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Finding Content

PDFDancer provides flexible selection methods to find content in your PDF documents. You can select all elements of a type, find elements at specific positions, or search by text content. All selection methods work at both document and page level.

Document-Level vs Page-Level Selection​

Every selection method can search across the entire document or limit to a specific page:

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Document-level: searches ALL pages
    all_paragraphs = pdf.select_paragraphs()

    # Page-level: searches only page 0
    page_paragraphs = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs()

1. Select All Elements​

Get all elements of a specific type from the document or page.

Available Content Types​

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Text content
    all_paragraphs = pdf.select_paragraphs()
    all_lines = pdf.select_text_lines()  # or select_lines()

    # Visual content
    all_images = pdf.select_images()
    all_paths = pdf.select_paths()  # vector graphics
    all_forms = pdf.select_forms()  # form XObjects (templates, watermarks)

    # Interactive content
    all_fields = pdf.select_form_fields()  # AcroForm fields

    # Page-scoped selections
    page_paragraphs = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs()
    page_images = pdf.page(1).select_images()

Select All Elements (Convenience Method)​

Use select_elements() to get all content types at once:

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Get all elements in the entire document
    # Returns paragraphs, text lines, images, paths, forms, and form fields
    all_elements = pdf.select_elements()

    # Get all elements on a specific page
    page_elements = pdf.page(1).select_elements()

    # Process all elements
    for element in page_elements:
        print(f"Type: {element.object_type}, Position: ({element.position.x}, {element.position.y})")

Working with Selected Elements​

All selection methods return lists/arrays of typed objects with methods and properties:

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Select and inspect
    paragraphs = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs()
    for para in paragraphs:
        print(f"Text: {para.text}")
        print(f"Font: {para.font_name} at {para.font_size}pt")
        print(f"Position: ({para.position.x()}, {para.position.y()})")

    # Select and manipulate
    images = pdf.select_images()
    for img in images:
        print(f"Image at ({img.position.x()}, {img.position.y()})")
        # Objects have .delete(), .move_to(), etc.

    # Select and check form fields
    fields = pdf.select_form_fields()
    for field in fields:
        print(f"{field.field_name}: {field.value}")

2. Select by Position​

Find elements at specific x, y coordinates on a page. Useful when you know the layout structure.

Selecting at Coordinates​

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Find paragraphs at specific coordinates
    header = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_at(x=72, y=750)

    # Find images at logo position
    logo = pdf.page(1).select_images_at(x=50, y=750)

    # Find form fields at signature area
    signature = pdf.page(2).select_form_fields_at(x=150, y=100)

    # Find paths (vector graphics) at specific position
    lines = pdf.page(1).select_paths_at(x=200, y=400)

    # Find form XObjects at watermark position
    watermark = pdf.page(1).select_forms_at(x=300, y=400)

    # Find text lines at specific coordinates
    date_line = pdf.page(1).select_text_lines_at(x=500, y=750)

Practical Example: Fixed Layout Documents​

with PDFDancer.open("invoice.pdf") as pdf:
    # Invoice header is always at (72, 750)
    header = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_at(72, 750)
    if header:
        print(f"Invoice: {header[0].text}")

    # Total amount always at (450, 150)
    total = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_at(450, 150)
    if total:
        print(f"Total: {total[0].text}")

    # Company logo always at (50, 750)
    logo = pdf.page(1).select_images_at(50, 750)
    if logo:
        print(f"Found logo at expected position")

Visual Example: Coordinate-Based Selection​

See how PDFDancer finds elements at specific X,Y coordinates:

PDF with coordinate point (crosshair) and highlighted elements that intersect

3. Select by Content​

Search for text elements by their content using text matching or regular expressions.

Select by Text Prefix​

Find paragraphs or text lines that start with specific text. You can search across the entire document or limit the search to a specific page.

with PDFDancer.open("invoice.pdf") as pdf:
    # Document-level search (searches all pages)
    invoices = pdf.select_paragraphs_starting_with("Invoice #")
    totals = pdf.select_paragraphs_starting_with("Total:")
    disclaimers = pdf.select_paragraphs_starting_with("Note:")

    # Find text lines by prefix across all pages
    date_lines = pdf.select_text_lines_starting_with("Date:")
    amount_lines = pdf.select_text_lines_starting_with("Amount:")

    # Page-scoped prefix search (only searches specific page)
    page_headers = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_starting_with("Executive Summary")

Select by Pattern (Regex)​

Use regular expressions to find text matching complex patterns. Pattern matching works at both document and page levels.

