Extract PDF Data

The Extract PDF Data action pulls interactive form‑field values and XMP/document metadata from a PDF, returning JSON objects representing each.

Note

This action does not extract general text or visual content from the PDF. It only extracts:

• Form Fields: Values submitted into interactive form fields embedded in the PDF.
• Metadata: XMP or document-level metadata stored inside the PDF file.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
Document	File content	Yes	PDF file content (e.g. output of a “Get file content” action from SharePoint or OneDrive).

Returns

This action returns two distinct JSON objects:

Name	Type	Description
Metadata	Object	Key/value mapping of metadata extracted from the PDF. Each property name is the metadata key.
Fields	Object	Key/value mapping of form field values extracted from the PDF. Each property name is the field’s name.

Example

Input PDF Form

A simple fillable PDF form with these fields:

Field Label	Field Name	Type
First Name	first_name	Textbox
Last Name	last_name	Textbox
Email Address	email	Textbox
Subscribe to Newsletter	subscribe_newsletter	Checkbox

The PDF also contains these XMP metadata entries:

Metadata Key	Value
xmp:Department	Sales
xmp:Created	2021-04-15T14:42:15Z
dc:creator	Alice Johnson
pdf:Producer	Adobe Acrobat

Output: Fields JSON

{
"first_name": "John",
"last_name": "Smith",
"email": "john.smith@example.com",
"subscribe_newsletter": true
}

Output: Metadata JSON

{
  "xmp:Department": "Sales",
  "xmp:Created": "2021-04-15T14:42:15Z",
  "dc:creator": "Alice Johnson",
  "pdf:Producer": "Adobe Acrobat"
}

Troubleshooting

Click to expand common errors and fixes

Document Missing, Truncated or Invalid

Cause:
PDF input is empty, truncated, or not a valid PDF file.

Fix:

• Provide the complete PDF binary/base64 payload.
• Verify the file opens successfully in a PDF reader to confirm it is not corrupted.

---

No Form Fields or Metadata Were Returned

Cause:
The PDF contains no interactive form fields (fields may have been flattened into static content) and/or contains no embedded XMP or document metadata.

Fix:

• Confirm the source PDF contains interactive form fields and that fields are not flattened.
• Confirm metadata is embedded as XMP or document-level properties.
• If the PDF has been exported from another system, re-export with forms and metadata intact.

---

Form Fields Present but Values Are Empty or Default

Cause:
Fields exist but have not been filled, or the PDF stores default values instead of submitted values.

Fix:

• Verify the PDF was saved after field entry (some viewers keep values in memory until the file is saved).
• Check whether values are stored as defaults versus current values and save the PDF with current values prior to extraction.

---

Field Names Duplicated or Ambiguous Keys

Cause:
Multiple fields share the same name or use characters that cause collisions in the returned JSON structure.

Fix:

• Ensure field names are unique within the form.
• If duplicates are required, rename fields or add an index or namespace to make keys unique before extraction.

---

XMP / Metadata Keys Missing, Malformed or Encoded Incorrectly

Cause:
Metadata is absent, stored in a non-standard location, or uses non-standard character encodings.

Fix:

• Inspect the PDF’s metadata with a PDF tool to confirm presence and encoding.
• Re-embed metadata using standard XMP or document metadata practices and UTF-8 where possible.

---

Flattened Forms (Fields Rendered as Static Content)

Cause:
Fields have been flattened during export, making them part of the page content rather than interactive fields. Extraction cannot recover flattened values.

Fix:

• Use a copy of the PDF where fields are preserved (unflattened).
• If only flattened files exist, extract values by other means.

---

Encoding or Special-Character Corruption in Field Values

Cause:
Field values or metadata use character encodings that are not preserved, leading to distorted output.

Fix:

• Ensure field values and metadata use standard encodings (UTF-8 or Unicode).
• Test extraction with sample input containing representative characters to verify behaviour.

---

Permission, Encryption or Password Protection Prevents Extraction

Cause:
PDF is encrypted, password-protected, or has permissions that block metadata or form access.

Fix:

• Provide an unencrypted copy with extraction permissions enabled.
• Remove password protection before attempting extraction.

---

Generic Runtime or Transient Error

Cause:
Malformed PDF internals, intermittent extraction engine failure, or unexpected internal state.

Fix:

• Reproduce the issue with a minimal sample PDF containing a single field and a simple metadata entry.
• Validate inputs and retry to rule out transient problems.

Quick Checklist

• Document is a complete PDF binary/base64 payload (not a file path or URL).
• Confirm the PDF contains interactive form fields (not flattened) and/or embedded XMP or document metadata.
• Field names are unique and use safe characters for JSON keys.
• Checkbox or radio values are standardised or normalised downstream.
• Metadata uses standard XMP or document properties and UTF-8-friendly encodings.
• PDF is not password protected or encrypted in a way that blocks access.
• Reproduce with a minimal sample (one field plus one metadata key) to isolate issues before testing larger documents.