Dolphin (ByteDance)
Self-hosted PDF-to-Markdown that preserves most text and tables, but drops charts and struggles with repeated images.
Strong baseline for text and tables, but not for figures
- You want a free, self-hosted PDF-to-Markdown baseline that usually preserves prose, headings, tables, captions, and reading order.
- Your PDFs are mostly text-heavy or table-heavy, and you can tolerate some manual cleanup for charts and repeated images.
- You care more about data values and document structure than about faithfully recovering chart graphics.
- You need chart data or figure content preserved in markdown; every chart tested was reduced to a placeholder.
Our take
Dolphin-1.5 is a solid lightweight self-hosted baseline for PDF-to-Markdown when the job is mostly prose, headings, and routine tables. It handled the scanned paper well at the OCR level and kept reading order/captions intact, but it consistently dropped chart content and behaved inconsistently around repeated images, signatures, and some complex table structures.
In-Depth Review
Our detailed analysis of Dolphin (ByteDance) — features, performance, and real-world testing.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Embedded Visual Element RetentionOmitted▾
Feature tested: Embedded Visual Element Retention
Result: Failed
Verdict: Omitted
Expected behavior: Dolphin preserves embedded non-text elements from chart-heavy pages in hybrid earnings reports and scanned research papers, plus report-signature pages with images, logos, and handwritten signatures, often leaving them as Figure placeholders while keeping nearby captions and annotations in sequence. The sampled cases show that chart content itself is not reconstructed from data.
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Financial highlights page with vector bar and donut charts. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialhighlights_charts_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): All nine charts are reduced to plain figure placeholders; the surrounding growth and CAGR text survives, but the chart data itself is gone. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialhighlights_charts_omitted_failed.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Financial highlights page with vector bar and donut charts. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialhighlights_charts_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): All nine charts are reduced to plain figure placeholders; the surrounding growth and CAGR text survives, but the chart data itself is gone. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialhighlights_charts_omitted_failed.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Grouped bar chart from the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The chart is replaced with a placeholder and only its caption remains; no axis or series data is recovered. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_omitted_failed.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Grouped bar chart from the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The chart is replaced with a placeholder and only its caption remains; no axis or series data is recovered. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_omitted_failed.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Report of Management signatures from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_reportofmgmt_signatures_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The handwritten signatures are replaced by clean figure placeholders, and the names, titles, and date remain attached beneath them. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_reportofmgmt_signatures_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Report of Management signatures from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_reportofmgmt_signatures_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The handwritten signatures are replaced by clean figure placeholders, and the names, titles, and date remain attached beneath them. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_reportofmgmt_signatures_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Formal signatures page from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_signatures_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The same signature type is not preserved consistently here; the signatures become nonsense strings, CJK-like characters, or fake LaTeX formulas instead of placeholders. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_signatures_omitted_failed.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Formal signatures page from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_signatures_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The same signature type is not preserved consistently here; the signatures become nonsense strings, CJK-like characters, or fake LaTeX formulas instead of placeholders. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_signatures_omitted_failed.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): The same recurring logo on another content page. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p8_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The identical logo is retained here as a Figure placeholder. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p8_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): The same recurring logo on another content page. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p8_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The identical logo is retained here as a Figure placeholder. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p8_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Shield logo region on the scanned research paper title page. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_titlepage_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The shield is retained as figure placeholders, but the single image region is split into two placeholders. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_titlepage_parsed_partial_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Shield logo region on the scanned research paper title page. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_titlepage_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The shield is retained as figure placeholders, but the single image region is split into two placeholders. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_titlepage_parsed_partial_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Why it matters / Conclusion: Not safe for chart data extraction; nearby captions and annotations can survive, but the chart itself does not.
Dolphin preserves embedded non-text elements from chart-heavy pages in hybrid earnings reports and scanned research papers, plus report-signature pages with images, logos, and handwritten signatures, often leaving them as Figure placeholders while keeping nearby captions and annotations in sequence. The sampled cases show that chart content itself is not reconstructed from data.
OCR and Text ExtractionMostly accurate, with recurring glyph errors▾
Feature tested: OCR and Text Extraction
Result: Partial
Verdict: Mostly accurate, with recurring glyph errors
Expected behavior: Dolphin extracts body text from native and scanned PDFs, including a two-column title page, but the sampled cases include misreads on special characters, checkbox glyphs, dash substitution, and repeated header text.
