This article contains advice for exporting a bill of materials (BOM) from a PDF to an Excel spreadsheet. The properly formatted spreadsheet is then used to import the BOM into Page Builder when creating a new page or making updates to a BOM.
The recommendations for BOM exporting are primarily for use with legacy content. When new BOMs are created, ideally they would be copied or exported directly into Excel, TXT or CSV files from the program they are created in (i.e. CAD, PDM, PLM etc.) This would allow for simple and accurate BOM import into Page Builder.
Because not all PDF legacy content is of the same quality, the methods listed below are not in any particular order of effectiveness. Trial and error may be required to find the best method for exporting the BOM from a PDF.
Article Topics
- Using Adobe Acrobat Pro to Export a BOM
- Using Adobe Acrobat Reader to Export a BOM
- Tips for Preparing a BOM Table for Import
Using Adobe Acrobat Pro to Export a BOM
Using Adobe Acrobat Pro yields the most consistent results when exporting a BOM from a PDF. The following methods can be used:
- Copy with Formatting:
- Highlight the BOM
- Right click and select Copy with Formatting
- Paste into blank Excel work book
- Export Entire PDF to Microsoft Excel Workbook or Word Document
- Open PDF
- In the menu on the right, select Export PDF
- From the Convert To dropdown, select the desired format
For more information on using Adobe Acrobat Pro's Export feature, please visit this link: https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/pdf-to-excel-xlsx-converter.html#:~:text=Open%20a%20PDF%20file%20in,will%20run%20text%20recognition%20automatically
Using Adobe Acrobat Reader to Export a BOM
- Highlight entire BOM and copy. Paste into blank Excel spreadsheet.
- Copy one column at a time:
- Hold ALT and highlight desired column
- Paste into Excel spreadsheet
- Repeat until all columns are copied
Tips for Preparing BOM Tables for Import
Use the following tips to format the BOMs once they are in Excel. This will ensure that they are accurately imported into Page Builder.
- How to Remove Extraneous Values: If the BOM data contains unwanted characters that will not be imported into the interactive Page, conduct a "Find and Replace" in Excel (Control F). For example, if each item has a leading "-", find the "-" and replace with " "(space).
- If data appears across multiple cells: Use "Merge and Center" to place data into individual cells. Then delete the empty cells.
- If data appears all in one cell: Ensure that you have selected a cell so that the cursor appears in it.