Extract text structure Leave feedback
On this page
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_reader.move_to_content()
xml_content = xml_reader.read_outer_xml()
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_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)}")
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_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.pdf")
print(f"Found {len(links)} hyperlinks:\n")
for link in links:
print(f" {link['text']} -> {link['url']}")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.pdf
Structure extraction not supported
Found 0 hyperlinks:
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_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")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.xlsx
Found 2 tables:
Table 1:
Rows: 41
Columns: 9
Table 2:
Rows: 12
Columns: 4
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_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")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.docx
Bold text:
- Supply Agreement
- 1. Parties
- Buyer:
- Supplier:
- 2.1 Autumn Harvest allocation
- 3. Prices and fees
- Product
- Unit
- Price
[TRUNCATED]
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_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.pdf", "structure.xml")
Structure extraction not supported
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_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")
The following sample file is used in this example: sample.pptx
Document has 3 sections:
Section: Section 1
Style: default
Paragraphs: 2
Tables: 0
Lists: 0
Section: Section 2
Style: default
[TRUNCATED]
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)
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!
We value your opinion. Your feedback will help us improve our documentation.
