Form Recognizer layout model
Azure the Form Recognizer Layout API extracts text, tables, selection marks, and structure information from documents (PDF, TIFF) and images (JPG, PNG, BMP). The layout model combines an enhanced version of our powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities with deep learning models to extract text, tables, selection marks, and document structure.
Sample form processed with Form Recognizer Sample Labeling tool layout feature
Data extraction features
| Layout model | Text Extraction | Selection Marks | Tables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Development options
The following resources are supported by Form Recognizer v2.1:
| Feature | Resources |
|---|---|
| Layout API |
The following resources are supported by Form Recognizer v3.0:
| Feature | Resources | Model ID |
|---|---|---|
| Layout model | prebuilt-layout |
Try Form Recognizer
See how data, including tables, check boxes, and text, is extracted from forms and documents using the Form Recognizer Studio or our Sample Labeling tool. You'll need the following:
An Azure subscription—you can create one for free
A Form Recognizer instance in the Azure portal. You can use the free pricing tier (
F0) to try the service. After your resource deploys, select Go to resource to get your API key and endpoint.
Form Recognizer Studio (preview)
Note
Form Recognizer studio is available with the preview (v3.0) API.
Sample form processed with Form Recognizer Studio
On the Form Recognizer Studio home page, select Layout
You can analyze the sample document or select the + Add button to upload your own sample.
Select the Analyze button:
Sample Labeling tool
You'll need a form document. You can use our sample form document.
On the Sample Labeling tool home page, select Use Layout to get text, tables, and selection marks.
Select Local file from the dropdown menu.
Upload your file and select Run Layout
Input requirements
- For best results, provide one clear photo or high-quality scan per document.
- Supported file formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, and PDF (text-embedded or scanned). Text-embedded PDFs are best to eliminate the possibility of error in character extraction and location.
- For PDF and TIFF, up to 2000 pages can be processed (with a free tier subscription, only the first two pages are processed).
- The file size must be less than 50 MB.
- Image dimensions must be between 50 x 50 pixels and 10000 x 10000 pixels.
- PDF dimensions are up to 17 x 17 inches, corresponding to Legal or A3 paper size, or smaller.
- The total size of the training data is 500 pages or less.
- If your PDFs are password-locked, you must remove the lock before submission.
- For unsupervised learning (without labeled data):
- Data must contain keys and values.
- Keys must appear above or to the left of the values; they can't appear below or to the right.
Note
The Sample Labeling tool does not support the BMP file format. This is a limitation of the tool not the Form Recognizer Service.
Supported languages and locales
Form Recognizer preview version introduces additional language support for the layout model. See our Language Support for a complete list of supported handwritten and printed text.
Features
Tables and table headers
Layout API extracts tables in the pageResults section of the JSON output. Documents can be scanned, photographed, or digitized. Tables can be complex with merged cells or columns, with or without borders, and with odd angles. Extracted table information includes the number of columns and rows, row span, and column span. Each cell with its bounding box is output along with information whether it's recognized as part of a header or not. The model predicted header cells can span multiple rows and are not necessarily the first rows in a table. They also work with rotated tables. Each table cell also includes the full text with references to the individual words in the readResults section.
Selection marks
Layout API also extracts selection marks from documents. Extracted selection marks include the bounding box, confidence, and state (selected/unselected). Selection mark information is extracted in the readResults section of the JSON output.
Text lines and words
Layout API extracts text from documents and images with multiple text angles and colors. It accepts photos of documents, faxes, printed and/or handwritten (English only) text, and mixed modes. Text is extracted with information provided on lines, words, bounding boxes, confidence scores, and style (handwritten or other). All the text information is included in the readResults section of the JSON output.
Natural reading order for text lines (Latin only)
You can specify the order in which the text lines are output with the readingOrder query parameter. Use natural for a more human-friendly reading order output as shown in the following example. This feature is only supported for Latin languages.
Handwritten classification for text lines (Latin only)
The response includes classifying whether each text line is of handwriting style or not, along with a confidence score. This feature is only supported for Latin languages. The following example shows the handwritten classification for the text in the image.
Select page numbers or ranges for text extraction
For large multi-page documents, use the pages query parameter to indicate specific page numbers or page ranges for text extraction. The following example shows a document with 10 pages, with text extracted for both cases - all pages (1-10) and selected pages (3-6).
Form Recognizer preview v3.0
The Form Recognizer preview introduces several new features and capabilities.
Follow our Form Recognizer v3.0 migration guide to learn how to use the preview version in your applications and workflows.
Explore our REST API (preview) to learn more about the preview version and new capabilities.
Next steps
Complete a Form Recognizer quickstart:
Explore our REST API: