When training a robot, you'll choose how to extract data based on the structure of the data on the page, and the structure you'd like it to be in. There are two main ways that you can scrape text from a web page: Capture List and Capture Text.
Capture List (i.e. 'From a list') - use this when you need to extract the same type of data that repeats on a page, ex: scraping a list of product results from a search.
Capture Text (i.e. 'Just text') - use this when you need to extract specific pieces of data from a page, ex: extracting the name, rating, description, and price from a product page.
Note that when training a robot to extract data from a web page you can train a single robot to extract data using both of these methods.
How to choose between Capture List and Capture Text
Choosing to extract data from a list, or just text will depend on the type of data you're looking to extract.
| "From a list" | "Just text" |
Use when | You see data that repeats in a structured pattern on the page. | You want to create your own data structure by selecting individual elements. |
Perfect for | • Product lists • Search results • Customer reviews • Directory listings | • Product titles, descriptions, specifications. • Company information and contact details. • Article headlines and key features. • Pricing and availability information. • Any individual text elements |
Key benefits | • Extracts same data fields from each repeating item. • Organizes data into structured tables. • Includes pagination settings (including infinite scroll) you configure to extract multiple items. | • Each click creates a column in your data structure • Creates organized tables when scaled across pages • You control exactly which elements to extract • Structures data based on your specific needs |
How it works | Identifies repeating patterns and extracts the same data points from each item in the pattern. | Each click is like creating a column in a spreadsheet - builds structured dataset you can then scale across multiple pages. |
Quick decision guide
Choose Capture List when:
You see multiple similar items repeating on the page
You want to extract all items in a list or grid
The data naturally appears in a structured, repeating format
You need to handle pagination across multiple pages
Choose Capture Text when:
You want specific individual elements from the page
You need to create your own data structure through clicks
You want to organize scattered information into columns
Choose Capture List when:
You see multiple similar items repeating on the page
You want to extract all items in a list or grid
The data naturally appears in a structured, repeating format
You need to handle pagination across multiple pages
Choose Capture Text when:
You want specific individual elements from the page
You need to create your own data structure through clicks
You want to organize scattered information into columns
You're building structured datasets that will scale across multiple pages