Java Regex Syntax

All SDKs use Java-compatible regular expression syntax as defined in the Java Pattern class. Common patterns work the same across Python, TypeScript, and Java.

import re

with PDFDancer.open("document.pdf") as pdf:
    # Document-level pattern matching (searches all pages)
    # Find dates in format YYYY-MM-DD
    dates = pdf.select_paragraphs_matching(r"\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}")

    # Find email addresses
    emails = pdf.select_paragraphs_matching(r"[\w\.-]+@[\w\.-]+\.\w+")

    # Find dollar amounts
    prices = pdf.select_paragraphs_matching(r"\$\d+\.\d{2}")

    # Find phone numbers
    phones = pdf.select_text_lines_matching(r"\(\d{3}\) \d{3}-\d{4}")

    # Find ZIP codes
    zips = pdf.select_text_lines_matching(r"\d{5}(-\d{4})?")

    # Find invoice numbers (custom pattern)
    invoice_nums = pdf.select_paragraphs_matching(r"INV-\d{6}")

    # Page-scoped pattern matching (only searches specific page)
    page_dates = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_matching(r"\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}")

Select by Field Name​

For form fields, you can select by the field's name:

with PDFDancer.open("form.pdf") as pdf:
    # Find specific form fields by name
    signature_fields = pdf.select_form_fields_by_name("signature")
    name_fields = pdf.select_form_fields_by_name("applicant_name")
    date_fields = pdf.select_form_fields_by_name("application_date")

    # Check and modify field values
    if signature_fields:
        sig = signature_fields[0]
        print(f"Signature value: {sig.value}")
        sig.edit().value("John Doe").apply()

Combining Selection Methods​

You can chain and combine selection methods to create complex queries:

from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("invoice.pdf") as pdf:
    # Find all invoices on first page
    invoices = pdf.page(1).select_paragraphs_starting_with("Invoice #")

    # Find all dollar amounts
    prices = pdf.select_paragraphs_matching(r"\$\d+\.\d{2}")

    # Find signature field and check if signed
    sig_fields = pdf.select_form_fields_by_name("signature")
    if sig_fields and sig_fields[0].value:
        print("Document is signed")

    # Delete all images on page 2
    for img in pdf.page(2).select_images():
        img.delete()

    pdf.save("processed.pdf")

Convenience Methods: Select First Match​

All multi-result selection methods (select_paragraphs_*, select_text_lines_*, etc.) return arrays/lists. For convenience, singular versions are available that return just the first match (or null/None if no matches found).

When to Use Singular Methods​

Use singular selection methods when you:

  • Know there's only one match expected
  • Only need the first occurrence
  • Want to avoid index access (results[0])
from pdfdancer import PDFDancer

with PDFDancer.open("invoice.pdf") as pdf:
    # Plural: returns list (may be empty)
    headers = pdf.select_paragraphs_starting_with("Invoice #")
    if headers:
        first_header = headers[0]

    # Singular: returns first match or None
    first_header = pdf.select_paragraph_starting_with("Invoice #")
    if first_header:
        print(f"Invoice number: {first_header.text}")

Available Singular Methods​

Plural MethodSingular MethodReturn Type
select_paragraphs()select_paragraph()First paragraph or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_paragraphs_starting_with(text)select_paragraph_starting_with(text)First match or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_paragraphs_matching(pattern)select_paragraph_matching(pattern)First match or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_paragraphs_at(x, y)select_paragraph_at(x, y)First match or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_text_lines()select_text_line()First text line or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_text_lines_starting_with(text)select_text_line_starting_with(text)First match or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_text_lines_matching(pattern)select_text_line_matching(pattern)First match or null/None/Optional.empty()
select_text_lines_at(x, y)select_text_line_at(x, y)First match or null/None/Optional.empty()
Java Optional Pattern

Java returns Optional<T> for singular methods, following Java best practices:

pdf.selectTextLineMatching("\\d{3}-\\d{4}")
    .ifPresent(line -> System.out.println(line.getText()));
Python/TypeScript Return null/None

Python returns None and TypeScript returns null when no matches are found. Always check before using:

line = pdf.select_text_line_matching(r"\d{3}-\d{4}")
if line:  # Check for None
    print(line.text)

Selection Method Summary​

By Content Type​

Content TypeAllBy Text/NameBy PatternAt Coordinates
Paragraphsselect_paragraphs()select_paragraphs_starting_with()select_paragraphs_matching()select_paragraphs_at()
Text Linesselect_text_lines()select_text_lines_starting_with()select_text_lines_matching()select_text_lines_at()
Imagesselect_images()——select_images_at()
Form Fieldsselect_form_fields()select_form_fields_by_name()—select_form_fields_at()
Form XObjectsselect_forms()——select_forms_at()
Pathsselect_paths()——select_paths_at()

Scope​

All selection methods work at two levels:

  • Document-level: pdf.select_*() - searches across all pages
  • Page-level: pdf.page(pageNumber).select_*() - searches only on specified page

Next Steps​