PDF Parsing a sentence across multiple Lines

Question

Goal: if pdf line contains sub-string, then copy entire sentence (across multiple lines).

I am able to print() the line the phrase appears in.

Now, once I find this line, I want to go back iterations, until I find a sentence terminator: . ! ?, from the previous sentence, and iterate forward again until the next sentence terminator.

This is so as I can print() the entire sentence the phrase belongs in.

---

Jupyter Notebook:

# pip install PyPDF2
# pip install pdfplumber

# ---
# import re
import glob
import PyPDF2
import pdfplumber

# ---
phrase = "Responsible Care Company"
# SENTENCE_REGEX = re.pattern('^[A-Z][^?!.]*[?.!]$')

def scrape_sentence(sentence, lines, index):
    if '.' in lines[index] or '!' in lines[index] or '?' in lines[index]:
        return sentence.replace('\n', '').strip()
    sentence = scrape_sentence(lines[index-1] + sentence, lines, index-1)  # previous line
    sentence = scrape_sentence(sentence + lines[index+1], lines, index+1)  # 
following line    
    return sentence
    
# ---    
    
with pdfplumber.open('../data/gri/reports/GPIC_Sustainability_Report_2020__-_40_Years_of_Sustainable_Success.pdf') as opened_pdf:
    for page in opened_pdf.pages:
        text = page.extract_text()
        lines = text.split('\n')
        i = 0
        sentence = ''
        while i < len(lines):
            if 'and Knowledge of Individuals; Behaviours; Attitudes, Perception ' in lines[i]:
                sentence = scrape_sentence('', lines, i)  # !
                print(sentence)  # !
            i += 1

Output:

connection and the linkage to the relevant UN’s 17 SDGs.and Leadership. We have long realized and recognized that there

---

Phrase:

Responsible Care Company

Sentence (across multiple lines):

"GPIC is a Responsible Care Company certified for RC 14001 
since July 2010."

PDF (pg. 2).

I have been working on "back-tracking" iterations, based on this solution. I did try a for-loop, but it doesn't let you back back iterations.

Regex sentence added

---

Please let me know if there is anything else I can add to post.

Answer 1

I have a working version. However, this does not account for multiple columns of text from a .pdf page.

See here for a discussion related to that.

---

Example .pdf

Jupyter Notebook:

# pip install PyPDF2
# pip install pdfplumber

# ---

import glob
import PyPDF2
import pdfplumber

# ---

def scrape_sentence(phrase, lines, index):
    # -- Gather sentence 'phrase' occurs in --
    sentence = lines[index]
    print("-- sentence --", sentence)
    print("len(lines)", len(lines))
    
    # Previous lines
    pre_i, flag = index, 0
    while flag == 0:
        pre_i -= 1
        if pre_i <= 0:
            break
            
        sentence = lines[pre_i] + sentence
        
        if '.' in lines[pre_i] or '!' in lines[pre_i] or '?' in lines[pre_i] or '  •  ' in lines[pre_i]:
            flag == 1
    
    print("\n", sentence)
    
    # Following lines
    post_i, flag = index, 0
    while flag == 0:
        post_i += 1
        if post_i >= len(lines):
            break
            
        sentence = sentence + lines[post_i] 
        
        if '.' in lines[post_i] or '!' in lines[post_i] or '?' in lines[post_i] or '  •  ' in lines[pre_i]:
            flag == 1 
    
    print("\n", sentence)
    
    # -- Extract --
    sentence = sentence.replace('!', '.')
    sentence = sentence.replace('?', '.')
    sentence = sentence.split('.')
    sentence = [s for s in sentence if phrase in s]
    print(sentence)
    sentence = sentence[0].replace('\n', '').strip()  # first occurance
    print(sentence)
    
    return sentence

# ---

phrase = 'Global Reporting Initiative'

with pdfplumber.open('GPIC_Sustainability_Report_2016-v9_(lr).pdf') as opened_pdf:
    for page in opened_pdf.pages:
        text = page.extract_text()
        if text == None:
            continue
        lines = text.split('\n')
        i = 0
        sentence = ''
        while i < len(lines):
            if phrase in lines[i]:
                sentence = scrape_sentence(phrase, lines, i)
            i += 1

Output:

-- sentence -- 2016 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Report
len(lines) 7

 2016 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Report

 2016 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) ReportIncluding: UN Global Compact - Communication on ProgressUN Global Compact - Food and Agriculture Business PrinciplesUN Global Compact - Women’s Empowerment Principlesgulf petrochemical industries companyii GPIC SuStaInabIlIty RePoRt 2016 GPIC SuStaInabIlIty RePoRt 2016 01
['2016 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) ReportIncluding: UN Global Compact - Communication on ProgressUN Global Compact - Food and Agriculture Business PrinciplesUN Global Compact - Women’s Empowerment Principlesgulf petrochemical industries companyii GPIC SuStaInabIlIty RePoRt 2016 GPIC SuStaInabIlIty RePoRt 2016 01']
2016 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) ReportIncluding: UN Global Compact - Communication on ProgressUN Global Compact - Food and Agriculture Business PrinciplesUN Global Compact - Women’s Empowerment Principlesgulf petrochemical industries companyii GPIC SuStaInabIlIty RePoRt 2016 GPIC SuStaInabIlIty RePoRt 2016 01

...