Data Element Extension

Defines extraction settings and behaviors that extend or customize the extraction logic for a data element.

Remarks

The 'Data Element Extension' class serves as a flexible base for attaching specialized extraction settings, behaviors, or logic to individual data elements in Grooper's data model. Extensions allow you to tailor how extraction is performed for a specific column, field, or other data element, beyond the default configuration provided by the parent Data Table or Data Section.

Role in Grooper

• Extensions are used to override or supplement extraction logic for a particular data element, enabling advanced scenarios such as custom parsing, validation, or post-processing.
• Each extension is associated with a specific data element and is managed as an embedded object, allowing for modular and reusable configuration.
• Common use cases include customizing how a column is extracted from a table, applying special formatting or normalization, or integrating with external data sources.

How It Works

• Extensions are typically configured through the property grid of a data element (such as a table column or field).
• When extraction is performed, the extension's settings and logic are applied in addition to, or in place of, the default extraction method.
• Multiple extension types may exist, each targeting different aspects of extraction (e.g., value transformation, error handling, or data enrichment).

Configuration and Usage

• To use an extension, add it to the desired data element and configure its properties as needed for your extraction scenario.
• Extensions are especially useful when a single data element requires unique handling that is not shared by other elements in the same table or section.
• For example, you might use an extension to apply a custom regular expression to a single column, or to map extracted values to a controlled vocabulary.

Example Scenario

Suppose you have a table of invoice line items, and one column requires special parsing to extract a part number from a complex string. You can attach a 'Data Element Extension' to that column, configure the parsing logic, and ensure that only this column is affected—leaving other columns to use the default extraction method.

Extensions provide a powerful mechanism for fine-tuning extraction at the individual data element level, supporting advanced and highly customized data processing workflows in Grooper.

Derived Types

There are 5 implementations of Data Element Extension.

AI Extract Field Options	Defines options controlling how AI Extract and AI Table Reader work for a Data Field.
AI Extract Section Options	Defines options controlling how AI Extract works for a Data Section.
AI Extract Table Options	Defines options controlling how AI Extract works for a Data Table.
Grid Layout Options	Defines extraction settings for a Data Column when using the Grid Layout extract method on a Data Table.
Tabular Layout Options	Defines extraction settings for a Data Column when using the Tabular Layout extract method on a Data Table.