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Turning a PDF into a filled-in document

2 min read

A PDF on which you mark the spots that get filled with a record's values when the document is produced. That is how quotes, confirmations and contracts come about without anyone retyping.

The template stays, the document is produced

You upload the PDF once and place elements where something should appear later. Producing a document leaves the template untouched; a copy is created with this record's values and then hangs off it like any other document.

Four kinds of element

Text inserts field values and may carry fixed text around them. Date sets the day of production. Checkbox is a mark that is always set. Signature marks the spot where someone is to sign, and only appears when the signature module is booked.

Draft and release

A template starts as a draft and can be changed freely. Only on release does it become available to an automation. That way nothing shifts under a running process while you are still moving a field around.

Step by step

  1. Create the template from the automation step Generate document, or open an existing one from where a field references it.
  2. Upload the PDF. Encrypted files and XFA forms are rejected.
  3. Place the elements and decide for each which value goes into it.
  4. Choose Release to make the template usable.

Where do I find the templates?

There is no menu entry for them. The way in is the automation step Generate document, or the reference on a field that uses a template.

What happens to the form fields in my PDF?

They are flattened on upload. Otherwise two layers would sit on top of each other, one fillable and one set, and which of them gets printed would be up to the viewer.

Can an element write back into the record?

Yes. On an element with input you pick a target field, and whatever someone enters lands there.

Why is the Signature kind missing?

Then the signature module is not booked for your account. Without the module the element kind is not forbidden; it is not there at all.

How large may the file be?

The limit is shown on upload. Large scans are usually images; a PDF produced as text is smaller and stays sharp when zoomed.