Page number limit for Autofill column

Question

For our Document management system in SharePoint, we are planning to use Document Processing Services, specifically Autofill functionality for documents classification. Planning phase requires estimation of processing cost, thus we want to limit number of pages for processing. It allows us to limit calculate the max cost of service. e.g. page limit set for 10 pages, and then when we have a 100000 documents it will cost maximum 100000 * 10 * 0.005$. It is much more predictable for planning bughet

The autofill prompt example: 

“Read max 3 first pages of document content and select correct classification”

It process much more than 3 pages of document, but not whole document. Generally, processed half of pages within document, based on Azure Cost management of subscription connected to Document processing services.
Is there a possibility to set page range in Autofill functionality ?

 

As a workaround, is there any way to retrieve the cost or the number of processed pages for a processed document (e.g., from the browser console logs, audit logs, etc.)?

 

Currently, we modify the prompt in a column and run a test. Then we must wait until the end of the day to check the processing cost in Azure Cost Management. This approach is not efficient for prompt optimization. We noticed that some metrics are returned in the HTTP response when testing the prompt in the edit column form. However, it only includes the size of the sent document and the size of the response text. What we actually need is the number of processed pages or the processing cost.

Answer 1

Hello Krzysztof Krzaczkowski,

Thanks for raising it in the Q&A forum!

I understand you're looking to limit page processing for SharePoint Autofill columns to control costs and need visibility into actual page consumption.

Page Limit Recommendations

Microsoft recommends processing files no larger than 65 pages for optimal performance. The model might process more pages depending on line spacing and font size, but Microsoft will only charge up to 65 pages per file. This effectively provides a built-in cost ceiling per document.

Current Limitations

Unfortunately, there's no native way to set a specific page range (like "process only first 3 pages") in the Autofill functionality. Even if you specify page limits in your prompt (e.g., "Read max 3 first pages"), the service may still process more pages than requested, as you've observed.

Retrieving Processing Metrics

Currently, SharePoint Autofill doesn't expose real-time page count or cost metrics in browser console logs or audit logs. The Autofill activity panel shows processing status for files but not page-level consumption details. You're correct that waiting for Azure Cost Management updates is the only reliable method to see actual costs, which isn't efficient for prompt optimization.

Workaround Suggestions

Pre-processing: Consider splitting large documents into smaller chunks (under 10 pages) before uploading to SharePoint, ensuring predictable costs Sample testing: Use a small subset of documents with known page counts for prompt testing before bulk processing Budget alerts: Set up Azure Cost Management alerts to monitor spending thresholds in near real-time rather than end-of-day checks

Autofill is priced at $0.005 per page, with the 65-page cap per file providing some cost predictability. For your 100,000 document example with a theoretical 10-page limit, the maximum cost would be $5,000 (100,000 × 10 × $0.005), though actual costs may vary based on document structure.

If this helps, kindly accept the answer.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix