Extract Metadata in Power Automate

PDF4me Extract Metadata action enables extracting comprehensive metadata and properties from Word documents in Power Automate with detailed document analysis capabilities. This powerful metadata extraction feature supports built-in document properties, custom properties, document statistics, author information, creation dates, and revision tracking with culture-specific formatting and localization support, perfect for document management, compliance tracking, and content analysis workflows across Microsoft 365.

Authenticating Your API Request

To access the PDF4me Web API through Power Automate, every request must include proper authentication credentials. Authentication ensures secure communication and validates your identity as an authorized user, enabling seamless integration between your Power Automate flows and PDF4me's powerful Word metadata extraction services.

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Key Features

• Comprehensive Metadata Extraction: Retrieve all built-in and custom document properties
• Document Statistics: Get real-time page count, word count, character count, and paragraph count
• Author Information: Extract author, manager, company, and contact details
• Date/Time Properties: Retrieve creation, modification, and printing timestamps
• Custom Properties: Access all custom document properties with automatic prefixing
• Culture Support: Format dates and times according to specified locale
• Read-Only Operation: Extract metadata without modifying the original document
• Structured Output: Return organized metadata in JSON format for easy processing

Parameters

Complete list of parameters for the Extract Metadata action. Configure these parameters to control metadata extraction behavior.

Important: Parameters marked with an asterisk (***) are required. Advanced parameters provide fine-grained control over metadata formatting.

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
File Content***	Base64	Source Word File Content • Map Word file from previous action output • Supports Word files from SharePoint, Dropbox, OneDrive, email attachments • Can be dynamically retrieved from flow variables • Direct base64 can be given in the file content also • Must be valid Word document (.docx, .doc formats) • Document is read-only during metadata extraction	[File Content from Get File]
File Name***	String	Word Document Name • Specify Word file name with extension (.docx, .doc) • Used for reference and processing • Must include proper file extension • Supports dynamic naming from flow variables • Used for document identification and logging	document.docx
Culture Name	String	Document Culture/Locale • Culture code for date/time formatting (e.g., "en-US", "de-DE", "fr-FR") • Default: InvariantCulture (consistent formatting) • Affects date/time display format in metadata • Use valid culture codes for international documents • Invalid cultures fall back to InvariantCulture	en-US

Output

The PDF4me Extract Metadata action returns comprehensive output data for seamless Power Automate flow integration:

Table

Table View

Response data in a structured table format:

Parameter	Type	Description
metadata	Object	Comprehensive metadata dictionary containing all document properties
Success	Boolean	true if operation successful, false if failed
Error Message	String	Error description (null if successful)
Errors	Array	List of detailed error information (empty array if successful)

JSON

JSON Response Format

The raw JSON response from the action:

{
  "metadata": {
    "Author": "John Doe",
    "Title": "Project Proposal",
    "Subject": "Q1 2024 Planning",
    "Keywords": "planning, budget, strategy",
    "Comments": "Draft version for review",
    "Category": "Business",
    "Company": "Acme Corporation",
    "Manager": "Jane Smith",
    "Created": "1/15/2024 10:30:00 AM",
    "LastModified": "1/20/2024 2:45:00 PM",
    "LastPrinted": "1/18/2024 9:15:00 AM",
    "RevisionNumber": 3,
    "TotalEditingTime": 120,
    "Pages": 8,
    "Words": 2150,
    "Characters": 12800,
    "Paragraphs": 45,
    "Custom_Department": "Marketing",
    "Custom_ProjectCode": "PRJ-2024-001",
    "Custom_Confidential": "Internal"
  },
  "Success": true,
  "ErrorMessage": null,
  "Errors": []
}

Error Response Example:

{
  "metadata": null,
  "Success": false,
  "ErrorMessage": "Document is empty",
  "Errors": [
    {
      "Code": "DOCUMENT_ERROR",
      "Message": "The document content is null or empty"
    }
  ]
}

Flow Integration

Power Automate Flow Usage

Use extracted metadata in subsequent actions:

• Document Classification: Route documents based on author, category, or custom properties
• Compliance Tracking: Monitor document creation dates and revision numbers
• Content Analysis: Analyze document statistics for reporting and optimization
• Workflow Routing: Use metadata to determine document processing paths
• Audit Logging: Log document properties for compliance and tracking
• Database Storage: Store metadata in databases for document management

Metadata Properties

Built-in Document Properties

Property Name	Type	Description	Example
Author	String	Document author name	"John Doe"
Title	String	Document title	"Project Proposal"
Subject	String	Document subject	"Q1 2024 Planning"
Keywords	String	Document keywords (comma-separated)	"planning, budget, strategy"
Comments	String	Document comments	"Draft version for review"
Category	String	Document category	"Business"
Company	String	Company name	"Acme Corporation"
Manager	String	Manager name	"Jane Smith"
Created	String	Document creation date/time (formatted)	"1/15/2024 10:30:00 AM"
LastModified	String	Last saved date/time (formatted)	"1/20/2024 2:45:00 PM"
LastPrinted	String	Last printed date/time (formatted)	"1/18/2024 9:15:00 AM"
RevisionNumber	Integer	Document revision number	3
TotalEditingTime	Integer	Total editing time in minutes	120

Document Statistics

Property Name	Type	Description	Example
Pages	Integer	Total number of pages	8
Words	Integer	Total word count	2150
Characters	Integer	Total character count	12800
Paragraphs	Integer	Total paragraph count	45

Supported Culture Examples

Culture Code	Description	Date Format Example
en-US	English (United States)	"1/15/2024 10:30:00 AM"
en-GB	English (United Kingdom)	"15/01/2024 10:30:00"
de-DE	German (Germany)	"15.01.2024 10:30:00"
fr-FR	French (France)	"15/01/2024 10:30:00"
es-ES	Spanish (Spain)	"15/01/2024 10:30:00"
ja-JP	Japanese (Japan)	"2024/01/15 10:30:00"

