TextCafe is the first and only service of its type, enabling automated conversion of documents into XML. The service is initially targeted to publishers who have large amounts of trade books that need to be moved into structured XML format. The service is faster, less expensive, and more accurate than alternative solutions, which involve manual labor and proofing.

TextCafe provides the following key features:

• detection of text blocks, including paragraphs, which can be reflowed automatically



• dynamic creation of a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) based on normalized styles used in the document



• chapter and sub-chapter recognition and tagging based on document type



• recognition and removal of running headers and footers in XML output



• recombination of words broken between lines, columns, or pages based on language-specific dictionaries



• extraction of embedded images with links created in XML output



• automated generation of XML, HTML, Open eBook (OeB), Microsoft Reader (.LIT), Rocket eBook (.RB), and reflowable PDF.

"TextCafe is a revolutionary technology that releases the enormous potential of information already in PDF format," said Texterity President Martin Hensel. "As an application service provider, our customers can take advantage of TextCafe over the web or through FTP. No hardware, software, or integration is required."

TextCafe works by using artificial intelligence algorithms to deduce the hierarchical structure of documents. This is done based only on the visual cues available in the document and a knowledge of document type, such as novel, white paper, or manual. The result is richly-tagged, pure and valid XML that can be re-purposed endlessly.

Upcoming releases of TextCafe will support additional document types including technical documentation, textbooks, and journals. Texterity is already working with e-commerce, new media, and catalog companies to use TextCafe as an automated assistant to convert complex material.