells, or other structural elements. |
ExtractionArea | array[numbe] | No | - | Extract text in a specific area by defining the extraction area - set with points in the format [x, y, width, height]. |
ExtractShadowLikeText | boolean | No | true | Controls whether to extract invisible text from a PDF document. Set to false to skip over invisible text during extraction. This is particularly useful when dealing with PDFs that contain hidden text layers or when you only want to extract visible content. When this value is set to false, OCRMode must be set to Auto to properly apply the shadow text filtering effect. |
DataEncryptionAlgorithm | string | No | - | Controls the encryption algorithm used for data encryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. The available algorithms are: AES128 , AES192 , AES256 . |
DataEncryptionKey | string | No | - | Controls the encryption key used for data encryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. |
DataEncryptionIV | string | No | - | Controls the encryption IV used for data encryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. |
DataDecryptionAlgorithm | string | No | - | Controls the decryption algorithm used for data decryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. The available algorithms are: AES128 , AES192 , AES256 . |
DataDecryptionKey | string | No | - | Controls the decryption key used for data decryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. |
DataDecryptionIV | string | No | - | Controls the decryption IV used for data decryption. See User-Controlled Encryption for more information. |
You can use profiles to control the convert process and output of the CSV file.
Line Grouping Options
"1"
: GroupByRows – Each row is checked against the next row to see if they can be grouped together. Rows will only be grouped if all cells in the current row can be grouped with all cells in the next row. Useful when merging related content that spans multiple lines but belongs to the same logical row."2"
: GroupByColumns – Each cell is checked against the cell below it in the next row to determine if they can be grouped. Cells are grouped within the same column even if others can’t be grouped. Useful for columnar data where content in each column might span multiple lines."3"
: JoinOrphanedRows – Joins a row with a single cell to the previous row if there is no separator between them. Useful for handling cases with orphaned or misaligned content.
Query parameters
No query parameters accepted.
Responses
Parameter | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
url | string | Direct URL to the final PDF file stored in S3. |
outputLinkValidTill | string | Timestamp indicating when the output link will expire |
pageCount | integer | Number of pages in the PDF document. |
error | boolean | Indicates whether an error occurred (false means success) |
status | string | Status code of the request (200, 404, 500, etc.). For more information, see Response Codes. |
name | string | Name of the output file |
credits | integer | Number of credits consumed by the request |
remainingCredits | integer | Number of credits remaining in the account |
duration | integer | Time taken for the operation in milliseconds |
Example
Payload
To see the request size limits, please refer to the Request Size Limits.
Example
Response
To see the main response codes, please refer to the Response Codes page.