How to generate documents

Follow these steps to prepare your template and data, then generate filled documents in a few clicks.

PDF templates Requirement

The PDF must be an editable AcroForm PDF — a PDF that already contains fillable form fields (AcroFields). Scanned or flattened PDFs without form fields cannot be mapped.

Most PDF editors (Adobe Acrobat, LibreOffice, online form builders) let you add text fields to a PDF and save it as a fillable form.

Word (.docx) templates Requirement

Mark every field in the document by wrapping a variable name in double angle brackets <<name>> or double curly braces {{name}}. These are the only two formats recognised.

✓<<CompanyName>>
✓<<Name-1>>
✓<<NAME_1>>
✓{{CompanyName}}
✓{{invoice_total}}
✗[Name]   ${Name}   %Name%   «Name»
✗Word MERGEFIELD / content controls
  • Names may contain letters, numbers, hyphens -, underscores _. Spaces are allowed (<<Company Name>>) but a single-word name is recommended.
  • Case-sensitive: <<Name>> and <<name>> are different fields. Your Excel column / JSON key must match the placeholder exactly.
  • Don't nest or double up the brackets (<<<<x>>>> is invalid).
  • The same placeholder can be used any number of times — it is listed and mapped once, and every occurrence is filled.
  • Placeholders in headers and footers are filled, but only placeholders in the body or a table appear in the mapping list — keep at least one copy in the body if you need to map it.
  • Formatting on the placeholder (bold, colour, highlight) is kept on the value after it is filled.

Your data file

Once your template is ready, prepare your data in Excel (.xlsx/.xls) or JSON format — one row (or one JSON object) per document you want to generate. You're now ready to start.

1

Log in and open the Document Tool

After logging in, click Document Tool in the top navigation to open the app.

2

Load your document

Upload your AcroForm PDF or your Word (.docx) template tagged with <<variable>> or {{variable}} placeholders.

3

Load your data

Upload your Excel or JSON data file. Each row (or object) becomes one generated document.

4

Review the field mapping

The system automatically maps fields when a column/key name in your Excel or JSON matches an AcroForm field name or a <<variable>> / {{variable}} name in your document.

  • Complete the mapping for any fields that weren't matched automatically.
  • Click a variable name in the mapping list to visually highlight where that field appears on the document.
  • This mapping only needs to be done once — save it to a file, then reload it next time you generate the same document so you don't have to map fields again.
5

Generate

Once all fields are mapped, click Generate. A document is created for every row in your data and the results are automatically downloaded to your Downloads folder.

Ready to try it?

Head to the Document Tool and generate your first batch of documents.

Open Document Tool →