PHP ActiveX Requires Chilkat v11.7.0+

Get a PDF Field Value by its Label (Value to the Right)

See more PDF Text Extraction Examples

Demonstrates the "label" option, which captures the text that belongs to a caption such as "Invoice Number:" without needing coordinates. With labelValue "right", the value is the rest of the label's line. Label matching ignores case, extra spaces and a trailing colon. PHP ActiveX

<?php

$success = 0;

//  This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
//  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

//  The invoice used in this example is available at invoice_labels.pdf

$pdf = new COM("Chilkat.Pdf");
$success = $pdf->LoadFile('qa_data/pdf/invoice_labels.pdf');
if ($success == 0) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

$json = new COM("Chilkat.JsonObject");
$jsonOut = new COM("Chilkat.JsonObject");

//  The invoice has lines such as "Invoice Number:   INV-2026-0412".
//  The label option restricts the "text" operation to the text belonging to the label.
$json->UpdateString('label','Invoice Number');

//  "right" means the value is the rest of the label's line.
//  (The default, "auto", uses the rest of the line if there is text there, otherwise the block below.)
$json->UpdateString('labelValue','right');

$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text',$json,$jsonOut);
if ($success == 0) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

//  The value is returned as the text.
print 'Invoice Number: ' . $jsonOut->stringOf('text') . "\n";

//  The labelMatches array tells where the label was found and how it appeared in the PDF.
print 'Found on page ' . $jsonOut->IntOf('labelMatches[0].page') . ' as \'' . $jsonOut->stringOf('labelMatches[0].label') . '\'' . "\n";

//  Matching ignores case and the trailing colon, so these all work:
$json->UpdateString('label','CUSTOMER:');
$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text',$json,$jsonOut);
if ($success == 0) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

print 'Customer: ' . $jsonOut->stringOf('text') . "\n";

$json->UpdateString('label','due date');
$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text',$json,$jsonOut);
if ($success == 0) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

print 'Due Date: ' . $jsonOut->stringOf('text') . "\n";

//  The totals at the foot of the invoice are right-aligned labels with the amount beside them.
$json->UpdateString('label','Total Due');
$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text',$json,$jsonOut);
if ($success == 0) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

print 'Total Due: ' . $jsonOut->stringOf('text') . "\n";

//  A label that is not found is not an error.  The text is empty, labelMatches is empty,
//  and the quality report has an issue with the code "labelNotFound".
$json->UpdateString('label','Tracking Number');
$success = $pdf->ExtractText('text',$json,$jsonOut);
if ($success == 0) {
    print $pdf->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

if ($jsonOut->SizeOfArray('labelMatches') == 0) {
    print 'Tracking Number: (not found) ' . $jsonOut->stringOf('quality.pages[0].issues[0].code') . "\n";
}

//  Sample output:

//  Invoice Number: INV-2026-0412
//  Found on page 1 as "Invoice Number:"
//  Customer: Northwind Traders
//  Due Date: April 13, 2026
//  Total Due: $1,234.53
//  Tracking Number: (not found) labelNotFound

?>