Error while using readPDFFormData to extract data from online pdf files

Hi, I have two related questions.

First, when I use the command readPDFFormData with an online pdf, I get an error message. How should I write the URL so it works?

Second, is it possible to extract data from a list of links to pdf files on a website, just not one by one? (This website https://www.ncdoi.gov/consumers/medicare-and-seniors-health-insurance-information-program-shiip/medicare-advantage-medicare-health-plans-part-c#MedicareAdvantageLandscapesbyCounty2024-2398)

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

filename = "https://www.ncdoi.com/SHIIPCurrentYear/Documents/MAL%20by%20County/2024%20MAPD%20Pender%20County.pdf";
data = readPDFFormData(filename);

Error using readPDFFormData
Unable to open file 'https://www.ncdoi.com/SHIIPCurrentYear/Documents/MAL%20by%20County/2024%20MAPD%20Pender%20County.pdf' for reading: Filename contains an invalid URL scheme..

Answer 1

[Anton Kogios]

I was not able to get the URL to work directly either (not sure why since I'm pretty sure reading online images such as PNG/JPG works...), but here is a workaround (it just downloads the PDF first):

filenameOnline = "https://www.ncdoi.com/SHIIPCurrentYear/Documents/MAL%20by%20County/2024%20MAPD%20Pender%20County.pdf";
filenameLocal = "test.pdf"; % can set to custom directory
websave(filenameLocal,filenameOnline);
formData = readPDFFormData(filenameLocal)

formData = struct with no fields.

fileText = extractFileText(filenameLocal); % since readPDFFormData returns an empty struct, this is just to make sure we can read the PDF

As for your second question, I can't seem to access the PDFs on the website you mentioned (I think it is because I'm in a different country), but you should be able to just use a for loop. You can also look into using sprintf if the URLs have a repetitive naming system, which I've also demonstrated. Something like:

filenamesOnline = ["url1.pdf";
                   "url2.pdf";
                   "url3.pdf"];
for i = 1:length(filenamesOnline)
    filenameLocal = sprintf('test%i.pdf',i);
    websave(filenameLocal,filenameOnline(i));
    formData = readPDFFormData(filenameLocal)
end

I hope this helps and you are able to get it to work for you!

[Ana Egatz-Gomez]

Thanks a million, Anton! I appreciate your help