Creating Document Templates with PDF Builder

Doc. Number	Article Title	Effective Date	Version
FHC-XX	Creating Document Templates with PDF Builder	April 12, 2024	0.3

 

This article includes the following topics:

• Overview

• Preparing the PDF

• Creating the template

• Testing the template

Overview

This article goes beyond the simple mechanics of using the PDF Builder and more into the document-building process. If you have not already reviewed the PDF Document Builder article and have a basic understanding of how the builder works, please do so before going through this article. This is meant to provide an approach to building templates. 

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Preparing the PDF

To be successful, make sure the PDF document is correctly set up. Otherwise, you may find yourself redoing your work because you may need to adjust the PDF and adjust all the tags you've already positioned. Here are some guidelines regarding the PDF you will use.

 

1. Make sure the PDF is not fill-able

This refers to a native feature on some PDFs meant for someone to fill out. You will either need to request a "flat" version of the PDF from its source or, if converting a document of another file type to PDF, make sure it does not contain any fillable sections. You can see an example of a fillable pdf here. 

 

2. No placeholder text

Since the PDF builder takes your PDF and then allows you to place tags where you want different data points from the CRM to populate, be sure there is no placeholder text. You can see an example of this in the image below. The area the tags populate in the builder is transparent, except for the actual text that populates. Anywhere you want the information to appear, make sure the area is clear of anything else.

Bad Example

A PDF that looks like the above with placeholder text will result in the version pictured below.

Good Example

Instead, leave space available for the tags as in the image above so you will get a similar result as below. 

 

3. Leave enough room

REMEMBER: the text will not shift to make room if the information being populated does not fit. Give plenty of room for information to populate, otherwise, you will find text being overwritten like in the following example.

Bad Example

In the example above, insufficient room was left to populate the company name and you can see the illegible result below. 

Good Example

Instead, leave plenty of room like in the example above to get the result below. Notice that we broke the line so that the entire name would fit without it possibly overflowing within the space of the tag.

This goes for paragraphs as well. If trying to populate a paragraph, make sure there is enough space and we suggest removing any horizontal rules meant for positioning text. 

Bad Example

Since the area isn't sufficient enough and because of horizontal rules on the page, the information is rather illegible.

Good Example

In the example above, we left plenty of space and removed the horizontal rules so the text can populate without interference. 

NOTE
In this example make sure the style on the tag is set to "Wrap". This should happen by default but if you find the paragraph is not populating correctly make sure the text is set to wrap.

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Creating the template

1. Add the Replaceable Fields

When you believe the PDF has been set correctly, it is time to get into the builder to add the replaceable fields. Begin by putting the replaceable fields into position on the template. We will worry about adding tags after we've positioned all the fields. Skip any checkboxes, signatures, or other replaceable fields and focus on adding only the text type. Text fields are where you place tags that populate information from the CRM. Most of the work will be with these so work on them first. 

NOTE
Use CTRL+C to copy the replaceables and the arrow keys on your keyboard to move them into place. This makes a quick and easy task out of creating the new replaceables and moving them into position; especially on tables of data. 

 

2. Enter the Tags

Now that you've positioned everything, add the tags used to add information from the CRM. We suggest having two other pages open for reference while you're doing this; our Tags article and either the Custom Field  (Contacts > Custom Fields)  or Form Builder Page (Contacts > Custom Fields > Form Builder > Pick the form that best corresponds with the document template you are building) so you can easily find the tags you want. 

 

NOTE
When searching either page for a tag you can click CTRL+F to text search the page and easily locate the tag you are seeking.

 

3. Add the rest of the Replaceable Field Types

Now that you've completed adding the text fields, it is time to add the Text Input, Checkbox, Signature, Sign Date, and Initial Fields. 

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Testing the template

Even if your document template was built by one of our support representatives, it is still important for you to test the document to make sure everything populates correctly. The PDF Builder allows you to test live contacts and see how information populates on the page. It is good to have a few contacts in mind to test with or if you generated the document on a contact and found a problem, use that contact for troubleshooting.

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Article Version History: 

Version	Effective Date	Description
Basic	04/11/2018	Initial Release
0.1	08/17/2022	Minor Grammatical Updates
0.2	04/30/2023	Added header and version control footer;
0.3	04/12/2024	Minor Grammatical Updates to improve readability.