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Now that all the preparations are made, search for the Invoice Table field by creating a Table element. The table has three parts to describe:
  • Header of the table – Specify the column names using the already detected auxiliary elements.
  • Footer of the table – Use the already detected required Paragraph element from the InvoiceFooter group, which identifies the beginning of the final part. This element was described as the closest to the bottom of the table.
  • Search area for the table – Limit the search area on the right with the name of the last column, Sales, which is not needed for any other purpose.

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Create the InvoiceTable element

1

Create the Table element

In the SearchElements tree, create a Table element and name it InvoiceTable.
2

Select the table block

Click the Columns tab, and then click Select to select the InvoiceTable block created earlier in Step 3 as the block to search for.
3

Assign the column names

Specify the search parameters for the table columns. For each column, select it in the list, click Properties…, select Use found element as column name, click Browse button, and select the previously detected element:
4

Set the column order

Click the Order tab. Because the columns being searched for may be separated by other columns (for example, ExtraQtyTag) but their order is always fixed (first Designation, then Unit Price, then Total), select Rules for column order, click Add…, and add the columns in this order: Designation << Unit Price << Total.
Screenshot of the Order tab of the InvoiceTable Table element properties in ABBYY FlexiLayout Studio, showing Rules for column order selected with the Designation, Unit Price, and Total columns added in the required order.
5

Keep the header defaults

Click the Header tab. The table header is needed, but no additional constraints are imposed, so keep the default values.
6

Set the table footer

Click the Footer tab. Use the previously detected InvoiceFooter.Paragraph element for the final part of the table. Select the Use found element as footer option, click Browse button, and select the InvoiceFooter.Paragraph element.
Screenshot of the Footer tab of the InvoiceTable Table element properties in ABBYY FlexiLayout Studio, showing the Use found element as footer option selected with the InvoiceFooter.Paragraph element chosen as the table footer.
7

Set the master columns for rows

Click the Rows tab. Because the cells in some columns may contain multiple lines, specify master columns for line separation, and select Use master columns to detect rows.Specify the Total column first, because it always contains data and has one line of data per table record. If this column is not detected on the image, specify the Unit Price and Quantity columns as the next line-separation option. Use the Browse button button to select these columns.
Screenshot of the Rows tab of the InvoiceTable Table element properties in ABBYY FlexiLayout Studio, showing Use master columns to detect rows selected with the Total, Unit Price, and Quantity columns specified as master columns for row separation.
8

Limit the table on the right

Click the Relations tab. Because the table columns of interest are to the left of the Sales column name, add this search constraint:
  • Left of the TableHeader.kwSales element, Offset = 0.
For poor-quality images (for example, noise between the body and footer of the table, or a missing header or footer), you can specify upper and lower table limits. Use the kwDesignation element as the upper limit and the Paragraph element as the lower limit. On the Relations tab, add these search constraints:
  • Below the upper boundary of the kwDesignation element, Offset = -50, Reference boundary = Top.
  • Above the Paragraph element, Offset = -50, Reference boundary = Bottom.
9

Match and check the Quantity column

Match the FlexiLayout with the test images. FlexiLayout Studio correctly detects the table element on all the images, but on some images the Quantity column includes redundant text from the preceding column. To separate the good data in the Quantity column from the irrelevant data, specify the content type for this column.
10

Set the Quantity content type

Open the Properties dialog box of the InvoiceTable table element. Click the Columns tab, open the Properties… dialog box of the Quantity column, and select the Check content type option. In Type of column content, select Number.
Screenshot of the Quantity column properties in ABBYY FlexiLayout Studio, showing the Check content type option selected with Number chosen as the type of column content.
11

Set the currency content types

Match the FlexiLayout again and confirm that the Quantity column contains only digits, as required. Similarly, specify the Currency content for the UnitPrice and Total columns.
12

Set the block source element

To specify the location of the InvoiceTable block, select the Source element option, click Browse button, and specify InvoiceTable as the source element.