bump version to 0.7.1

Two fixes for tables that have clean extractable text but fail heuristic
structure detection:

1. Numeric column merge pass (grid.rs): After initial X-position
   clustering, adjacent clusters are merged when one is sparse (header
   text) and the other is dense with >50% numeric items (data column).
   Multi-line wrapped headers often land slightly offset from their
   data column — the merge closes gaps within 1.5× the clustering
   threshold. New is_numeric_text() helper matches decimals, percentages,
   negative numbers, and comma-separated thousands.

2. Duplicate-header skip (detect_heuristic.rs): Spanning super-headers
   like "First Degree | First Degree | Higher Degree" contain duplicate
   cells that trigger looks_like_partial_table_ex rejection. Now skips
   rows with duplicate cells when a better header candidate exists
   within the next 3 rows (higher fill ratio or numeric cells).

Tested on BITS Pilani university report (430 pages, 314 table pages).
Page 4 (multi-line header + numeric data) previously returned
needs_ocr=true; now correctly detects the table structure.

Eval: 197 PDFs, zero regressions, all 104+ tests pass, zero clippy.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

napi/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "firecrawl-pdf-inspector",
-  "version": "0.4.1",
+  "version": "0.7.1",
   "description": "Fast PDF classification and text extraction. Detect text-based vs scanned PDFs, extract text by region with quality checks. Native Rust performance via napi-rs.",
   "main": "index.js",
   "types": "index.d.ts",

napi/src/lib.rs

@@ -5,6 +5,28 @@ use napi_derive::napi;
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::panic;
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Enums
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// PDF document type classification.
+#[napi(string_enum)]
+pub enum PdfType {
+    TextBased,
+    Scanned,
+    ImageBased,
+    Mixed,
+}
+
+/// Type of a positioned text item.
+#[napi(string_enum)]
+pub enum ItemType {
+    Text,
+    Image,
+    Link,
+    FormField,
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Result types
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -12,7 +34,7 @@ use std::panic;
 /// Full PDF processing result with markdown and metadata.
 #[napi(object)]
 pub struct PdfResult {
-    pub pdf_type: String,
+    pub pdf_type: PdfType,
     pub markdown: Option<String>,
     pub page_count: u32,
     pub processing_time_ms: u32,
@@ -29,7 +51,7 @@ pub struct PdfResult {
 /// Lightweight PDF classification result.
 #[napi(object)]
 pub struct PdfClassification {
-    pub pdf_type: String,
+    pub pdf_type: PdfType,
     pub page_count: u32,
     /// 0-indexed page numbers that need OCR.
     pub pages_needing_ocr: Vec<u32>,
@@ -49,7 +71,9 @@ pub struct TextItem {
     pub page: u32,
     pub is_bold: bool,
     pub is_italic: bool,
-    pub item_type: String,
+    pub item_type: ItemType,
+    /// URL for link items, `None` for other types.
+    pub link_url: Option<String>,
 }
 
 /// A page's regions for text extraction: (page_index_0based, bboxes).
@@ -79,18 +103,18 @@ pub struct PageRegionTexts {
 // Helpers
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-fn pdf_type_string(t: pdf_inspector::PdfType) -> String {
+fn convert_pdf_type(t: pdf_inspector::PdfType) -> PdfType {
     match t {
-        pdf_inspector::PdfType::TextBased => "TextBased".to_string(),
-        pdf_inspector::PdfType::Scanned => "Scanned".to_string(),
-        pdf_inspector::PdfType::ImageBased => "ImageBased".to_string(),
-        pdf_inspector::PdfType::Mixed => "Mixed".to_string(),
+        pdf_inspector::PdfType::TextBased => PdfType::TextBased,
+        pdf_inspector::PdfType::Scanned => PdfType::Scanned,
+        pdf_inspector::PdfType::ImageBased => PdfType::ImageBased,
+        pdf_inspector::PdfType::Mixed => PdfType::Mixed,
     }
 }
 
 fn to_napi_result(r: pdf_inspector::PdfProcessResult) -> PdfResult {
     PdfResult {
-        pdf_type: pdf_type_string(r.pdf_type),
+        pdf_type: convert_pdf_type(r.pdf_type),
         markdown: r.markdown,
         page_count: r.page_count,
         processing_time_ms: r.processing_time_ms as u32,
@@ -104,12 +128,12 @@ fn to_napi_result(r: pdf_inspector::PdfProcessResult) -> PdfResult {
     }
 }
 
-fn item_type_string(t: &pdf_inspector::types::ItemType) -> String {
+fn convert_item_type(t: &pdf_inspector::types::ItemType) -> (ItemType, Option<String>) {
     match t {
-        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::Text => "text".into(),
-        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::Image => "image".into(),
-        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::Link(url) => format!("link:{url}"),
-        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::FormField => "form_field".into(),
+        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::Text => (ItemType::Text, None),
+        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::Image => (ItemType::Image, None),
+        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::Link(url) => (ItemType::Link, Some(url.clone())),
+        pdf_inspector::types::ItemType::FormField => (ItemType::FormField, None),
     }
 }
 
@@ -181,7 +205,7 @@ pub fn classify_pdf(buffer: Buffer) -> Result<PdfClassification> {
         let result =
             pdf_inspector::classify_pdf_mem(&bytes).map_err(|e| to_napi_err(e, "classify_pdf"))?;
         Ok(PdfClassification {
-            pdf_type: pdf_type_string(result.pdf_type),
+            pdf_type: convert_pdf_type(result.pdf_type),
             page_count: result.page_count,
             pages_needing_ocr: result.pages_needing_ocr,
             confidence: result.confidence as f64,
@@ -222,18 +246,22 @@ pub fn extract_text_with_positions(
 
