Add PDFs to a dataset from a watched folder
If the destination dataset was made by reading a PDF or a messy spreadsheet in Add data, it has a recipe. New files in the folder are read with that recipe, then added. The type picker points to this path: "Reading a spreadsheet or PDF? Start from Add data, and the automation comes with it." See Extract tables from PDFs.
When a PDF or spreadsheet is not added
When the recipe can't be used, the file is not added:
| Reason shown on the file | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Sales's recipe couldn't read it, so it was kept as its own dataset" | It stays as its own dataset, marked Kept separate and Meant for Sales. Click Review |
| "No table in it matches Sales's recipe, so it was kept as its own dataset" | Check the PDF is the same kind of document as the earlier ones |
| "Sales has no recipe yet, so it was kept as its own dataset" | Read a file once in the interpreter to create the recipe |
| "Read it once in the interpreter, so Sales can take files like it" | Click Review and read the file in the interpreter |
| "Not added to Sales yet: the first one waits for you to check it was read right" | The first file read with a new recipe waits for your check. Click Review |
| "Not added to Sales: its figures don’t add up" | The read figures don't add up to the total the recipe expects. Check the file against the document |
| "Not read: this month's AI pages for PDFs are used up" | Wait for next month's AI pages, then add the file again |
| "Not read: PDFs need an AI key, and none is set up" | Ask your admin to set up the AI key |
| "Its rule names several datasets, and a PDF can go to one" | Give the PDF its own rule with a single destination |
When a PDF or image batch couldn't be matched to the recipe, the automation's status shows Needs your input until someone deals with it.
Related
- Fix files a watched folder didn't add: every chip and action on a waiting file.
- Extract tables from PDFs: create the recipe that reads new PDFs.
- Combine files dropped in a folder into one dataset: set up the watched folder.
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