How to Use the Custom Profiles Parameter When Converting PDF to Text with PDF.co and Postman

Step 1: Create a Postman Request

Open Postman and create a new HTTP request.

Configure the request as follows:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/convert/to/text

This endpoint converts PDF documents and scanned images into text while supporting OCR and custom extraction profiles.

Step 2: Add the Request Headers

Open the Headers section and add:

• Content-Type: application/json
• x-api-key: Your PDF.co API key

Keep your API key private. Do not include a real production key in screenshots, published examples, or source-code repositories.

Step 3: Add the Source PDF

The url parameter must contain the source document location. You can use either:

• A direct, publicly accessible file URL.
• A filetoken:// link from PDF.co Files Storage.

To use PDF.co Files Storage, upload the document through your PDF.co dashboard and copy its generated file token.

Step 4: Configure the JSON Body

In Postman, open Body, select raw, and choose JSON as the content type.

Enter the following request body:

{
  "url": "filetoken://YOUR_FILE_TOKEN",
  "inline": false,
  "async": false,
  "profiles": "{ 'OCRMode': 'TextFromVectorsOnly' }"
}

Replace filetoken://YOUR_FILE_TOKEN with the URL or file token for your document.

The profiles value must be supplied as a string. The OCRMode property can be placed directly inside that string; the older nested profiles and profile1 structure is unnecessary.

Step 5: Understand the Parameters

URL

The url parameter identifies the PDF that PDF.co should process.

Inline

The inline parameter controls how the extracted text is returned:

• Set it to false to receive a temporary URL for a downloadable text file.
• Set it to true to include the extracted text directly in the API response.

Async

For this example, async is set to false, so the API returns the completed result in the same request.

For large or time-consuming documents, set async to true and use the returned job information to monitor processing.

Profiles

The profiles parameter supplies additional processing options that are not represented by regular top-level request parameters.

This tutorial uses:

{ 'OCRMode': 'TextFromVectorsOnly' }

TextFromVectorsOnly extracts text from vector drawings while excluding raster images and regular PDF text objects from the OCR result.

Step 6: Choose the Appropriate OCR Mode

The default OCR mode is Auto, which is appropriate for many documents. Use a more specific mode when you know how the document’s content is constructed.

Common options include:

• Auto — Automatically determines whether OCR is required.
• AutoRepairFonts — Automatically repairs text affected by damaged or incorrectly encoded fonts.
• TextFromImagesOnly — Extracts text from raster images only.
• TextFromVectorsOnly — Extracts text from vector drawings only.
• TextFromRepairedFontsOnly — Processes text with damaged font encoding.
• TextFromImagesAndFonts — Extracts regular PDF text and text found in raster images.
• TextFromImagesAndVectorsAndFonts — Extracts regular text and runs OCR on both raster images and vector drawings.
• TextFromImagesAndVectorsAndRepairedFonts — Processes raster images, vector drawings, and text with damaged font encoding.

Use TextFromVectorsOnly when visible characters have been converted to outlines or other vector elements. If the document is a conventional scanned image, use an image-based mode or leave the setting at Auto.

See the PDF.co Profiles documentation for the complete, current list of OCR modes and profile options.

Step 7: Send the Request

Click Send in Postman.

A successful synchronous request should return:

• HTTP status 200.
• "error": false.
• Information about the generated output.
• A temporary output URL when inline is false.

If the request fails, check that:

• The API key is valid.
• The source URL or file token is accessible.
• The endpoint uses the POST method.
• The request body is valid JSON.
• The profiles value is enclosed in quotes as a string.

Step 8: Download or Review the Extracted Text

When inline is false, copy the returned url value and open it in a browser to download or view the generated text file.

The output is a .txt file—not another PDF. PDF.co output URLs are temporary, so download the result or transfer it to permanent storage if it must remain available.

When inline is true, review the extracted text directly in the response body instead.

Equivalent cURL Request

The same request can be sent without Postman:

curl --location --request POST 'https://api.pdf.co/v1/pdf/convert/to/text' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: INSERT_API_KEY_HERE' \
  --data-raw '{
    "url": "filetoken://YOUR_FILE_TOKEN",
    "inline": false,
    "async": false,
    "profiles": "{ '\''OCRMode'\'': '\''TextFromVectorsOnly'\'' }"
  }'

Replace the API key and source file token before sending the request.