# How to Parse PDFs With Parabola

> In Parabola, you can pull data from pretty much anywhere — and now you can pull directly from PDFs (and other unstructured data sources) and automatically parse that data using our custom parsing features and AI.

Source: https://parabola.io/blog/parsing-pdfs-with-parabola

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In Parabola, you can pull data from pretty much anywhere — [Google Sheets](https://parabola.io/product/integration/google-drive), [APIs](https://parabola.io/product/integration/api), FTP folders, databases, and more. But sometimes the data you’re handling are less *structured*, like third-party invoices or digital documents.

Now you can parse data directly from [PDFs](https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/about-adobe-pdf.html) (and other unstructured data sources) and make that data usable in your existing workflows. Extract whatever information you want from a PDF, whether it’s line-item data that exists in tables, or it’s document-level data, (like date or invoice number).

Our customers use these steps for a bunch of different use cases, like:

[Doing this in Parabola](https://parabola.io/tool/use-ai-to-convert-data-from-a-pdf-to-a-spreadsheet) is easy and intuitive — plus it's powered by AI.

## How to parse PDFs with Parabola

[‍Parsing PDFs can seem daunting](https://parabola.io/blog/best-methods-pdf-parsing), but with tools like Parabola, the process becomes straightforward and efficient. Here’s a quick summary of the main points to help you get started:

#### 1. Start by importing your PDF file

**‍**Use [Parabola's intuitive interface to upload and prepare your document](https://parabola.io/product/integration/pdf-file) for parsing. Whether you're converting a PDF to an Excel spreadsheet or tackling complex tables, the first step is always setting up your input.

#### 2. Define your parsing rules

**‍**Tailor the process to [extract](https://parabola.io/tool/how-to-use-ai-to-automatically-extract-your-pdf-data) the data you need. Parabola lets you break down the details and effectively parse a PDF into manageable pieces, making it easy to structure your data.

#### 3. Convert PDFs to Excel or spreadsheet formats

**‍**Once your data is parsed, it can seamlessly be transformed into other formats.

#### 4. Automate and repeat the process

**‍**Save time by setting up reusable workflows. Parabola allows you to automate the conversion and parsing process, so you can quickly and easily convert PDFs whenever requird.

#### 5. Analyze and export your data

**‍**After parsing and organizing your data, export it to your preferred tools. With Parabola, learning how to parse a PDF file becomes a streamlined experience, helping you move from scattered documents to structured insights in no time.

Learn more about parsing data from PDFs here:

[Ready to try it out? Dive in and see how easy it is to parse PDFs to Excel or any other format you need.](https://parabola.io/app/signup)