Document Layout skill

The Document Layout skill analyzes a document to detect structure and characteristics, and produces a syntactical representation of the document in Markdown or Text format. You can use it to extract text and images, where image extraction includes ___location metadata that preserves image position within the document. Image proximity to related content is beneficial in Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) workloads and multimodal search scenarios.

This article is the reference documentation for the Document Layout skill. For usage information, see How to chunk and vectorize by document layout.

This skill uses the Document Intelligence layout model provided in Azure AI Document Intelligence.

This skill is bound to a billable Azure AI multi-service resource for transactions that exceed 20 documents per indexer per day. Execution of built-in skills is charged at the existing Azure AI services Standard price.

Limitations

This skill has the following limitations:

• The skill isn't suitable for large documents requiring more than 5 minutes of processing in the AI Document Intelligence layout model. The skill times out, but charges still apply to the AI Services multi-services resource if it attaches to the skillset for billing purposes. Ensure documents are optimized to stay within processing limits to avoid unnecessary costs.

• Since this skill calls the Azure AI Document Intelligence layout model, all documented service behaviors for different document types for different file types apply to its output. For example, Word (DOCX) and PDF files may produce different results due to differences in how images are handled. If consistent image behavior across DOCX and PDF is required, consider converting documents to PDF or reviewing the multimodal search documentation for alternative approaches.

Supported regions

The Document Layout skill calls the Document Intelligence 2024-11-30 API.

Supported regions vary by modality and how the skill connects to the Document Intelligence layout model.

Supported file formats

This skill recognizes the following file formats.

• .PDF
• .JPEG
• .JPG
• .PNG
• .BMP
• .TIFF
• .DOCX
• .XLSX
• .PPTX
• .HTML

Supported languages

Refer to Azure AI Document Intelligence layout model supported languages for printed text.

@odata.type

Microsoft.Skills.Util.DocumentIntelligenceLayoutSkill

Data limits

• For PDF and TIFF, up to 2,000 pages can be processed (with a free tier subscription, only the first two pages are processed).
• Even if the file size for analyzing documents is 500 MB for Azure AI Document Intelligence paid (S0) tier and 4 MB for Azure AI Document Intelligence free (F0) tier, indexing is subject to the indexer limits of your search service tier.
• Image dimensions must be between 50 pixels x 50 pixels or 10,000 pixels x 10,000 pixels.
• If your PDFs are password-locked, remove the lock before running the indexer.

Skill parameters

Parameters are case-sensitive. Several parameters were introduced in specific preview versions of the REST API. We recommend using the generally available version (2025-09-01) or the latest preview (2025-08-01-preview) for full access to all parameters.

Skill inputs

The "file_data" input must be an object defined as:

{
  "$type": "file",
  "data": "BASE64 encoded string of the file"
}

Alternatively, it can be defined as:

{
  "$type": "file",
  "url": "URL to download file",
  "sasToken": "OPTIONAL: SAS token for authentication if the URL provided is for a file in blob storage"
}

The file reference object can be generated in one of following ways:

• Setting the allowSkillsetToReadFileData parameter on your indexer definition to true. This setting creates a path /document/file_data that's an object representing the original file data downloaded from your blob data source. This parameter only applies to files in Azure Blob storage.

• Having a custom skill returning a JSON object definition that provides $type, data, or url and sastoken. The $type parameter must be set to file, and data must be the base 64-encoded byte array of the file content. The url parameter must be a valid URL with access for downloading the file at that ___location.

Skill outputs

Sample definition for markdown output mode

{
  "skills": [
    {
      "description": "Analyze a document",
      "@odata.type": "#Microsoft.Skills.Util.DocumentIntelligenceLayoutSkill",
      "context": "/document",
      "outputMode": "oneToMany", 
      "markdownHeaderDepth": "h3", 
      "inputs": [
        {
          "name": "file_data",
          "source": "/document/file_data"
        }
      ],
      "outputs": [
        {
          "name": "markdown_document", 
          "targetName": "markdown_document" 
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Sample output for markdown output mode

{
  "markdown_document": [
    { 
      "content": "Hi this is Jim \r\nHi this is Joe", 
      "sections": { 
        "h1": "Foo", 
        "h2": "Bar", 
        "h3": "" 
      },
      "ordinal_position": 0
    }, 
    { 
      "content": "Hi this is Lance",
      "sections": { 
         "h1": "Foo", 
         "h2": "Bar", 
         "h3": "Boo" 
      },
      "ordinal_position": 1,
    } 
  ] 
}

The value of the markdownHeaderDepth controls the number of keys in the "sections" dictionary. In the example skill definition, since the markdownHeaderDepth is "h3," there are three keys in the "sections" dictionary: h1, h2, h3.

