microsoft / microsoft/markitdown

Tables in pdf files are not converted properly

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Description

user_manual.pdf

I converted a pdf-file with lots of table to markdown. I had expected that markitdown would handle tables gracefully. For example, the following table:

Image

Should be converted into markdown like so:

| Register name | Description                     | Offset Address |
|---------------|---------------------------------|----------------|
| FMC_ACCTRL    | Flash access control register   | 0x00           |
| FMC_KEY       | Flash key register              | 0x04           |
| FMC_OPTKEY    | Flash option key register       | 0x08           |
| FMC_STS       | Flash state register            | 0x0C           |
| FMC_CTRL      | Flash control register          | 0x10           |
| FMC_OPTCTRL   | Flash option control register   | 0x14           |

However, what I get from markitdown is this:

  Register address mapping

Table 14 FMC Register Address Mapping

Register name

Description

Offset Address

FMC_ACCTRL

Flash access control register

FMC_KEY

Flash key register

FMC_OPTKEY

Flash option key register

FMC_STS

FMC_CTRL

Flash state register

Flash control register

FMC_OPTCTRL

Flash option control register

0x00

0x04

0x08

0x0C

0x10

0x14

The number 3.6 in the title is gone. But what's worse: the entire table is spread out.

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce the conversion with the attached user_manual.pdf and compare the generated Markdown with the table shown in the issue. Investigate the PDF conversion entry point and determine whether the title and table row structure are preserved; done means the table remains a Markdown table and the missing title number is retained.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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