Parsing a PDF File with PowerCenter

2010 Informatica

Abstract
You can parse data from a PDF file with a PowerCenter mapping. Define the PDF file as a Data Transformation source. This
article describes how to configure the Data Transformation source to interface with a Data Transformation service.

Supported Versions
PowerCenter 9.0.1

Table of Contents
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mapping Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PDF File Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Create the Data Transformation Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Export the XML File Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Create the Target Definition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Data Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Create the Data Transformation Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Deploy the Data Transformation Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Define the Service Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Configure the Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Run the Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Overview
A PDF is a common file format that stores invoices and account statements. You can configure a PowerCenter mapping to
extract the data from the PDF when the page layout is the same for each invoice. Configure a Data Transformation source in
the PowerCenter Designer.
This article explains how to configure a Data Transformation source that represents a multiple page PDF file. The article
shows how to configure the PowerCenter source with a Data Transformation service to extract the data from the PDF file.
The target is a set of relational tables.
To parse the data from a PDF file, complete the following tasks:
Create the Data Transformation source in the Designer.
Export the structure as an XML schema from the Designer.
Create a Data Transformation Parser project in the Data Transformation Developer Studio. Import the XML schema

that you created in PowerCenter.

Deploy the project as a Data Transformation service. Deploy the project to the Data Transformation repository local

to the PowerCenter Client. Deploy another copy of the service to the Data Transformation repository local to the
PowerCenter Integration Service.
Define the Data Transformation service name in the Data Transformation source.
Create and run the PowerCenter workflow.

Mapping Overview
Create a PowerCenter mapping to parse the data from the PDF file and pass the data to relational targets.
The following figure shows the mapping in the Designer:

The mapping contains the following objects:

Data Transformation source
The Data Transformation source is a PDF file. The Integration Service calls a Data Transformation service to
parse the data from the PDF. The Data Transformation service returns XML to the Integration Service. The Data
Transformation source passes row data to the pipeline.
Application Multi-Group Source Qualifier
The Source Qualifier transformation represents the rows that the Integration Service passes to the target. When
you add the Data Transformation source to the mapping, the Designer creates a source qualifier by default.
Targets
The targets are the Invoice Header, Buyer Total, and Transaction Detail tables.

PDF File Structure

The PDF source file is multiple page invoice. The first page contains the customer name, the address, and the account
number. The page includes a summary of the current charges and the total balance due. The first page also contains
advertising and other text that you do not need to extract. The second page contains a list of the charges sorted by buyer.
Each buyer has multiple charges.
You can view a sample PDF file in the Data Transformation tutorial #3. The PDF file is OrshavaInvoice.pdf.

The following figure shows the first page of the PDF:

The second PDF page contains transactions by buyer name:

Create the Data Transformation Source

Create the Data Transformation source in the PowerCenter Source Analyzer.
When you create a Data Transformation source, the Designer creates the following default ports:
InputFileName
Returns the name of the current input file.
OutputBuffer
Output port that returns XML from a Data Transformation service if you do not create output ports. When you
define ports on the Output Hierarchy tab, the OutputBuffer does not return data.

To pass row data to the relational tables, configure output ports on the Output Hierarchy tab. Create a hierarchy of groups in
the left pane of the Output Hierarchy tab. All groups are under the root group. Each group can contain ports and other
groups. The group structure represents the relationship between target tables. When you define a group within a group, you
define a parent-child relationship between the groups. The Designer defines a primary key-foreign key relationship between
the groups with a generated key.
The following figure shows the Output Hierarchy tab:

Define the following groups of ports to represent the invoice database tables:
Group1 Invoice Header
Account. Customer account number.
Period Ending. Date of current charges.
Current Total. Total amount of purchases for the period.
Balance Due. Total amount due including past due charges.

Group2 Buyer Total

Name. Name of the buyer that purchased the products.
Total. Total cost of the products for the buyer.

