Extracts repeating data in a document, such as the work history or skills on a resume, the vehicles on an auto insurance policy, or the line items on an invoice. It can find these facts in paragraphs of free text or in more structured layouts, such as key/value pairs or tables.

For tips on authoring this method in Sensible Instruct, see List tips.

Advantages

  • Low code. Describe what you want to extract in prompts for a large language model (LLM)
  • Can reformat or filter extracted data based on your prompts.
  • Doesn’t require an anchor.

Limitations

  • Sensible can extract up to 20 pages for a single list field. If the list exceeds that limit, Sensible truncates the list.
  • For highly complex repeating layouts, such as insurance loss run documents, use the Sections method.

How it works

For more information about how this method works, see Notes.

Parameters
Examples
Notes

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Parameters

Note: For the full list of parameters available for this method, see Global parameters for methods. The following table only shows parameters most relevant to or specific to this method.

Note You can configure some of the following parameters in both the NLP preprocessor and in a field’s method. If you configure both, the field’s parameter overrides the NLP preprocessor’s parameter. For more information, see Advanced prompt configuration.

keyvaluedescription
id (required)listThe Anchor parameter is optional for fields that use this method. If you specify an anchor:
- Sensible ignores the anchor if it’s present in the document.
- Sensible returns null for the field if the anchor isn’t present in the document.
description (required)stringA prompt describing the list’s subject matter as a whole.
properties (required)objectAn array of objects with the following parameters:
-id (required): A user-friendly ID for the data in the extraction output.
-description (required): A prompt describing the list item that you want to extract. The prompt can include instructions to reformat or filter the data. For example, provide prompts like ” transaction amount. return the absolute value” or “vehicle make (not model)“.
-type: The list item’s type. For more information, see types.
(Deprecated) promptIntroductionstring.(Deprecated) overwrites the introductory text at the beginning of the full prompt that Sensible submits to the LLM for this field.
llmEnginefast, thorough. default: fastSpecifies the LLM model to which Sensible submits the full prompt, and affects the number of chunks that Sensible submits to the LLM.If the Fast parameter results in incomplete extractions for multi-page lists, use Thorough as an alternative.
- fast: Sensible uses a faster LLM model (GPT-3.5 Turbo) and can submit a smaller number of chunks than specified by the Chunk Count parameter.
- thorough: Sensible uses a slower LLM model (GPT-4 Turbo) and submits exactly the number of chunks specified by the Chunk Count parameter. Sensible can take several minutes to return the list. For more information, see Notes.
contextDescriptionFor information about this parameter, see Advanced prompt configuration
pageHintingFor information about this parameter, see Advanced prompt configuration
chunkCount20For information about this parameter, see Advanced prompt configuration
chunkSize1For information about this parameter, see Advanced prompt configuration
chunkOverlapPercentage0For information about this parameter, see Advanced prompt configuration
pageRangeFor information about this parameter, see Advanced prompt configuration.

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Examples

The following example shows using the List method to extract information from a menu about listed menu items.

Config

JSON
{
  "fields": [
    {
      /* the id is a user-friendly name for the target list */
      "id": "dinners",
      "type": "table",
      "method": {
        "id": "list",
        /* overall description of list's contents */
        "description": "dinner special menu items",
        "properties": [
          {
            /* for each item in the list, provide a user-friendly ID and 
               description of the data you want to extract
               and optional instructions to filter or reformat the data */
            "id": "dinner_description",
            "description": "entree description"
          },
          /* optional: target data is a currency */
          {
            "id": "price",
            "type": "currency",
            "description": "dinner price"
          },
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "desserts",
      "type": "table",
      "method": {
        "id": "list",
        "description": "dessert special menu items",
        "properties": [
          {
            "id": "dessert_description",
            "description": "dessert description"
          },
          {
            "id": "price",
            "type":"currency",
            "description": "dessert price"
          },
        ]
      }
    },
    /* lists can span roughly a document page, if the list exceeds that,
      Sensible may truncate the extracted list */
    {
      "id": "wines",
      "type": "table",
      "method": {
        "id": "list",
        /* optional: try restricting the list to white wines,
           or try making a new list for liquors and their serving sizes */
        "description": "red wines and white wines (not other drinks such as beers or liquors)",
        "properties": [
          {
            "id": "wine_name",
            "description": "wine brand name"
          },
          {
            "id": "wine_type",
            "description": "wine varietal name (not brand), for example, return 'Red:cabernet savignon' or 'white:varietal not found'"
          },
          {
            "id": "wine_description",
            "description": "wine description"
          },
          {
            "id": "smallest_serving_price",
            "description": "smallest wine serving size and its dollar price, formatted like '6 oz: $11'"
          },
          {
            "id": "second_smallest_serving_price",
            "description": "second-smallest wine serving size and its dollar price, formatted like '6 oz: $11'"
          },
          {
            "id": "bottle_price",
            "type":"currency",
            "description": "price per bottle, in dollars"
          },
        ]
      }
    },
  ],
  "computed_fields": [
    /* optional: for cleaner output, zip each list */
    {
      "id": "dinners_zipped",
      "method": {
        "id": "zip",
        "source_ids": [
          "dinners",
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "desserts_zipped",
      "method": {
        "id": "zip",
        "source_ids": [
          "desserts",
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "wines_zipped",
      "method": {
        "id": "zip",
        "source_ids": [
          "wines",
        ]
      }
    },
    /* optional: for cleaner output, remove the source
       fields. */
    {
      "id": "hide_fields",
      "method": {
        "id": "suppressOutput",
        "source_ids": [
          "dinners",
          "desserts",
          "wines"
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Example document
The following image shows the example document used with this example config:

