Documents

Stop copying a customer’s name, products and total into a Word file. You design the page once, and from then on any record can turn into a finished PDF in one click. The customer, the dates, the lines and the total are filled in from the record itself.

The PDF is kept on the record, in its Files tab, ready to open, print, download or send for signing. To collect signatures, see E-signing.

Use cases

Situation	What Documents helps you do
Sending a quote for a deal	Make the quote from the deal. The company, the product lines and the total fill in by themselves.
Invoices, certificates, letters	Design the page once and make one for every record that needs it.
You already have an approved contract or order form as a PDF	Upload it, mark where the customer’s name goes and where people sign. The PDF stays exactly as it is.
One customer needs a special quote	Start from the template, but get your own copy to change. The template is not touched.
Colleagues who only look at deals	Viewers can still make a PDF from a template and open, print or download it.

Before you begin

Who designs templates. Admins and Editors. Everyone in the workspace can see the list of templates.
Who makes a PDF. Anyone who can open the record, Viewers included.
Who edits a copy. Writing your own copy, changing it and deleting files needs edit rights on that record. Viewers do not see those options.
A template belongs to one kind of record. You choose it when you create the template, for example Deals or Companies. The button only shows on records of that kind.
A PDF only prints what its maker can see. If your colleague cannot see the Companies table, the company name will be empty in the PDF they make. Make sure the people who use a template can see the information it prints.
If you cannot find Documents in the menu, ask an admin to switch it on in Features.

Part 1: Create a template

Open Documents in the left menu. You land on the Templates tab. The other tab, Signing, lists documents that are out for signature.
Click New document at the top right. This button is only shown to Admins and Editors.
In Name, type what you will call it, for example Invoice. The name can be up to 200 characters.
In Made from, pick the kind of record. The note under it explains that the button shows on these records and their details fill the page.
In Start from, choose:
- Design it here to build the page with text, tables and record details. Go to Part 2.
- Your own PDF to keep a PDF you already have. Go to Part 5.
Click Create and design. The editor opens full screen.

A new designed template already contains a heading with the record type, a few of the record’s main details and a closing “Thank you!”. Change or delete anything. New templates start as A4 with page numbers on.

The list on the Templates tab shows each template with a line such as “Made from Deals” or “Your own PDF, made from Deals”. If you have none yet, the page says “No documents yet”.

Part 2: Design the page

At the top of the editor you see, from left to right:

A back arrow, and the Document name box.
A button showing the paper size and direction, for example “A4 · Portrait”. This opens the page settings (Part 3).
Show a record’s details, See the PDF and Save.

The page itself is in the middle. Add blocks from the block list and click a block to change it.

The blocks you can use

Block	What it is for
Title	A heading. Choose the level, alignment and colour.
Paragraph	Normal text with bold, italics, lists and links.
Image	A logo or picture. Use a picture that is uploaded to your workspace. Pictures over 5 MB, and pictures from other websites, print as nothing.
Table	A fixed table you fill in by hand. It can have a header row with its own colour.
Section	Columns to place content side by side. Choose one, two or three columns, or a wide and a narrow one. Other blocks go inside.
Divider	A line. Choose colour, thickness and solid, dashed or dotted.
Spacer	Empty vertical space.
Lines	A table with one row for every linked item, such as a deal’s products or an invoice’s lines. See below.
Signing field	An empty box where someone signs or fills in. See below.

Email-style blocks such as buttons, video, social icons, menus and countdowns are not offered, because they do not belong on a printed page. Under the page colours you can only change the text colour and the link colour.

Put the record’s details on the page

In any text, open the detail picker and choose a field. It is inserted as a placeholder, and the PDF replaces it with the real value.

You can pick the record’s own fields: text, numbers, dates, choices, people and links to other records.
For a link, you can also pick details of the linked record, for example Company · Name on a deal.
Money, numbers and dates are written the way your workspace shows them, in your workspace language. A currency field prints as an amount, a date field prints as a date.
A link that holds many records (a deal’s products) cannot go in text. Use the Lines block for those.

Show the page with a real record

Placeholders are easier to judge with real values.

Click Show a record’s details.
Pick a record, for example one of your deals.
The button now reads “Details from” and the record’s name. The page shows that record’s real values instead of field names.

Nothing is saved on the record by doing this. If you cannot pick or see a record, you will not see its values either.

