Table Identification

• Updated on May 16, 2025

• Published on Oct 10, 2024

• 7 minute(s) read

A table is a data structure used to organize and present information in rows and columns. It is used to present values in a readable format.

Each table consists of the following elements:

• Rows
• Columns
• Cells

Hyperscience provides a solution for extracting the data from tables by using Table Identification models in Semi-Structured layouts.

We support extraction for the following tables:

• Regular Tables - Tables with a simple structure. They contain a single table with columns.
• Nested Tables - Learn more in What is a Nested Table?
• Multiple Tables - Hyperscience supports more than one table in a document in v38. These tables may be regular or nested tables. We do not support side-by-side tables.

In this article, you will learn how to annotate and train a Table ID model.

Table Identification Task

Table ID tasks are specific to Semi-structured documents with table columns. To see these tasks, you must define table columns on a Semi-structured layout.

Prerequisites

Follow the steps below to define a table and start the annotation process:

• Create a semi-structured layout with the tables that you want to extract by following the steps in Defining table column metadata and deploy it. Find more information in Changing a release's status to "Live".

• Upload your documents through Training Data Management or Submissions. Find more information in TDM Features and learn more about uploading documents in Importing Data and How a file becomes a submission.

Annotating Tables

The Table Identification task is available in Training Data Management and it’s similar to annotating in Supervision.

Navigating the Table ID task in TDM

• All tables available for annotation will be displayed on the right-hand side of your screen.
• You can select which table you want to annotate from the right-hand side of your screen.
• You can also see the type of table you’re currently annotating, as well as the number of columns available.

Be sure to click the Continue to Review (CMD+ENTER) button for each available table.

• Use Anomaly Detection to ensure high-quality annotations. Learn more in Detecting and Correcting Anomalies in Table Annotations.

Follow the steps below to annotate your table in Supervision:

1. Select a row from the table to be a Template row

A Template Row is the lead row in your table. It is not necessary to be the first one. Hyperscience uses the copycat tool to populate the annotation to the rest of the rows in Step II. The copycat is not always accurate, so make sure to double-check the annotations.

In this step, you will define the template row of your table.

• We recommend selecting a row where all data is present.
• Use rows with longer values.
• Annotate a row with multi-line values.

2. Make sure to capture the cell and follow the tips below if necessary

| If... | Then... | | The bounding box includes all of the cell's content. | Move on to the next step. | | The box is in the right place but doesn't include all of the cell's content (e.g., parts of letters fall outside of the box). | Click and drag the box's corners until it contains all of the content that should be transcribed. | | Neighboring text segments should also be included in the cell's transcription. | With a click-and-drag motion, draw a bounding box that includes all of the cell's content. | | The box doesn’t include any of the cell’s content OR no bounding box appears around the cell’s content when hovering over it. | Press the spacebar, and with a click-and-drag motion, draw a bounding box that includes all of the cell's content. |

• Click Continue to Review (CMD+ENTER).

3. Review your annotations

1. De-select all columns by pressing the ESC button to have a better preview of the annotations. The labels will indicate all cells annotated in the respective column with different colors. Hide all labels by pressing CMD+I.

If you have more rows in the table, use the Split button to identify them faster:

• Extend the boundary of the table to the bottom of your document.
• Press the S button on your keyboard and separate the table into individual rows by clicking on each place where a row boundary should exist.

1. Use the action buttons on the labels to adjust the annotations of your cells:
   1. a. Find Missing Cells: This button allows you to auto-annotate missing cells.
   2. b. Select all column cells on page: This button will select all cells from the column you’re currently working with.
   3. c. Delete all column cells on page: This button allows you to delete all column cells on the page.

Other actions

You can use the Scroll freeze button located at the top of the page if you have more pages in your document. It improves the performance of the system by rendering the images on each page faster.

If you have a nested table, follow Steps 1 and 2 described above.

Limitations

• We do not support side-by-side tables.
• Anomalies and suggestions appear only in the first table.
• The Table Identification tasks are not ordered in the same way as the tables are ordered in the Layout.
• You can’t have the same column names in a nested table.

Table ID Models

After completing your annotations, you will be able to train a Table Identification model. It enables cell-level predictions and automatic table processing. A Table ID model can be trained to automatically identify regular and nested tables.

To train and deploy a model, go to the Model Details page. Once you determine a Semi-structured layout where you would like to train a model, there are two ways to get to the Model Details page:

1. Go to Library > Models, select Identification Models from the drop-down list at the top of the page, and then click on the name of the model.
2. Go to Layouts, click on the name of the layout, and then click on the name of the Identification Model on the Layout Details page.