How to extract text using Zend_Pdf from pdf page

Question

Can anyone help with extracting text from a page in a pdf?

<?php
$pdf = Zend_Pdf::load('example.pdf');
$page = $pdf->page[0];

I would assume a page method would exist but I could not find anything to let me extract the contents.

Example: $page->getContents(); $page->toString(); $page->extractText();

...Help!!!! This is driving me crazy!

Answer 1

From the manual it doesn't appear that this functionality is supported. Also, new text is written using the drawText() function, which appears to write images, not plain "decodable" text.

Answer 2

I agree with Andy that this does not appear to be supported. As an alternative, take a look at Shaun Farrell's solution to extracting text from a PDF for use with Zend_Search_Lucene. He uses XPDF, which might also meet your needs.