Example for text output mode and image and metadata extraction

This example demonstrates how to output text content in fixed-sized chunks and extract images along with ___location metadata from the document.

Sample definition for text output mode and image and metadata extraction

{
  "skills": [
    {
      "description": "Analyze a document",
      "@odata.type": "#Microsoft.Skills.Util.DocumentIntelligenceLayoutSkill",
      "context": "/document",
      "outputMode": "oneToMany",
      "outputFormat": "text",
      "extractionOptions": ["images", "locationMetadata"],
      "chunkingProperties": {     
          "unit": "characters",
          "maximumLength": 2000, 
          "overlapLength": 200
      },
      "inputs": [
        {
          "name": "file_data",
          "source": "/document/file_data"
        }
      ],
      "outputs": [
        { 
          "name": "text_sections", 
          "targetName": "text_sections" 
        }, 
        { 
          "name": "normalized_images", 
          "targetName": "normalized_images" 
        } 
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Sample output for text output mode and image and metadata extraction

{
  "text_sections": [
      {
        "id": "1_7e6ef1f0-d2c0-479c-b11c-5d3c0fc88f56",
        "content": "the effects of analyzers using Analyze Text (REST). For more information about analyzers, see Analyzers for text processing.During indexing, an indexer only checks field names and types. There's no validation step that ensures incoming content is correct for the corresponding search field in the index.Create an indexerWhen you're ready to create an indexer on a remote search service, you need a search client. A search client can be the Azure portal, a REST client, or code that instantiates an indexer client. We recommend the Azure portal or REST APIs for early development and proof-of-concept testing.Azure portal1. Sign in to the Azure portal 2, then find your search service.2. On the search service Overview page, choose from two options:· Import data wizard: The wizard is unique in that it creates all of the required elements. Other approaches require a predefined data source and index.All services > Azure Al services | Al Search >demo-search-svc Search serviceSearchAdd indexImport dataImport and vectorize dataOverviewActivity logEssentialsAccess control (IAM)Get startedPropertiesUsageMonitoring· Add indexer: A visual editor for specifying an indexer definition.",
        "locationMetadata": {
          "pageNumber": 1,
          "ordinalPosition": 0,
          "boundingPolygons": "[[{\"x\":1.5548,\"y\":0.4036},{\"x\":6.9691,\"y\":0.4033},{\"x\":6.9691,\"y\":0.8577},{\"x\":1.5548,\"y\":0.8581}],[{\"x\":1.181,\"y\":1.0627},{\"x\":7.1393,\"y\":1.0626},{\"x\":7.1393,\"y\":1.7363},{\"x\":1.181,\"y\":1.7365}],[{\"x\":1.1923,\"y\":2.1466},{\"x\":3.4585,\"y\":2.1496},{\"x\":3.4582,\"y\":2.4251},{\"x\":1.1919,\"y\":2.4221}],[{\"x\":1.1813,\"y\":2.6518},{\"x\":7.2464,\"y\":2.6375},{\"x\":7.2486,\"y\":3.5913},{\"x\":1.1835,\"y\":3.6056}],[{\"x\":1.3349,\"y\":3.9489},{\"x\":2.1237,\"y\":3.9508},{\"x\":2.1233,\"y\":4.1128},{\"x\":1.3346,\"y\":4.111}],[{\"x\":1.5705,\"y\":4.5322},{\"x\":5.801,\"y\":4.5326},{\"x\":5.801,\"y\":4.7311},{\"x\":1.5704,\"y\":4.7307}]]"
        },
        "sections": ["sectionHeading"]
      },
      {
        "id": "2_25134f52-04c3-415a-ab3d-80729bd58e67",