Group3 Transaction Detail

Date. Purchase date.
Ref. Purchase reference number.
Product. Product name.
Total. Product price.

Export the XML File Structure

Export the group structure from the Output Hierarchy tab as an XML schema. You can import the .xsd file when you create
the Data Transformation project in the Data Transformation Studio.
Click Export to XML Schema on the Output Hierarchy tab. The Designer creates the following .xsd file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>
<!-- ===== AUTO-GENERATED FILE - DO NOT EDIT ===== -->
<!-- ===== This file has been generated by Informatica PowerCenter ===== -->
<xs:schema attributeFormDefault="unqualified" elementFormDefault="qualified"
targetNamespace="www.informatica.com/CDET/XSD/mappingName_DT_pdf_SOURCE" xmlns="www.informatica.com/CDET/XSD/
mappingName_DT_pdf_SOURCE" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:element name="PC_XSD_ROOT" type="PC_XSD_ROOTT"/>
<xs:complexType name="PC_XSD_ROOTT">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element maxOccurs="unbounded" minOccurs="0" ref="GROUP1"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:element name="GROUP1" type="GROUP1T"/>
<xs:complexType name="GROUP1T">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element maxOccurs="unbounded" minOccurs="0" ref="GROUP2"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Account" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Period_Ending" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Current_Total" type="xs:decimal"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Balance_Due" type="xs:decimal"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:element name="GROUP2" type="GROUP2T"/>
<xs:complexType name="GROUP2T">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element maxOccurs="unbounded" minOccurs="0" ref="GROUP3"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Name" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Total" type="xs:decimal"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:element name="GROUP3" type="GROUP3T"/>
<xs:complexType name="GROUP3T">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Date" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Ref" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Product" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element minOccurs="0" name="Total" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>

Create the Target Definition

The target is a billing database that stores the invoice information.
The database has three tables that store invoice data. The Invoice_Header stores the invoice summary information. The
Buyer_Total table stores the total sales by Buyer for each invoice number. The Transaction_Detail table stores transaction
information, including the date, product, and price.
The following figure shows the tables in the target definition:

Data Transformation
Data Transformation is the application that transforms file formats such as Excel spreadsheets or PDF documents.
Create Data Transformation projects in the Data Transformation Studio. Deploy the projects from the Data Transformation
Studio to the Data Transformation repository. The Designer accesses the services in the Data Transformation repository
when you create a Data Transformation source. The PowerCenter Integration Service accesses a Data Transformation
service when it runs a workflow that has a Data Transformation source, target, or Unstructured Data transformation.

Create the Data Transformation Project

Create a parser project in the Data Transformation Studio. A Parser project extracts data and returns XML.
For this example, you can import the parser project from the Data Transformation tutorial #3. The project files are in the
following directory:
<Data Transformation Installation>\tutorials\exercises\Files_for_Tutorial_3

You can import the parser to the Data Transformation Studio from the Results directory. The parser project is
PDFInvoiceParser.cmw.
The tutorial describes how to create the parser. To interface the project with PowerCenter, use the .xsd file that you
exported from the Designer instead of the OrshavaInvoice.xsd file.

