PDFScrape

Getting Started with PDFScrape: Core Concepts

1. Documents

Your uploaded PDF files that contain the data you want to extract.

2. Scrapers

Definitions that specify what data to extract and how to structure it.

3. Runs

The process of applying a Scraper to one or more Documents to extract data.

Quick Start

PDFScrape works through three core components: Documents (your uploaded PDFs), Scrapers (definitions of what data to extract), and Runs (the process of applying a Scraper to one or more Documents). Upload your PDFs, create a Scraper by defining the data structure you want, then run the Scraper against your Documents to extract structured data as CSV or Excel files.

Welcome to PDFScrape! This guide will walk you through the three fundamental components that make up the PDFScrape workflow. Understanding these core concepts will help you quickly start extracting valuable data from your PDF documents.

PDFScrape was designed to make PDF data extraction intuitive and accessible for everyone. Whether you're a data analyst, researcher, or business professional, our platform simplifies the process of transforming unstructured PDF data into structured, usable formats.

The Three Core Components of PDFScrape

PDFScrape's workflow revolves around three primary components that work together to transform your PDFs into structured data:

1. Documents

Your uploaded PDF files that contain the data you want to extract.

  • Upload single or multiple PDFs
  • Process reports, forms, statements
  • Manage document organization
  • Text extraction and preparation

2. Scrapers

Definitions that specify what data to extract and how to structure it.

  • Define schemas (column headers)
  • Create reusable templates
  • Set data types and formats
  • Configure extraction rules

3. Runs

The process of applying a Scraper to one or more Documents to extract data.

  • Execute data extraction
  • Monitor processing status
  • Review extraction results
  • Download structured data

These three components form a simple yet powerful workflow that takes your PDFs from unstructured documents to organized, actionable data. Let's explore each component in detail.

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Component 1: Documents

Documents are the starting point of your PDFScrape journey. These are the PDF files that contain the data you want to extract.

Uploading Documents

PDFScrape makes it easy to get your documents into the system:

  1. From your dashboard, click the "Upload Document" button
  2. Select one or more PDF files from your computer
  3. Alternatively, drag and drop files directly onto the upload area
  4. Once uploaded, your documents will appear in your document library

Supported Document Types:

  • Native PDFs - PDFs with selectable text
  • Scanned PDFs - Image-based PDFs (automatically processed with OCR)
  • Form PDFs - Documents with form fields and structured data
  • Password-protected PDFs - Secure documents (you'll be prompted for the password)

Document Processing

After uploading, PDFScrape automatically processes your documents to prepare them for data extraction:

  1. Text Extraction - PDFScrape reads all text from the document
  2. OCR Processing - For scanned documents, optical character recognition converts images to text
  3. Chunking - The document is divided into manageable sections for efficient processing
  4. Indexing - Text is indexed for faster searching and extraction

This processing step is crucial as it transforms your raw PDF into a format that's optimized for AI-powered data extraction.

Pro Tip: Document Organization

For optimal results, consider organizing similar documents together. PDFScrape learns from patterns in your documents, so grouping invoices, financial statements, or reports of the same type can improve extraction accuracy.

Component 2: Scrapers

Scrapers are the blueprints that tell PDFScrape exactly what data to extract from your documents and how to structure it. Think of a Scraper as the definition of your output format—what columns you want in your final spreadsheet.

PDFScrape's Schema Editor Interface PDFScrape's Schema Editor Interface

Creating a Scraper

To create a new Scraper:

  1. Navigate to the "Scrapers" section in your dashboard
  2. Click "Create New Scraper"
  3. Give your Scraper a descriptive name (e.g., "Invoice Extractor" or "Financial Statement Parser")
  4. Define your schema using the Schema Editor

Understanding Schemas

The schema is the heart of your Scraper. It defines the structure of your output data, similar to columns in a spreadsheet:

Schema Components:

Column Headers

Define the names of columns in your output (e.g., "Invoice Number", "Date", "Amount").

Data Types

Specify the type of data in each column (text, number, date, currency, etc.).

Extraction Rules

Optional rules to help identify specific data (e.g., "follows the text 'Invoice #:'").

Formatting Options

Define how the extracted data should be formatted (date formats, decimal places, etc.).

For example, if you're extracting data from invoices, your schema might include columns for Invoice Number, Date, Customer Name, Item Description, Quantity, Price, and Total.