         Ok(items
             .into_iter()
-            .map(|item| TextItem {
-                text: item.text,
-                x: item.x as f64,
-                y: item.y as f64,
-                width: item.width as f64,
-                height: item.height as f64,
-                font: item.font,
-                font_size: item.font_size as f64,
-                page: item.page,
-                is_bold: item.is_bold,
-                is_italic: item.is_italic,
-                item_type: item_type_string(&item.item_type),
+            .map(|item| {
+                let (item_type, link_url) = convert_item_type(&item.item_type);
+                TextItem {
+                    text: item.text,
+                    x: item.x as f64,
+                    y: item.y as f64,
+                    width: item.width as f64,
+                    height: item.height as f64,
+                    font: item.font,
+                    font_size: item.font_size as f64,
+                    page: item.page,
+                    is_bold: item.is_bold,
+                    is_italic: item.is_italic,
+                    item_type,
+                    link_url,
+                }
             })
             .collect())
     })
@@ -289,6 +317,65 @@ pub fn extract_tables_in_regions(
     })
 }
 
+/// Per-page markdown extraction result.
+#[napi(object)]
+pub struct PageMarkdownResult {
+    /// 0-indexed page number.
+    pub page: u32,
+    /// Formatted markdown for this page.
+    pub markdown: String,
+    /// `true` when text on this page is unreliable.
+    pub needs_ocr: bool,
+}
+
+/// Combined per-page markdown extraction and layout classification result.
+#[napi(object)]
+pub struct PagesExtractionResult {
+    /// Per-page markdown results.
+    pub pages: Vec<PageMarkdownResult>,
+    /// 1-indexed pages where tables were detected.
+    pub pages_with_tables: Vec<u32>,
+    /// 1-indexed pages where multi-column layout was detected.
+    pub pages_with_columns: Vec<u32>,
+    /// 1-indexed pages that need OCR (scanned/image-based).
+    pub pages_needing_ocr: Vec<u32>,
+    /// True if any page has tables or columns.
+    pub is_complex: bool,
+}
+
+/// Extract formatted markdown for specific pages of a PDF, with layout
+/// classification metadata.
+///
+/// Returns per-page markdown and classification data (tables, columns,
+/// OCR needs) from a single parse. Font statistics are computed from the
+/// full document so header detection is consistent across pages.
+#[napi]
+pub fn extract_pages_markdown(
+    buffer: Buffer,
+    pages: Vec<u32>,
+) -> Result<PagesExtractionResult> {
+    let bytes: Vec<u8> = buffer.to_vec();
+    catch_panic("extract_pages_markdown", move || {
+        let result = pdf_inspector::extract_pages_markdown_mem(&bytes, &pages)
+            .map_err(|e| to_napi_err(e, "extract_pages_markdown"))?;
+        Ok(PagesExtractionResult {
+            pages: result
+                .pages
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(|r| PageMarkdownResult {
+                    page: r.page,
+                    markdown: r.markdown,
+                    needs_ocr: r.needs_ocr,
+                })
+                .collect(),
+            pages_with_tables: result.pages_with_tables,
+            pages_with_columns: result.pages_with_columns,
+            pages_needing_ocr: result.pages_needing_ocr,
+            is_complex: result.is_complex,
+        })
+    })
+}
+
 fn parse_page_regions(page_regions: &[PageRegions]) -> Vec<(u32, Vec<[f32; 4]>)> {
     page_regions
         .iter()

src/lib.rs

@@ -299,6 +299,149 @@ pub fn classify_pdf_mem(buffer: &[u8]) -> Result<PdfClassification, PdfError> {
     })
 }
 
