Article Summary
Manual Import allows you to identify and map questions (requirements) and answers (responses) in your RFP documents and library documents. Unlike AI Import, manually mapped content creates editable snippets in your library that can be refined over time for better AI responses.
Estimated Time
2-15 minutes per document (depending on document length and complexity)
Prerequisites
Content Manager or Administrator permissions
RFP Document ready to import (Excel, Word, or PDF format) and/or Content ready to import (Completed Projects, Library, or Documentation)
Manual Import mode selected (not AI Import)
Video Tutorial
A 7-minute tutorial demonstrating how to use the manual importer toolbar, mark requirements and responses, and leverage smart selection for faster mapping.
📝 Before we begin, it's important that you understand the difference between a Manual Import and AI Import.
Key Difference:
Manual Import creates editable content snippets in your library that can be updated and refined later
AI Import processes documents as read-only references that cannot be edited as individual snippets
When to use Manual Import:
Past RFPs with clear Q&A structure
Security questionnaires
Vendor assessments
Any document with distinct questions and answers
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Access the Manual Importer
1. Complete the content selection steps (covered in "How to Import a local File into AutoRFP" article).
2. Select Manual Import mode when prompted.
3. Click Continue to Import.
4. The manual importer opens, displaying your document and the mapping toolbar.
🛠️ Understanding the Toolbar
1. Locate the toolbar at the top of the importer screen.
2. The toolbar contains these tools (left to right):
Zoom Controls - Zoom in/out to adjust document view size
Undo - Reverse your last action
Redo - Restore an undone action
Clear Selections - Remove all mappings and start fresh
Magic Wand (Smart Select) 🪄 - Auto-detect similar patterns to automate the mapping process
3. The Magic Wand (Smart Select)🪄 is your most important tool. It automatically detects patterns after your first selection.
Step 2: Mark Your First Requirement
Requirements are the questions or statements you want AutoRFP to answer in an RFP document or identity as a content snippet in a library document.
1. Click on the text of your first question in the document.
2. The text highlights in blue and is marked as a Requirement.
3. If the Magic Wand is enabled (default), AutoRFP automatically detects similar-looking questions. For more complex questions, you can turn the Magic Wand off for one-off markings.
‼️ Important: Review/audit the auto-detected requirements throughout the document (the blue highlights show what was selected). Manual review is encouraged.
Step 3: Mark Response Locations
Responses are where AutoRFP will place the generated answers.
1. Click on the cell or area where the answer should go for your first requirement.
2. The area highlights in green and is marked as a Response.
3. With Magic Wand enabled, AutoRFP detects similar response locations automatically.
4. Each response associates with the last marked requirement above or to its left. Just like when marking requirements, you can toggle the Magic Wand on and off to switch between manual or automatic selections.
Using the Smart Select (Magic Wand) 🪄
The Magic Wand is enabled by default (appears highlighted in toolbar).
When enabled:
Mark one requirement → AutoRFP finds all similar requirements
Mark one response → AutoRFP finds all similar responses
Works best with consistently formatted documents
When disabled:
Each click selects only that specific item
Use for inconsistently formatted documents or precise control
Highlight specific text to isolate a requirement or response within the body of a document
Toggle the Magic Wand on/off by clicking its icon in the toolbar.
Pro Tip: Enable Smart Select for well-formatted Excel files and Word documents with consistent structure.
Working with Requirements
🧑🧑🧒 Parent Requirements
1. Click any question text to mark it as a requirement.
2. Requirements appear in blue highlight.
3. Requirements become the questions AutoRFP answers in your project or identifies as a requirement for content snippets.
🧑🧑🧒 Child Requirements
Child Requirements are sub-items under a parent question (bullet lists, numbered lists, A/B/C lists).
1. Click the dropdown arrow next to Requirement in the toolbar.
2. Select Child Requirement option.
3. Mark each sub-item as a child requirement.
Child requirements create separate answers for each individual item. You can use child requirements when:
Document has numbered sub-questions (1.a, 1.b, 1.c)
Bullet points need individual responses
Each item has its own response cell
🧑🧑🧒 Combined Requirements
Combined Requirements merge multiple items into one answer.
1. Click the dropdown arrow next to Requirement.
2. Select Combined option.
3. Mark multiple items to combine them by highlighting the requirements you would like to combine.
Combined requirements create one unified answer addressing all items together. You can use combined requirements when:
Multiple sub-items share one response cell
Items are related and need one cohesive answer
Document structure groups questions under single answer space
Working with Responses
✓ Standard Responses
1. Click the cell or text area where the answer should appear.
2. Responses appear in green highlight.
3. Standard responses are single cells or text areas for answers.
✓ Response Cells
Response cells are the specific locations where AutoRFP will place generated answers. In Excel, response cells are the individual cells where answers go. In Word, response areas are the spaces below questions where answers appear.
1. Click the cell or text area where the answer should appear. Responses appear in green highlight.
2. Each response cell must be associated with a requirement above or to its left.
✓ Response Tables
Response tables are for tables you'll manually fill with data (not AI-generated).
For tables like revenue by year or headcount by department:
Mark the requirement above the table
Highlight the entire table
Click Response Table in the toolbar
Response tables carry through to your project for manual data entry.
Use response tables for:
Financial data tables
Multi-year information
Data that can't be AI-generated
Working with Drop Downs
AutoRFP automatically detects dropdown menus in Excel documents. Detected dropdowns will appear with special formatting in the importer.
1. To create a custom dropdown:
Click the Dropdown option in toolbar
Select Use Template or Start from Scratch
2. Configure custom dropdown:
Enter Output (what appears in the cell)
Enter Criteria (instructions for AutoRFP on when to select this option)
3. Custom dropdowns useful for:
Yes/No/Partial compliance
Readiness scales (Out of Box, Customization Required, Roadmap)
Rating systems
Working with Sections and IDs
🏷️ Sections
Sections help organize and filter your project by document areas.
1. Mark section headers by:
Clicking the header text
Selecting Section from toolbar
2. In Excel, mark tab names as sections to organize by worksheet.
3. In Word, mark major headings as sections.
4. Marking sections while importing content will allow you to apply tags to information by section when completing your import.
Need Help?
💬 Live Chat: Available in-app
📧 Email: [email protected] or contact your Success Manager directly for urgent support.
📚 Learning Centre: learn.autorfp.ai/en