How template rules generalize

A template is a small rulebook. Understanding the three kinds of rule it holds tells you exactly what will and won’t carry to a new document.

The three rule kinds

1. Keep rules (by exact value)

Every entry you turned off when saving the template becomes a keep rule that matches a literal value. It says: “if this exact text appears, leave it untouched.”

Keep “Acme Ibérica SL” fires only when that exact string is in the new document.
These are precise by design — you keep this company, not all companies.

2. Per-type rules (by category)

Each type you handled becomes one rule carrying the method you used: synthesize every NAME, redact every ID, label every EMAIL. These match by category, so they apply to values the template has never seen — any name, any ID — which is what makes a template reusable across different documents of the same shape.

3. The default

Anything not covered by a keep or per-type rule falls to the default action — synthesize, in the template’s recorded language/region. It’s the safety net: a value of an unexpected type still gets anonymized rather than slipping through.

Why this transfers

A new invoice has different names, different numbers, a different date — but it’s the same kinds of fields in the same roles. Per-type rules key off the kind, not the value, so “synthesize every name” works whoever the names are. The one value-specific part — your kept company name — is exactly the part that should be identical across these documents. The generalizable rules generalize; the literal rule pins the thing that’s genuinely constant.

What doesn’t transfer

Specific fake values. The template won’t make a name become David Romero Gil — it’ll synthesize some fake name. For fixed value→value mappings, use a dictionary.
Drawn redaction boxes. A drawn box is page coordinates of one specific document; it has no meaning on a different file.
Keep rules for values not present. A keep rule simply doesn’t fire if its exact value isn’t in the new document — harmless.

Matching is literal for keep rules

Like dictionary entries, a keep rule matches its value as written. If your company appears as both Acme Ibérica SL and Acme Ibérica, S.L., only the exact form you kept is matched. Keep both forms (turn both off) before saving if both appear.

Mental model

A template is “handle this shape of document like so.” A dictionary is “and use these exact swaps.” A profile is “with this overall method and these prompts.”

Layer them as the job needs.