+// =========================================================================
+// Per-page markdown extraction
+// =========================================================================
+
+/// Per-page markdown extraction result.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct PageMarkdown {
+    /// 0-indexed page number.
+    pub page: u32,
+    /// Formatted markdown for this page.
+    pub markdown: String,
+    /// `true` when text on this page is unreliable (GID-encoded fonts,
+    /// encoding issues, garbage text, or empty extraction).
+    pub needs_ocr: bool,
+}
+
+/// Combined per-page markdown extraction and layout classification result.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct PagesExtractionResult {
+    /// Per-page markdown results.
+    pub pages: Vec<PageMarkdown>,
+    /// 1-indexed pages where tables were detected.
+    pub pages_with_tables: Vec<u32>,
+    /// 1-indexed pages where multi-column layout was detected.
+    pub pages_with_columns: Vec<u32>,
+    /// 1-indexed pages that need OCR (scanned/image-based).
+    pub pages_needing_ocr: Vec<u32>,
+    /// True if any page has tables or columns.
+    pub is_complex: bool,
+}
+
+/// Extract formatted markdown for specific pages of a PDF, with layout
+/// classification metadata.
+///
+/// Unlike [`process_pdf_mem`] which returns one concatenated markdown string,
+/// this returns per-page markdown so callers can mix direct extraction
+/// (for simple text pages) with GPU OCR (for complex/scanned pages).
+///
+/// Font statistics are computed from the full document so header
+/// detection thresholds are consistent regardless of which pages are
+/// requested. Per-page `needs_ocr` is set when the page has GID-encoded
+/// fonts, encoding issues, or garbage text.
+///
+/// Layout complexity (tables, columns) is computed from the full document
+/// at near-zero cost since the items/rects/lines are already in memory.
+pub fn extract_pages_markdown_mem(
+    buffer: &[u8],
+    pages: &[u32],
+) -> Result<PagesExtractionResult, PdfError> {
+    validate_pdf_bytes(buffer)?;
+    let (doc, page_count) = load_document_from_mem(buffer)?;
+    let font_cmaps = FontCMaps::from_doc(&doc);
+
+    // Extract ALL pages to get accurate, document-wide font stats.
+    let ((all_items, all_rects, all_lines), page_thresholds, gid_pages) =
+        extractor::extract_positioned_text_from_doc(&doc, &font_cmaps, None)?;
+
+    // Compute layout complexity from full document (near-zero cost).
+    let complexity = compute_layout_complexity(&all_items, &all_rects, &all_lines);
+
+    // Compute font stats from full document (cross-page consistency).
+    let font_stats = markdown::analysis::calculate_font_stats_from_items(&all_items);
+
+    let mut results = Vec::with_capacity(pages.len());
+    let mut pages_needing_ocr = Vec::new();
+
+    for &page_0idx in pages {
+        // Out-of-range pages → empty + needs_ocr
+        if page_0idx >= page_count {
+            pages_needing_ocr.push(page_0idx + 1);
+            results.push(PageMarkdown {
+                page: page_0idx,
+                markdown: String::new(),
+                needs_ocr: true,
+            });
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let page_1idx = page_0idx + 1;
+
+        // Filter items/rects for this page only
+        let page_items: Vec<TextItem> = all_items
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|i| i.page == page_1idx)
+            .cloned()
+            .collect();
+
+        let page_rects: Vec<PdfRect> = all_rects
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|r| r.page == page_1idx)
+            .cloned()
+            .collect();
+
+        let has_gid = gid_pages.contains(&page_1idx);
+
+        // Build markdown with document-wide font stats
+        let options = MarkdownOptions {
+            base_font_size: Some(font_stats.most_common_size),
+            include_page_numbers: false,
+            strip_headers_footers: false,
+            ..MarkdownOptions::default()
+        };
+
+        let md = markdown::to_markdown_from_items_with_rects_and_lines(
+            page_items,
+            options,
+            &page_rects,
+            &[],
+            &page_thresholds,
+            None,
+            &[],
+        );
+
+        let needs_ocr = md.trim().is_empty()
+            || has_gid
+            || is_garbage_text(&md)
+            || is_cid_garbage(&md)
+            || detect_encoding_issues(&md);
+
+        if needs_ocr {
+            pages_needing_ocr.push(page_1idx);
+        }
+
+        results.push(PageMarkdown {
+            page: page_0idx,
+            markdown: if needs_ocr { String::new() } else { md },
+            needs_ocr,
+        });
+    }
+
+    Ok(PagesExtractionResult {
+        pages: results,
+        pages_with_tables: complexity.pages_with_tables,
+        pages_with_columns: complexity.pages_with_columns,
+        pages_needing_ocr,
+        is_complex: complexity.is_complex,
+    })
+}
+
+// =========================================================================
+// Region-based text extraction (for hybrid OCR pipelines)
+// =========================================================================
+
 /// Result for a single region's text extraction.
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct RegionText {
@@ -399,7 +542,7 @@ pub fn extract_text_in_regions_mem(
         let page_1idx = page_0idx + 1;
         let items = items_by_page.get(&page_1idx);
         let page_h = page_heights.get(&page_1idx).copied().unwrap_or(792.0);
-        let page_has_gid = gid_pages.contains(&page_1idx);
+        let _page_has_gid = gid_pages.contains(&page_1idx);
         let adaptive_threshold = page_thresholds.get(&page_1idx).copied().unwrap_or(0.10);
         let coords = if rotated_pages.contains(&page_1idx) {
             RegionCoordSpace::Rotated90Ccw
@@ -426,8 +569,10 @@ pub fn extract_text_in_regions_mem(
                 None => String::new(),
             };
 
+            // Check per-region text quality instead of blanket page-level
+            // GID rejection. A GID font in a logo elsewhere on the page
+            // shouldn't force GPU OCR for clean text regions.
             let needs_ocr = text.trim().is_empty()
-                || page_has_gid
                 || is_garbage_text(&text)
                 || is_cid_garbage(&text)
                 || detect_encoding_issues(&text);
@@ -504,7 +649,7 @@ pub fn extract_tables_in_regions_mem(
         let page_1idx = page_0idx + 1;
         let items = items_by_page.get(&page_1idx);
         let page_h = page_heights.get(&page_1idx).copied().unwrap_or(792.0);
-        let page_has_gid = gid_pages.contains(&page_1idx);
+        let _page_has_gid = gid_pages.contains(&page_1idx);
         let coords = if rotated_pages.contains(&page_1idx) {
             RegionCoordSpace::Rotated90Ccw
         } else {
@@ -516,14 +661,14 @@ pub fn extract_tables_in_regions_mem(
         for rect in regions {
             let [rx1, ry1, rx2, ry2] = *rect;
 
