I'm having trouble determining if it's possible, based on the amount of access I have to my Godaddy server, to install XPDF. Could someone shed some light on this?
Here's the link to XPDF.
And here is info about the GoDaddy server.
My goal is to convert PDF's to Plain Text automatically using a PHP script on the server. So far, other solutions like code posted in the comments of the PHP website have been insufficient. All research seems to point to XPDF.
From the information you give, it sounds like it is a shared hosting solution you are using. Typically, you will not be able to install system software on a shared hosting account. I doubt that Go Daddy will install this for you.
You would need to use a hosting solution that includes this software, or rather use a VPS(virtual private server) or dedicated server. Then you will have root access and install any software you like. Unmanaged VPS are not expensive, but you need to take care of backups and software upgrades. If you do not want to manage your server, then maybe find a hosting solution that includes the PHP extension and software you need.
The page you reference does not give detailed information on PHP (phpinfo). With this information, it is possible to determine if you can perhaps do what you are trying to do without xpdf. There is also pdf2text, IIRC.