# Can't select elements on PDF **URL:** \ **Category:** Studio\ **Tags:** activities-panel, pdf-extraction, question, studio, pdf, document-understanding, excel, activities\ **Created:** [February 8, 2023, 10:15am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922 "2023-02-08T10:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DimiG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/dimig/32/366392_2.png) [@DimiG](https://forum.uipath.com/u/DimiG)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 10:15am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/1 "2023-02-08T10:15:44Z")
Hello everyone, I am trying to create a process that gets data from PDF files creates a new excel file and pastes them there.So far nothing worked.Currently I am trying to use achors but I can’t select the elements I want.I have tried a banch of different settings from various topics with no result.Here is a sample with the fields highlighted and a sample excel with the desired outcome. Thanks in advance for your time [sample.pdf](https://forum.uipath.com/uploads/short-url/qmCEaEMoI5anosL4F5BufR3h4Pl.pdf) (215.3 KB) [sampleExcel.xlsx](https://forum.uipath.com/uploads/short-url/brWX5yDb10HxUQk59GZC5WKqpQq.xlsx) (8.5 KB) ---
**Author:** ![Ashutosh.Gupta](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/ashutosh.gupta/32/368248_2.png) [@Ashutosh.Gupta](https://forum.uipath.com/u/Ashutosh.Gupta)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 10:40am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/2 "2023-02-08T10:40:34Z")
Hi @DimiG, Selectors won’t work here. Try below approach and let me know if it works for you. - Convert pdf to text and use string manipulation(substring, split etc) to extract those data. - Use build datatable and update it with extracted data. - Once all the data is extracted, Then you can write it to excel. ---
**Author:** ![DimiG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/dimig/32/366392_2.png) [@DimiG](https://forum.uipath.com/u/DimiG)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 10:46am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/3 "2023-02-08T10:46:08Z")
Hello @Ashutosh.Gupta , I tried this before using online guides and didn’t work.Not sure if I am doing something wrong as I am very new to this.So far I have tried converting it to .doc,.xls and .txt formats ---
**Author:** ![Srini84](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/srini84/32/464032_2.png) [@Srini84](https://forum.uipath.com/u/Srini84)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 11:02am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/4 "2023-02-08T11:02:26Z")
@DimiG Have you tried with below link? > **[Identifying UI Elements in PDF With Accessibility Options](https://docs.uipath.com/studio/docs/identifying-ui-elements-in-pdf-with-accessibility-options)** > > Active Accessibility is an API which provides greater reading support for individuals with physical or cognitive difficulties. When enabled in programs, such as Adobe Reader, access, identification, or manipulation of UI elements can become difficult... Hope this may help you Thanks, Srini ---
**Author:** ![Srini84](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/srini84/32/464032_2.png) [@Srini84](https://forum.uipath.com/u/Srini84)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 11:04am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/5 "2023-02-08T11:04:06Z")
@DimiG Also, you can try with Document Understanding, as you can train the documents which you need to extract from the PDF Hope this may help you Thanks, Srini ---
**Author:** ![DimiG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/dimig/32/366392_2.png) [@DimiG](https://forum.uipath.com/u/DimiG)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 11:09am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/6 "2023-02-08T11:09:44Z")
Hi @Srini84 , Yes I tried with the settings in your link. Thanks for replying. ---
**Author:** ![DimiG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/dimig/32/366392_2.png) [@DimiG](https://forum.uipath.com/u/DimiG)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 9:18am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/7 "2023-02-16T09:18:49Z")
I was able to resolve this through the Intelligent Form Extractor in the Data Extraction Scope.I manage to create a custom template in the "Manage Templates " menu.Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/uipath/user_avatar/forum.uipath.com/system/32/182466_2.png) [@system](https://forum.uipath.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 9:19am UTC](https://forum.uipath.com/t/cant-select-elements-on-pdf/514922/8 "2023-02-19T09:19:28Z")
Closed on February 19, 2023, 9:19am UTC This topic was automatically closed 3 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.