# Noob:: Parsing a PDF into usable data

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/noob-parsing-a-pdf-into-usable-data/146109>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [August 18, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/noob-parsing-a-pdf-into-usable-data/146109 "2008-08-18T02:00:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bushymark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@bushymark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bushymark)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/noob-parsing-a-pdf-into-usable-data/146109/1 "2008-08-18T02:00:03Z")

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Hey all,

Beginner here, working on planning stage for an employee management  
app that I am about to start putting together. I was wondering if  
someone could point me in the right direction:

The scheduling software spits out a PDF of the weekly schedule. This  
is a text file, formatted in tables that look like it would take very  
little work to interpret. I would like to figure out a way to parse it  
into usable data for my application so the schedule does not have to  
be entered by hand every time . . . but I don’t know where to start.  
Is there a way to do this? And if so, where would you recommend I  
start focusing my research?

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**Author:** ![bushymark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@bushymark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bushymark)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:21am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/noob-parsing-a-pdf-into-usable-data/146109/2 "2008-08-18T05:21:59Z")

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Google it: pdf to plain text

On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 8:21 PM, BushyMark [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> into usable data for my application so the schedule does not have to  
> be entered by hand every time . . . but I don’t know where to start.  
> Is there a way to do this? And if so, where would you recommend I  
> start focusing my research?
> 
> >

–  
Regards,

Luiz Vitor Martinez C.  
cel.: (11) 8187-8662  
blog: [rubz.org](http://rubz.org)  
engineer student at maua.br

“Posso nunca chegar a ser o melhor engenheiro do mundo, mas tenha  
certeza de  
que eu vou lutar com todas as minhas forças para ser o melhor engenheiro  
que  
eu puder ser”

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**Author:** ![bushymark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@bushymark](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/bushymark)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/noob-parsing-a-pdf-into-usable-data/146109/3 "2008-08-18T12:17:44Z")

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I did . . . I have been sorting through chintzy windows applications  
and workarounds for a day and I have been having a difficult time  
finding the answer I have been looking for. I was hoping for a  
programmatic answer so I could teach myself a new skill . . . not to  
mention build the workflow into my app. Part of the problem right now  
is that there is a 12 step process getting the schedule into the  
present day administration app . . . thought it would be great to  
simplify that.

Despite the rails noob status, I am _usually_ very google adept…  
unless there is some other keyword that can be added to that search  
string that will magically clear up the results, googling “pdf to  
text” doesn’t provide that kind of answer (unless I am missing  
something).

thanks anyway

On Aug 17, 11:21 pm, “Luiz Vitor Martinez C.” [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)