Common Error Messages

Understanding and troubleshooting errors helps ensure smooth metadata extraction workflows:

Error Message	Cause	Solution
"Request is empty"	Request object is null	Provide valid request object
"Document is empty"	Document object is null	Provide valid Word document
"Error extracting metadata"	General exception during metadata extraction	Check document format and parameters. Review exception details in Errors array
"Error loading document from bytes"	Invalid or corrupted Word document	Verify the input document is a valid Word file (.docx)

Workflow Examples

The PDF4me Extract Metadata action in Power Automate provides comprehensive workflow templates designed for real-world business scenarios:

Document Classification

Automated Document Classification Workflow

Streamline your document management with automated metadata-based classification:

Complete Workflow Steps:

1. Trigger: Document uploaded to SharePoint document library
2. Get Document: Retrieve Word document from upload location
3. Extract Metadata: Extract all document properties and statistics
4. Set Culture: Culture Name = "en-US" for consistent date formatting
5. Classify by Author: Route documents based on Author property
6. Classify by Category: Route documents based on Category property
7. Update SharePoint: Move document to appropriate folder based on classification
8. Log Classification: Record classification results in document management system

Business Benefits:

• Classifies 500+ documents monthly automatically
• Routes documents to appropriate departments based on metadata
• Reduces manual document sorting time by 90%
• Ensures consistent document organization

Create Flow

Compliance Tracking

Automated Compliance Tracking Workflow

Enhance your compliance management with automated metadata tracking:

Complete Workflow Steps:

1. Trigger: Document created or modified in SharePoint compliance folder
2. Get Document: Retrieve Word document from compliance library
3. Extract Metadata: Extract creation dates, revision numbers, and author info
4. Set Culture: Culture Name = "en-US" for standardized date formatting
5. Check Compliance: Validate document age and revision status
6. Update Database: Store metadata in compliance tracking database
7. Send Alerts: Notify compliance team of documents requiring review
8. Generate Reports: Create compliance status reports from metadata

Business Benefits:

• Tracks 200+ compliance documents automatically
• Monitors document age and revision status
• Ensures timely compliance reviews
• Reduces compliance audit preparation time by 75%

Create Flow

Content Analysis

Automated Content Analysis Workflow

Optimize your content management with automated document analysis:

Complete Workflow Steps:

1. Trigger: Document published in SharePoint content library
2. Get Document: Retrieve Word document from content library
3. Extract Metadata: Extract document statistics and properties
4. Set Culture: Culture Name = "en-US" for consistent formatting
5. Analyze Statistics: Process word count, page count, and character count
6. Update Analytics: Store content metrics in analytics database
7. Generate Insights: Create content performance reports
8. Email Reports: Send content analysis reports to content team

Business Benefits:

• Analyzes 300+ documents monthly automatically
• Tracks content metrics and performance
• Provides insights for content optimization
• Reduces manual content analysis time by 85%

Create Flow

Audit Logging

Automated Audit Logging Workflow

Enhance your audit trail with automated metadata logging:

Complete Workflow Steps:

1. Trigger: Document accessed or modified in SharePoint
2. Get Document: Retrieve Word document from SharePoint
3. Extract Metadata: Extract all document properties and timestamps
4. Set Culture: Culture Name = "en-US" for standardized formatting
5. Log Metadata: Store metadata in audit logging system
6. Track Changes: Monitor revision numbers and modification dates
7. Generate Audit Trail: Create comprehensive audit reports
8. Archive Logs: Store audit logs in secure archive system

Business Benefits:

• Logs 1000+ document access events monthly automatically
• Maintains comprehensive audit trails
• Ensures regulatory compliance
• Reduces manual audit logging time by 95%

Create Flow

Industry Use Cases & Applications

Legal & Professional Services

Legal & Professional Services Use Cases

• Document Classification: Classify legal documents by case type, client, or practice area
• Compliance Tracking: Monitor document creation dates and revision history for regulatory compliance
• Client Document Management: Track document properties for client file organization
• Audit Trail Maintenance: Log document metadata for legal audit requirements

Finance & Accounting

Finance & Accounting Use Cases

• Financial Report Analysis: Extract metadata from financial reports for compliance tracking
• Budget Document Management: Classify budget documents by department and fiscal year
• Audit Documentation: Track document properties for audit trail maintenance
• Regulatory Filing: Monitor document metadata for regulatory submission requirements

Sales & Marketing

Sales & Marketing Use Cases

• Proposal Management: Extract metadata from proposals for client tracking and analysis
• Marketing Material Organization: Classify marketing documents by campaign and target audience
• Content Performance Analysis: Analyze document statistics for content optimization
• Client Deliverable Tracking: Monitor document properties for client project management

Human Resources

Human Resources Use Cases

• Policy Document Management: Extract metadata from HR policies for version control
• Employee Document Organization: Classify employee documents by type and department
• Compliance Monitoring: Track document creation and modification dates for HR compliance
• Training Material Analysis: Analyze training document statistics for effectiveness

Healthcare & Medical

Healthcare & Medical Use Cases

• Medical Document Classification: Classify medical documents by patient, procedure, or department
• Compliance Tracking: Monitor document metadata for healthcare regulatory compliance
• Research Documentation: Extract metadata from research documents for study tracking
• Patient Record Management: Organize patient documents by metadata properties

Education & Research

Education & Research Use Cases

• Academic Document Organization: Classify academic documents by course, department, or research area
• Research Data Management: Extract metadata from research documents for study organization
• Curriculum Tracking: Monitor curriculum document properties for version control
• Student Document Management: Organize student documents by metadata properties

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