How to Automatically Extract Data from Monthly Reports and Send via Email using PDF.co and Make

Sep 10, 2024·7 Minutes Read

In this demonstration, we will show you how to extract data from monthly reports and send it via Gmail using PDF.co and Make. We will use this analytics report and extract the highlighted value in the table.

IN THIS TUTORIAL

Create a Make Scenario

Configure the Module

Run the Module

Set up the Gmail Module

Configure the Gmail Module

Run the Scenario

3 Ways to Create the Document Parser Template

Step 1: Create a Make Scenario

First, let’s create a Make Scenario and add the PDF.co Parse a Document module.

Step 2: Configure the Module

Let’s configure the Document Parser module.

In the Input File field, select Import a File from URL.
In the URL field, enter the source file link.
In the Document Parser Template ID field, type in the template id.

To learn how we created the template to extract the value in the table for this file, jump to the 3 Ways to Create the Document Parser Template section.

NOTE: If you are new to PDF.co Document Parser, you can check out our documentation.

Step 3: Run the Module

Now, run the module and it will return the selected value in the table.

Step 4: Set up the Gmail Module

Next, let’s set up the Gmail Send an email module.

Step 5: Configure the Gmail Module

Now, let’s configure the Send Email module.

Tick off the box for Show advanced settings.
In the From field, choose the email address you want to send the email from.
In the To field, enter the recipient’s email address.
In the Subject field, enter the email’s subject.
In the Content field, enter your message and select the PDF.co parsed value.

Step 6: Run the Scenario

Run the Scenario and it will send the email to the recipient’s email address. Below is what the email looks like.

Screenshot of the email sent to the recipient

Step 7: 3 Ways to Create the Document Parser Template

We will show (3) three different methods parsing the value in the table.

Step 1: Using The Virtual Grid

The Virtual Grid object is the easiest way to parse a table value. In the Document Parser Online Template Editor, click on the Add Object button and select Add FIELD mapped from VIRTUAL GRID.

Add Object to Document Parser template editor

Click on the Target icon button next to the Select Cell text field. This will open the table where the values are placed in individual cells.

Choose the Value in the table and click on the Use Selected Cell button.

Click on the Run Template button and it will return the value you selected.

Step 2: Using The Macros

The second way to parse a value in a table is using the PDF.co Document Parser Macros. The Macros is made up of Regular Expressions and the way to simplify search pattern creation.

In the Document Parser Online Template Editor, click on the Add Object button and select Add FIELD based on TEXT SEARCH.

In the Expression field, enter the search pattern. You can copy and paste this expression Organic Search{{Spaces}}(?{{Number}}) to find the Organic Search but only display the value 410. Put a checkmark on the Regex check box.

Click on the Run Template button to see the extracted value.

Step 3: Using The Regex

And the 3rd way to parse a table value is using the Regular Expression or Regex. We will use the same Add FIELD based on TEXT SEARCH object.

In the Expression field, paste this Organic Search\s+(\d+) search pattern to get the value 410 in the table. Tick the box in the Regex check box and Run the template.

In this tutorial, we learned how to use PDF.co Document Parser to parse PDF data. We tried (3) three parsing techniques in the Online Template Editor. And we used the parsed text and emailed it via Gmail.