-            // If page has GID font issues, bail early
-            if page_has_gid {
-                page_results.push(RegionText {
-                    text: String::new(),
-                    needs_ocr: true,
-                });
-                continue;
-            }
+            // Note: we intentionally DO NOT bail on page_has_gid here.
+            // The GID flag means some font on the page uses unresolvable
+            // glyph IDs, but that font may only appear in a logo or
+            // header — not in the table region. Instead we let the
+            // per-region text quality checks (is_garbage_text, is_cid_garbage,
+            // detect_encoding_issues) reject based on the actual extracted
+            // content. This avoids rejecting clean tables just because an
+            // unrelated decorative font on the same page is GID-encoded.
 
             let matched: Vec<TextItem> = match items {
                 Some(items) => {
@@ -577,10 +722,12 @@ pub fn extract_tables_in_regions_mem(
                     //     mis-detected (numeric "header", empty header cells,
                     //     duplicate header cells). Caught GLM-OCR-as-baseline
                     //     scoring 0 TEDS on real prod tables in eval.
+                    // Layout model already identified this region as a table,
+                    // so use relaxed partial-table checks (layout_assisted=true).
                     let needs_ocr = is_garbage_text(&md)
                         || is_cid_garbage(&md)
                         || detect_encoding_issues(&md)
-                        || looks_like_partial_table(&md);
+                        || looks_like_partial_table_ex(&md, true);
                     page_results.push(RegionText {
                         text: if needs_ocr { String::new() } else { md },
                         needs_ocr,
@@ -1220,7 +1367,14 @@ fn is_cid_garbage(text: &str) -> bool {
 ///
 /// Conservative by design: a few false positives (perfectly fine tables flagged)
 /// just mean we run GPU OCR which is the existing safe path.
-fn looks_like_partial_table(markdown: &str) -> bool {
+/// When `layout_assisted` is true (the layout model identified this region
+/// as a table), we relax boundary-detection heuristics (numeric header,
+/// empty header cells, sparse first data row) because the layout model
+/// already gave us the table bbox — we're not guessing "is this a table?"
+/// anymore, only "can we extract it correctly?". Paragraph and duplicate-
+/// header checks stay, since those indicate genuine extraction quality
+/// issues regardless of how the region was identified.
+fn looks_like_partial_table_ex(markdown: &str, layout_assisted: bool) -> bool {
     let lines: Vec<&str> = markdown.lines().filter(|l| l.starts_with('|')).collect();
     if lines.len() < 2 {
         return false;
@@ -1252,17 +1406,28 @@ fn looks_like_partial_table(markdown: &str) -> bool {
     }
 
     // Failure mode 1: header starts with a bare number (likely we missed
-    // the real header row above)
-    if let Some(first) = header_cells.first() {
-        let trimmed = first.trim();
-        if !trimmed.is_empty() && trimmed.chars().all(|c| c.is_ascii_digit()) {
-            return true;
+    // the real header row above). Skip when layout-assisted — the layout
+    // model's bbox includes the real header; a numeric first cell (e.g.,
+    // a year "2024") is legitimate.
+    if !layout_assisted {
+        if let Some(first) = header_cells.first() {
+            let trimmed = first.trim();
+            if !trimmed.is_empty() && trimmed.chars().all(|c| c.is_ascii_digit()) {
+                return true;
+            }
         }
     }
 
-    // Failure mode 2: header has empty cells in a multi-column table
+    // Failure mode 2: header has empty cells in a multi-column table.
+    // When layout-assisted, allow up to 1 empty header cell (common in
+    // tables with merged/spanning header cells that we can't represent).
     let empty_count = header_cells.iter().filter(|c| c.is_empty()).count();
-    if n_cols >= 3 && empty_count >= 1 {
+    if layout_assisted {
+        // Reject only if >1 empty header cell (2+ means serious boundary issue)
+        if n_cols >= 3 && empty_count >= 2 {
+            return true;
+        }
+    } else if n_cols >= 3 && empty_count >= 1 {
         return true;
     }
 
@@ -1290,20 +1455,81 @@ fn looks_like_partial_table(markdown: &str) -> bool {
         if data_cells.len() >= 3 {
             let data_inner = &data_cells[1..data_cells.len() - 1];
             let empty_data = data_inner.iter().filter(|c| c.is_empty()).count();
-            // ≥3 cols, and a third or more of cells in the first data row
-            // are empty → very likely we mis-split a multi-row header.
-            if n_cols >= 3 && empty_data * 3 >= n_cols {
+            // ≥3 cols, and significant portion of cells in the first data
+            // row are empty → likely we mis-split a multi-row header.
+            // When layout-assisted, relax from 33% to 50% — the bbox is
+            // more reliable, and real tables with one sparse first row
+            // (totals, subtotals) are common.
+            let threshold = if layout_assisted { 2 } else { 3 };
+            if n_cols >= 3 && empty_data * threshold >= n_cols {
                 return true;
             }
         }
     }
 
