Adobe announces major new APIs for PDF extraction and creation

Adobe has announced two new APIs, the Adobe PDF Extract API and the Adobe Document Generation API.

With remote work remaining a priority and many companies moving to hybrid office modes, Adobe believes documents will continue to be at the core of most work. It says the ubiquity of PDFs can help unify the document experience.

Adobe Document Services, cloud-based APIs and SDKs, are designed for developers to build new and innovative document solutions. So far, the company has seen significant adoption among developers with a more than 80% increase in developer sign-ups, and over 50% increased active integrations with Adobe Document Services since the last quarter.

According to Adobe, there are an estimated 2.5 trillion PDFs created each year. The company says the Adobe PDF Extract API builds on Liquid Mode introduced last year. It is a cloud API that analyses the structure from both scanned and native PDFs. It then extracts all elements of a PDF, including text, table data, and images, with an understanding of relative positioning and reading order across columns and page breaks.

"What sets PDF Extract API apart is that it can extract all PDF elements, exhibiting an edge over many other extraction technologies that are limited to only one type," says Adobe.

"Also, many providers are tied to specific platforms. Staying true to the principle of being platform-agnostic, all of Adobe's APIs, including the PDF Extract API, offer the flexibility to use any modern programming language or platform.

Organisations can use PDF Extract API to quickly extract data for use in machine learning models, analysis, indexing or storage, automate downstream processes using technologies like robotic process automation and natural language processing, and republish PDF content across different media.

The other key feature announced is the Document Generation API, a quick way to generate documents with dynamic data.

The paper-to-digital automation of dynamic, critical documents is central to business relationships. Organisations often need to enter data into these documents, which usually come from various databases like ERP or CRM systems.

With the Adobe Document Generation API, Adobe says developers can quickly design custom Microsoft Word templates and generate Word and PDF documents injected with dynamic data. The Document Generation API includes out-of-the-box integration with Adobe Sign, so documents are ready for e-signatures.

The Document Generation API is also available with the Adobe PDF Services connector in Microsoft Power Automate, enabling Power Platform users to automate the preparation of documents for invoices, agreements, and more.

The Adobe PDF Services API is now available in the AWS Marketplace.