The Lines block (quote and invoice rows)

Add a Lines block where the table should go.
In List, choose where the rows come from, for example the deal’s products. Only lists that belong to this kind of record are offered.
On the table in the editor, type a Heading for each column and pick what it shows. You can use up to 5 columns.
Use Align on a column to switch between left, center and right. Numbers look best on the right.
Use Add a column or Remove column to change the number of columns.
In Text when the list is empty, write what to print when there are no rows, for example “Lines are added once the scope is agreed.”

Every item in the list gets its own row. Amounts, quantities and dates are formatted for you.

The Signing field block

Use it when the document will be signed, for example a contract.

Add a Signing field block where someone should sign.
In What goes here, choose: Signature, Initials, Date signed, Full name, Email, Text, Number, Checkbox or Choice.
In Who fills it in, type a role such as Customer or CEO. Use Sender for a part you fill in yourself when you send it.
Optionally set Label, Must be filled in, Width (pt), Height (pt) and Text size (pt). For Choice, add the options in Choices (for Choice).

The block shows in the editor as a short note such as “Signature: Customer”. On the PDF it is a blank space of the size you set. When the PDF is later sent for signing, each role gets their own link.

Part 3: Paper, margins and file name

Click the paper size button to open the page settings:

Paper size: A4, A5, US Letter or US Legal.
Landscape: turn the page sideways.
Margins: Narrow, Normal, Wide or Custom. Custom lets you set the Top margin, Right margin, Bottom margin and Left margin in millimeters, from 0 to 80.
Text at the top of every page and Text at the bottom of every page, for example your company name or address. Each can be up to 2,000 characters.
Show page numbers.
File name: what the PDF is called, for example Invoice. Leave it empty and the template name is used. The quick quote setup names each file after the deal. Characters that file systems do not allow are replaced by spaces, and long names are shortened to 120 characters.
Also save the PDF in: shown only when this kind of record has a file field. Pick one and every new PDF is also put in that field, which is handy for sending it by email or keeping one copy per record. A field that holds one file is replaced; a field that holds many files gets the new one added. The default is Nowhere else.

Part 4: Preview, save and change it later

Click See the PDF. If you have not picked a record yet, a list of records opens first. Pick one.
The PDF opens in a new browser tab. Nothing is saved or added to any record.
When you are happy, click Save. You see “Document saved”. The back arrow closes the editor.

To change a template later, go to Documents, find it in the list and click the pencil (Edit design, or Edit boxes for your own PDF). Changes apply to PDFs made from now on. PDFs already made are copies and never change when the template or the record changes.

To delete a template, click the trash can and confirm Delete. PDFs already made stay on their records, and the design can be restored from the bin.

Part 5: Use your own PDF

Choose this when you already have a form you trust, such as an order form with fixed terms. The PDF is printed exactly as it is, and the record’s details are written into boxes you place.

Create a template as in Part 1 and in Start from pick Your own PDF.
Click Choose a PDF and pick the file. The note says “Your PDF stays exactly as it is. Next, add boxes for record details and signatures.”
Click Create and design. The PDF opens with its pages and a panel with Who fills it in.
To print a detail from the record, choose Filled in from the record, then click the page where it should go. A box appears. Drag it to move it, or pull an edge or corner so it fits the line.
In the panel, under Selected field, open Shows and pick which record detail goes in the box, for example the company name. You can also set Text size (pt).
To add a place to sign, choose a person such as Signer 1 (or add one with Add person), pick What to place (signature, date and so on) and click the page. Each person signs with their own link and only fills in their own boxes. You (when sending) is for parts you fill in at the time of sending.
Click Save fields. You see “Signing fields saved”.

Good to know:

A box filled from the record always prints text. Every such box must have something to show, or saving stops with “Pick what each record box shows before saving.”
To change the boxes later, click Edit boxes next to the template.
The PDF must belong to your workspace, must not be password-protected, must be at most 30 MB and at most 300 pages, and a document can have at most 500 boxes.
A PDF template cannot be copied to write in. It only appears under From a template, ready right away.

Part 6: Make a PDF from a record

Open a record of the right kind, for example a deal.
Open its Files tab.
Click New.
Choose From a template, ready right away. A list of the templates for this kind of record appears.
Click the template you want.

