When you’re trying to collect data from PDF files, it can be a challenge.
PDFs are often used to make documents easy to read on the web, but they can also be used for many other things. PDFs are often used as invoices and contracts by businesses.
These documents can be beneficial for businesses that want to ensure all their legal bases are covered. But if you want information from them, like names or addresses, you will need special tools to find what you need.
This post will go over how you can scrape PDF files into your database without coding.
Why Scrape PDF Files?
PDF files can be helpful in many ways. They can hold thousands of pages of information and are easy to store and manage. This makes them an excellent choice for businesses that must keep all their records in one place.
But they’re also hard to work with because a single PDF file could have thousands of pages and might be challenging to use or manage well.
Here comes scraping! When you scrape PDF files, you can get all the information from them and put it in a format that is easier to manage. You can then use this information as needed, whether for business records or personal use and ensure it stays safe until you need it again.
How to Scrape PDF Files
You can scrape PDF files in two ways: with programming languages like Python or with prebuilt automated software.
Programming languages like Python are great for scraping PDF files. They come with libraries that let you interact with the PDF file differently. Also, many programs have already been written to help you scrape PDFs, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
But if you don’t know how to code (which is why you’re reading this), you should use prebuilt automated software or scraping apps(tools). This method is also easier to use than programming languages.
Web Scraping Applications
Finding the right tools can be challenging if you’re looking to scrape PDF files. Fortunately, many web scraping applications make it easy to extract data from PDFs without coding.
Here’s a look at some of them:
Agenty
Agenty is an RPA software that can scrape data, extract text, and do OCR. It lets you make an agent with just a few mouse clicks. Agenty enables you to use all the data you’ve already processed for your analytics.
Some features include automatically updating when the job is done, adding business rules and custom logic with ease, exporting your file in XML and JSON, and many more. The best part is that you can try it for free for 14 days without giving them your credit card information.
Octoparse
Octoparse is a web data extraction service that works in the cloud. It helps users get useful information from different websites. Its Task Template Mode lets people who don’t know how to code instantly turn web pages into structured data. Scraped data can be saved in various formats, like Excel, plain text, or HTML.
Octoparse can be installed on both Windows and macOS. You can use the free version for simple scraping, or you can upgrade to more advanced plans.
Docparser
Docparser is one of the best web scraping programs for getting information from PDF files. It finds data in Word, PDF, and image-based documents and pulls it out.
With Docparser, you can use a point-and-click interface to get data fields from fixed places in the document. It can scrape data from different sites because it has smart filters and pattern-matching algorithms.
ParseHub
ParseHub is a free web scraping tool. You don’t need any technical knowledge to scrape data using ParseHub. You just need to download its app and install it on your computer. Once installed, open the app, go to the website, and click the data you need to extract. The data will be collected by ParseHub’s servers and downloaded in a JSON, Excel, API, or whatever format you choose.
Proxy for Web Scraping PDF Files
A proxy is a tool that acts as a middleman between your web scraping software and the internet. It acts as an intermediary between your computer and the websites you want to scrape.
Proxies are essential for web scraping PDF files for many reasons. Here are some:
Shield your identity
By using a proxy, you can make it difficult for others to discover your identity. Proxies can also help you ensure that your IP address isn’t visible in the process. This is especially important if you’re scraping information from websites protected by an anti-bot measure or sites blocked in certain countries.
Access geo-blocked content
Proxies allow you to access geo-blocked content without worrying about being blocked yourself. For example, if a website only lets people in certain countries access it, you can use a proxy to ensure you can access it no matter where you are.
Bypass anti-bot measures
Some websites have measures in place to prevent bots from scraping their data. Bots tend to send too many requests at the same which makes it easy for servers to detect and block them. Proxies can help you avoid this by changing your IP address with each request, making it look like requests come from different IP addresses.
Speed up web Scraping
The faster your scraper goes, the more data it can collect in less time, saving you or your company money. Proxy is an easy way to get faster results. It lets you make more requests per second than possible with just one connection from one device (like your laptop).
Conclusion
In this guide, we’ve covered the basics of scraping PDF files. We’ve talked about why scraping PDF files is essential and how you can do so without coding. We’ve also discussed how proxies help you in your web scraping activities.