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): SEC filing checkbox line asking whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_checkbox1_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Both checkbox prompts remain unfilled in the output, and the checked/unchecked state collapses to an indistinguishable character. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_checkbox1_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): SEC filing checkbox line asking whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_checkbox1_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Both checkbox prompts remain unfilled in the output, and the checked/unchecked state collapses to an indistinguishable character. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_checkbox1_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Right-hand crop of the split shareholder-letter sentence on the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_readingorder_rightstart_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Apostrophes in contractions are mangled and split across spurious line breaks, turning normal prose into broken fragments. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_apostrophe_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Right-hand crop of the split shareholder-letter sentence on the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_readingorder_rightstart_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Apostrophes in contractions are mangled and split across spurious line breaks, turning normal prose into broken fragments. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_apostrophe_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Running header from the financial report page. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p14_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The running header substitutes 'Downloaded' for 'Consolidated', and dash placeholders elsewhere in the document are rendered as mojibake characters. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p14_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Running header from the financial report page. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p14_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The running header substitutes 'Downloaded' for 'Consolidated', and dash placeholders elsewhere in the document are rendered as mojibake characters. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_header_p14_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Dense scanned table cell from the research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_ipsspp_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The scanned table misreads italicized 'Ips spp.' as 'Jps spp.', showing that OCR is strong overall but still makes localized errors in dense type. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_ipsspp_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Dense scanned table cell from the research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_ipsspp_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The scanned table misreads italicized 'Ips spp.' as 'Jps spp.', showing that OCR is strong overall but still makes localized errors in dense type. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_ipsspp_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Why it matters / Conclusion: Good prose OCR overall, but special characters and some repeated header text need review.
Dolphin extracts body text from native and scanned PDFs, including a two-column title page, but the sampled cases include misreads on special characters, checkbox glyphs, dash substitution, and repeated header text.
Table ReconstructionMixed▾
Feature tested: Table Reconstruction
Result: Partial
Verdict: Mixed
Expected behavior: Dolphin reconstructs tables from financial and research PDF layouts, including balance-sheet and business-results tables with merged headers and page-spanning splits, while the harder samples expose problems with wrapped labels and deeply nested row groups.
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Business results table from the Sumitomo Heavy Industries report. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_businessresults_table_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The business results table is reconstructed with the merged header structure preserved and the numeric values intact. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_businessresults_table_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Business results table from the Sumitomo Heavy Industries report. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_businessresults_table_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The business results table is reconstructed with the merged header structure preserved and the numeric values intact. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_businessresults_table_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Quarterly consolidated balance sheet excerpt. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_balancesheet_table_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The balance-sheet excerpt is reproduced with the current-assets rows and values preserved in a readable table. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_balancesheet_table_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Quarterly consolidated balance sheet excerpt. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_balancesheet_table_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The balance-sheet excerpt is reproduced with the current-assets rows and values preserved in a readable table. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_balancesheet_table_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Segment table with a diagonal-split corner header. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_segmenttable_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The table values are mostly preserved, but the diagonal-split header labels are flattened into a single cell, losing the two-axis distinction. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_segmenttable_parsed_partial_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Segment table with a diagonal-split corner header. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_segmenttable_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The table values are mostly preserved, but the diagonal-split header labels are flattened into a single cell, losing the two-axis distinction. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_segmenttable_parsed_partial_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): OTHER section of the hybrid earnings financial summary table. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialsummary_other_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): A wrapped row label loses its own values and shifts the following rows upward, attaching real numbers to the wrong metric names. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialsummary_other_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): OTHER section of the hybrid earnings financial summary table. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialsummary_other_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): A wrapped row label loses its own values and shifts the following rows upward, attaching real numbers to the wrong metric names. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_financialsummary_other_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): The most complex nested table block in the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table4_7inchcut_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The complex table breaks by row-group depth and also corrupts some values, not just the layout. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table4_7inchcut_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): The most complex nested table block in the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table4_7inchcut_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The complex table breaks by row-group depth and also corrupts some values, not just the layout. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table4_7inchcut_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): A simpler flat table from later in the scanned paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table6_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The simpler table reconstructs correctly with every checked value intact. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table6_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): A simpler flat table from later in the scanned paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table6_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The simpler table reconstructs correctly with every checked value intact. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_table6_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Why it matters / Conclusion: Strong on routine tables; fragile on wrapped labels and deeply nested layouts.
Dolphin reconstructs tables from financial and research PDF layouts, including balance-sheet and business-results tables with merged headers and page-spanning splits, while the harder samples expose problems with wrapped labels and deeply nested row groups.
