Forum Discussion
Best pdf document summarizer to generate accurate summary from PDF
I am working with an extremely long PDF document that is over 1500 pages. I need to extract the key points, main ideas, and a general summary from it. I am looking for the most effective way to do this using Microsoft tools, or perhaps through a feature in Edge or Word that I might have missed.
Could someone from the community or Microsoft support please suggest the best pdf document summarizer for large PDF files? I am particularly interested in learning about any built-in functionalities or official Microsoft solutions that can manage a file of this size, as many online tools have strict page limits.
Thank you!
7 Replies
- JodyCourtIron Contributor
Copilot AI tool is one of the best PDF document summarizers. The biggest advantage. No copying text, uploading files, or switching between tabs. It works directly on your PDF with perfect formatting fidelity.
- DevinPowellIron Contributor
The Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant is a generative AI-powered tool built directly into the core of Adobe's Acrobat and Reader applications (both desktop and web). It represents a significant shift from Acrobat being a tool for viewing and editing PDFs to a platform for understanding and acting on the information within them.
Unlike many third-party tools, the PDF document summarizer AI Assistant is deeply integrated into the PDF experience. It can read and comprehend the entire document, allowing you to have a conversational interaction with your PDFs to get summaries, find information, and create new content.
To summarize a PDF document, you will see a new blue icon in the right-hand toolbar. Clicking this opens the AI Assistant panel. Once the panel is open, the AI will often automatically generate a first-take summary.
The AI will instantly generate a concise summary in the chat panel.
Interact and ask follow-up Questions. This is where it shines. Based on the summary, you can ask for more detail. Each response will include citations (little numbers) that link directly to the page in the PDF where that information was pulled from. You can click these citations to jump to the source text instantly.
- HoldenFisherIron Contributor
If you are looking for a best PDF document summarizer for large PDF files? You can use ChatGPT to summarize large PDF files is possible, but there are some limitations to keep in mind:
Size Limitations: ChatGPT (especially free versions) can only process a limited amount of text at a time—typically around 4,000 tokens (~3,000-3,500 words). For very large PDFs, you'll need to split the document into smaller sections.
How to Use:
- Extract the Text: First, convert your PDF into plain text or copy the relevant sections.
- Segment the Content: Break the large text into manageable chunks (e.g., 1-2 pages or a few paragraphs).
- Input and Summarize: Paste each segment into ChatGPT and ask for a summary of that part.
- Combine Summaries: After summarizing individual sections, you can ask ChatGPT to combine these summaries into a comprehensive overview.
While ChatGPT can be a powerful PDF document summarizer tool, for large PDFs, you'll need to break down the document into smaller parts. This process can be manual but effective for creating concise summaries.
- MichaelJacksonIron Contributor
QuillBot's Summarizer is a digital tool designed to condense long pieces of text into shorter, more manageable summaries. It uses artificial intelligence to identify the most important sentences and key points within a document, allowing users to quickly grasp the core meaning without reading the entire text.
It's part of the larger QuillBot writing suite, which includes a paraphrasing tool, grammar checker, and citation generator. The best PDF summarizer is particularly popular among students, researchers, writers, and professionals who need to process large amounts of information quickly.
Step 1: Go to the QuillBot website and navigate to the Summarizer tool from the left-hand sidebar or the top menu.
Step 2: Open your PDF file, select all the text you want to summarize, and copy it. If you have a Premium account, you can click the "Upload File" button and directly select your PDF document. QuillBot will extract the text for you.
Step 3: Paste the copied text into the large input box on the Summarizer page. Select your preferred mode: Key Sentences or Paragraph. Use the Summary Length slider to adjust how condensed you want the final output to be.
Step 4: Click the Summarize button. QuillBot will process the text and generate a summary in the right-hand panel almost instantly.
Step 5: You can now copy the generated summary for your notes, paper, or report. For longer PDFs, you may need to summarize sections individually to get the best results, as the tool has a character limit.
- AmeliaLewisIron Contributor
SciSpace Copilot. This browser-based PDF document summarizer extension and web app is specifically designed for scientific literature. You upload a PDF, and Copilot acts as an AI assistant that can explain text, math, and tables in simple language.
Key Features of SciSpace AI PDF summarizer:
- Exceptional with Technical Content: Excellently explains formulas, concepts, and technical jargon.
- In-Line Explanations: Hover over any text, paragraph, or equation in the PDF to get an instant explanation without leaving the document.
- Citation Assistance: Can generate summaries and help understand citations within the paper.
How to summarize a PDF file:
- Click on the "Upload" button (usually in the top right corner or clearly visible on the homepage).
- Drag and drop your PDF file into the designated area or browse your computer to select it.
- Your PDF will now open in the SciSpace online reader.
- Once the PDF is open, you'll see a button or icon to launch the Copilot (often a blue circular icon on the right side of the screen).
- Clicking this will open a chat-style interface where you can ask questions.
- A small Copilot pop-up will appear. You can click "Explain" to get an instant plain-language explanation of the highlighted content or click "Ask a follow-up question" to dive deeper into that specific concept.
Limitation: Its specialization in research papers makes it less ideal for general business reports or books.
Pricing: Free plan available with limited asks; paid plans start at $8/month for more features.
- JasperMonroeIron Contributor
To get the best PDF document summarizer for large PDF files? Using Python for summarizing large PDF files is a powerful and flexible approach, especially if you're comfortable with programming. It allows you to process large documents efficiently by splitting them into manageable chunks and applying NLP (Natural Language Processing) models to generate summaries.
Here's a step-by-step guide to help you set up a best PDF document summarizer using Python:
1. Python installed on your system (version 3.6+ recommended)
2. Basic knowledge of Python scripting
3. Open your command prompt or terminal and install the following libraries:pip install PyMuPDF transformers nltk
4. PyMuPDF (also known as fitz) for extracting text from PDFs
transformers for accessing pre-trained NLP models (like BART or T5)
nltk for optional text processing
5. Here's a sample code to extract text from your PDF:import fitz # PyMuPDF
def extract_text_from_pdf(pdf_path):
doc = fitz.open(pdf_path)
text = ""
for page_num in range(len(doc)):
page = doc.load_page(page_num)
text += page.get_text()
return textpdf_path = "your_large_pdf.pdf"
full_text = extract_text_from_pdf(pdf_path) - CameronFordIron Contributor
Summarizing a very large PDF (over 1500 pages) is a challenging task, especially with free PDF document summarizer tool. Currently, Microsoft tools like Word or Edge do not have a dedicated, built-in PDF document summarization feature that can handle such large documents directly.
1. Microsoft Word
You can open the PDF directly in Word (Word 2016 or later):- File > Open > select your PDF.
- Word will convert the PDF into an editable document.
- This process might be resource-intensive for very large PDFs.
Once converted, you can:
- Use Word's Outline view (View > Outline) to see main headings.
- Manually identify key sections.
- Use Summarize features (though limited) or Smart Lookup for key ideas.
Note: About the PDF document summarizer. Word's built-in summarization features are minimal and not fully automated.2. Microsoft Edge
- Open your PDF in Microsoft Edge.
- Use Highlight and Notes to mark important parts, then manually extract summaries.
- No automatic summarization here, but useful for manual review.