How a document is built
The model behind SpecIQ: what is stored where, what is calculated each time, and what changes when you edit something.
6 min read
Understanding one rule makes the whole product predictable: a document is calculated from your saved data every time it is made. It is not a file that gets edited in place, unless you choose to edit that one document yourself.
The ingredients
- Template. The layout. It contains text, tables and *fields*: placeholders such as the product name, a specification table or your company name.
- Product data. Everything saved on the product: identity, description, physical details, standards, specifications, test reports, market compliance and images.
- Company profile. Your business details, logo and certifications. Shared by every document.
- Page setup and letterhead. Page size, margins, and the header and footer, defined on the template. Your brand colour and usual paper size are set once for the whole company.
The steps
- SpecIQ reads the template and finds every field it uses.
- For each field it looks up the value on the product or in your company profile.
- Missing values are listed under To finish this document. You can fill them in right there.
- The result is shown as a live preview. The same result is used for the PDF and Word files, so what you see is what you download.
What changes what
| If you change... | Documents already saved | New documents |
|---|---|---|
| A product's details | Stay as they are. The document tells you the data changed and offers Update, which saves a new version. | Use the new data. |
| Your company profile | Stay as they are until regenerated. | Use the new profile. |
| A template's layout | Stay as they are until regenerated. | Use the new layout. |
| One saved document in the editor | Only that document changes. The template and the product are untouched. | Not affected. |
Versions
Saving a document creates version 1. When product data changes and you press Update, or when you choose Save as new version in the editor, the next version is added and the earlier ones are kept. A version that has hand edits is marked Edited. See Versions, expiry and sharing.
What AI does and does not do
- AI never fills specification values or other facts into a finished document by itself.
- AI can help you write: draft a template, rewrite a section of descriptive text, or suggest specification parameters to add.
- AI can help you enter data faster: read a datasheet you upload and propose product values. Nothing is saved until you tick the ones you want.
- Rendering, previewing and exporting documents never use AI.
Did not find what you need? Look in Troubleshooting or the FAQ.