> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.apryse.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.apryse.com/core/smart-data-extraction/form-field.md).

# Form Field Identification

{% hint style="info" %}
**Requirements**

*These packages are required to use these features in production. Trial keys have unlimited access to all features*

<a href="https://apryse.com/capabilities#SmartDataExtraction" class="button primary">Package: Smart Data Extraction</a><a href="/core/learn-more/modules.md#data-extraction-module" class="button primary">Module: Data Extraction</a><a href="https://showcase.apryse.com/field-detection" class="button primary">Live demo</a>
{% endhint %}

Apryse's Form Field Identification engine helps you extract structured data from PDFs designed as forms, whether they're interactive or scanned. We currently offer 2 Form Field Identification Engines: "Form Field Detection" and "Form Field Key-Value Extraction".

Both engines require GLIBC 2.31 or newer on Linux, such as Debian 11 or Ubuntu 10.04 or newer

### Form Field Detection Engine

Detects likely form fields in scanned or static PDFs based on layout and spacing. Supported field types include:

* Text fields
* Checkboxes
* Radio buttons (coming soon)

#### Output:

Each detected field includes:

* Field type (e.g., text, checkbox)
* Bounding box coordinates
* Confidence score

### Form Field Key-Value Extraction Engine

In addition to detecting field positions, this engine attempts to match each field with a corresponding key (label) and value (user entry).

#### Output:

* Field type
* Key text
* Value text
* Confidence
* Bounding box

### JSON Output Specification

Refer to the following specifications to learn more about the output JSON format:

* [JSON Specification for Form Field Identification](https://sdk.apryse.com/api/formextractjson/index.html)

### Extract form fields as JSON file

Specify the name of the input PDF file and the name of the output JSON file, then select the Form engine:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="C#" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```csharp
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="C++" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```cpp
DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule::e_Form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Go" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```go
DataExtractionModuleExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModuleE_Form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
DataExtractionModule.extractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
await PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.extractData('formfields-scanned.pdf', 'formfields-scanned.json', PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_Form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```php
DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule::e_Form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Python" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```python
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.e_Form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Ruby" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```ruby
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule::E_Form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="VB" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```vb
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

Alternatively, you can select the Form Key-Value Extraction engine:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="C#" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```csharp
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form_key_value);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="C++" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```cpp
DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule::e_FormKeyValue);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Go" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```go
DataExtractionModuleExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModuleE_FormKeyValue)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
DataExtractionModule.extractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form_key_value);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
await PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.extractData('formfields-scanned.pdf', 'formfields-scanned.json', PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_FormKeyValue);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```php
DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule::e_FormKeyValue);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Python" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```python
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.e_FormKeyValue)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Ruby" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```ruby
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule::E_FormKeyValue)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="VB" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```vb
DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields-scanned.pdf", "formfields-scanned.json", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form_key_value)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

### Extract form fields as JSON string

If you are going to parse the JSON right away, you may as well retrieve it as an in-memory string, instead of an external file.

Specify the name of the input PDF file, then select the Form engine:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="C#" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```csharp
string json = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="C++" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```cpp
UString json = DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule::e_Form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Go" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```go
json := DataExtractionModuleExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModuleE_Form).(string)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
String json = DataExtractionModule.extractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
const json = await PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.extractDataAsString('formfields.pdf', PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_Form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```php
$json = DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule::e_Form);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Python" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```python
json = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.e_Form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Ruby" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```ruby
json = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule::E_Form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="VB" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```vb
Dim json As String = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

Alternatively, you can select the Form Key-Value Extraction engine:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="C#" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```csharp
string json = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form_key_value);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="C++" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```cpp
UString json = DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule::e_FormKeyValue);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Go" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```go
json := DataExtractionModuleExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModuleE_FormKeyValue).(string)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
String json = DataExtractionModule.extractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form_key_value);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
const json = await PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.extractDataAsString('formfields.pdf', PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_FormKeyValue);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```php
$json = DataExtractionModule::ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule::e_FormKeyValue);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Python" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```python
json = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.e_FormKeyValue)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Ruby" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```ruby
json = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule::E_FormKeyValue)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="VB" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```vb
Dim json As String = DataExtractionModule.ExtractData("formfields.pdf", DataExtractionModule.DataExtractionEngine.e_form_key_value)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

### Extract form fields and add to PDF

You can automatically add detected forms to a PDF in a single step.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="C#" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```csharp
PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc("formfields.pdf");
DataExtractionModule.DetectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="C++" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```cpp
PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc("formfields.pdf");
DataExtractionModule.detectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Go" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```go
doc := NewPDFDoc("formfields.pdf")
DataExtractionModuleDetectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Java" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```java
PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc("formfields.pdf");
DataExtractionModule.detectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="JavaScript" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```js
const doc = await PDFNet.PDFDoc.createFromFilePath("formfields.pdf");
await PDFNet.DataExtractionModule.detectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="PHP" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```php
$doc = new PDFDoc("formfields.pdf");
DataExtractionModule::DetectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF($doc);
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Python" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```python
doc = PDFDoc("formfields.pdf")
DataExtractionModule.DetectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Ruby" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```ruby
doc = PDFDoc.new("formfields.pdf")
DataExtractionModule.DetectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="VB" %}
{% code lineNumbers="true" %}

```vb
Dim doc as PDFDoc = New PDFDoc("formfields.pdf")
DataExtractionModule.DetectAndAddFormFieldsToPDF(doc)
```

{% endcode %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

### Optional Configurations

[Select OCR Language](/core/smart-data-extraction/workflow.md#select-ocr-language)

[Password-Protected PDFs](/core/smart-data-extraction/workflow.md#specify-pdf-password)

[Page Range](/core/smart-data-extraction/workflow.md#select-a-page-range)

[Region of Interest](/core/smart-data-extraction/workflow.md#specify-regions-of-interest)

### Best Practices

* Use **Form Field Detection** for basic layout-based detection.
* Use **Form Field Key-Value Extraction** when you need semantic mapping (label-to-input).


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.apryse.com/core/smart-data-extraction/form-field.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.