+    // Failure mode 5: cells flow as continuation paragraph (text wrapping
+    // mistaken for column structure). When a paragraph of prose gets mis-
+    // detected as a multi-column table, cells in the same column tend to
+    // start with lowercase letters or punctuation (continuation), not
+    // capital letters / digits (new entries). Real tables almost never
+    // have most data cells starting lowercase.
+    //
+    // Signal: ≥2 cols, ≥4 data rows, and ≥60% of non-empty data cells
+    // start with a lowercase letter or continuation punctuation.
+    let data_rows: Vec<Vec<&str>> = lines
+        .iter()
+        .skip(2) // header + separator
+        .map(|l| {
+            let parts: Vec<&str> = l.split('|').map(|s| s.trim()).collect();
+            if parts.len() >= 3 {
+                parts[1..parts.len() - 1].to_vec()
+            } else {
+                Vec::new()
+            }
+        })
+        .filter(|cells| !cells.is_empty())
+        .collect();
+
+    if n_cols >= 2 && data_rows.len() >= 4 {
+        let mut continuation = 0;
+        let mut total = 0;
+        for row in &data_rows {
+            for cell in row {
+                let trimmed = cell.trim();
+                if trimmed.is_empty() {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                total += 1;
+                let first = trimmed.chars().next().unwrap();
+                // Continuation indicators: lowercase letter, common
+                // mid-sentence punctuation, closing quote
+                if first.is_lowercase()
+                    || matches!(first, ',' | '.' | ';' | ')' | '"' | '\'' | '”' | '’')
+                {
+                    continuation += 1;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if total > 0 && continuation * 5 >= total * 3 {
+            // ≥60% of cells look like sentence continuations → paragraph
+            // misread as table.
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+
     false
 }
 
+/// Original strict validation (no layout assistance). Used by tests and
+/// full-page extraction paths that don't have layout model assistance.
+#[cfg(test)]
+fn looks_like_partial_table(markdown: &str) -> bool {
+    looks_like_partial_table_ex(markdown, false)
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod looks_like_partial_table_tests {
-    use super::looks_like_partial_table;
+    use super::{looks_like_partial_table, looks_like_partial_table_ex};
 
     #[test]
     fn good_table_passes() {
@@ -1377,6 +1603,121 @@ mod looks_like_partial_table_tests {
         let md = "|A|B|C|D|\n|---|---|---|---|\n|x|y||z|\n|p|q|r|s|";
         assert!(!looks_like_partial_table(md));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn paragraph_misread_as_two_column_table_is_partial() {
+        // Real production failure: text-wrapped paragraph mis-detected as
+        // 2-col table. Each cell continues the previous one as prose.
+        let md = "|Approval is needed from the|Acquisitions of|\n\
+                  |---|---|\n\
+                  |Treasurer if the acquisition|residential and|\n\
+                  |constitutes a \"significant|agricultural|\n\
+                  |action,\" including acquiring an|land by foreign|\n\
+                  |interest in different types of|persons must be|\n\
+                  |land where the monetary|reported to the|";
+        assert!(looks_like_partial_table(md));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn real_multi_word_table_is_kept() {
+        // Real table with multi-word entries — cells start with capital
+        // letters / proper nouns, NOT lowercase continuations.
+        let md = "|Country|Capital|Notes|\n\
+                  |---|---|---|\n\
+                  |United States|Washington DC|Federal capital|\n\
+                  |United Kingdom|London|City of London is a separate|\n\
+                  |France|Paris|Île-de-France region|\n\
+                  |Germany|Berlin|Reunified 1990|\n\
+                  |Spain|Madrid|Largest city in Spain|";
+        assert!(!looks_like_partial_table(md));
+    }
+
+    // --- layout_assisted relaxation tests ---
+
+    #[test]
+    fn numeric_header_accepted_when_layout_assisted() {
+        // Year as first header cell is valid when layout model gave us the bbox.
+        let md = "|2024|Revenue|Growth|\n|---|---|---|\n|Q1|1.2M|5%|\n|Q2|1.4M|8%|";
+        assert!(
+            looks_like_partial_table(md),
+            "strict mode rejects numeric header"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            !looks_like_partial_table_ex(md, true),
+            "layout-assisted should accept"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn one_empty_header_accepted_when_layout_assisted() {
+        // Common in merged-header tables: one spanning cell leaves a gap.
+        let md = "|Position||Senate|House|\n|---|---|---|---|\n|Chair|1|2|3|\n|Vice|4|5|6|";
+        assert!(
+            looks_like_partial_table(md),
+            "strict rejects 1 empty header"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            !looks_like_partial_table_ex(md, true),
+            "layout-assisted allows 1 empty"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn two_empty_headers_still_rejected_when_layout_assisted() {
+        // 2+ empty headers is still bad even with layout assistance.
+        let md = "|A|||D|\n|---|---|---|---|\n|x|y|z|w|";
+        assert!(
+            looks_like_partial_table_ex(md, true),
+            "2 empty headers rejected even layout-assisted"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn sparse_first_row_relaxed_when_layout_assisted() {
+        // 1/4 empty = 25%, below strict 33% threshold but accepted by layout-assisted 50%.
+        let md = "|A|B|C|D|\n|---|---|---|---|\n|x||y|z|\n|p|q|r|s|";
+        assert!(!looks_like_partial_table(md), "strict: 25% empty is OK");
+        // 2/4 = 50%, strict would flag (2*3>=4), relaxed threshold (2*2>=4) would also flag.
+        let md2 = "|A|B|C|D|\n|---|---|---|---|\n|||y|z|\n|p|q|r|s|";
+        assert!(looks_like_partial_table(md2), "strict: 50% empty flagged");
+        assert!(
+            looks_like_partial_table_ex(md2, true),
+            "layout-assisted: 50% also flagged"
+        );
+        // 2/6 = 33%, strict flags (2*3>=6), relaxed does not (2*2<6)
+        let md3 = "|A|B|C|D|E|F|\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n|x|||y|z|w|\n|a|b|c|d|e|f|";
+        assert!(looks_like_partial_table(md3), "strict: 33% flagged");
+        assert!(
+            !looks_like_partial_table_ex(md3, true),
+            "layout-assisted: 33% accepted"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn paragraph_still_rejected_when_layout_assisted() {
+        // Paragraph detection is not relaxed — it's a genuine extraction issue.
+        let md = "|Approval is needed from the|Acquisitions of|\n\
+                  |---|---|\n\
+                  |Treasurer if the acquisition|residential and|\n\
+                  |constitutes a \"significant|agricultural|\n\
+                  |action,\" including acquiring an|land by foreign|\n\
+                  |interest in different types of|persons must be|\n\
+                  |land where the monetary|reported to the|";
+        assert!(
+            looks_like_partial_table_ex(md, true),
+            "paragraph rejection stays strict"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn duplicate_headers_still_rejected_when_layout_assisted() {
+        let md =
+            "|Position|Administration|Administration|Notes|\n|---|---|---|---|\n|Senate|24|16|x|";
+        assert!(
+            looks_like_partial_table_ex(md, true),
+            "duplicate headers rejected even layout-assisted"
+        );
+    }
 }
 
