Extract text structure Leave feedback
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GroupDocs.Parser provides functionality to extract the text structure from documents as an XML representation, preserving document hierarchy including sections, paragraphs, tables, and lists.
- GroupDocs.Parser for Python via .NET installed
- Sample documents for testing
- Understanding of XML structure
The XML structure contains the following tags:
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
document | The root tag |
section | Represents a section (worksheet, slide, etc.). Attributes: style, name |
p | Represents a text paragraph. Attribute: style |
ul | Represents an unordered list |
ol | Represents an ordered list |
li | Represents a list item |
shape | Represents a shape object |
table | Represents a table |
tr | Represents a table row |
td | Represents a table cell. Attributes: rowIndex, columnIndex, rowSpan, columnSpan |
hyperlink | Represents a hyperlink. Attribute: link |
strong | Represents bold text |
em | Represents italic text |
br | Represents a line break |
To extract the document structure as XML:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
# Create an instance of Parser class
with Parser("./sample.docx") as parser:
# Extract text structure
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
# Check if structure extraction is supported
if xml_reader is None:
print("Text structure extraction isn't supported")
else:
# Read XML content
xml_content = xml_reader
print(xml_content)
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx
Expected behavior: Returns an XML representation of the document structure, or None if structure extraction is not supported.
To parse and analyze the XML structure:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
# Create an instance of Parser class
with Parser("sample.docx") as parser:
# Extract text structure
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
if xml_reader is None:
print("Structure extraction not supported")
else:
# Parse XML
xml_content = xml_reader
root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
# Count elements
sections = root.findall('.//section')
paragraphs = root.findall('.//p')
tables = root.findall('.//table')
hyperlinks = root.findall('.//hyperlink')
print(f"Document Structure Analysis:")
print(f" Sections: {len(sections)}")
print(f" Paragraphs: {len(paragraphs)}")
print(f" Tables: {len(tables)}")
print(f" Hyperlinks: {len(hyperlinks)}")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx
Expected behavior: Parses the XML structure and provides statistics about document elements.
To extract hyperlinks using the structure:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def extract_hyperlinks_from_structure(file_path):
"""
Extract all hyperlinks using document structure.
"""
with Parser(file_path) as parser:
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
if xml_reader is None:
print("Structure extraction not supported")
return []
# Parse XML
xml_content = xml_reader
root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
# Find all hyperlink elements
hyperlinks = []
for hyperlink in root.findall('.//hyperlink'):
url = hyperlink.get('link', '')
text = hyperlink.text or ''
if url:
hyperlinks.append({
'text': text,
'url': url
})
return hyperlinks
# Usage
links = extract_hyperlinks_from_structure("sample.pdf")
print(f"Found {len(links)} hyperlinks:
")
for link in links:
print(f" {link['text']} -> {link['url']}")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.pdf
Expected behavior: Extracts all hyperlinks with their text and URLs from the document structure.
To analyze table structure:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def analyze_tables(file_path):
"""
Analyze table structure in document.
"""
with Parser(file_path) as parser:
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
if xml_reader is None:
print("Structure extraction not supported")
return
# Parse XML
xml_content = xml_reader
root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
# Find all tables
tables = root.findall('.//table')
print(f"Found {len(tables)} tables:
")
for idx, table in enumerate(tables, 1):
rows = table.findall('.//tr')
print(f"Table {idx}:")
print(f" Rows: {len(rows)}")
# Get column count from first row
if rows:
cells = rows[0].findall('.//td')
print(f" Columns: {len(cells)}")
# Show cell spanning
cells_with_span = table.findall('.//td[@rowSpan]') + table.findall('.//td[@columnSpan]')
if cells_with_span:
print(f" Cells with spanning: {len(cells_with_span)}")
print()
# Usage
analyze_tables("sample.xlsx")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.xlsx
Expected behavior: Provides detailed analysis of table structures including rows, columns, and cell spanning.
To extract text with formatting information:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def extract_formatted_text(file_path):
"""
Extract text with formatting (bold, italic).
"""
with Parser(file_path) as parser:
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
if xml_reader is None:
print("Structure extraction not supported")
return
# Parse XML
xml_content = xml_reader
root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
# Find formatted text
bold_texts = root.findall('.//strong')
italic_texts = root.findall('.//em')
print("Bold text:")
for text in bold_texts:
if text.text:
print(f" - {text.text}")
print("\nItalic text:")
for text in italic_texts:
if text.text:
print(f" - {text.text}")
# Usage
extract_formatted_text("sample.docx")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx
Expected behavior: Extracts all bold and italic text from the document.
To save the XML structure to a file:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
def save_structure_to_file(file_path, output_xml):
"""
Extract and save document structure to XML file.
"""
with Parser(file_path) as parser:
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
if xml_reader is None:
print("Structure extraction not supported")
return False
# Read and save XML
xml_content = xml_reader
with open(output_xml, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
f.write(xml_content)
print(f"Structure saved to {output_xml}")
return True
# Usage
save_structure_to_file("sample.pdf", "structure.xml")
Expected behavior: Saves the document structure as an XML file for further processing.
To extract information about document sections:
from groupdocs.parser import Parser
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def extract_section_info(file_path):
"""
Extract section information from document.
"""
with Parser(file_path) as parser:
xml_reader = parser.get_structure()
if xml_reader is None:
print("Structure extraction not supported")
return
# Parse XML
xml_content = xml_reader
root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
# Find all sections
sections = root.findall('.//section')
print(f"Document has {len(sections)} sections:
")
for idx, section in enumerate(sections, 1):
name = section.get('name', f'Section {idx}')
style = section.get('style', 'default')
# Count elements in section
paragraphs = section.findall('.//p')
tables = section.findall('.//table')
lists = section.findall('.//ul') + section.findall('.//ol')
print(f"Section: {name}")
print(f" Style: {style}")
print(f" Paragraphs: {len(paragraphs)}")
print(f" Tables: {len(tables)}")
print(f" Lists: {len(lists)}")
print()
# Usage
extract_section_info("sample.pptx")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.pptx
Expected behavior: Provides detailed information about each section in the document.
- The
get_structure()method returnsNoneif structure extraction is not supported - XML structure varies by document type (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Use Python’s
xml.etree.ElementTreeor other XML parsers to process the structure - Structure extraction preserves document hierarchy and formatting information
- Useful for document analysis, content extraction, and format conversion
- Different document types have specific structure features (see documentation)
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