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PDF Parsing

Upload a pre-created assignment documnet and let our AI automatically pull the questions into Formative!

Neta Raz Studnitski avatar
Written by Neta Raz Studnitski
Updated over 3 months ago

PDF Parsing

Formative now offers the ability to use AI to parse uploaded PDFs. This can be very helpful when you have pre-made assignments that you want to import into Formative. Eliminating the need to manually enter each of the questions from the PDF into Formative - AI will process the parsing request, pull the content of the PDF and automatically apply it to PDF enhancing questions within Formative.

Note: only text-based PDFs are supported for PDF Parsing. Image-based PDFs can not be parsed.

To parse a PDF follow the steps below:

  1. On your Home page - Click "Create +" and select "Upload Your Content", or if your PDF is hosted in your Google Drive click on "Import with Google"

    alternatively, you can also access any formative, click on the plus button and choose "Enhance a document" from the options menu)

  2. Drag & Drop or click the prompt to Upload the PDF file

  3. Once the PDF is populating the modal, click on "Add - Parse with AI" (at this point you can also select if you wish to keep the PDF in the formative after parsing, or if you prefer to remove it)

  4. Give the system the time it needs to process the parsing request

  5. As the system completes processing, the PDF will populate your formative and the questions pulled from it will populate in the right side panel to enhance it.

  6. At this point, you can review and edit the parsed questions to your liking. You can remove/add questions and content items, and edit questions and answer keys.

Removing the PDF

Once the PDF has been fully parsed, and if you haven't selected to remove it after parsing from the start yet you no longer need the original PDF within your Formative, you have the option to remove it and keep only the generated questions. To do this:

  1. Click on the pencil icon at the top of the uploaded PDF

  2. Click on the trashcan icon

  3. Confirm removal of the PDF item


Once the PDF has been removed, the generated questions will remain as stand-alone questions that are not dependent on the previously uploaded content item.

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