        "content": "All services > Azure Al services | Al Search >demo-search-svc | Indexers Search serviceSearch0«Add indexerRefreshDelete:selected: TagsFilter by name ...:selected: Diagnose and solve problemsSearch managementStatusNameIndexesIndexers*Data sourcesRun the indexerBy default, an indexer runs immediately when you create it on the search service. You can override this behavior by setting disabled to true in the indexer definition. Indexer execution is the moment of truth where you find out if there are problems with connections, field mappings, or skillset construction.There are several ways to run an indexer:· Run on indexer creation or update (default).. Run on demand when there are no changes to the definition, or precede with reset for full indexing. For more information, see Run or reset indexers.· Schedule indexer processing to invoke execution at regular intervals.Scheduled execution is usually implemented when you have a need for incremental indexing so that you can pick up the latest changes. As such, scheduling has a dependency on change detection.Indexers are one of the few subsystems that make overt outbound calls to other Azure resources. In terms of Azure roles, indexers don't have separate identities; a connection from the search engine to another Azure resource is made using the system or user- assigned managed identity of a search service. If the indexer connects to an Azure resource on a virtual network, you should create a shared private link for that connection. For more information about secure connections, see Security in Azure Al Search.Check results",
        "locationMetadata": {
          "pageNumber": 2,
          "ordinalPosition": 1,
          "boundingPolygons": "[[{\"x\":2.2041,\"y\":0.4109},{\"x\":4.3967,\"y\":0.4131},{\"x\":4.3966,\"y\":0.5505},{\"x\":2.204,\"y\":0.5482}],[{\"x\":2.5042,\"y\":0.6422},{\"x\":4.8539,\"y\":0.6506},{\"x\":4.8527,\"y\":0.993},{\"x\":2.5029,\"y\":0.9845}],[{\"x\":2.3705,\"y\":1.1496},{\"x\":2.6859,\"y\":1.15},{\"x\":2.6858,\"y\":1.2612},{\"x\":2.3704,\"y\":1.2608}],[{\"x\":3.7418,\"y\":1.1709},{\"x\":3.8082,\"y\":1.171},{\"x\":3.8081,\"y\":1.2508},{\"x\":3.7417,\"y\":1.2507}],[{\"x\":3.9692,\"y\":1.1445},{\"x\":4.0541,\"y\":1.1445},{\"x\":4.0542,\"y\":1.2621},{\"x\":3.9692,\"y\":1.2622}],[{\"x\":4.5326,\"y\":1.2263},{\"x\":5.1065,\"y\":1.229},{\"x\":5.106,\"y\":1.346},{\"x\":4.5321,\"y\":1.3433}],[{\"x\":5.5508,\"y\":1.2267},{\"x\":5.8992,\"y\":1.2268},{\"x\":5.8991,\"y\":1.3408},{\"x\":5.5508,\"y\":1.3408}]]"
        },
        "sections": ["sectionHeading", "title"]
       }
    ],
    "normalized_images": [ 
        { 
            "id": "1_550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000", 
            "data": "SGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkIQ==", 
            "imagePath": "aHR0cHM6Ly9henNyb2xsaW5nLmJsb2IuY29yZS53aW5kb3dzLm5ldC9tdWx0aW1vZGFsaXR5L0NyZWF0ZUluZGV4ZXJwNnA3LnBkZg2/normalized_images_0.jpg",  
            "locationMetadata": {
              "pageNumber": 1,
              "ordinalPosition": 0,
              "boundingPolygons": "[[{\"x\":2.0834,\"y\":6.2245},{\"x\":7.1818,\"y\":6.2244},{\"x\":7.1816,\"y\":7.9375},{\"x\":2.0831,\"y\":7.9377}]]"
            }
        },
        { 
            "id": "2_123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000", 
            "data": "U29tZSBtb3JlIGV4YW1wbGUgdGV4dA==", 
            "imagePath": "aHR0cHM6Ly9henNyb2xsaW5nLmJsb2IuY29yZS53aW5kb3dzLm5ldC9tdWx0aW1vZGFsaXR5L0NyZWF0ZUluZGV4ZXJwNnA3LnBkZg2/normalized_images_1.jpg",  
            "locationMetadata": {
              "pageNumber": 2,
              "ordinalPosition": 1,
              "boundingPolygons": "[[{\"x\":2.0784,\"y\":0.3734},{\"x\":7.1837,\"y\":0.3729},{\"x\":7.183,\"y\":2.8611},{\"x\":2.0775,\"y\":2.8615}]]"
            } 
        }
    ] 
}

The skill uses Azure AI Document Intelligence to compute locationMetadata. Refer to Document Intelligence layout model for details on how pages and bounding polygon coordinates are defined.

The imagePath represents the relative path of a stored image. If the knowledge store file projection is configured in the skillset, this path matches the relative path of the image stored in the knowledge store.

See also

• What is document intelligence layout model
• Built-in skills
• How to define a skill set
• Create Indexer (REST API)