Schema Examples

Here are some common schema setups for different document types:

Document Type Example Schema Columns
Invoice Invoice Number, Date, Customer, Item, Quantity, Unit Price, Total
Financial Statement Period, Revenue, Expenses, Net Income, Assets, Liabilities, Equity
Research Paper Author, Title, Publication Date, Methodology, Sample Size, Results, Conclusion
Medical Record Patient ID, Visit Date, Diagnosis, Treatment, Medication, Dosage, Notes

Pro Tip: Reusable Scrapers

Create Scrapers for document types you frequently process. Once defined, you can reuse a Scraper on any new documents of the same type, saving significant setup time for recurring extraction tasks.

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Component 3: Runs

A Run (sometimes called a "Scrape") is the process of applying a Scraper to one or more Documents to extract the defined data. This is where the actual data extraction happens.

Creating a Run

To start a data extraction Run:

  1. Navigate to the "Runs" section in your dashboard
  2. Click "Create New Run"
  3. Select the Scraper you want to use
  4. Choose one or more Documents to process
  5. Click "Start Run" to begin the extraction

Run Processing

Once initiated, a Run goes through several phases:

1

Initialization

The system prepares the documents and schema for processing

2

Scraping

AI analyzes document chunks to identify and extract target data

3

Post-Processing

System validates and refines the extracted data

4

Completion

Extracted data is compiled and made available for download

Run Results

After a Run completes, you'll be able to:

  • Preview the extracted data in a table format
  • Validate the accuracy of the extraction
  • Download the data in various formats (CSV, Excel, JSON)
  • View processing statistics like confidence scores and extraction time
PDFScrape Run Results and Data Preview Run Results and Data Preview

Managing Runs

PDFScrape keeps a history of all your Runs, allowing you to:

  • Track processing status of ongoing extractions
  • Review past extractions and their results
  • Reuse successful Runs as templates for new extractions
  • Compare extraction results across different Scrapers or document sets

Pro Tip: Batch Processing

For large document sets, you can include multiple Documents in a single Run. PDFScrape will process them in parallel, saving significant time compared to processing them individually.

Putting It All Together: The Complete PDFScrape Workflow

Now that you understand the three core components, let's see how they work together in a typical workflow:

  1. Upload Your Documents

    Start by uploading the PDF documents containing the data you need to extract.

    The system automatically processes and prepares these documents for extraction.

  2. Create or Select a Scraper

    Define your extraction schema—what data you want to pull from the documents and how it should be structured.

    You can create a new Scraper or use one you've previously defined.

  3. Start a Run

    Apply your Scraper to your Documents to begin the extraction process.

    PDFScrape's AI will analyze your documents and extract the specified data.

  4. Download Your Structured Data

    Once processing is complete, preview and download your data in CSV, Excel, or other formats.

    Your unstructured PDF data is now transformed into structured, actionable information.

This workflow can be repeated for different documents or data extraction needs, using existing Scrapers or creating new ones as required.

Common Use Cases

Financial Document Processing

Extract data from invoices, financial statements, and expense reports.

Example Workflow:

  1. Upload monthly financial statements
  2. Create a Scraper for income, expenses, and balances
  3. Run the Scraper against all statements
  4. Export to Excel for financial analysis

Research Data Collection

Extract structured data from research papers, studies, and reports.

Example Workflow:

  1. Upload collection of research papers
  2. Create a Scraper for methodology, sample size, and results
  3. Process all papers in a single Run
  4. Export to CSV for meta-analysis

Contract Analysis

Extract key terms, dates, and clauses from legal contracts.

Example Workflow:

  1. Upload vendor contracts
  2. Create a Scraper for parties, effective dates, and termination clauses
  3. Run the extraction process
  4. Export to CSV for contract management system

Healthcare Record Processing

Extract patient data, diagnoses, and treatment information from medical records.

Example Workflow:

  1. Upload anonymized patient records
  2. Create a Scraper for diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes
  3. Process records in batches
  4. Export to structured database for analysis

Next Steps

Now that you understand the core components of PDFScrape, you're ready to start extracting valuable data from your PDF documents:

  • Explore our sample Scrapers to see how different extraction scenarios are configured
  • Upload a test document to familiarize yourself with the document processing workflow
  • Create your first Scraper tailored to your specific data extraction needs
  • Run your first extraction and see how PDFScrape transforms your unstructured data

Remember, PDFScrape is designed to get more intelligent over time. The more you use it, the better it becomes at understanding and extracting data from your specific document types.

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