Skip to main content

Schemas & Templates

A schema defines what fields the AI should look for in your documents. Templates are saved schemas you can reuse across many documents of the same type.

Choosing a schema during parsing​

When you start the Document Parser, Step 2 asks you to choose a schema:

Auto-detect​

The AI analyzes your document and extracts every field it can find — names, dates, amounts, tables, entities, and more. Best for:

  • First-time exploration of a document type
  • Documents where you don't know what fields to expect
  • Quick one-off extractions

Use a saved template​

Apply a previously saved template with specific field definitions. Best for:

  • Processing many documents of the same type (invoices, contracts, forms)
  • Consistent, repeatable extraction across your team
  • When you only need specific fields, not everything

Skip​

Extract raw text only, with no structured field extraction. Useful when you just need the OCR text output.

Creating a template​

  1. Go to Templates in the left sidebar
  2. Click New Template
  3. Give it a name and optional description
  4. Use the Schema Builder to add fields

The Schema Builder​

The Schema Builder is a table where each row defines a field to extract:

ColumnDescription
NameThe field name (e.g., "Invoice Number", "Total Amount")
TypeData type: Text, Number, Array, Object, Boolean, Date
DescriptionOptional hint for the AI about what this field contains
Better field descriptions = better extraction

Adding a description like "The total amount due including taxes, in USD" helps the AI find the right value. Without it, the AI might grab the subtotal instead.

Field types​

TypeUse forExample
TextNames, addresses, IDs"John Smith", "INV-2024-001"
NumberAmounts, quantities, percentages1500.00, 42, 15.5
DateDates in any format"2024-03-15", "March 15, 2024"
BooleanYes/no, true/false fieldstrue, false
ArrayLists of itemsLine items, multiple addresses
ObjectNested structured dataAddress with street, city, zip

Reordering fields​

Drag the handle on each row to reorder fields. The order affects how results are displayed, not extraction accuracy.

Managing templates​

Templates are accessible from the Templates section in the sidebar:

  • Edit — modify fields, name, or description
  • Copy — duplicate a template to create a variation
  • Import — load a template from a file
  • Delete — remove a template you no longer need

Cloud sync​

  • Authenticated users: Templates sync to the cloud and are available on any device
  • Guest users: Templates are stored locally in your browser only

Template best practices​

  1. Be specific with field names — "Invoice Date" is better than "Date"
  2. Add descriptions — help the AI understand ambiguous fields
  3. Use the right data type — Number fields will return numeric values, not strings
  4. Start with auto-detect — run it once to see what the AI finds, then create a template from those results
  5. Test with sample documents — try your template on 2-3 documents to verify it works well before batch processing