Extract text structure Leave feedback

Prerequisites

GroupDocs.Parser for Python via .NET installed
Sample documents for testing
Understanding of XML structure

Document structure elements

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

Extract text structure

To extract the document structure as XML:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        print(xml_content)

sample.docx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx

extract-text-structure.txt

<document><section><p>Supply Agreement  |  Harbor Lane Provisions and Northwind Coffee Roasters  |  Confidential</p><p style="TITLE"><strong>Supply Agreement</strong></p><p>Harbor Lane Provisions and Northwind Coffee Roasters</p><p style="HEADING1"><strong>1. Parties</strong></p><p><strong>Buyer: </strong>Harbor Lane Provisions, 18 Quayside Road, Port Ellery, represented by Lena Park, Procurement Lead.</p><p><strong>Supplier: </strong>Northwind Coffee Roasters, 4 Roastery Lane, Millbrook, repres
[TRUNCATED]

Download full output

Expected behavior: Returns an XML representation of the document structure, or None if structure extraction is not supported.

Parse and analyze document structure

To parse and analyze the XML structure:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        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)}")

sample.docx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx

parse-and-analyze-document-structure.txt

Document Structure Analysis:
  Sections: 1
  Paragraphs: 53
  Tables: 1
  Hyperlinks: 4

Download full output

Expected behavior: Parses the XML structure and provides statistics about document elements.

Extract all hyperlinks from structure

To extract hyperlinks using the structure:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
        
        # Find all hyperlink elements
        hyperlinks = []
        for hyperlink in root.findall('.//hyperlink'):
            url = hyperlink.get('link', '')
            text = ''.join(hyperlink.itertext())
            
            if url:
                hyperlinks.append({
                    'text': text,
                    'url': url
                })
        
        return hyperlinks

# Usage
links = extract_hyperlinks_from_structure("sample.docx")
print(f"Found {len(links)} hyperlinks:\n")
for link in links:
    print(f"  {link['text']} -> {link['url']}")

sample.docx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx

extract-hyperlinks-from-structure.txt

Found 4 hyperlinks:

  supplier quality charter -> https://harborlane.example/suppliers/charter
  northwindroasters.example/quality -> https://northwindroasters.example/quality
  harborlane.example/terms -> https://harborlane.example/terms
  lena.park@harborlane.example -> mailto:lena.park@harborlane.example

Download full output

Expected behavior: Extracts all hyperlinks with their text and URLs from the document structure.

Extract table structure

To analyze table structure:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
        
        # Find all tables
        tables = root.findall('.//table')
        
        print(f"Found {len(tables)} tables:\n")
        
        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 (a merged cell counts its columnSpan)
            if rows:
                cells = rows[0].findall('td')
                print(f"  Columns: {sum(int(td.get('columnSpan', '1')) for td in cells)}")
            
            # Show cell spanning (cells that span more than one row or column)
            cells_with_span = [td for td in table.findall('.//td')
                               if td.get('rowSpan', '1') != '1' or td.get('columnSpan', '1') != '1']
            if cells_with_span:
                print(f"  Cells with spanning: {len(cells_with_span)}")
            
            print()

# Usage
analyze_tables("sample.xlsx")

sample.xlsx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.xlsx

analyze-tables.txt

Found 2 tables:

Table 1:
  Rows: 41
  Columns: 9

Table 2:
  Rows: 12
  Columns: 4

Download full output

Expected behavior: Provides detailed analysis of table structures including rows, columns, and cell spanning.

Extract formatted text

To extract text with formatting information:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        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:
            content = ''.join(text.itertext()).strip()
            if content:
                print(f"  - {content}")
        
        print("\nItalic text:")
        for text in italic_texts:
            content = ''.join(text.itertext()).strip()
            if content:
                print(f"  - {content}")

# Usage
extract_formatted_text("sample.docx")

sample.docx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx

extract-formatted-text.txt

Bold text:
  - Supply Agreement
  - 1. Parties
  - Buyer:
  - Supplier:
  - 2.1 Autumn Harvest allocation
  - 3. Prices and fees
  - Product
  - Unit
  - Price
[TRUNCATED]

Download full output

Expected behavior: Extracts all bold and italic text from the document.

Save structure to file

To save the XML structure to a file:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        
        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.docx", "structure.xml")

sample.docx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx

structure.xml

<document><section><p>Supply Agreement  |  Harbor Lane Provisions and Northwind Coffee Roasters  |  Confidential</p><p style="TITLE"><strong>Supply Agreement</strong></p><p>Harbor Lane Provisions and Northwind Coffee Roasters</p><p style="HEADING1"><strong>1. Parties</strong></p><p><strong>Buyer: </strong>Harbor Lane Provisions, 18 Quayside Road, Port Ellery, represented by Lena Park, Procurement Lead.</p><p><strong>Supplier: </strong>Northwind Coffee Roasters, 4 Roastery Lane, Millbrook, repres
[TRUNCATED]

Download full output

Expected behavior: Saves the document structure as an XML file for further processing.

Extract section information

To extract information about document sections:

Python

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_reader.move_to_content()
        xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
        root = ET.fromstring(xml_content)
        
        # Find all sections
        sections = root.findall('.//section')
        
        print(f"Document has {len(sections)} sections:\n")
        
        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")

sample.pptx

The following sample file is used in this example: sample.pptx

extract-section-info.txt

Document has 3 sections:

Section: Section 1
  Style: default
  Paragraphs: 2
  Tables: 0
  Lists: 0

Section: Section 2
  Style: default
[TRUNCATED]

Download full output

Expected behavior: Provides detailed information about each section in the document.

Notes

The get_structure() method returns None if structure extraction is not supported
XML structure varies by document type (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Use Python’s xml.etree.ElementTree or 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)

We value your opinion. Your feedback will help us improve our documentation.

Extract text structure Leave feedback

On this page

Prerequisites

Document structure elements

Extract text structure

Parse and analyze document structure

Extract all hyperlinks from structure

Extract table structure

Extract formatted text

Save structure to file

Extract section information

Notes

Was this page helpful?

Any additional feedback you'd like to share with us?

Please tell us how we can improve this page.

Thank you for your feedback!

On this page

Extract text structure Leave feedback

On this page

Prerequisites

Document structure elements

Extract text structure

Parse and analyze document structure

Extract all hyperlinks from structure

Extract table structure

Extract formatted text

Save structure to file

Extract section information

Notes

Related pages

Was this page helpful?

Any additional feedback you'd like to share with us?

Please tell us how we can improve this page.

Thank you for your feedback!

On this page