Example documentDownload link

Output

JSON
{
  "dinners_zipped": [
    {
      "dinner_description": {
        "value": "Grilled salmon with almond rice pilaf and spinach with pine nuts",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "price": {
        "source": "$45",
        "value": 45,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "dinner_description": {
        "value": "Seared beef with fingerling potatoes and asparagus",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "price": {
        "source": "$56",
        "value": 56,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    }
  ],
  "desserts_zipped": [
    {
      "dessert_description": {
        "value": "Cannoli cake with candied lavender",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "price": {
        "source": "$14",
        "value": 14,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "dessert_description": {
        "value": "Creme brulee",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "price": {
        "source": "$13",
        "value": 13,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    }
  ],
  "wines_zipped": [
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "House white",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "white:varietal not found",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "Dry with citrus notes reminiscent of grapefruit",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "6 oz: $10",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "second_smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "9 oz: $16",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "32",
        "value": 32,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "Barone Ventoura",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "white:varietal not found",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "Subtle honey notes with floral aromas",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "6 oz: $12",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "second_smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "9 oz: $18",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "40",
        "value": 40,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "Val Feuillatte",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "white:varietal not found",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "Bold, distinctive spice notes",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": null,
      "second_smallest_serving_price": null,
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "65",
        "value": 65,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "House red",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "red:varietal not found",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "A satisfying blend",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "6 oz: $11",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "second_smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "9 oz: $17",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "33",
        "value": 33,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "Wrath cabernet sauvignon",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "red:cabernet sauvignon",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "Bold with oak notes",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": null,
      "second_smallest_serving_price": null,
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "62",
        "value": 62,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "Turbell Estate Pinot noir",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "red:pinot noir",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "Mellow with dark chocolate notes",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "6 oz: $13",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "second_smallest_serving_price": {
        "value": "9 oz: $18",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "35",
        "value": 35,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    },
    {
      "wine_name": {
        "value": "Chappellet Shiraz",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_type": {
        "value": "red:shiraz",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "wine_description": {
        "value": "Complex and subtle",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "smallest_serving_price": null,
      "second_smallest_serving_price": null,
      "bottle_price": {
        "source": "72",
        "value": 72,
        "unit": "$",
        "type": "currency"
      }
    }
  ]
}

​
Notes

For an overview of how the List method works, see the following steps:

  1. Sensible finds the chunks of the document that most likely contain your target data:
  • Sensible concatenates all your property descriptions with your overall list description.
  • Sensible splits the document into equal-sized chunks.
  • Sensible scores your concatenated list descriptions against each chunk.
  1. Sensible selects a number of the top-scoring chunks:
    1. If you specify Thorough for the LLM Engine parameter, the Chunk Count parameter determines the number of top-scoring chunks Sensible selects to submit to the LLM.
    2. If you specify Fast for the LLM Engine parameter, 1. Sensible selects a number of top-scoring chunks as determined by the Chunk Count parameter. 2. To improve performance, Sensible removes chunks that are significantly less relevant from the list of top-scoring chunks. The number of chunks Sensible sumbits to the LLM can therefore be smaller than the number specified by the Chunk Count parameter.
  2. To avoid large language model (LLM)‘s token limits, Sensible batches the chunks into groups by page numbers. Sensible batches a maxiumum of 20 page numbers. The chunks in each page group can be non-consecutive in the document.
  3. For each page group, Sensible submits a full prompt to the LLM that includes the pages’ chunks as context, page-hinting data, and your prompts. For information about the LLM model, see the LLM Engine parameter. For more information about the full prompt, see Advanced prompt configuration. The full prompt instructs the LLM to create a list formatted as a table, based on the context.
  4. Sensible concatenates the results from the LLM for each page group and returns a list, formatted as a table.
OverviewNLP table