 /// Analyse extracted items and rects for layout complexity.

src/tables/detect_heuristic.rs

@@ -1144,6 +1144,33 @@ pub(crate) fn find_first_table_row(
             continue;
         }
 
+        // Skip rows that have duplicate non-empty cells. These are spanning
+        // super-headers (e.g., "First Degree | First Degree | Higher Degree")
+        // that sit above the real column header row. Using them as the markdown
+        // header produces duplicate column names that downstream validation
+        // rejects. Only skip if a subsequent row looks like a better header
+        // (denser fill or has data).
+        if filled_count >= 2 && !has_data {
+            let mut text_counts: std::collections::HashMap<&str, usize> =
+                std::collections::HashMap::new();
+            for cell in &filled_cells {
+                *text_counts.entry(cell.trim()).or_insert(0) += 1;
+            }
+            let has_duplicates = text_counts.values().any(|&count| count >= 2);
+            if has_duplicates {
+                // Check if a later row is a better header candidate
+                let has_better_below = cells.iter().skip(row_idx + 1).take(3).any(|r| {
+                    let next_filled = r.iter().filter(|c| !c.trim().is_empty()).count();
+                    let next_fill = next_filled as f32 / total_cols as f32;
+                    let next_numeric = r.iter().filter(|c| looks_like_number(c.trim())).count();
+                    next_fill >= 0.4 || next_numeric >= 2
+                });
+                if has_better_below {
+                    continue;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
         // Data rows are definitely table content
         if has_data {
             first_table_row = row_idx;

src/tables/grid.rs

@@ -82,33 +82,42 @@ pub(crate) fn find_column_boundaries(
         }
     }
 
-    let mut columns = Vec::new();
-    let mut cluster_items: Vec<f32> = vec![x_positions[0]];
+    // Track cluster membership: for each cluster, store the list of x positions
+    let mut cluster_xs: Vec<Vec<f32>> = vec![vec![x_positions[0]]];
 
     for &x in &x_positions[1..] {
+        let last_cluster = cluster_xs.last().unwrap();
         // For dense columns (gap-histogram triggered), use edge-based clustering:
         // compare with the last item to avoid center-drift that merges adjacent
         // narrow columns.  For normal tables, use center-based (original behavior).
         let reference = if use_edge_clustering {
-            *cluster_items.last().unwrap()
+            *last_cluster.last().unwrap()
         } else {
-            cluster_items.iter().sum::<f32>() / cluster_items.len() as f32
+            last_cluster.iter().sum::<f32>() / last_cluster.len() as f32
         };
 
         if x - reference > cluster_threshold {
-            let cluster_center = cluster_items.iter().sum::<f32>() / cluster_items.len() as f32;
-            columns.push(cluster_center);
-            cluster_items = vec![x];
+            cluster_xs.push(vec![x]);
         } else {
-            cluster_items.push(x);
+            cluster_xs.last_mut().unwrap().push(x);
         }
     }
 
-    // Don't forget last cluster
-    if !cluster_items.is_empty() {
-        columns.push(cluster_items.iter().sum::<f32>() / cluster_items.len() as f32);
+    // Numeric column merge pass: when a sparse cluster (few items, typically
+    // header text) is adjacent to a dense numeric cluster and within 1.5×
+    // threshold, merge them. This fixes tables where multi-line wrapped
+    // headers have slightly different X positions than the data columns,
+    // causing the header and data to split into separate clusters.
+    let columns_before_merge = cluster_xs.len();
+    if columns_before_merge >= 3 {
+        cluster_xs = merge_numeric_adjacent_clusters(cluster_xs, items, cluster_threshold);
     }
 
+    let columns: Vec<f32> = cluster_xs
+        .iter()
+        .map(|xs| xs.iter().sum::<f32>() / xs.len() as f32)
+        .collect();
+
     // Filter columns - each should have multiple items
     let min_items_per_col = (items.len() / columns.len().max(1) / 4).max(2);
     let columns: Vec<f32> = columns
@@ -123,8 +132,9 @@ pub(crate) fn find_column_boundaries(
         .collect();
 
     log::debug!(
-        "  find_column_boundaries: {} columns before filter, threshold={:.1}, {} items",
+        "  find_column_boundaries: {} columns (merged from {}), threshold={:.1}, {} items",
         columns.len(),
+        columns_before_merge,
         cluster_threshold,
         items.len()
     );
@@ -148,6 +158,116 @@ pub(crate) fn find_column_boundaries(
     columns
 }
 
