Skip to main content

Build a Blueprint from an Existing Document Using AI

This tutorial walks through using AI Design to create a new blueprint from an existing manual report — a Word template or PDF that your team has been filling in manually. Instead of building the blueprint field by field, you let AI analyse the document and suggest the structure.

Scenario: Your team fills in a monthly Word document called "Monthly Progress Report". It has sections for project status, a cost summary table, a risk register table, and a photo gallery. You want to digitise this into Report Forge.

Before you start​

  • Have the existing report template ready (Word .docx, PDF, or a filled-in example).
  • Confirm the ✨ AI Design button is visible in the Blueprint Designer header. If not, contact your Workspace Admin to enable AI access.
  • Decide on a Short Code for the blueprint (e.g. MPR for Monthly Progress Report).

Step 1 — Create a new blueprint​

  1. Navigate to Report Forge → Blueprints.
  2. Click + New Blueprint.
  3. Enter the blueprint details:
    • Name: Monthly Progress Report
    • Description: Monthly project status, cost, risks, and photos for site managers.
    • Short Code: MPR
  4. Click Save.

The Blueprint Designer opens. The tabs (Design, Form Designer, Preview) are now visible.

Step 2 — Open AI Design​

  1. Click ✨ AI Design in the header (purple button, robot icon).
  2. The AI Blueprint Design panel opens on the right (titled "✨ AI Blueprint Design").

Step 3 — Upload the source document​

  1. Drag your Word template (.docx) onto the upload area, or click to browse.
  2. If you also have a filled-in PDF example (which shows the actual data, not just field labels), upload that too — AI extracts better field types when it sees example values.

Tip: Upload both the template and a filled-in example if available. The template gives field names; the example gives context for field types.

Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP, PDF (all pages), Excel (.xlsx), Word (.docx). Up to 20 files per session.

Step 4 — Add instructions​

In the Instructions field, type guidance to help AI make better decisions:

This is a monthly progress report for construction projects.
Sections: Project Status (single entry), Cost Summary (table with monthly rows),
Risk Register (table with one risk per row), Photo Gallery (images with captions).

For Cost Summary, column "This Month" = PeriodCost (currency), "Budget" = BudgetCost (currency).
Risk severity values are: Critical, High, Medium, Low.
RAG status values are: Red, Amber, Green.

Specific instructions significantly improve AI accuracy, especially for section types and field type classification.

Step 5 — Select the AI model​

  • GPT-4o ($$) — good for standard Word templates and PDFs.
  • Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($$$) — better for complex documents with dense tables, mixed content, or ambiguous structure.

For a standard monthly report template, GPT-4o works well. If you get poor results, re-run with Claude Sonnet 4.6.

Step 6 — Analyze the document​

Click Analyze. The AI processes your files (5–30 seconds).

Step 7 — Review the suggested structure​

The review panel shows the AI's proposed blueprint structure:

Example output:

Section: Project Status  [single_row]  [High confidence]
  ├── Project Name        text       required  [High]
  ├── Report Date         date       required  [High]
  ├── Overall Status      select     required  [High]  Options: On Track, At Risk, Delayed
  ├── RAG Status          select     required  [High]  Options: Red, Amber, Green
  └── Executive Summary   textarea   —         [Medium]

Section: Cost Summary  [multi_row]  [High confidence]
  ├── Period              text       required  [High]
  ├── PeriodCost          currency   required  [High]
  ├── BudgetCost          currency   required  [High]
  └── Variance            number     —         [Medium]

Section: Risk Register  [multi_row]  [High confidence]
  ├── Risk ID             text       required  [High]
  ├── Description         textarea   required  [High]
  ├── Severity            select     required  [High]  Options: Critical, High, Medium, Low
  ├── RAG Status          select     required  [High]  Options: Red, Amber, Green
  └── Mitigation          textarea   —         [Medium]

Section: Photo Gallery  [multi_row]  [Medium confidence]
  ├── Photo               image      —         [Medium]
  └── Caption             text       —         [Medium]

Review each section and field:

  • Confirm section types: single_row vs multi_row.
  • Check field types: is "Variance" better as currency than number? (Change it after applying.)
  • Check required flags: are all required fields actually required?
  • Review confidence tags: Green = high confidence; Gold = medium; Orange = low (review carefully).

Step 8 — Modify a suggestion before accepting​

You notice "Variance" was suggested as number but should be currency. You also want to rename "Photo Gallery" to "Site Photos".

You can:

  1. Accept the suggestions as-is and change them in the Blueprint Designer after applying (easier for most changes).
  2. Or note the changes to make immediately after applying.

For this tutorial, accept the suggestions and fix them after.

Step 9 — Accept and apply​

Click Accept & Apply.

The AI creates:

  • All suggested sections (with correct single/multi-row settings).
  • All suggested fields (with types, required flags, and options).
  • A progress bar shows: "Creating sections... Adding fields..."
  • Result summary: "Created 4 sections and 16 fields."

The blueprint's Design tab updates immediately to show all sections and fields.

Step 10 — Review and refine the created structure​

Open the Design tab. Click each section to review its fields.

Fix the issues identified in Step 8:

  1. Click the Cost Summary section → click the Variance field → open Field Settings → change type from Number to Currency. Click Apply.

  2. Click the Photo Gallery section → click the section name inline → rename to Site Photos. Press Enter.

Add a field AI missed:

The Word template had a "Reporting Period" field (e.g. "March 2026") in the Project Status section that AI didn't extract:

  1. Select Project Status section.
  2. Click + Add Field.
  3. Choose Text type.
  4. Name it Reporting Period, mark as Required, add placeholder e.g. March 2026.

Step 11 — Check section display modes​

In the Section Settings panel (right column), verify each section's display mode:

  • Project Status — display mode: Form (since it has a long narrative text field).
  • Cost Summary — display mode: Grid (tabular data, many rows).
  • Risk Register — display mode: Grid (tabular data, many rows).
  • Site Photos — display mode: Form (file upload with caption is easier in form mode).

Change any that need adjusting via the Display mode setting in Section Settings.

Step 12 — Preview the blueprint​

Click the Preview tab to see how the blueprint will look to contributors. Verify:

  • Sections appear in the right order.
  • Fields are in a logical sequence within each section.
  • Section display modes look correct.

Reorder sections or fields in the Design tab if needed.

Step 13 — Publish the blueprint​

When satisfied with the structure:

  1. Click Publish in the Blueprint Designer header.
  2. Confirm the action.
  3. The status badge changes to Published.

Contributors can now create editions from this blueprint.

Time comparison​

TaskManual approachWith AI Design
Create 4 sections5 minutes30 seconds
Add 16 fields with types20 minutes30 seconds
Review and fix suggestions—5 minutes
Set display modes and order5 minutes3 minutes
Total~30 minutes~9 minutes

AI Design is most valuable for blueprints with many fields. For blueprints with fewer than 5 simple fields, manual creation is equally fast.