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What a .doqlo project file is

Use this page when .doqlo is new to you and you want the basic mental model first.

What A .doqlo Project File Is​

A .doqlo project file is the saved Bulk Fill workflow configuration from Doqlo.

It stores the setup Doqlo needs to reopen or reuse a Bulk Fill workflow later, including field placement, CSV mapping, supported native PDF form mapping, and related project configuration prepared in the editor.

Current project files use payload schema v5. They preserve mapping instructions but do not include your CSV text, rows, headers, preview values, or CSV filename. Keep or upload the row-data file separately when you reopen or execute the workflow.

It is not the final exported PDF. It is the saved setup behind that workflow.

How To Think About What It Contains​

For normal product use, the important point is simple: a .doqlo project file saves the reusable parts of a Bulk Fill workflow so you do not have to rebuild them from scratch.

That usually includes:

  • field placement
  • CSV mapping
  • supported native PDF form mapping
  • related project setup needed to reopen or execute the workflow later
  • diagnostic source PDF metadata, which may include its filename, page count, and fingerprint, but not the PDF bytes

Mapped fields keep the selected column identity, not the value resolved from a preview row. Static values that you intentionally placed in the project remain part of the saved configuration.

For Signature overlays:

  • typed signatures are saved as approved typed signature metadata, such as text, font choice, color, and renderer information
  • drawn signatures and uploaded image signatures are saved as processed PNG signature payloads when needed to reopen or execute the workflow
  • the original uploaded image file is not saved in the .doqlo project file
  • repeated placements of the same processed signature image may be stored once inside the package and referenced by those placements

These image signature entries are embedded processed PNG payloads, not external image references and not references to the browser storage on the machine where the project was created.

How You Use It In The Bulk Fill Web Editor​

In the Bulk Fill editor:

  • Save Project saves the current workflow as a .doqlo project file
  • Open Project loads a saved .doqlo project file back into the editor
  • opening a current v5 project does not load, replace, or clear your current CSV
  • this saves time because you do not need to re-place fields and remap the workflow by hand each time

When saving, you can keep the generated filename or rename the .doqlo file before download.

This is the simplest way to think about .doqlo in the web app: it is the saved version of the workflow you already prepared.

Opening An Older Project​

Doqlo currently reads accepted project payload versions v1 through v5. Older v1 through v4 projects may contain embedded CSV data and its filename.

When you open an older project:

  • if a CSV is already loaded, Doqlo keeps it and ignores the embedded legacy CSV
  • if no CSV is loaded, Doqlo may restore a valid embedded legacy CSV for compatibility
  • Doqlo tells you when legacy CSV was ignored, restored, or could not be restored
  • saving again creates a v5 project without embedded CSV data

Saved mappings identify CSV columns by position. If you open an older project while a different CSV is loaded, those mappings can point to the wrong values or to columns that no longer exist. Use the CSV that was originally mapped with the project, or review and remap every field against the current CSV before exporting. Preview representative rows; a completed export does not by itself confirm that every mapped value is correct.

Current v5 project files remove the embedded-versus-current CSV conflict because they contain no CSV data. They still preserve positional mappings, so the separately loaded CSV must keep the expected columns in the expected order.

Treat older .doqlo files as potential data-bearing files until you have opened and re-saved them in the current editor.

How The Public API Uses It​

In the Public API, the same saved workflow is used as the execution package.

That is why API docs sometimes call it a package while editor docs call it a project file. It is the same saved workflow, viewed in two different contexts.

In practical terms, an API run needs:

  • the source PDF
  • the .doqlo file
  • the row data you want to fill, usually JSON rows or CSV

The .doqlo file contains the workflow configuration that tells Doqlo how to run that export. The API does not accept raw field placements or mapping definitions directly. It always uses the separate JSON or CSV row input for execution and ignores embedded CSV data in accepted legacy projects.

Why It Is Worth Keeping​

Keep your .doqlo files when you expect to:

  • rerun the same workflow later
  • reopen a validated project in the Bulk Fill editor
  • move a validated editor workflow into the Public API
  • avoid rebuilding placement and mapping from scratch

Reuse Across Compatible PDFs​

Doqlo intentionally treats .doqlo as reusable workflow configuration, not as a file that only works with one exact PDF fingerprint.

That means the same .doqlo file can still be useful across the same PDF, a slightly changed PDF, or a related PDF when the layout still makes practical sense.

Read Reuse .doqlo Project Files Across PDFs for the full explanation of that behavior, what still stays strict, and what to review when the PDF changes.