Activities - Form Extractor

Description

Note: Due to licensing purposes, the Form Extractor activity requires an Internet connection to run the robot.

The Form Extractor is best suited for extracting, matching, and reporting specific information by analyzing the word's position inside the document, or detecting a signature. This activity can be used only together with the Data Extraction Scope activity. Handwritten text can also be detected if the Form Extractor activity is used along with the UiPath Document OCR activity.

Project compatibility

Windows-Legacy | Windows

Configuration

Properties panel

Common

DisplayName - The display name of the activity.

Input

ApiKey - Specifies the API key of the account. The API Key field is automatically pre-populated if defined in local project settings or in the Document Understanding framework.
Endpoint - The URL to UiPath® server. By default, the endpoint is https://du.uipath.com/svc/formextractor. For more information, visit Document Understanding Public Endpoints.
MinOverlapPercentage - Specifies the minimum overlap area (in percentage) between a box in the document and a box in the template required to make an extraction. The percentage value can be set between 0 and 100. The default value is 65.
Timeout - Specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds) to wait for a response from the server before an error is thrown. The default value is 100000 milliseconds (100 seconds).

Misc

Private - If selected, the values of variables and arguments are no longer logged at Verbose level.
Note: Multiple templates can be defined for one Document Type. When the activity is run, the extractor selects the best matching template based on the information found on the first page.

The Template Manager Wizard

Allows you to create, edit, manage, and export/import templates for the document types defined in the taxonomy.

Creating a template

Add a Form Extractor activity to your workflow, within a Data Extraction Scope.
Configure the extractor by selecting Manage Templates.
The Template Manager window opens.
Figure 1. Overview of the Template Manager wizard
Select Create Template for creating a new template.
Figure 2. Overview of the Create a new template configuration fields
Note:
If the UiPath.IntelligentOCR.Activities package has been updated to v5.1.0, then the ForceApplyOCR parameter has been replaced with the ApplyOcrOnPDF. Here is the compatibility between the old and new parameters:
- ForceApplyOCR = True is replaced by ApplyOcrOnPDF = Yes;
- ForceApplyOCR = False is replaced by ApplyOcrOnPDF = Auto;
- ForceApplyOCR = Empty is replaced by ApplyOcrOnPDF = Auto;
- ForceApplyOCR = <user-defined variable> is replaced by ApplyOcrOnPDF = Auto.
The Apply OCR on PDF option establishes if the OCR process should be applied or not to PDF documents. Three options are available in the dropdown list: True, False, and Auto.

If set to True, the OCR is applied to all PDF pages of the document. If set to False, only digitally typed text is extracted. The default value is Auto, determining if the document requires to apply the OCR algorithm depending on the input document.

Each OCR engine comes with its own set of custom options. Visit OCR Engine for more details about all options available for each OCR engine. The default OCR engine is UiPath Document OCR.
Select the document type for your template from the Document Type dropdown list.
Note: All Document Types are based on the Taxonomy. Make sure to add or create a taxonomy inside the project's folder.
Add the name of the template in the Template name field. Choose a relevant name that reflects the version or the layout of your document.
Add the document's path in the Template document field.
Navigate to the file's path by using the Browse option.
Select an OCR from the OCR Engine dropdown list, and configure it according to its needs.
Select Configure to trigger the template editing.

If you have already created a template, then it can be edited, exported, or removed. Delete and Export options become available only when at least one template is selected. The Edit and Remove options for an individual template are always available.

Figure 3. Animated image of selecting the Delete or Export options for a template

Configuring Boolean field processing

For documents that include check boxes, you can add known synonyms for the Yes and No options, or you can start from a list compiled by UiPath® (select Add Recommended). These values are used for Boolean content interpretation, which is mapping a captured value to a Yes or No reported value.

Figure 4. Animated image showing the suggestion generated after selecting Add recommended for the Synonyms for Yes and Synonyms for No fields

Note: The Case sensitive check box needs to be checked if the synonyms you have added are case sensitive.

Exporting and Importing Templates

You can import templates created and exported from other workflows. Use these features to share templates between projects. Once a document type is configured using the Form Extractor, you don't need to reconfigure the templates in a new implementation.

