Lecture Scraper

A web application that extracts content from PDF and PowerPoint files using a Python Flask backend and HTML/JavaScript frontend.

Features

• File Upload: Drag & drop interface for PDF and PowerPoint files
• Content Extraction: Extracts text, pages, slides, and speaker notes
• Multiple Export Formats: JSON, Markdown, or plain text
• Real-time Processing: Immediate feedback during file processing
• Fallback Processing: Client-side demo processing if backend is unavailable

Setup

Backend Requirements

pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Application

1. Start the Backend Server:

   python app.py

   The server will run on http://localhost:5000

2. Open the Frontend:

   • Open index.html in your web browser, or
   • Navigate to http://localhost:5000/ if you want to serve it through Flask

How It Works

Backend (Flask)

• /upload - Handles file uploads and processes them immediately
• /process - Processes uploaded files (currently returns success status)
• /download/<filename> - Downloads processed files (placeholder implementation)

Frontend (HTML/JavaScript)

• Drag & Drop Interface: Modern, responsive UI for file uploads
• Real-time Processing: Shows progress and results immediately
• Format Selection: Choose output format (JSON, Markdown, Text)
• Download Options: Download results in your preferred format

File Processing

Supported Formats

• PDF: Extracts text from all pages using pdfplumber
• PowerPoint: Extracts text from slides and speaker notes

Output Structure

{
  "file_type": "PDF|PowerPoint",
  "file_name": "filename.ext",
  "full_text": "Complete extracted text",
  "pages": [...],  // For PDFs
  "slides": [...]  // For PowerPoint
}

Architecture

Frontend (HTML/JS) ←→ Backend (Flask)
                           ↓
                    File Processing
                           ↓
                    Content Extraction
                           ↓
                    JSON Response

Troubleshooting

• Backend not running: Frontend will fall back to demo processing
• File upload errors: Check file type and size
• Processing errors: Check console for detailed error messages

Development

• Backend: Modify app.py to add new routes or processing logic
• Frontend: Edit index.html to change the UI or add features
• File Processing: Extend the LectureScraper class in app.py

Notes

• Files are processed in memory and cleaned up after processing
• The system currently doesn't persist processed files
• Download functionality creates files on-the-fly from processed content