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Have you ever felt like you spend too much time manually typing data from PDF invoices, quotes, or survey results into your Excel file?
It’s a common task in many businesses (to input the data into Excel for analysis and management), but it’s time-consuming and carries the risk of input errors. Especially when handling large volumes of data, this only gets more stressful.
✨ Imagine if:
If you regularly receive documents in PDF format, and want to reduce manual data entry and avoid mistakes then this article is for you :) Use Yoom to automate this process easily - without writing a single line of code.
Yoom is a next-generation no code automation tool that lets you connect and automate tasks between your favorite apps. Yoom makes automation accessible to everyone.
No need to go through complex set up and IT jargons, Yoom keeps things simple and visual. You can build your automation workflows with just a few clicks, saving hours of time and stress from repetitive work.
👉 Sign Up for Yoom Here – Quick and Easy in Just 30 Seconds!
In this guide, you’ll learn the step by step process of how to use Yoom to automatically extract key data from PDF files and update entries into Excel.
Yoom offers a ready-made template for easy setup.
Click the “Try it” button to get started now! We’ll also walk you through the step-by-step process of creating this automation flow later in this article.
PDF files arrive in various forms, such as email attachments, files stored on online services, and submitted from forms. Here are some practical pre-built templates to help you automate data extraction from PDFs and data input into Excel.
Just click the "Try it" button to use the templates. Setup only takes a few minutes :)
When the PDF file is added to online storage (e.g., OneDrive or Microsoft SharePoint), automatically read the PDF using OCR (Optical Character Recognition), and add data to specific Excel files.
Recommended for those who want to have smooth file management and accurate data entry.
After receiving invoices or documents in the email attachments, this automation extracts PDF data using OCR, and adds data to Excel.
Perfect for those who want to reduce manual data entry and speed up document management tasks.
If you use forms such as Google Forms that accept file uploads, this flow automatically processes submitted PDFs using OCR and records the data into Excel.
Perfect for handling applications and surveys without manual work.
Let's walk through how to create a Flowbot to automatically add data to Excel by reading PDF files stored in OneDrive using Yoom.
⏱️ Setup time: 10 minutes
🔧 What You'll Need
If you don't have a Yoom account yet, you can create one using this registration form.
⚠️ Note:
"Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)" includes both personal and business plans.
If you’re using a personal plan, Yoom’s authentication may not work properly.
We recommend using a Microsoft 365 Business account for stable connection.
In Yoom, go to the My Apps tab, and click the “+ Add” button.
Search for OneDrive from the app list and select it.
Select the account you want to connect to.
Enter your password and click “Sign In”.
Click on My Apps and click "+ Add".
Search for Microsoft Excel from the app list and select it.
Follow the same steps as OneDrive.
Click on the account name you want to link.
Enter your password and click "Sign In".
Once both apps are connected, you’ll see them listed under “My Apps”.
Click the "Try it" button to copy the pre-built template into your project.
Click "Try this Template".
Click "OK" and give this Flowbot a name so it can be recognized.
This template will be copied to your "My Project".
Click on the trigger step labeled, "Create a file in a specific folder".
Give your trigger a title (anything you like).
Select your account, and check the default settings.
If there are no issues, click "Next".
Set your trigger interval (how often you want Yoom to check for new updates).
It can be set to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes.
⚠️ Note:
The trigger interval varies on your Yoom plan. Be sure to check your current plan’s limit.
We recommend setting the trigger to the shortest interval available for your plan.
Select the Drive ID you want to link, from the displayed options.
Similarly, select the Folder ID.
Then add a test file in the specified OneDrive to trigger the flow.
If the test issuccessful, the data from OneDrive should appear as "retrieved values".
You'll use this data in the following steps, so check the details are correct.
📚 Reference:
For more details on retrieved values and how to set it up, see the guide here.
Click the "Command Operation".
⚠️ Note:
The branch command function is only available on Yoom’s paid plans. If you’re using the Free plan, the Flowbot may face errors due to limited access. But don’t worry - all plans have a 2-week free trial! You can try all features without restrictions. For more info about Yoom and its plans, visit our Yoom Help Center.
You can change the action title (optional).
For the branch target value, select "When a file is created or updated in a specific folder" action and choose "Creation Date" as the retrieved value.
Set the branching condition to compare "Creation Date" and "Last Updated Date".
Select "Creation Date" "Equal to" "Last Updated Date".
This makes the flow only proceed when a file is newly created (when the creation and last updated dates are the same).
After setting it, save it.
Click the "Download File" action.
Select your account, and check the default settings.
If there are no issues, click “Next”.
Select the Drive ID from the displayed options.
For the file item ID, select "Item ID" from the retrieved values in the trigger step (when a file is created or updated in a specific folder).
After the setup is complete, run the test.
If successful, the data should appear as retrieved data.
Click the "Read text from image/PDF" action.
Confirm the action is set to "Extract text information from any PDF/Image file (within 4000 characters)."
Rename the title if needed and click “Next”.
For file attachment method, select "Use retrieved value" and choose the "Download file" option.
Specify the text or data you want to extract from the PDF.
After setting it up, click "Test".
If you see correct extraction items in the retrieved value, then save it.
Before getting into this step, make sure you have prepared an Excel file where the extracted data will be added.
Having this ready will ensure a smooth connection and accurate data entry.
Once ready, return to Yoom and click the "Add Record" action.
Give your action a name (anything you like).
Select your account and check the default settings.
If there are no issues, click “Next”.
Select the Drive ID from the displayed options.
Similarly, select the Item ID of your Excel file you prepared.
Select the worksheet name from the displayed options (where the data should be populated).
Then, specify the table range and click "Next".
📚 Reference:
For detailed instructions on how to set the table range, check this help page.
Map the extracted values from the previous step (Read Text from Image/PDF) to the fields in Excel.
Example:
This will pull the “company_name” from the previous step and add the info in the Excel action.
After setting it up, click "Test".
If information is added to Excel correctly, save it.
Toggle the “Trigger ON” button to activate your flow.
Add a text file in OneDrive to see if the specified sheets get updated properly in Excel.
That’s it! 🎉
Your Excel file is now automatically getting updated with the PDF file data :)
Here are some ready-to-use templates that show how Excel can be connected with other popular apps to streamline your workflow.
Just click the “Try it” button to use the templates :)
In this article, we walked through how to extract Data from PDF files and transfer data to Microsoft Excel without writing any code. Manual data entry is time-consuming, and can be prone to errors. That's why no-code automation tools like Yoom are here to help you.
Plus, Yoom offers many more templates connecting with other apps and tools, opening up more automation possibilities for you. Setup is easy, and no technical skills needed to get started.
Ready to simplify your workflow? Sign up for Yoom and try it today!
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