Automating the process of summarizing PDF documents with AI can significantly enhance productivity for developers, knowledge workers, and automation teams. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Aspose.PDF Plugin for .NET to extract text from PDF files, send that content to ChatGPT for summarization, and handle the resulting summaries in a .NET application.
Introduction
Automating the process of summarizing PDF documents with AI can significantly enhance productivity for developers, knowledge workers, and automation teams. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Aspose.PDF Plugin for .NET to extract text from PDF files, send that content to ChatGPT for summarization, and handle the resulting summaries in a .NET application.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, ensure you have the following:
- Aspose.PDF.Plugin installed via NuGet
- OpenAI API access and key (or Azure OpenAI Service)
- A .NET 6+ project set up
- Internet access for ChatGPT requests
Extracting Text from PDF
To start, you need to extract text from a PDF file. Aspose.PDF.Plugin provides the TextExtractor class which can be used to achieve this.
using Aspose.Pdf.Plugins;
string inputPath = "C:\\Docs\\sample.pdf";
var extractor = new TextExtractor();
var options = new TextExtractorOptions();
options.AddInput(new FileDataSource(inputPath));
var resultContainer = extractor.Process(options);
string textContent = resultContainer.ResultCollection[0].ToString();
This code snippet demonstrates how to initialize the TextExtractor, set up extraction options, and process a PDF file to extract its content.
Subsection: Handling Extraction Errors
It’s important to handle potential errors during the extraction process. For example, if the input path is incorrect or the file format isn’t supported by Aspose.PDF.Plugin, appropriate error handling should be implemented.
Sending Content to ChatGPT
Once you have extracted text from a PDF, the next step is to send this content to ChatGPT for summarization. Use HttpClient to make API calls to OpenAI’s endpoint with your API key and a prompt.
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
using System.Text;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
string apiKey = "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY";
string prompt = $"Summarize the following PDF content in 5 bullet points:\n{textContent}";
var httpClient = new HttpClient();
httpClient.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", apiKey);
var requestBody = new {{
model = "gpt-3.5-turbo",
messages = new[]
{
new {{ role = "system", content = "You are a helpful assistant that summarizes PDF content." }},
new {{ role = "user", content = prompt }}
}
}};
string jsonBody = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(requestBody);
var response = await httpClient.PostAsync(
"https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions",
new StringContent(jsonBody, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json")
);
string responseString = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
// Parse summary from responseString
This section shows how to construct the request body and send it to ChatGPT. The response is then read as a string.
Subsection: Parsing Responses
After receiving the response, you need to parse out the summarized content. This can be done by extracting specific parts of the JSON response that contain the summary text.
Saving AI Summaries
Once you have parsed the summary from ChatGPT’s API response, you may want to save it in a database or file system for later use. Here’s an example of how to write the summary back into a new PDF document using Aspose.PDF.
Error Handling
Proper error handling is crucial when automating processes like this. Consider scenarios such as API rate limits, network issues, and malformed responses. Implement validation checks for the extracted text before sending it to ChatGPT.
Subsection: Logging Operations
Logging all operations can help with debugging and auditing purposes. Use a logging framework like Serilog or NLog to log important events during the summarization process.
Security Note
Be cautious when handling confidential documents. Ensure that your privacy requirements are met before sending data to cloud-based AI services like ChatGPT. For sensitive content, consider deploying a local language model instead of relying on external APIs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I summarize scanned PDFs? A: Only if they have been OCR’d or contain selectable text. Otherwise, use an OCR plugin first to convert images into searchable text.
Q: Is this secure for confidential documents? A: Only send data to ChatGPT if your privacy requirements permit it. For sensitive content, consider local processing with a deployed language model.
