Reports, invoices and statements exported from other software, read page by page from the PDF's own text layer. Password-protected PDFs open with the password set in the job.
PDF data extraction software that renames and files documents by what they say.
Most PDFs and Word, Excel and PowerPoint files already contain their text. SimpleIndex reads it directly, pulls out the values you need, such as invoice numbers, dates, names and account numbers, and uses them to rename each file, file it in the right folder and send the data to your database. It runs in batches on your own Windows PC or server, licensed once with no per-page fee: $600 for Standard, $1,800 for Professional.
Field 01 text_parsing_job
From a folder of files to named, filed documents.
Point a job at a folder
PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and RTF files, subfolders included, from a local, network or synced cloud folder. A text file with the same name beside a document is read as that document's text.
Read the text that is already there
Text-based PDFs and Office files are read directly, with no OCR, so every value matches the document character for character. A scanned PDF with no text is OCR'd instead; the Skip OCR if text exists option makes that choice for each file.
Pull out the values
Draw a zone on a sample page and the value is taken from the text inside it, in both editions. Professional also finds values that move around: a pattern for an invoice number or date, a list of customer names, or the label a value sits next to.
Rename and file by content
File and folder names are built from the values found, such as Acme2026INV-10442.pdf, so a whole folder of exports is renamed and sorted in one batch.
Send the data on
Write the values to a log file or to SQL Server, Access or any ODBC database, and save each document as a searchable PDF or PDF/A. Professional adds SharePoint, email, XML and JSON, and custom exports.
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What SimpleIndex reads text from
Each source is read the most exact way available: a document's own text first, OCR only when there is none.
A scan has no text to read, so its pages are OCR'd first. The values are then only as accurate as the engine reading them, which is where FineReader earns its place.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint
DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX and RTF, read without Microsoft Office installed. A document's Title, Author, Subject and Keywords properties can be index values too.
Values typed into a fillable PDF are read by field name, with no OCR and no zones to draw. The same job can fill blank forms from the values it has.
For documents that arrive with their data alongside: values taken from an XML or JSON file of the same name, by XPath or JSON path.
Email messages, HTML and text files are converted to PDF in the batch. Office files convert to PDF too when Microsoft Office or OpenOffice is installed.
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What happens to the values
SimpleIndex doesn't replace your document management system or accounting software. It feeds them documents that are already named, sorted and indexed.
Rename PDF files by content
Names built from any mix of index values, dates and counters, applied to every file in the batch. A name that is already taken gets a number instead of overwriting the file.
File into folders
Folder paths built the same way, so one flat folder of exports becomes Customer, Year and Document type, in the folder structure you already use.
Create or update records in SQL Server, Access, Oracle, MySQL or any ODBC source, or look up a record by the value found and fill in the other fields from it.
Every output can be a searchable PDF, or PDF/A for archiving, with bookmarks and the index values written into the document properties.
Sort PDFs before reading them
Separate a mixed folder by PDF version, damage, forms, passwords, signatures or image-only pages, and repair damaged PDFs before anything else runs.
Upload to a SharePoint library with its metadata columns filled in, send documents by email, or export the data as XML, JSON or a custom format.
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Standard or Professional
Standard ($600) reads values that stay in the same place: zones on the document's own text, PDF form fields and document properties, with file and folder names built from them. If your files come from one system and look the same every time, Standard is enough.
Professional ($1,800) finds values that move: patterns, value lists and the labels values sit next to, plus XML and JSON data, FineReader for scanned pages, and SharePoint, email and custom exports.
Both are one-time licenses with the first year of support and updates included. Compare the editions in full.
Before you choose PDF extraction software.
How much does SimpleIndex cost?
$600 for Standard and $1,800 for Professional, each a one-time license with the first year of support and updates. You can evaluate the full software on your own documents before you buy.
Does it OCR PDFs that already have text?
No. Text-based PDFs are read directly, so the values are exact and a batch runs much faster than OCR. OCR runs only on files without enough text, such as scans.
Do I need Microsoft Office installed?
Not to read the text of Word, Excel or PowerPoint files. Office or OpenOffice is needed only to convert those files to PDF.
Can it rename PDF files based on their content?
Yes, and that is the most common job: read a value such as an invoice or account number, then rename the file and move it into a folder named from other values on the page.
Are my documents sent anywhere?
No. Documents are processed on your own PC or server. A cloud OCR or AI engine is used only if you choose one, and then through your own account with that provider.
Is it a code library or an API?
No. It is a finished Windows application you set up without programming. Jobs can be started from the command line, and run unattended with the Server add-on.
Try it on your own files.
The evaluation runs the full software. Send us a few sample documents and we'll set up a working job before you buy.
