PDF Connector component overview

The PDF Connector works with both formatted files and files of unknown structure.

Formatted files are documents that are of a known structure, such as an invoice or credit card statement. The automation developer knows where and what data to expect, making it easy to work with the document.

For .pdf files, you can build automations to: 

• Read and write form fields like text boxes and radio buttons.
• Read text values based on proximity to landmark text.
• Use Optical Mark Recognition to determine if a form is signed or if handwritten marks are present.
• Read tables and easily convert them into a lookup table.
• Use the Reconcile method to present an interface for reconciling and correcting data read from .pdf file documents. Document reconciliation often occurs when working with previously interrogated documents with OCR (Optical Character Recognition).
• Pre-process or post-process PDF files for attended or unattended robotic process automation (RPA).

Unformatted files are documents that do not have a structured layout or that are received for the first time and are not defined as a document type in the robotic solution. For example, consider a letter received as a .pdf file. You may be able to work with the letter, but the location of the data may be inconsistent from document to document and thus requires a different approach to locating and using the data. 

For unknown file formats, you can build automations to:

• Search and extract text in lines, segments, and words.
• Extract images.
• Read tables and easily import the data into a lookup table.

Along with the PDF Connector, you use the PDF Viewer to display the file to a user when necessary. The PDF Viewer, when added to a Windows form, provides options to search for or select the text, zoom, and print. You can create automations that respond to click events within the text of the viewable file to aid the user. 

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