Pattern-Based

Uses a regular expression to select a sequence of child extractor results.

Remarks

The PatternBasedProvider collation provider uses a regular expression to combine and structure results from multiple child extractors.

How it works:

• Child extractor results are referenced in the pattern using @ExtractorName syntax.
• The regular expression is applied to a virtual document where each extractor result is replaced by its variable reference.
• Named groups in the pattern can be mapped to output or context elements.

Configuration:

• The Pattern property defines the regular expression used for collation.
• The OutputElement and ContextElement properties specify which named groups to use for output and context.
• The CaseSensitive property controls case sensitivity of the regular expression.
• The PreprocessingOptions property allows for text preprocessing before pattern matching.

Use cases:

• Extracting structured data from semi-structured or tabular text, such as transcript lines, itemized lists, or complex forms.
• Mapping multiple extractor results into a single structured output using flexible pattern logic.

Example: For example, consider the tabular data below, which represents information from a college transcript:

 GE140 WORLD CIVILIZATION I 3.00 A 12.00
 PSY212 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 3.00 A 12.00
 GE185 HEALTH CONCEPTS 2.00 C 4.00
 

Three extractors are created for the Data Type:

• Course No – Matches 'GE140', 'PSY212', etc.
• Decimal – Matches '3.00', '12.00', etc.
• Letter Grade – Matches 'A', 'C', etc.

The following collation expression could then be used to select the entire line:

 @Course_No .*? @Decimal @Letter_Grade @Decimal
 

The expression can be further expanded to include group names, mapping values directly to table column names:

 (?<Course_No>@Course_No)
 (?<Description>[^\r]*?)
 (?<Hours>@Decimal)
 (?<Grade>@Letter_Grade)
 (?<Points>@Decimal)
 

Properties

Name	Type		Description
Pattern	String	►	Defines the regular expression to be used for selecting output instances. EditorPattern Editor Requiredtrue The regular expression pattern that determines how child extractor results are combined. Use @ExtractorName to reference results from child or referenced extractors. Named groups (e.g., (?<GroupName>...)) can be used to map output and context elements. Type '@' in the regular expression editor to view a list of available extractor names.
Output Element	String	►	Specifies the name of a regular expression group to be used as the output value. ConverterGroup Name Converter The name of a group in the regular expression whose value will be used as the main output. If set, only the content matched by this group will be output. If not set, the entire match is used as the output value. Define named groups in the pattern using (?<GroupName>...).
Context Element	String	►	Specifies the name of a regular expression group to be used as the context value. ConverterGroup Name Converter The name of a group in the regular expression whose value will be used as the context for the output instance. If set, the output instance will reference this context value. Only applicable if OutputElement is also set.
Case Sensitive	Boolean	►	Indicates whether the regular expression should be evaluated in a case-sensitive manner. DefaultFalse Controls whether the pattern matching is case-sensitive. If true, pattern matching is case-sensitive. If false, pattern matching ignores case.
Preprocessing Options	Text Preprocessor	►	Specifies options for processing text prior to running the regular expression. EditorObject Properties Editor ConverterExpandable Converter Configures text preprocessing steps to apply before executing the regular expression. Preprocessing can normalize line breaks, page breaks, tabs, and other control characters. Useful for ensuring consistent pattern matching across different document layouts.

See Also

Text Preprocessor

Used By

Data Type