Reading Order PreservationPreserved▾
Feature tested: Reading Order Preservation
Result: Passed
Verdict: Preserved
Expected behavior: Dolphin preserves logical content sequence in sampled two-column pages and page-boundary table splits, keeping nearby paragraphs and sections in the intended order.
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Two source crops from a split paragraph on a two-column page: the left-column end and the right-column start. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_readingorder_leftend_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The split paragraph is reconstructed as one continuous sentence with the column break preserved and no leakage from surrounding paragraphs. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_readingorder_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Two source crops from a split paragraph on a two-column page: the left-column end and the right-column start. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_readingorder_leftend_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The split paragraph is reconstructed as one continuous sentence with the column break preserved and no leakage from surrounding paragraphs. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_readingorder_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Item 1. Business and General heading sample from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Both lines are extracted as headings, but they are normalized to the same heading tier rather than reflecting finer structure. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_parsed_partial_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Item 1. Business and General heading sample from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Both lines are extracted as headings, but they are normalized to the same heading tier rather than reflecting finer structure. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_parsed_partial_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Item 1A. Risk Factors heading sample from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The parent heading and subheading are both emitted at the same level, flattening the intended heading relationship. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Item 1A. Risk Factors heading sample from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The parent heading and subheading are both emitted at the same level, flattening the intended heading relationship. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Item 2. Properties heading sample from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The section title is left as plain text rather than being marked as a heading. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Item 2. Properties heading sample from the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The section title is left as plain text rather than being marked as a heading. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Two halves of the quarterly balance sheet split by the source page boundary: the Assets section ending on page 9 and the Liabilities section beginning on page 10. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_pagebreak_assetsend_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The Assets half closes, the page-10 running header appears in between, and the Liabilities half opens in the correct order. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_pagebreak_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Two halves of the quarterly balance sheet split by the source page boundary: the Assets section ending on page 9 and the Liabilities section beginning on page 10. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_pagebreak_assetsend_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The Assets half closes, the page-10 running header appears in between, and the Liabilities half opens in the correct order. — dolphin_input2_financialpdf_pagebreak_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Why it matters / Conclusion: Sequencing held up in all sampled cases.
Dolphin preserves logical content sequence in sampled two-column pages and page-boundary table splits, keeping nearby paragraphs and sections in the intended order.
Document Hierarchy DetectionInconsistent▾
Feature tested: Document Hierarchy Detection
Result: Partial
Verdict: Inconsistent
Expected behavior: Dolphin emits markdown heading structure for section titles in the hybrid report, but the sampled headings are not always assigned consistent levels or any level at all.
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Item 1. Business and General heading block in the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Item 1. Business and General are converted to heading markup, but the snippet truncates after the opening paragraph. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_parsed_partial_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Item 1. Business and General heading block in the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Item 1. Business and General are converted to heading markup, but the snippet truncates after the opening paragraph. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1_parsed_partial_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Item 1A. Risk Factors and its subheading in the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Item 1A. Risk Factors and Competitive and Reputational Risks are both emitted at the same heading level, flattening the parent/child structure. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Item 1A. Risk Factors and its subheading in the hybrid earnings report. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Item 1A. Risk Factors and Competitive and Reputational Risks are both emitted at the same heading level, flattening the parent/child structure. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item1a_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Item 2. Properties heading and table lead-in. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Item 2. Properties is not given heading markup at all and appears as plain text before the table. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_parsed_failure.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Item 2. Properties heading and table lead-in. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Item 2. Properties is not given heading markup at all and appears as plain text before the table. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_docheadings_item2_parsed_failure.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): STUDY AREA heading in the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_studyarea_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): STUDY AREA is emitted at the expected markdown heading level. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_studyarea_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): STUDY AREA heading in the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_studyarea_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): STUDY AREA is emitted at the expected markdown heading level. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_studyarea_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): STAND PRESCRIPTIONS heading in the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_standprescriptions_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): STAND PRESCRIPTIONS is emitted at the same markdown heading level as STUDY AREA. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_standprescriptions_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): STAND PRESCRIPTIONS heading in the scanned research paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_standprescriptions_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): STAND PRESCRIPTIONS is emitted at the same markdown heading level as STUDY AREA. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_heading_standprescriptions_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Why it matters / Conclusion: Usable, but heading levels are not reliable in the mixed-layout filing.
Dolphin emits markdown heading structure for section titles in the hybrid report, but the sampled headings are not always assigned consistent levels or any level at all.
