Documents
Recreate an existing document
Every organisation has documents nobody can restyle because nobody has the original file. Rebuilding one gives you the same words in a form you own, and then the look is one click.
The problem it solves
A document that matters, produced by somebody who left, in a file nobody has. It gets photocopied and re-sent for years because editing it is impossible. Rebuilding gives you the same content as blocks, and from there a rebrand is a theme change rather than a retyping project.
Words first, look second
Do the two separately and in that order. Rebuild with the instruction to keep the wording exactly, check it against the original, and only then apply a theme. Changing both at once means you cannot tell whether a difference came from the read or from the restyle, which is how errors get through.
Where it pays off most
A set of documents rather than one. Six policies, four templates or a stack of client-facing sheets that were made at different times by different people. Rebuilt and put on one theme, they finally look like they came from the same organisation, which is a thing readers notice without being able to name.
When not to do it
When the document is legally executed. A signed agreement is evidence, and a rebuilt copy is a new document that happens to contain the same words. Rebuild the template you send out next time, and keep the signed original exactly as it is.
Fix the content while you are in there
An inherited document usually carries a decade of small wrongness: a phone number that changed, a role that no longer exists, a process described two reorganisations ago. Nobody fixes it because editing was impossible, so it goes out wrong for years. The rebuild is the one moment when correcting it costs nothing, and it is worth reading the whole thing once with that in mind rather than only checking that the words came across.
How it works, in three steps
Step 1
Rebuild with the wording locked
Say to keep the words and the section order, and check the result against the original.
Step 2
Then apply a theme
Restyling after the content is verified keeps the two kinds of change separate.
Step 3
Do the whole set
The value is in a group of documents that finally match, not in one.
The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Turn a PDF or photo into an editable document.
Limits worth knowing
- A rebuild is a new document. Never use it to replace a signed original.
- Attaching files is a paid plan feature.
- Visual fidelity to the old file is not the aim; the words and the structure are.
See it on a finished piece
Questions people ask
Can I rebuild a signed contract?
You can rebuild the template, but never treat a rebuilt copy as the executed agreement. The signed original is the evidence and it stays exactly as it is.
Will the rebuilt version match the old design?
No. It keeps the words and the structure, then takes whichever theme you choose, which is usually the point of doing it.
What is the best order to do this in?
Rebuild with the wording locked, check it against the original, then restyle. Doing both at once hides mistakes.
Make your own document
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.
Create a document with OneCraftRelated pages
Custom document theme
When none of the ten presets is your brand, you have two routes: describe the look in a sentence and let it generate one, or set the colour tokens yourself. Most people should start with the first.
Photo of a document to editable
A document that only exists on paper is a document nobody can update. A phone photo is enough to get the words back into something editable, and the whole job is making sure the words survive the trip.
Convert a PDF to an editable document
The words in a PDF are already chosen, so this is not a rewrite. The job is to read the structure out of the file and rebuild it as blocks you can edit, restyle and export again.
More finished work of this kind is on the document examples hub.