PDF to text

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/files/PDF_to_TEXT.aspx

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/string/pdf2text.aspx

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cpp/ExtractPDFText.aspx?fid=47947&df=90&mpp=25&noise=3&sort=Position&view=Quick&fr=51&select=1192500

http://www.tallcomponents.com/

http://www.codeproject.com/showcase/TallComponents.asp

similar thread

it requires that you have the full version of Adobe installed on your PC so that you can gain access to the Adobe APIs (which doesn't technically qualify as a free way to do it). Here is the code I used to read the contents of a PDF. You will have to add a reference to the Adobe APIs in your project:

Dim objPDFPage As AcroPDPage

Dim objPDFDoc As New AcroPDDoc

Dim objPDFAVDoc As AcroAVDoc

Dim objAcroApp As AcroApp

Dim objPDFRectTemp As Object

Dim objPDFRect As New AcroRect

Dim lngTextRangeCount As Long

Dim objPDFTextSelection As AcroPDTextSelect

Dim temptextcount As Long

Dim strText As String

Dim lngPageCount As Long

Dim Fora As Long

objPDFDoc.Open(tbdocdisplaypath.Text)

lngPageCount = objPDFDoc.GetNumPages

For Fora = 0 To lngPageCount - 1

objPDFPage = objPDFDoc.AcquirePage(Fora)

objPDFRectTemp = objPDFPage.GetSize

objPDFRect.Left = 0

objPDFRect.right = objPDFRectTemp.x

objPDFRect.Top = objPDFRectTemp.y

objPDFRect.bottom = 0

' objPDFTextSelection = objPDFDoc.CreateTextSelect(lngPageCount, objPDFRect)

objPDFTextSelection = objPDFDoc.CreateTextSelect(Fora, objPDFRect)

' Get The Text Of The Range

temptextcount = objPDFTextSelection.GetNumText

For lngTextRangeCount = 1 To objPDFTextSelection.GetNumText

doctextdoctext = doctext & objPDFTextSelection.GetText(lngTextRangeCount - 1)

Next

doctextdoctext = doctext & vbCrLf

Next

doctype = "PDF"

objPDFDoc.Close()