# Glossary: Product Terms Defined > The authoritative definitions of the terms used throughout this documentation — including template, column, Format Requirement, custom column, Model Tier, batch, credits, and Multi-Page Merge — with each entry linking to the page that explains it in full. This page defines the terms used across the documentation. Each definition here is the authoritative one for the site; the link in each entry points to the page that explains the term in full. ## Batch A **batch** is the group of files created by a single upload, and it is the unit you process, review, and export. Every batch gets an automatically generated name, and how many files it can hold depends on the account's plan. See [Batches](/docs/concepts/batches). ## Column A **column** is one field you want extracted, and each column becomes a column of the output table. A column has a column name and, optionally, a [Format Requirement](#format-requirement), and a [template](#template) is a saved list of columns. See [Templates & Columns](/docs/concepts/templates-and-columns). ## Computed column A **computed column** gets its value by calculation instead of by reading a value that is printed — for example a line total the document does not show. The calculation is written in the column's instruction, in its name or its [Format Requirement](#format-requirement), and it runs in the same pass as the rest of the extraction. See [Custom Columns](/docs/concepts/custom-columns). ## Conflict handling **Conflict handling** is the template-wide choice for what happens when two or more files in one [merge group](#merge-group) report different non-blank values for the same column: combine them into one cell, keep every value as its own row, or keep the first or last value. It applies to the whole template, not to individual columns. See [Multi-Page Merge](/docs/concepts/multi-page-merge). ## Credits **Credits** are the unit the product charges for processing: a run is charged per processed file at the account's [Model Tier](#model-tier) rate — 1, 3, or 6 credits per file for Standard, Advanced, and Premium. Some parts of the interface still label this unit *Points*; the two terms refer to the same thing. See [Model Tier](/docs/concepts/model-tier). ## Custom column A **custom column** is any column whose value the AI produces for you, whether it is read directly from the document, calculated from what the document shows, or inferred from context. All three kinds are set up the same way, with no separate mode to switch on. See [Custom Columns](/docs/concepts/custom-columns). ## Direct extraction **Direct extraction** reads a value that is printed on the document and returns it as it appears. It is the default: unless the instruction asks for a calculation or an inference, the AI reads the value rather than computing or rewriting it. See [Custom Columns](/docs/concepts/custom-columns). ## Document (File) A **document** is a single item inside a [batch](#batch): one uploaded image, or one page of a PDF, Word, or text file. The web app labels these **Files**, while the API calls the same unit a Document. When [Multi-Page Merge](#multi-page-merge) refers to "the same document", it means a real-world document that arrived as several of these files. See [Batches](/docs/concepts/batches). ## Format Requirement A **Format Requirement** is an optional instruction attached to a single column that controls how its value should come back — for example converting an amount to a plain number or normalizing a date — and it is also where a [calculation](#computed) or a decision rule is written. It applies only to that column; leaving it empty returns the value as it appears. See [Templates & Columns](/docs/concepts/templates-and-columns). ## Inferred column An **inferred column** asks the AI to decide something that is not written on the document, using the document as a whole — for example placing a receipt into a Category. You describe how to decide, including the allowed answers when you want the result constrained. See [Custom Columns](/docs/concepts/custom-columns). ## Merge group A **merge group** is one set of results that [Multi-Page Merge](#multi-page-merge) treats as a single record: the rows from the several files that belong to the same document. Which files form a group is decided by the merge mode chosen in the template settings. See [Multi-Page Merge](/docs/concepts/multi-page-merge). ## Model Tier A **Model Tier** is the processing-quality level an account runs extraction on — Standard, Advanced, or Premium — which decides the AI model used and how many [credits](#credits) each processed file costs (1, 3, and 6 respectively). A tier is assigned to an account by the ImageToTable.ai team, and the tier is fixed for a file the moment processing starts. See [Model Tier](/docs/concepts/model-tier). ## Multi-Page Merge **Multi-Page Merge** combines the extracted results that belong to the same document into one record when that document was uploaded as several files. It is configured in a [template](#template), works on rows within a single [batch](#batch), and takes effect when you export. See [Multi-Page Merge](/docs/concepts/multi-page-merge). ## Template A **template** is a saved, reusable list of the [columns](#column) you want extracted, so the same set of columns can be applied to batch after batch without retyping it. An account can hold up to 30 templates, and a template also carries settings that apply to the whole list, such as [Multi-Page Merge](#multi-page-merge). See [Templates & Columns](/docs/concepts/templates-and-columns). --- Source: https://imagetotable.ai/docs/reference/glossary