Adobe reader cannot click on individual fields

[A_Learner]

Hi I have a PDF File - Version 1.7 (Acrobat 8.x)

I am not able to individually identify fields with any of the frameworks. UiPath selects the entire page but not the form fields How can I fill in the fields. How can I do tabbing and fill fields?

Thank you,

[logesh_svelu]

@A_Learner Here’s a simplified approach for reading and extracting text from PDF files in UiPath:

1. Use Read PDF Text Activity

• Description: This activity extracts text from PDF files by recognizing characters directly. It’s suitable for PDFs where text is selectable and not embedded in images.
• Steps:
  1. Drag a Read PDF Text activity into your workflow.
  2. Specify the PDF file path.
  3. Extract and process the text as needed.

2. Use Read PDF With OCR Activity

• Description: This activity uses OCR to extract text from scanned PDFs or those with images and handwritten notes. It’s more accurate for non-selectable text.
• Steps:
  1. Drag a Read PDF With OCR activity into your workflow.
  2. Choose an OCR engine (e.g., Tesseract or Microsoft OCR).
  3. Specify the PDF file path.
  4. Extract and process the text as needed.

You can use these methods based on whether your PDF contains selectable text or requires OCR for extraction.

More details can be found here Activities - Read PDF files

[logesh_svelu]

@A_Learner If you prefer to interact with the fields in the PDF, you might want to try the following options:

Interacting with UI Elements in PDFs

To effectively identify and interact with UI elements in PDF files, follow these guidelines based on Adobe Reader versions and Accessibility settings:

1. Use Tagged PDFs:

• Recommended Versions: Adobe Reader DC 18 or 19.012.20040 or greater.
• Steps for Tagged PDFs:
  • Open Adobe Reader.
  • Go to Edit > Accessibility > Change Reading Options.
  • Select Tagged reading order and Read the entire document.
  • Click Start. This setting allows UIExplorer to identify individual elements on the page.

2. Adjust Reading Order for Untagged PDFs:

• Adobe Reader DC 19:
  • Follow the same steps as for Tagged PDFs but ensure the PDF is tagged for accurate element detection.
• Adobe Reader DC 18:
  • Open Edit > Accessibility > Change Reading Options.
  • Choose Infer reading order from document and Read the entire document.
  • Click Start to enable element identification.

3. Handle Single Visible Objects:

• If a PDF shows a single Active Accessibility object, change the reading order to Use reading order in raw print stream following the same steps as above to enable element interaction.

4. Address Security Settings:

• Issue in Adobe Reader DC with Protected Mode Enabled:
  • Versions Affected: UiPath.UIAutomation.Activities 22.10 and older.
  • Steps to Disable Protected Mode:
    • Open Adobe Reader and navigate to Edit > Preferences.
    • Select Security (Enhanced) and uncheck Enable Protected Mode at startup.
    • Confirm and restart Adobe Reader to enable UIExplorer functionality.

More details can be found here Studio - Identifying UI elements in PDF with Accessibility options

[A_Learner]

Thank you so much, but my version is 17. What can I do here?

[mkankatala (Mahesh Kankatala)]

Hi @A_Learner

Why you are using the UI Activities in Adobe reader, are you trying to extract the data from PDF.

Instead of using the UI Activities it’s better to use the PDF Activities like Read PDF Text activity or Read PDF with OCR activity.

Hope you understand!!

[A_Learner]

I have to input, fill the form. not read.

Thank you,

[mkankatala (Mahesh Kankatala)]

If you want to fill the form in the pdf, then convert it to word and fill the forum by using word activities. Then use the Save word as pdf activity to convert the word as pdf.

Check the below steps,
→ Use the word application scope and give the path of the pdf file, It will automatically convert the pdf to word.
→ Then use the Replace text in document or any other word activities to enter the text in the fields.
→ Then use the Save word as PDF activity to convert the word to pdf.

Check the below workflow for better understanding,

Some of the Pdf’s will not support to convert the pdf to word then you have to follow the below steps as shown in image,

Hope it helps!!

[A_Learner]

Thank you! Does StudioX allow me to do the above steps? Thanks a lot