File Content Extraction 25.4
Filter SDK C Programming Guide

# filter

The `filter` sample program demonstrates the advanced functionality of the Filter API. It is composed of the following files:

- `filter.c`—command line interface
- `filtersupport.c`—contains core functionality, such as file filtering, stream filtering, metadata extraction, and format detection.
- `filtersupport.h`—structure and variable definitions

To run `filter`, type the following at the command line:

`filter [options] input_file output_file`

where:

`options` is one or more of the options listed in Options for the Filter Sample Program .

`input_file` is the full path and file name of the source document.

`output_file` is the full path and file name of the output file.

Options for the Filter Sample Program

Option | Description
--- | ---
`-m` | Extract metadata instead of filtering text. See Use the Metadata API.
`-c` | Run Filter in the same process as the calling application (in process). See Run Filter In Process.
`-e` | Run Filter in stream mode.
`-h` | Extract headers and footers, as well as the body text.
`-d` | Detect the file format instead of filtering text. This option displays information obtained through fpGetDocInfo(), combined with additional information from formats_description.tsv.
`-L` | Enable error logging for the legacy out-of-process server. See Enable or Disable Legacy Out-of-Process Error Logging. Error logs are not generated when using the default out-of-process method, or when in-process filtering is enabled.
`-LN` | Disable error logging for the legacy out-of-process server. See Enable or Disable Legacy Out-of-Process Error Logging. Error logs are not generated when using the default out-of-process method, or when in-process filtering is enabled.
`-AF` | Include the input file name in an error log. See Report the File Name in Stream Mode.
`-rm` | If you set this option, text that was deleted from a document with revision tracking enabled is extracted from the document and included in the filtered output. See Deleted Text.
`-x xmlconfigfile` | Filter an XML file by using customized extraction settings defined in the `kvxconfig.ini` file. If you do not enter the full path to the INI file, the program looks for the file in the current working directory. See Filter XML Files for more information.
`-z tempdirectory` | Specify a temporary directory where temporary files generated by the filtering process are stored. The default is the current working directory.
`-ps password` | Specify a password to open a password-protected file. See Filter Password Protected Files.
`-pdfauto` | Specify that PDF files are output in a logical reading order. The PDF filter determines the paragraph direction (left-to-right or right-to-left) for each PDF page, and then sets the direction accordingly. See Filter PDF Files.
`-pdfltr` | Specify that PDF files are output in a logical reading order, and that the paragraph direction is left to right. See Filter PDF Files.
`-pdfrtl` | Specify that PDF files are output in a logical reading order, and that the paragraph direction is right to left. See Filter PDF Files.
`-pdfraw` | Specify that PDF files are output in an unstructured paragraph flow. This is the default option . If logical reading order is enabled, and you want to return to an unstructured paragraph flow, set this flag. See Filter PDF Files.

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Version 25.4 | Last updated October 2025

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Product: File Content Extraction 25.4

Topic Title: filter