CHECKEXTRACTOR â€” README
================================

Version: 1.0.0
Date: 2025-09-03

Overview
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CheckExtractor is a Windows desktop tool that extracts *text* and *tables* from PDF files.
It uses:
- PdfPig (for text)
- Tabula (tabula.jar via Java) for table detection
- A lightweight heuristic for simple keyâ€“value blocks
It can also export a structured JSON with page size, reading order ("flow"), table bounding boxes, and rows.

Whatâ€™s Included
---------------
This ZIP contains:
- CheckExtractor.exe â€” the app
- Tools\tabula.jar â€” the table extractor engine
- jre\ â€” a portable Java Runtime (if bundled in this package)
- README.txt â€” this file

System Requirements
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- Windows 10 or 11 (x64)
- ~200â€“250 MB free space
- No admin rights required when using the ZIP package
- If *no* jre\ folder is included, a system Java Runtime (JRE 17 or newer) must be installed and on PATH

How to Run (ZIP package)
------------------------
1) Extract the ZIP to a folder where you have write permissions (e.g., C:\Apps\CheckExtractor\ or Desktop).
2) Open the folder and run CheckExtractor.exe.
3) If Windows SmartScreen warns about an â€œUnknown publisherâ€, click **More info â†’ Run anyway**.

Troubleshooting
---------------
- "Java not found" / "tabula.jar not found": ensure jre\bin\java.exe exists or install Java 17+; ensure Tools\tabula.jar exists.
- Tables missing: the PDF may not have detectable tables; try another file.