Exporting Procedure

Here are the steps you need to follow to export a template:

Create one or more templates by following the steps explained at the beginning of this page.
Select the templates you want to export.
Select an Export option:
1. Export with original files
  Exporting with original files attaches them to the export.
2. Export without original files
  Figure 5. The action of selecting the Export with original files options
Save the template's archive with the desired name.
A message is displayed once the template is saved. Select OK.
Figure 6. The "X" template(s) successfully exported message

Note:
If you cannot share the content of the documents you have built your templates on, then use the Export without original files option. You are still able to share and import the template archive in other projects, but you cannot edit or view them anymore.

If you want to edit the templates once imported in a different project, make sure to use the Export with original files option when exporting and then importing them.

Importing Procedure

Here are the steps you need to follow to import a template:

Select Import.
Figure 7. The action of selecting Import in the Template Manager wizard
Select an archive. The import wizard appears and presents all document types and all templates available in the selected export archive. Select the templates you wish to import and choose the desired Import option:
1. Import with original files
2. Import without original files
  Figure 8. The Import options in the Template Manager wizard
  Note:
  - When templates are imported, Document Types are created automatically in the project's Taxonomy. If a Document Type with the same name already exists, another one is created by appending a count to the Document Type name.
  - If you are importing templates that have been exported without the original files, or if you choose to import templates without the original files, then you have no view or edit options for those templates.

Special Situations when Importing a Template

When a template is imported, several special situations might occur. The following list explains each situation and its particularities:

New document type: If a new document type is imported, then a new field is added in the wizard configurator, informing you that a new template is to be created.
Duplicate document type: If an identical document type is imported, then the following warning message appears: "This template already exists and it will be overwritten."
Extended template: If a document type template that includes extra fields than the already existing one, is imported, then the following warning message appears: "This document type will be updated as follows: The following field(s) do not exist and will be created".
Extended document type: If the user imports a document type that includes extra fields than the already existing one, then the following warning message appears: "This document type will be updated as follows: The following field(s) don't have configurations to import".
Document type with identical name but different content: If the user imports a document type that has the same name as the existing one but different fields, then the following warning message appears: "This document type will be updated as follows":
- "The following fields do not exist and will be created"
- "The following fields don't have configurations to import"
Document type with missing table: If the user imports a document type that doesn't include a table, then the following warning message appears: "This document type will be updated as follows: The following field(s) don't have configurations to import."
Document type with extended table: If the user imports a document type that includes a table with extra columns, then the following warning message appears: "This document will be updated as follows: The following field(s) do not exist and will be created".
Document type with reduced table: If the user imports a document type that includes a table with missing columns, then the following warning message appears: "This document will be updated as follows: The following field(s) don't have configurations to import"
Table template with different document types: If you import a document type template that includes a table with different document types, then a new template is created. If your taxonomy includes a table that has a field with a different document type, then the following message appears: "The field with id xyz was found both in the imported taxonomy as well in the existing taxonomy but their types are incompatible (either both should be tables or neither of them)."

The Template Editor Wizard

General Considerations

The Template Editor is built on top of the functionality present in the Validation station. To access it, select Edit edit for a template.

Visit Validation Station to learn about the basic usage of the Validation Station.

Besides the options available in the right part of the Validation Station screen, there are two options specific to the Template Editor:

: Sets the anchor selection mode;
: Clears the whole anchor selection.

When creating a new template, an explanation text appears when first opening the Template Editor. In case you want to access the text again, go in the document view section on the right side, select More Options, and then Show explanation text.

Figure 9. The action of showing the explanation text

Table information can be modified at cell or table level. Visit Present Validation Station for more information about how to configure tables at cell level and at table level.

Configuring Anchors

Anchors can be defined once the Template Editor is opened from the Template Manager and can be found among the Selection Mode options.

When defining or editing a page-level template, although it is optional, the first thing that needs to be performed is the Page 1 Matching Info selection. This step is mandatory only for fixed form templates.

Situated on the left side of the screen, the Page 1 Matching Info selection requires a text input (tokens only are accepted) from the first page of the template that is always in the same position within that particular template layout and forms a unique graph of words (considering relative distances and angles between words) across all the templates defined for a particular document type.

In other words, the Page 1 Matching Info (and all other Page Matching Info fields) are "fingerprints" of a particular page and are extensively used in identifying the right matching template at runtime.