Caption and Footnote AssociationPreserved▾
Feature tested: Caption and Footnote Association
Result: Passed
Verdict: Preserved
Expected behavior: Dolphin keeps captions, titles, dates, and table notes attached to the correct figure or table in the sampled documents, even when the parent image or table is degraded.
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Signature/photo block caption on the shareholder-letter page. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_ceocaption_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): Brian Cornell, Chairman and CEO stays correctly attached directly beneath the Figure placeholder. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_ceocaption_parsed_success.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Signature/photo block caption on the shareholder-letter page. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_ceocaption_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): Brian Cornell, Chairman and CEO stays correctly attached directly beneath the Figure placeholder. — dolphin_input1_hybridearnings_ceocaption_parsed_success.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Test case: Image → Image
Input type: Image
Input used: Input artifact (Image): Figure 1 chart and its caption in the scanned paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_source.png
Observed output: Output artifact (Image): The chart data is omitted, but the Figure 1 caption remains correctly attached immediately after the placeholder. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_omitted_failed.png
Input artifact: Input artifact (Image): Figure 1 chart and its caption in the scanned paper. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_source.png
Output artifact: Output artifact (Image): The chart data is omitted, but the Figure 1 caption remains correctly attached immediately after the placeholder. — dolphin_input3_scannedpaper_figure1_omitted_failed.png
What changed: Image transformed into Image
Why it matters / Conclusion: Association stayed intact in the checked samples.
Dolphin keeps captions, titles, dates, and table notes attached to the correct figure or table in the sampled documents, even when the parent image or table is degraded.
How it scored on the research's own criteria
The 9 evaluation dimensions from our hands-on research on Dolphin (ByteDance), each judged from recorded runs on 3 test inputs — the same verdicts the ranking page ranks on.
held up partial failed not exercised by this input
| Criterion | Verdict | What the runs showed | Per input | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chart Reconstruction | Weak1/5 | On both chart-bearing documents, the chart content itself is dropped rather than turned into usable data or a faithful description, so this is a core failure. The middle financial report has no charts, so it doesn’t offset the two complete losses. | open proof ↗ | |
| Document Hierarchy | Strong4/5 | The annual report shows a real heading-level inconsistency, but the other two documents keep their section structure steady. So hierarchy support is generally good, with one clear weak spot on the more complex filing-style layout. | open proof ↗ | |
| Long/Complex Document Robustness | Strong4/5 | It can finish long documents without crashing, and the shorter runs stay stable end to end. The only reason this is not a top score is that the longest and densest report does produce a severe local breakdown before recovering. | open proof ↗ | |
| Reading Order Preservation | Strong5/5 | Across all three inputs, the tool keeps content in the right logical sequence, including the hardest cases like a column break and a page-spanning table. I saw no true reading-order failure. | open proof ↗ | |
| Table Reconstruction | Mixed3/5 | Simple and medium tables are usually usable, but the tool loses its grip on tricky layouts: wrapped labels, diagonal split headers, and deep rowspan structures. That pattern is too mixed for a high score, but not so broken that the feature is unusable overall. | open proof ↗ | |
| Text Preservation | Mixed3/5 | It keeps most prose and numbers readable, but the repeated glyph and word substitutions are real text losses, not just cosmetic noise. Because the problems recur across all three inputs while the bulk of ordinary prose remains usable, this lands in the middle rather than at the top or bottom. | open proof ↗ | |
| Bonus: Unique or Anomalous Behaviors | Strong5/5 | This tool has several memorable, repeatable quirks, both bad and good: repeated word and glyph substitutions, signature hallucinations, a long repetition loop on the hardest page, and faithful preservation of original print-era hyphenation on the scan. That’s distinctive enough to merit the top bonus score. | open proof ↗ | |
| Caption/Figure Association | Strong5/5 | Even when the underlying image or table content is damaged, the surrounding captions and notes stay in the right place. That makes the association behavior consistently strong across all three documents. | open proof ↗ | |
| Image Retention | Weak2/5 | It does sometimes keep image regions, but not reliably: one document hallucinates signatures, one drops most repeating logos, and one double-counts a logo region. That is better than total loss, but still well below solid retention. | open proof ↗ |
Verdicts come verbatim from the study's recorded observations, never re-derived at render; a criterion with no recorded run shows Not exercised — this section cannot invent a score.
Free to self-host
MIT-licensed Dolphin-1.5; the report says it is free to self-host.
The evaluation also notes a newer Dolphin-v2 exists, but it was not the version tested here.
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- 2Paste it into your site's HTML or CMS editor.
- 3Banner appears instantly on your page.
- 4Links back to your tool profile here.
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