The parser runs a document processor to convert the data from a binary PDF format to text. The parser project uses
positional formatting to determine the location of the data in the PDF. You configure the anchors that define the text location
and the content. Define a repeating group for the buyer and a nested repeating group for each buyer transaction. Define a
CalculateValue action to add product prices for each buyer and a total for the invoice.
You can run the project in the Data Transformation Studio. View results from the sample data. When you call a Data
Transformation service from PowerCenter, the Data Transformation Engine passes the XML back to the PowerCenter
Integration Service.
When you run the project, Data Transformation returns the following XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
- <Invoice account="12345">
<Period_Ending>April 30, 2003</Period_Ending>
<Current_Total>351.04</Current_Total>
<Balance_Due>475.07</Balance_Due>
- <Buyer name="Molly" total="217.65">
- <Transaction date="Apr 02" ref="22498">
<Product>large eggs</Product>
<Total>29.07</Total>
</Transaction>
- <Transaction date="Apr 08" ref="22536">
<Product>large eggs</Product>
<Total>58.14</Total>
</Transaction>
- <Transaction date="Apr 08" ref="22536">
<Product>cheddar cheese</Product>
<Total>43.61</Total>
</Transaction>
- <Transaction date="Apr 21" ref="22798">
<Product>cream cheese</Product>
<Total>26.98</Total>
</Transaction>
- <Transaction date="Apr 29" ref="22903">
<Product>large eggs</Product>
<Total>59.85</Total>
</Transaction>
</Buyer>
- <Buyer name="Jack" total="133.39">
- <Transaction date="Apr 12" ref="22570">
<Product>large eggs</Product>
<Total>29.93</Total>
</Transaction>
- <Transaction date="Apr 18" ref="22734">
<Product>large eggs</Product>
<Total>59.85</Total>
</Transaction>
- <Transaction date="Apr 25" ref="22841">
<Product>cheddar cheese</Product>
<Total>43.61</Total>
</Transaction>
</Buyer>
</Invoice>

Deploy the Data Transformation Project

After you design and test the Data Transformation project, deploy the project as a service to a Data Transformation repository.
Deploy the Data Transformation project to a Data Transformation repository that is on the same machine as the
PowerCenter Client. The PowerCenter Client can access the repository to retrieve Data Transformation service names and
port requirements.
Deploy the Data Transformation project to the repository that is on the same machine as the Data Integration Service when
you want to run the workflow. The PowerCenter Integration Service calls the Data Transformation service to transform the
Data Transformation source.

Define the Service Name

After you define the Data Transformation service, update the Data Transformation source with the service name.
Add the Data Transformation service name in the Settings tab. The service name must be defined in the Data
Transformation source or the mapping is invalid.
The following figure shows where to enter the Data Transformation service name in the Data Transformation source:

Configure the Workflow

Before you can run the workflow, deploy the Data Transformation project to the Data Transformation repository that is on the
same machine as the PowerCenter Integration Service.
Configure the name of the source PDF in the session properties. If you want to process multiple PDF files, you can use a
wildcard in the session properties. You can use the following wildcard characters in the session properties:
* (asterisk)
Match any combination of characters. For example, *.doc matches all files with the doc extension. Or, ab*.txt
matches every file that begins with ab and has txt extension.
? (question mark)
Match one character. For example, ab?.txt matches any file with ab as the first two characters any character as
the third character. The extension must be txt.
The following figure shows how to configure the session to process multiple source PDF files:

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The source file name is *Invoice*.pdf. The session is configured to use wildcards.

Run the Workflow

When you run the workflow, the PowerCenter Integration Service passes the source PDF to the Data Transformation
Engine. The Data Transformation Engine parses the PDF and returns XML to the PowerCenter Integration Service. The
PowerCenter Integration Service writes rows to the target database tables.
The Integration Service writes the following row to the Invoice_Header table:
XPK_Invoice

Account

Period_Ending

Current_Total

Balance_Due

12345

April 30, 2003

351.04

475.07

The Integration Service writes the following row to the Buyer table:
XPK_Buyer

FK_Invoice

Buyer_Name

Total

Molly

217.65

Jack

133.39

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The Integration Service writes the following row to the Transaction_Detail table:
XPK_Transaction

FK_Buyer

Date

Ref

Product

Total

Apr 02

22498

large eggs

29.07

Apr 08

22536

large eggs

58.14

Apr 08

22536

cheddar cheese

43.61

Apr 21

22798

cream cheese

26.98

Apr 29

22903

large eggs

59.85

Apr 12

22570

large eggs

29.93

Apr 18

22734

large eggs

59.85

Apr 25

22841

cheddar cheese

43.61

Author
Ellen Chandler
Principal Technical Writer

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