# Extract to Rows

You can use the **Extract to Rows** step to parse hierarchical data type fields coming from a previous step and put them into the PDI stream. This step supports wildcards for arrays and for string keys. After parsing the data, the step assigns a data type to the extracted values.

For an overview of hierarchical data in Pentaho, see [Hierarchical data](/pdia-data-integration/extracting-data-into-pdi/hierarchical-data.md).

### Options

![Extract to rows step dialog box](/files/bUC142d04Ynfb5cKgbfS)

| Option                        | Description                                                                                                                 |
| ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Step name**                 | Specifies the unique name of the Extract to Rows step on the canvas. You can customize the name or leave it as the default. |
| **Source hierarchical field** | Specifies the hierarchical input field name from the previous step that will be used to extract the data.                   |
| **Pass through fields**       | Select to include the input fields in the output.                                                                           |

### Fields

| Field                      | Description                                                                                                                                         |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Hierarchical data path** | Complete path of the field name in the hierarchical field source. See [Hierarchical data path specifications](broken://pages/ji5ygWJ7r8yORvFw3Rjj). |
| **Output field name**      | Name of the field that maps to the corresponding field in the hierarchical input source.                                                            |
| **Type**                   | Data type of the generated output field.                                                                                                            |
| **Path field name**        | (Optional) Adds the hierarchical path as a new output field.                                                                                        |

### Example

The sample transformation `Advanced_Using_Multiples_To_Join_And_Edit.ktr` demonstrates the capabilities of this step and is available in the plugin distribution package in the `data-integration/plugins/hierarchical-datatype-plugin/samples/transformations` directory.

![Extract to rows example ktr](/files/sZ1VStNv4KxtsiTEl5qd)


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