Document Parser#

Extract text and tables from documents (.docx, .pdf, .txt) for analysis and question-answering.

Quick Start#

Parse a document:

bash

python scripts/parse_document.py /path/to/document.pdf

Output is JSON with extracted text, tables, and metadata.

Installation#

First use only: Install dependencies by running:

• Linux/macOS: bash scripts/install_dependencies.sh
• Windows: scripts\install_dependencies.bat

This installs: python-docx, PyPDF2, pdfplumber

Supported Formats#

FormatTextTablesNotes.txt✅❌Direct text extraction.docx✅✅Paragraphs + structured tables.pdf✅✅Page-by-page extraction

Workflow#

1. Parse the document using scripts/parse_document.py
2. Analyze the output (text and tables in JSON)
3. Answer the user's question using extracted content

Example: Answering questions about a document#

User: "What's the total revenue in quarterly_report.docx?"

Steps:

1. Run: python scripts/parse_document.py quarterly_report.docx
2. Locate tables in output
3. Find revenue column and calculate total
4. Reply with answer

Output Format#

Default JSON output:

json

{
  "text": "Full document text...",
  "tables": [
    [["Header 1", "Header 2"], ["Data 1", "Data 2"]]
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "format": "pdf",
    "pages": 3,
    "tables": 1
  }
}

Human-readable format (add --format text):

text

==========================================================
EXTRACTED TEXT:
==========================================================
Document content here...

==========================================================
TABLES FOUND: 2
==========================================================

Table 1:
Name | Age | City
John | 30 | NYC
Jane | 25 | LA

Advanced Usage#

For detailed examples and edge cases, see references/usage_examples.md.

Error Handling#

If dependencies are missing, the script returns an error with installation instructions. Run the appropriate install script to resolve.

Notes#

• Large PDFs: Processing may take time for documents >50 pages
• Scanned PDFs: OCR not supported; text must be selectable
• Complex tables: PDF table extraction works best with clear borders