+/// Check if a text string looks like a number (digits, decimals, sign, comma).
+fn is_numeric_text(s: &str) -> bool {
+    let s = s.trim();
+    if s.is_empty() {
+        return false;
+    }
+    // Match patterns like: 8.23, -1.05, 9.99, 7.12, 100, 3,456.78, +5%, ---
+    // But NOT: BIO, Department, Core Courses
+    s.chars()
+        .all(|c| c.is_ascii_digit() || c == '.' || c == ',' || c == '-' || c == '+' || c == '%')
+        && s.chars().any(|c| c.is_ascii_digit())
+}
+
+/// Merge adjacent X-position clusters when one is a sparse header cluster
+/// and the other is a dense numeric data cluster. This prevents multi-line
+/// wrapped headers from splitting a logical column into two clusters.
+fn merge_numeric_adjacent_clusters(
+    mut clusters: Vec<Vec<f32>>,
+    items: &[(usize, &TextItem)],
+    threshold: f32,
+) -> Vec<Vec<f32>> {
+    // For each cluster, compute: center, item count, numeric fraction
+    struct ClusterInfo {
+        center: f32,
+        count: usize,
+        numeric_frac: f32,
+    }
+
+    let compute_info = |xs: &[f32]| -> ClusterInfo {
+        let center = xs.iter().sum::<f32>() / xs.len() as f32;
+        // Count items and numeric fraction for items near this cluster center
+        let mut total = 0;
+        let mut numeric = 0;
+        for (_, item) in items {
+            if (item.x - center).abs() < threshold {
+                total += 1;
+                if is_numeric_text(&item.text) {
+                    numeric += 1;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        ClusterInfo {
+            center,
+            count: total,
+            numeric_frac: if total > 0 {
+                numeric as f32 / total as f32
+            } else {
+                0.0
+            },
+        }
+    };
+
+    // Merge distance: allow merging clusters that are slightly beyond the
+    // original threshold. Use 1.5× threshold to catch header-vs-data splits.
+    let merge_dist = threshold * 1.5;
+
+    // Iterate and merge adjacent pairs. Use a simple left-to-right scan.
+    let mut merged = true;
+    while merged {
+        merged = false;
+        let mut i = 0;
+        while i + 1 < clusters.len() {
+            let info_a = compute_info(&clusters[i]);
+            let info_b = compute_info(&clusters[i + 1]);
+            let dist = (info_b.center - info_a.center).abs();
+
+            if dist > merge_dist {
+                i += 1;
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // Determine if one cluster is sparse (header) and the other
+            // is dense and numeric (data). A cluster is "sparse" if it has
+            // significantly fewer items than the other.
+            let (sparse, dense) = if info_a.count < info_b.count {
+                (&info_a, &info_b)
+            } else {
+                (&info_b, &info_a)
+            };
+
+            // Merge if the dense cluster is predominantly numeric (>50%)
+            // and the sparse cluster has at most 1/3 the items of the dense one.
+            let should_merge =
+                dense.numeric_frac > 0.50 && sparse.count <= dense.count / 2 && sparse.count <= 5;
+
+            if should_merge {
+                log::debug!(
+                    "  merging column clusters: center {:.1} ({} items, {:.0}% numeric) + {:.1} ({} items, {:.0}% numeric), dist={:.1}",
+                    info_a.center,
+                    info_a.count,
+                    info_a.numeric_frac * 100.0,
+                    info_b.center,
+                    info_b.count,
+                    info_b.numeric_frac * 100.0,
+                    dist,
+                );
+                // Merge cluster i+1 into cluster i
+                let next = clusters.remove(i + 1);
+                clusters[i].extend(next);
+                merged = true;
+                // Don't increment i — check if the merged cluster can merge further
+            } else {
+                i += 1;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    clusters
+}
+
 /// Find row boundaries by clustering Y positions
 pub(crate) fn find_row_boundaries(items: &[(usize, &TextItem)]) -> Vec<f32> {
     let mut y_positions: Vec<f32> = items.iter().map(|(_, i)| i.y).collect();

tests/integration_tests.rs

@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ use pdf_inspector::detector::{DetectionConfig, ScanStrategy};
 use pdf_inspector::extractor::group_into_lines;
 use pdf_inspector::types::TextLine;
 use pdf_inspector::{
-    detect_pdf_type, extract_tables_in_regions_mem, extract_text, extract_text_in_regions_mem,
-    extract_text_with_positions, process_pdf_mem, process_pdf_with_options, to_markdown,
-    MarkdownOptions, PdfError, PdfOptions, PdfType, TextItem,
+    detect_pdf_type, extract_pages_markdown_mem, extract_tables_in_regions_mem, extract_text,
+    extract_text_in_regions_mem, extract_text_with_positions, process_pdf_mem,
+    process_pdf_with_options, to_markdown, MarkdownOptions, PdfError, PdfOptions, PdfType,
+    TextItem,
 };
 use std::collections::HashSet;
 
