PDF Regex Search

PDF Regex Search is a command-line tool that allows you to search for regex patterns within PDF files in a specified folder and its subfolders. It provides a flexible way to find specific content across multiple PDF documents efficiently.

Features

• Search for regex patterns in multiple PDF files
• Case-insensitive regex matching by default, with an option for case-sensitive searches
• Include or exclude files based on regex patterns in filenames
• Save and load search configurations
• Verbose output option for detailed search results
• Progress bar to track search progress
• Dual logging system with detailed hourly logs and a summary of the latest search

Installation

1. Ensure you have Python 3.6 or later installed on your system.

2. Clone this repository or download the source code:

   git clone https://github.com/patogeno/pdf-regex-search.git
   cd pdf-regex-search
   

3. Install the required dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Usage

Run the script using Python from the command line:

python main.py [folder_path] [regex_pattern] [options]

Arguments

• folder_path: Path to the folder containing PDFs to search
• regex_pattern: Regular expression pattern to search for

Options

• -inc, --include: Regex patterns to include in filenames
• -i, --ignore: Regex patterns to ignore in filenames
• -v, --verbose: Enable verbose output
• -p, --use-previous: Use arguments from the previous run
• -f, --use-favorite: Use a saved favorite configuration
• -s, --save-favorite: Save current arguments as a favorite configuration
• --case-sensitive: Enable case-sensitive matching (default: case-insensitive)

Examples

1. Search for the word "confidential" (case-insensitive by default) in all PDFs in a folder, ignoring files with "draft" or "old" in their names:

   python main.py /path/to/pdfs "confidential" -i "draft|old"
   

2. Search for a Social Security Number pattern in PDFs that begin with "report", using verbose output and case-sensitive matching:

   python main.py /home/user/documents "\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}" -inc "^report" -v --case-sensitive
   

3. Use a previously saved configuration:

   python main.py -p
   

4. Save the current configuration as a favorite named "my_search":

   python main.py /path/to/pdfs "pattern" -s "my_search"
   

5. Use a saved favorite configuration:

   python main.py -f "my_search"
   

Note: All regex patterns (for content search, file inclusion, and file exclusion) are case-insensitive by default. Use the --case-sensitive flag to enable case-sensitive matching.

Logs

The application maintains two types of log files:

1. Detailed Hourly Logs:

   • Filename format: pdf_search_log_YYYYMMDD_HH.txt
   • Contains comprehensive information about each search, including all file paths and timestamped entries
   • Logs are grouped by hour and appended to if multiple searches are performed in the same hour

2. Summary Log:

   • Filename: pdf_search_latest.log
   • Contains a summary of the most recent search, including:
     • Timestamp of the search
     • Arguments used for the search
     • Total number of PDF files found
     • Search results (matches found in files)
   • This log is overwritten with each new search, always containing the latest results

Both log files are stored in the same directory as the script.

Contributing

Contributions to improve PDF Regex Search are welcome. Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.