Core concepts & glossary
Almost everything in Document Blueprint comes down to a few core concepts: workspaces group the work, templates shape documents, cases are the durable records, and fields define what gets extracted or written. You change all of it in the UI, never in code.
This glossary defines the pieces that make up your document process. You refer to these concepts when you build templates, set up automations, and invite people.
Workspaces and mailboxes
A workspace is the top-level container for one document process. It holds your cases, templates, file categories, automations, mailboxes, filters, visualizations, email templates, and document sources. The dashboard is your view onto the active workspace. Its views are Details, Map, Calendar, and Analytics. Owners and workspace admins also open Templates, Email templates, and Workspace settings from the sidebar.
Workspaces belong to their owner's account. The owner handles billing in Settings. Every account gets one auto-provisioned Free workspace. You need a Pro plan to create more workspaces, and only the owner creates them. You need the owner or Workspace admin privilege to delete a workspace or save its settings. The settings open from Workspace settings, the last row of the sidebar. Deletion is permanent and cascades through all cases and templates. The delete dialog previews counts and asks you to type the workspace name. Deleting your only workspace lands you on a fresh New workspace.
Cases live in mailboxes. The default landing is Inbox. The app auto-purges trash cases after 30 days. You build custom mailboxes from the sidebar. When you delete a custom mailbox, you choose whether its cases move to another mailbox (Inbox by default) or go to Trash. The All mailboxes sidebar row shows cases across every mailbox. You cannot rename, delete, or reorder it.
Templates and fields
A template is the blueprint for a generated document. Every template belongs to exactly one workspace. A template defines fields, source tabs, and write placements. It sets an Output file name pattern and an optional Drive folder destination. Build one template per document. Let routing match the incoming files.
- Capabilities: A template extracts AI data when it has an Extracted input and a source PDF. When it extracts, the Data tab's chevron shows an AI instructions section. A template collects typed values via Form field inputs on the always-present Data tab. It generates a PDF by assembling its source tabs. Its Output category stays disabled until you add at least one write zone.
- Sources: The document bar shows the Data tab first, then a tab per document source. You add sources using Sources from this workspace, Upload new file, or Blank page.
- Testing: Use the split Run button to test. Test with sample documents runs against stored pages. Run with your documents lets you upload a PDF and auto-downloads the filled result. On Free and Lite plans, the app saves these test runs as temporary cases. They live in a read-only showroom for 14 days.
- Document reflows: This toggle lets AI reposition fields when document content shifts. It defaults to off. When off, values land at authored coordinates.
A field is a named concept with one or more inputs. The AI pulls only the fields you declare. A field renders by stamping text in a Write zone or filling an existing PDF form field.
- Inputs: An input gets a value. A Form field is typed by a person before the run. An Extracted input reads the document. A Static input uses a fixed value. From case pulls a value another document put on the case. From the delivery reads the email or Drive folder that delivered the file.
- Outputs: An output transforms a value and gets a permanent key. Renaming a field never moves your data. Kinds include Computed, AI instruction, Static value, and Binding. A Computed output re-evaluates live when it references the system clock. A Binding output reads the system clock or your company profile.
- Batch fields: A Batch field holds repeating rows. It generates one value per case when a template runs across many cases.
Cases and people
A case is the durable record for a unit of work. It holds files, extracted data, notes, generated outputs, and an activity timeline. The timeline assembles on open from your notes, files, and runs. There is no single master log.
The Case ID uniquely identifies a case within a workspace. The app rejects collisions. If you leave it blank, the app auto-generates one. If an imported document identifier belongs to another case, the app suggests a merge.
A team belongs to a workspace: you add a teammate to a workspace and set their visibility there, in Workspace settings > Team. Adding a teammate requires a Pro plan, and a seat for anyone not already on your team. Teammates default to seeing everything. Clients default to seeing nothing. You override this per case using the avatar popover. You click Edit visibility to make changes. An owner or Workspace admin always sees everything. Clients log in to a separate portal to see their cases. The same email address can be a teammate here and a client elsewhere.
You run operations on cases and files:
- Autofill: Fills a template with case data and produces a file. Batch autofill requires the Pro plan or above.
- Extract: Re-runs AI on a file. It skips values you edited by hand. Once you type over an extraction, the app leaves that field alone permanently.
- Generate: Saves answered inputs and generates the PDF.
- Compose email: Prepares a draft with attachments in your own Gmail account. The app creates the draft. You click send in Gmail. An email template from the Email templates view fills in its recipients, subject, message, and attachments.
File routing and import
When you run a template on a file, the app applies a category tag. This tag names the document type. You name these tags in an automation's routing row or a template's Output category, and adding a document source creates one named after that document. Untagged files are normal.
This tag drives five systems. It ranks templates for a file. It scopes collaborator visibility. It chooses email template attachments. It routes AI extraction. It routes automation intake.
An automation pairs a trigger with a Mailbox and a File category. Triggers include Listen for Email and Watch Drive Folder. If the app cannot resolve the category during ingestion, it skips the file.
You import past paperwork from the chat composer. Click the plus icon and select Import a folder or Import from Drive. You can also drop files directly onto the chat drawer. The app matches files to templates, up to 15 at a time. It reads each file and extracts an identifier. It attaches the file to a case. If multiple templates match, the app asks you to pick one. It then runs that template on the case, the same run as Generate, and the chat card offers Open document for the result. Each import counts as one autofill run.
Configured, not coded
You change behaviors in the UI. When you change a template input to Extracted, the next run uses it immediately. Dashboard columns derive directly from your template fields. Filter presets are saved clauses layered over a mailbox. You build them using Add filter. The app remembers your active filters and dashboard sort order per device.