Apex Automation free tools
PDF Form Data Extractor
A folder of filled PDF forms, as one spreadsheet.
Export data from multiple fillable PDF forms to Excel or CSV in one go. Every text box, tick, radio button, dropdown and list comes out as a row per form, read inside this browser tab, with nothing uploaded anywhere.
- Free
- No sign up
- No file or row limit
- No watermark
- Works offline
Drop PDF forms here
or
Nothing to hand?
Files
Every file you added, what came out of it, and the reason for anything that could not be read. Each readable file can be taken on its own, without the rest of the batch.
| File | Pages | Fields | Filled | Result | Take this file |
|---|
Extracted data
Columns
Rename a column to whatever your spreadsheet needs, hide the ones you do not want, and move them into the order you work in. A column that is not in every file is marked, and those gaps are left blank rather than dropping the file.
Required fields left blank
Forms that came back incomplete, measured by the form's own required flags. This is the reason most people open a batch of returned forms at all.
Download everything
The workbook has four sheets: the table you can see, every field in long form, the file register with the reason for anything that could not be read, and the blank required fields report. Every cell is written as text, so an ID like 00721 keeps its leading zero and a 16 digit reference is not rounded off.
Where your files go
Nowhere. The PDFs are read by JavaScript already running in this tab. There is no upload endpoint, no account and no server that could keep a copy, which matters because the forms people batch process are grant applications, HR paperwork, patient intake and client onboarding.
You do not have to take that on faith. Open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and process a file. Nothing is requested. Or load this page, go offline, and keep working. Everything still runs.
What this PDF form extractor reads, and what it cannot
Reads
- Text fields, including multi-line boxes and their character limits
- Checkboxes, as the Yes or No a person sees and as the stored value
- Radio groups, collapsed to one column with the option that was picked
- Dropdowns, showing the display text rather than the code stored behind it
- Multi-select lists, every selection rather than just the first
- Fields repeated across pages, as a single column
- Hidden and read only fields, flagged rather than silently dropped
- Password protected PDFs, once you type the password here
- Forms whose field sets do not match each other
Cannot read
- Flattened PDFs. The fields are gone and only a picture of them is left.
- Scans and photographs. There is no field data in them to read, and browser OCR on a batch would be slow and quietly wrong.
- XFA or LiveCycle forms. The data sits in an XML stream, not in form fields.
- Digital signatures. Signature fields are listed, but their certificates are not checked.
Each of these is named per file, with the reason, instead of handing you an empty row and leaving you to guess.
One honest footnote
A checkbox stores two things that can disagree: its value and the state it is drawn in. This tool reports the state it is drawn in, which is what the form shows the person who filled it and what they believed they were submitting. On the rare file where the two disagree, a different reader may report the opposite.
Export data from multiple PDF forms without Acrobat Pro
The standard answer to "how do I get the data out of 40 filled PDF forms" has been the same for over a decade: buy Acrobat Pro, use Merge Data Files into Spreadsheet, and make sure every file came from exactly the same version of the form. If one did not, or one is slightly broken, the export stops. Acrobat Reader cannot do it at all.
This tool takes the union of every field name it finds instead. Add a question to your form in March and the files from February still line up, with the new column blank where it did not exist. The files that could not be read are listed with the reason rather than quietly skipped.
Questions people arrive with
How do I export PDF form data to Excel?
Drop the PDFs into the box at the top of this page and download the workbook. Each form becomes a row and each field a column. Nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded.
How do I export data from multiple PDF forms to Excel at once?
Select them all, or pick the whole folder. The forms do not have to be identical. Every field name found anywhere in the batch becomes a column, and files that do not have a given field leave that cell blank instead of failing the export.
How do I convert a fillable PDF to Excel without Acrobat Pro?
Use this page. Acrobat's Merge Data Files into Spreadsheet is a Pro feature and needs every file to come from the same form. This page needs neither.
Can I extract PDF form fields without Power Automate or Python?
Yes. Power Automate's extract action hands back field labels rather than values on a lot of forms, and a Python script means installing a toolchain before you see a single row. This page reads the form fields directly and gives you the spreadsheet.
Can I take just one form rather than the whole batch?
Yes. Every readable file in the Files table has its own Excel, CSV and copy buttons, so you can pull a single form out without exporting the rest.
My PDF opens fine but no fields are found. Why?
The form was almost certainly flattened, meaning it was printed to PDF or saved in a way that turns the fields into plain page content. The answers are still visible but there is no field data left behind them. A scan of a paper form has the same problem. Ask whoever sent it for the original filled copy rather than a printed one.
Does this work on scanned or photographed forms?
No, and it says so per file rather than handing you empty rows. Reading a scan means optical character recognition, which in a browser tab is slow and gets digits wrong in ways that are hard to spot. A wrong number that looks right is worse than no number.
Is there a limit on files, pages or rows?
None imposed here. The limit is your computer's memory. Sixty typical forms take a few seconds. There is no sign up, no watermark and no paid tier.
What happens to my data?
It stays in this tab. The forms people batch process are rarely harmless, whether applications, HR paperwork or intake forms, so the reading, the table and the spreadsheet are all built here. You can check in the Network tab of your browser's developer tools, or simply go offline and keep working.
Need something changed, or something built?
Write to toolssupport@apexautomationteam.com and our team will pick it up.
- Something in this tool you want changed or fixed
- This tool with an extra feature your team needs
- A version wired into your own platform or workflow
- A brand new tool built to your spec
- Help using any of our tools
Email our team See what we build
Tell us what the forms look like and where the data has to end up. That is usually enough for us to come back with a plan.