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A workflow tells anyformat what to do with your documents. You build it once. It runs the same way on every document you give it. It is an assembly line of nodes:
  • Parse reads the document.
  • Extract pulls out the fields you care about.
  • Classify sorts documents by type, Split breaks a multi-document file apart, and Validate checks the results against your own rules. Add these when you need them.
Each workflow targets one kind of document and one shape of output. For a different output, build a different workflow. Describe what you want to annie, anyformat’s AI assistant, and she builds a Parse → Extract workflow for you. To arrange the nodes yourself, open Studio, the visual editor.

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The nodes

Every workflow is a graph of nodes. Most workflows need only Parse and Extract. The rest handle harder documents, or return something other than data. Nodes covers what each node does, what it returns, and what it costs.

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Three common shapes

These are the same nodes arranged in different ways. You arrange them visually in Studio.

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Read only

Parse alone. You get clean text and tables back. Use this shape to feed anyformat’s output into your own tools, such as a search index or a custom AI, instead of pulling out named fields.

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Read, then pull out: the usual one

Parse into Extract. This is the default: “read this document and give me these fields.”

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Sort first, then pull out

Classify decides what kind of document it is, then sends it to an Extract node built for that type. Split works the same way for a file that holds several documents. The examples show each shape end to end. The Studio guide shows how to build one yourself.

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How to think about workflows

Most users follow the same lifecycle:
1

Create

Describe what you want to annie and she builds it. Or arrange the nodes yourself in Studio.
2

Refine

Run a few sample documents through it, read the results, and tighten your fields and instructions.
3

Run at scale

Apply it to many documents. Upload them, connect cloud storage, or call the API.
In the web platform you build a workflow by describing what you want to annie from the home screen, then refine it in Studio.

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What’s next?

Nodes

What each node does, what it returns, and what it costs

Studio

The visual editor where you arrange the nodes into a workflow

Runs & results

What happens when you run a workflow, and what comes back

Build your first workflow

A step-by-step walkthrough in the UI, with no code