@@ -1436,3 +1437,196 @@ fn test_extract_tables_in_regions_nonexistent_page() {
     assert!(region.needs_ocr);
     assert!(region.text.is_empty());
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn test_bits_pilani_page4_table_detection() {
+    // Page 4 (0-indexed 3) has a table with multi-line wrapped headers and
+    // numeric data columns. The heuristic detector previously failed because:
+    // 1. Header items at different X positions than data created extra column
+    //    clusters (6 cols instead of 4)
+    // 2. Spanning super-header row ("First Degree | First Degree") produced
+    //    duplicate header cells that looks_like_partial_table_ex rejected
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/bits_pilani_feedback.pdf").unwrap();
+    let results =
+        extract_tables_in_regions_mem(&buf, &[(3, vec![[0.0, 0.0, 612.0, 792.0]])]).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(results.len(), 1);
+    let region = &results[0].regions[0];
+    assert!(
+        !region.needs_ocr,
+        "Page 4 table should be detected, got needs_ocr=true"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        region.text.contains("BIO"),
+        "Should contain department name BIO"
+    );
+    assert!(region.text.contains("8.23"), "Should contain numeric data");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_bits_pilani_page8_table_detection() {
+    // Page 8 (0-indexed 7) has a numbered-row table that already worked.
+    // Verify it still works after changes.
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/bits_pilani_feedback.pdf").unwrap();
+    let results =
+        extract_tables_in_regions_mem(&buf, &[(7, vec![[0.0, 0.0, 612.0, 792.0]])]).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(results.len(), 1);
+    let region = &results[0].regions[0];
+    assert!(!region.needs_ocr, "Page 8 table should still be detected");
+}
+
+// =========================================================================
+// extract_pages_markdown_mem tests
+// =========================================================================
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_basic() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[0, 1]).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(result.pages.len(), 2);
+    assert_eq!(result.pages[0].page, 0);
+    assert_eq!(result.pages[1].page, 1);
+    // Text-based PDF should produce non-empty markdown
+    assert!(!result.pages[0].markdown.is_empty());
+    assert!(!result.pages[0].needs_ocr);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_page_ordering() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    // Request pages in non-sequential order
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[1, 0]).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(result.pages.len(), 2);
+    // Results should match input order, not document order
+    assert_eq!(result.pages[0].page, 1);
+    assert_eq!(result.pages[1].page, 0);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_out_of_range() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[9999]).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(result.pages.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(result.pages[0].page, 9999);
+    assert!(result.pages[0].markdown.is_empty());
+    assert!(result.pages[0].needs_ocr);
+    assert!(result.pages_needing_ocr.contains(&10000)); // 1-indexed
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_empty_pages_list() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[]).unwrap();
+    assert!(result.pages.is_empty());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_single_page() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[0]).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(result.pages.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(result.pages[0].page, 0);
+    assert!(!result.pages[0].markdown.is_empty());
+    assert!(!result.pages[0].needs_ocr);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_invalid_buffer() {
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(b"not a pdf", &[0]);
+    assert!(result.is_err());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_gid_pages_need_ocr() {
+    // shinagawa_identity_h.pdf has GID-encoded fonts
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/shinagawa_identity_h.pdf").unwrap();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[0]).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(result.pages.len(), 1);
+    assert!(result.pages[0].needs_ocr);
+    assert!(result.pages_needing_ocr.contains(&1)); // 1-indexed
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_classification_with_tables() {
+    // nexo-price-en.pdf is known to have tables
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    let page_count = process_pdf_mem(&buf).unwrap().page_count;
+    let page_indices: Vec<u32> = (0..page_count).collect();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &page_indices).unwrap();
+
+    assert!(
+        !result.pages_with_tables.is_empty(),
+        "nexo-price-en.pdf should have pages with tables"
+    );
+    assert!(result.is_complex);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_simple_pdf_no_complexity() {
+    // bare_name_struct.pdf is a simple document with a heading and code block
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/bare_name_struct.pdf").unwrap();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &[0]).unwrap();
+
+    assert!(result.pages_with_tables.is_empty());
+    assert!(result.pages_with_columns.is_empty());
+    assert!(!result.is_complex);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_classification_matches_process_pdf() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+    let full = process_pdf_mem(&buf).unwrap();
+    let page_count = full.page_count;
+    let page_indices: Vec<u32> = (0..page_count).collect();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &page_indices).unwrap();
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        result.pages_with_tables, full.layout.pages_with_tables,
+        "pages_with_tables should match process_pdf"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        result.pages_with_columns, full.layout.pages_with_columns,
+        "pages_with_columns should match process_pdf"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_extract_pages_markdown_consistency_with_process_pdf() {
+    let buf = std::fs::read("tests/fixtures/nexo-price-en.pdf").unwrap();
+
+    // Get full process_pdf output
+    let full = process_pdf_mem(&buf).unwrap();
+    let full_md = full.markdown.unwrap_or_default();
+
+    // Get per-page output for all pages
+    let page_count = full.page_count;
+    let page_indices: Vec<u32> = (0..page_count).collect();
+    let result = extract_pages_markdown_mem(&buf, &page_indices).unwrap();
+
+    // Concatenated per-page markdown should contain substantial overlap with
+    // the full output (exact match not expected due to header/footer stripping
+    // and cross-page paragraph merging differences)
+    let concat: String = result
+        .pages
+        .iter()
+        .map(|p| p.markdown.as_str())
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        .join("\n");
+
+    // Both should be non-empty for a text-based PDF
+    assert!(!full_md.is_empty());
+    assert!(!concat.is_empty());
+
+    // The per-page version should contain at least 50% of the full content's
+    // length (accounting for header/footer stripping differences)
+    assert!(
+        concat.len() * 2 >= full_md.len(),
+        "per-page concat ({} chars) is too short vs full ({} chars)",
+        concat.len(),
+        full_md.len()
+    );
+}