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Search PDF files for text in Java

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Sample Java code for using PDFTron SDK to search text on PDF pages using regular expressions. The TextSearch utility class builds on functionality available in TextExtractor to simplify most common search operations. Learn more about our Java PDF Library and PDF Indexed Search Library.

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//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Copyright (c) 2001-2023 by PDFTron Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved.
// Consult legal.txt regarding legal and license information.
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

import com.pdftron.common.PDFNetException;
import com.pdftron.pdf.*;
import com.pdftron.sdf.SDFDoc;

// This sample illustrates the basic text search capabilities of PDFNet.
public class TextSearchTest {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        PDFNet.initialize(PDFTronLicense.Key());
        String input_path = "../../TestFiles/";

        try {
            PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc(input_path + "credit card numbers.pdf");
            doc.initSecurityHandler();

            TextSearch txt_search = new TextSearch();
            int mode = TextSearch.e_whole_word | TextSearch.e_page_stop;

            String pattern = "joHn sMiTh";

            //PDFDoc doesn't allow simultaneous access from different threads. If this
            //document could be used from other threads (e.g., the rendering thread inside
            //PDFView/PDFViewCtrl, if used), it is good practice to lock it.
            //Notice: don't forget to call doc.Unlock() to avoid deadlock.
            doc.lock();

            //call Begin() method to initialize the text search.
            txt_search.begin(doc, pattern, mode, -1, -1);

            int step = 0;

            //call Run() method iteratively to find all matching instances.
            while (true) {
                TextSearchResult result = txt_search.run();

                if (result.getCode() == TextSearchResult.e_found) {
                    if (step == 0) {
                        //step 0: found "John Smith"
                        //note that, here, 'ambient_string' and 'hlts' are not written to,
                        //as 'e_ambient_string' and 'e_highlight' are not set.
                        System.out.println(result.getResultStr() + "'s credit card number is: ");

                        //now switch to using regular expressions to find John's credit card number
                        mode = txt_search.getMode();
                        mode |= TextSearch.e_reg_expression | TextSearch.e_highlight;
                        txt_search.setMode(mode);
                        String new_pattern = "\\d{4}-\\d{4}-\\d{4}-\\d{4}"; //or "(\\d{4}-){3}\\d{4}"
                        txt_search.setPattern(new_pattern);

                        step = step + 1;
                    } else if (step == 1) {
                        //step 1: found John's credit card number
                        System.out.println("  " + result.getResultStr());

                        //note that, here, 'hlts' is written to, as 'e_highlight' has been set.
                        //output the highlight info of the credit card number
                        Highlights hlts = result.getHighlights();
                        hlts.begin(doc);
                        while (hlts.hasNext()) {
                            System.out.println("The current highlight is from page: " + hlts.getCurrentPageNumber());
                            hlts.next();
                        }

                        //see if there is an AMEX card number
                        String new_pattern = "\\d{4}-\\d{6}-\\d{5}";
                        txt_search.setPattern(new_pattern);

                        step = step + 1;
                    } else if (step == 2) {
                        //found an AMEX card number
                        System.out.println("\nThere is an AMEX card number:");
                        System.out.println("  " + result.getResultStr());

                        //change mode to find the owner of the credit card; supposedly, the owner's
                        //name proceeds the number
                        mode = txt_search.getMode();
                        mode |= TextSearch.e_search_up;
                        txt_search.setMode(mode);
                        String new_pattern = "[A-z]++ [A-z]++";
                        txt_search.setPattern(new_pattern);

                        step = step + 1;
                    } else if (step == 3) {
                        //found the owner's name of the AMEX card
                        System.out.println("Is the owner's name:");
                        System.out.println("  " + result.getResultStr() + "?");

                        //add a link annotation based on the location of the found instance
                        Highlights hlts = result.getHighlights();
                        hlts.begin(doc);
                        while (hlts.hasNext()) {
                            Page cur_page = doc.getPage(hlts.getCurrentPageNumber());
                            double[] q = hlts.getCurrentQuads();
                            int quad_count = q.length / 8;
                            for (int i = 0; i < quad_count; ++i) {
                                //assume each quad is an axis-aligned rectangle
                                int offset = 8 * i;
                                double x1 = Math.min(Math.min(Math.min(q[offset + 0], q[offset + 2]), q[offset + 4]), q[offset + 6]);
                                double x2 = Math.max(Math.max(Math.max(q[offset + 0], q[offset + 2]), q[offset + 4]), q[offset + 6]);
                                double y1 = Math.min(Math.min(Math.min(q[offset + 1], q[offset + 3]), q[offset + 5]), q[offset + 7]);
                                double y2 = Math.max(Math.max(Math.max(q[offset + 1], q[offset + 3]), q[offset + 5]), q[offset + 7]);
                                com.pdftron.pdf.annots.Link hyper_link = com.pdftron.pdf.annots.Link.create(doc, new Rect(x1, y1, x2, y2), Action.createURI(doc, "http://www.pdftron.com"));
                                cur_page.annotPushBack(hyper_link);
                            }
                            hlts.next();
                        }
                        String output_path = "../../TestFiles/Output/";
                        doc.save(output_path + "credit card numbers_linked.pdf", SDFDoc.SaveMode.LINEARIZED, null);
                        // output PDF doc
                        break;
                    }
                } else if (result.getCode() == TextSearchResult.e_page) {
                    //you can update your UI here, if needed
                } else {
                    break;
                }
            }

            doc.unlock();
            doc.close();
        } catch (PDFNetException e) {
            System.out.println(e);
        }

        PDFNet.terminate();
    }
}