For this reason, for the Page 1 Matching Info field, it is strongly recommended to select 10 to 20 words, preferably longer, spread across the entire page area.

The other Page Matching Info fields (one for each template page) must be filled in only if you are attempting data extraction from that particular page, and do not require cross-template uniqueness anymore. If no fields need to be extracted from a particular page, defining the page-level matching info for that page is not mandatory.

Configuring Simple Fields

For all fields other than tables, configuring the template consists of selecting a Custom Area and assigning it to a particular field.

For fixed form configurations, data fields can only be configured using Custom Area selections.

For a field you can define one or more such Custom Areas, using the Add button. If two or more Custom Areas are defined for a single field, then at runtime, if the field is defined in the Taxonomy as Single Value, all values are concatenated into a single reported value. If the field is defined as Multi Value, then each value is reported individually.

The icon beside each field indicates the type of supported selection: Tokens or Custom area.

Figure 10. Animated image showing the types of supported selections for sample fields

Note:

If an empty area is selected, the selection is automatically set as Custom area. If text is detected inside the selected area, you are asked to choose the type of the selection between Tokens or Custom area.

Use the Validation Station selection mode feature to lock your selection between Tokens and Custom Areas.

Configuring Tables

As mentioned above, there are fields where information can be added only by using Tokens (like the Page Matching Info fields) or only by using a Custom Area (like simple fields). For Table fields, you can do the following:

Define each cell one by one, once the Table Editor is expanded - by adding Custom Area selection to each cell individually;
Use the table markup functionality - by marking the table area, drawing row, and column separators, and then assigning the thus marked table to the field. Make sure that the extracted area has the same number of columns and rows as the template area.

To use the table markup functionality:

Select More Options for the table field
Select Extract new table.
Select the table that you want extract.
For every field above each table column, select the column name that you want it to represent.
You can also choose to Extract header.
Lastly, select Save new table.

Figure 11. Animated image of an example using the table markup functionality

Anchors Configuration

A distinctive method of defining the bounds of a custom area from which data is to be extracted is to use field-level anchors. These allow for targeting data extraction based on field-level configurations, thus allowing for more flexibility when defining your form extraction rules.

Consequently, at run-time, the Form Extractor knows how to perform the following:

Identify if a page-level template matches, and extract information according to the best page-level template match it recognizes;
Identify if any anchor-based settings match, and extract information according to their application in the document to be processed;
Compute appropriate confidence scores for all possible matches, to be able to report the best result (highest probability match) of all available options.

Creating a New Anchor Setting

Make sure you are in the Anchor Selection mode.
Draw a box around the value area.
Select a Label (main anchor) for your value area by using one of the following methods:
- Select the first word and then use Ctrl + Selectfor the last word of the selection.
- Select, drag, and then release to capture a word range.
  Note: A Label can only contain consecutive words from the same visual line.
Select any additional anchors that would uniquely identify your Label. The same selection principle applies.
Assign your anchor construct to the appropriate field by selecting Extract Value for that particular field.
Figure 12. Example of creating multiple anchors for a field

Note: You can also use the previous examples from this page to learn how to create a template and define extraction areas and anchors.

Edit an Existing Anchor Setting

Highlight your anchor setting.
Make changes to it (delete any anchors, the label, even the value area if you wish, add new elements, etc.).
Select More Options for a field anchor, and then use the Change Extracted Value option to update your field association.
Figure 13. Example of changing the extracted value for a field
Note:
- If you delete the target area, all anchors get deleted and you start over.
- If you delete the Label (main anchor), the first anchor in the order it was created becomes the new Label.

Delete an Existing Anchor Setting

To delete an anchor setting, you can use one of the following options:

Select More Options for a field anchor and use the Mark as Missing option for a saved value.
Figure 14. Example of using the Mark as Missing option to delete an anchor setting
Select More Options for a field anchor and use the Remove Value option, case of a list of anchors defined for a given field.
Figure 15. Example of using the Remove Value option to delete an anchor setting

Mix and Match Configurations

You can define as many templates as you want for the same document type. You can have multiple page-level templates, multiple anchors for the same field, even templates containing both page-level as well as field-level anchors.