Can we extract the status of checkboxes in pdf file using c#?

Question

I want to get the status of check boxes in pdf file .Pdf file containes no forms but there are some checkboxes here and there. I am abel to extract text of pdf using libaries like pigpdf etc, but the real issue is that i want to extract the status of checkbox. Can any one please help

Leon D · Answer

I am afraid it's hard to read values of such textboxes. However, Free Spire.PDF supports reading text from Pdf page or from a particular rectangular area of a page, you may give it a try. Refer the following documentations. https://www.e-iceblue.com/Tutorials/Spire.PDF/Spire.PDF-Program-Guide/Read-PDF-Read-PDF-Images-and-Text-in-C-VB.NET.html https://www.e-iceblue.com/Tutorials/Spire.PDF/Spire.PDF-Program-Guide/Extract/Read/Extract-Text-from-a-Specific-Rectangular-Area-in-PDF-using-C.html

vishnu pc · Answer

Thank you Leon D for the support I tried this code and it is really helpfull, but I have a problem, the pdf that I want to extract checkbox values dont have specific forms in it. Checkboxes placed here and there . Is there any way to read values of those kind of checkboxes..?

Leon D · Answer

Free Spire.PDF library supports creating and reading pdf form fields. You can install Free Spire.PDF via Nuget Package Manager, and then use the following code to read values of form fields such as textbox, listbox, combo box, radio button and checkbox in PDF. StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(); //Load a pdf document string input = @ "..\..\..\..\..\..\Data\AllFields.pdf" ; PdfDocument doc = new PdfDocument(); doc.LoadFromFile(input); //Get pdf forms PdfFormWidget formWidget = doc.Form as PdfFormWidget; //Find pdf form fields for ( int i = 0; i { PdfField field = formWidget.FieldsWidget.List[i] as PdfField; if (field is PdfTextBoxFieldWidget) { PdfTextBoxFieldWidget textBoxField = field as PdfTextBoxFieldWidget; //Get text of textbox string text = textBoxField.Text; sb.Append( "The text in textbox is " + text + "
" ); } if (field is PdfListBoxWidgetFieldWidget) { PdfListBoxWidgetFieldWidget listBoxField = field as PdfListBoxWidgetFieldWidget; sb.Append( "Listbox items are 
" ); //Get values of listbox PdfListWidgetItemCollection items = listBoxField.Values; foreach (PdfListWidgetItem item in items) { sb.Append(item.Value + "
" ); } //Get selected value string selectedValue = listBoxField.SelectedValue; sb.Append( "The selected value in the listbox is " + selectedValue + "
" ); } if (field is PdfComboBoxWidgetFieldWidget) { PdfComboBoxWidgetFieldWidget comBoxField = field as PdfComboBoxWidgetFieldWidget; sb.Append( "comBoxField items are 
" ); //Get values of comboBox PdfListWidgetItemCollection items = comBoxField.Values; foreach (PdfListWidgetItem item in items) { sb.Append(item.Value + "
" ); } //Get selected value string selectedValue = comBoxField.SelectedValue; sb.Append( "The selected value in the comBoxField is " + selectedValue + "
" ); } if (field is PdfRadioButtonListFieldWidget) { PdfRadioButtonListFieldWidget radioBtnField = field as PdfRadioButtonListFieldWidget; //Get value of radio button string value = radioBtnField.Value; sb.Append( "The text in radioButtonField is " + value + "
" ); } if (field is PdfCheckBoxWidgetFieldWidget) { PdfCheckBoxWidgetFieldWidget checkBoxField = field as PdfCheckBoxWidgetFieldWidget; //Get the checked state of the checkbox bool state = checkBoxField.Checked; sb.Append( "If the checkBox is checked: " + state + "
" ); } } string result = "GetAllValues.txt" ; File.WriteAllText(result, sb.ToString());

vishnu pc · Answer

Thanks salman for the reply , I have tried this before but it is not working .

Salman Beg · Answer

See this link may help you, https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25210668/how-to-check-if-a-checkbox-is-checked-or-not-on-a-non-form-pdf-using-c