A message says “Making your document. It will appear here in a moment.” A few seconds later the PDF appears in the list with the status Ready. If your template has places to sign, the list also shows how many signing fields it has. If you are inside a folder, the PDF is placed in that folder.

Click the row to open it. You can print it, download it or send it for signing from the menu at the end of the row (the three dots) with Open, Print, Download and Send for signing. A Viewer sees the same list but only the options that read, print and download.

Part 7: Make a copy to change for one customer

Use this when one customer needs different wording.

In the record’s Files tab, click New, then From a template, to edit first. This option is only shown to people who can edit the record, and only lists templates you designed with the page editor.
Pick the template. A box called New document from a template opens with the note “You get your own copy to change. The template stays as it is.”
Change the Name if you want, then click Create and edit.
The copy opens in an editor. Change the text. Next to the name you see Saving…, then Saved; your changes are kept as you type. The label Draft means only your team can see it.
Click See the PDF to check it as often as you like.
Click Make the PDF. This locks the text and produces the PDF. You see “Done. The PDF is ready to print or send.” If the document has places to sign, the send-for-signing window opens right away; you can cancel and send it later with Send to sign on the file row.

To change a finished copy, open the menu on its row and choose Edit again. This works until it is sent for signing. A draft that is not finished yet shows Edit in the same menu. Other row actions are Rename, Move to (into a folder) and Delete. A document that is out for signing cannot be deleted until the signing is cancelled.

You can also choose Blank document under New to write a document from scratch for the record.

Quick setup for a quote

An admin can start from a ready-made quote instead of an empty page.

Open Features and find the Documents card. Click Set up.
Check the Name (it starts as “Quote”) and click Set it up. The wording of the opening note and terms is already written in your language, and you can change it under the extra options.
When you see “It’s live”, click Try it. A deal opens on its Files tab so you can make the first quote.

This needs a Deals table. It creates a normal template that you can change in Documents any time. The card then shows Live.

How it looks to the customer

The customer only sees the finished PDF: your design with their own details filled in, on the paper size you chose. It carries no trace of the editor. If it has places to sign, they get a secure link by email when you send it, as described in E-signing.

Also

The assistant and automations can use the same templates. An automation step called Create document makes the PDF from a record and can attach it to an email or file field, and the assistant can list templates, preview them and make documents. They use the same design, so the result is identical.

Limits and defaults

A design can hold about 1,000,000 characters in total.
Template name: up to 200 characters. File name: up to 300 characters before the record’s details are added.
The first 500 templates are listed.
A PDF template: 30 MB, 300 pages, 500 boxes.
Pictures in a design: up to 5 MB each.
The Files tab looks for a new PDF for about 90 seconds. A PDF that cannot be made is tried up to three times.
Default paper: A4, portrait, page numbers on.
Each record lists its latest 50 made documents.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
No New document button	Only Admins and Editors design templates. Ask an admin to change your role or to make the template.
New on a record has no template list	There is no template yet for this kind of record. Create one in Documents and pick this kind in Made from.
From a template, to edit first is missing	You need edit rights on the record, and at least one template made with the page editor. Your own PDF templates only appear under ready right away.
Nothing appears after you pick a template	Wait up to a minute and refresh the Files tab. If it still does not come, the template or record has a problem. Open the template, use See the PDF with this record and fix what the preview shows.
“Couldn’t make the document.”	Try again. If it keeps failing, check the template with See the PDF.
“This template is for another object”	The template was made for a different kind of record. Create one for this kind.
“Template problem” followed by a reason	A placeholder in the text or file name is written wrongly. Re-insert it with the detail picker.
“This template is too large to save”	The design holds too much, usually very big pictures. Use smaller pictures.
“Choose a file field to keep the PDF in”	The field chosen under Also save the PDF in is not a file field. Set it to Nowhere else or pick a file field.
“Upload a PDF to this workspace first”	Choose the PDF again with Choose a PDF.
“That PDF could not be read”, or a password message	Open the PDF elsewhere, remove the password and save it again.
A value is empty in the PDF	The person who made it cannot see that record or field, or the field is empty. Check the record and its permissions.
A logo is missing	The picture is over 5 MB or comes from another website. Upload a smaller picture to your workspace.
“Only workspace admins and editors can change document templates.”	You can make PDFs but not change templates. Ask an admin or an editor.
“Only editors of this record can change its files”	You can open and make PDFs but not rename, move, delete or edit copies on this record.