Extracting Data from a PDF File in Power Automate Desktop

Power Automate Desktop has recently introduced a new feature for PDF extraction, allowing users to easily extract data from PDF files and use them in various automation workflows. In this article, we will explore how to use this feature to extract data from a PDF file, transform it into usable format, and then load it into a web form.

Extracting Data from a PDF File

To begin with, you need to create a new flow in Power Automate Desktop and add the 'Extract Text' action from the 'PDF' category. This action will extract text data from the PDF file and store it as an output variable.

For example, let's say we have a PDF file containing a table with product items, their description, price, and total. We can use the 'Extract Table' option in the 'Extract Text' action to extract the table data into an output variable.

Transforming Data

Once we have extracted the data from the PDF file, we need to transform it into a usable format that can be used to populate a web form. In this case, we will use Power Automate Desktop's built-in 'Set Variable' action to create variables for each column in the table.

For example, let's say we want to extract the product item description, price, and total from the table. We can create three separate variables using the 'Set Variable' action:

* `ItemDescription`: extracts the description of the product item

* `ItemPrice`: extracts the price of the product item

* `ItemTotal`: extracts the total cost of the product item

Loading Data into a Web Form

Now that we have transformed our data, we can use it to populate a web form. To do this, we need to add a 'Send an HTTP Request' action to our flow and configure it to send a POST request to the web form with the extracted data.

For example, let's say we want to populate a web form at 'www.example.com/form'(http://www.example.com/form) with the extracted data. We can use the following code in the 'Request Body' field of the 'Send an HTTP Request' action:

```

{

'ItemDescription': '{ItemDescription}',

'ItemPrice': '{ItemPrice}',

'ItemTotal': '{ItemTotal}'

}

```

This code will send a POST request to the web form with the extracted data in JSON format.

Looping through Data

One of the challenges we may face when working with PDF tables is that they can contain multiple rows of data depending on the number of product items in the invoice. To loop through each row of data and process it individually, we can use Power Automate Desktop's built-in 'Do While' action.

For example, let's say we want to loop through each row of data in the table and extract the corresponding item description, price, and total. We can use the following code in the 'Condition' field of the 'Do While' action:

```

@equals(length(variables('ItemDescription')), 0)

```

This code will check if the length of the `ItemDescription` variable is equal to 0, indicating that we have reached the end of the table. If it is true, then the loop will exit.

In this article, we have explored how to use Power Automate Desktop to extract data from a PDF file, transform it into usable format, and load it into a web form. By using the 'Extract Text' action to extract text data from the PDF file, transforming the data using Power Automate Desktop's built-in actions, and loading the data into a web form using the 'Send an HTTP Request' action, we can automate complex workflows that involve extracting data from PDF files.

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