Extracting Text from Uploaded Files in Node.js: A Continuation

Luqman Shaban
2 min readJun 3, 2024

--

Introduction

In our previous article, we covered the basics of uploading files in a Node.js application. Now, let’s take it a step further by extracting text from uploaded files. This tutorial will guide you through using the `officeparser` library to parse and extract text from office documents, such as PDFs, in a Node.js environment.

Step 1: Install the `officeparser` Library

First, install the `officeparser` library if you haven’t already:

npm install officeparser

Step 2: Create the Extraction Function

Next, create a function to extract text from the uploaded file. Here’s the code snippet:

import { parseOfficeAsync } from "officeparser";
async function extractTextFromFile(path) {
try {
const data = await parseOfficeAsync(path);
return data.toString();
} catch (error) {
return error;
}
}
const fileText = await extractTextFromFile('files/Luqman-resume.pdf');
console.log(fileText);

This function utilizes `parseOfficeAsync` to asynchronously read and extract text from the specified file path. If successful, it converts the data to a string and returns it; otherwise, it catches and returns any errors encountered.

Step 3: Integrate with Node.js endpoints
You can follow the tutorial in this Article to create an endpoint that supports file upload.

Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you’ve extended your Node.js application to extract text from these files. This can be particularly useful for applications requiring document processing or data extraction from user-uploaded files.

Stay tuned for more advanced features and enhancements in our next article!

— -

Stay Updated!

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to stay updated with more tips and guides, subscribe to our newsletter for the latest content straight to your inbox.

--

--

Luqman Shaban

Founder & CEO at wrenify.com, I specialize in creating custom software solutions that drive innovation and efficiency for small businesses.