Generating document templates

You can use a document template to automate the generation of your process form PDFs. App developers create document templates in the development environment.

Creating a document template

1. Navigate to the process form you want to generate a document for.

2. Click Document templates at the top right of the process form.

   

3. Click Create template > Create from scratch. On a process form with no templates yet, the button reads + New template.

4. Enter a name and an optional description for the document template.

5. Click Create.

Generate using AI

Use Kissflow AI to draft your document template instantly.

1. From the process form, click Document templates > Create template > Generate using AI.
2. Enter a document template name — for example, Employee Offer Letter or Purchase Order.
3. Select a language for the template.
4. Click Generate. Kissflow AI uses these inputs as a prompt to create the first draft, called Draft 1.

AI regeneration to enhance drafts

Refine a draft by adding more information to it, then click Regenerate to get the changes reflected in a new draft.

Finalizing a template draft

Once you're satisfied with a draft, open it and click Use this draft at the top right of the page. The draft is transferred to the document template editor, where you can further customize the document.

Editing a document template

The template editor supports the standard formatting options you'd expect from any text editor, plus support for inserting process form fields, page breaks, images, and form tables. You can also type conditions and loops by hand.

Inserting process form fields

Insert a system or form field in either of these ways:

• Type two curly braces without a space between them ({{) to see the list of fields used in the current process form, then select the one you want to insert.
• Drag and drop a field from the left panel onto the template editor.

Supported fields

Only form tables and the following field types are supported inside document templates:

• Text
• Text area
• Number
• Currency
• Email
• Sequence number
• Date
• DateTime
• Dropdown
• Yes/No
• User, including User fields that allow multiple users
• Image
• Signature

Unsupported fields

These field types are not supported inside document templates:

• Radio button
• Multi-select dropdown
• Checkbox
• Lookup
• Remote lookup
• Attachment
• Smart attachment
• Aggregation
• Geolocation
• Scanner
• Checklist
• Rating
• Slider
• Rich text
• Button

Inserting page breaks

Click the Page break icon () in the toolbar to insert a page break.

Adding a form table

Insert a form table created as part of your process form into your document template the same way you'd insert a field — by dragging and dropping it onto the template editor.

Enter the column header names, and use double curly braces to insert a process form field as a column's value. Inside the table, a field is written as the table name, a dot, and the field name, for example {{ Line_Items.Quantity }}.

To number the rows, filter which rows appear, or total a column, see Tables under Writing logic in your template.

Writing logic in your template

Use logic when a sentence should appear only when a Yes/No is on, a paragraph should change with a dropdown, or a table should skip some rows. You type short tags into the editor, and the template decides what to print when the PDF is generated.

There are three pieces of syntax:

• {{ Field_ID }} prints a value. This is what the field picker inserts.
• {% ... %} makes a decision or repeats something. Every {% if %} ends with {% endif %}, and every {% for %} ends with {% endfor %}. The one exception is the short form inside a print tag, {{ 'Yes' if Paid else 'No' }}, which needs no closing tag.
• | (a vertical bar) applies a filter to a value: {{ Name | upper }} prints the name in capitals, {{ Rating | int }} turns text into a whole number. Filters can be chained left to right.

The examples below use sample field IDs such as Need_Another_Interview. Replace them with the IDs from your own process. Type {{ in the editor to see your field IDs, which can differ from the labels shown on the form.

Three things to know first

1. Numbers and dates arrive as text. Number, Currency, Date, and DateTime values are already formatted (using the Format settings) before the template sees them. A Number field holding 4 arrives as the text "4", a larger one as "1,200.00", and a Currency field as "12,500.00 USD" or "$12,500.00". To compare or calculate, convert first: Rating | int for a small whole number, Quantity | replace(',', '') | float when the value can reach 1,000 or more. Comparing without converting fails with An unexpected error occurred. For Currency, do the arithmetic on the form with a Number field and a formula rather than in the template; the code or symbol and your chosen separator style make the text hard to convert reliably.
2. An empty field is missing, not blank. When a field has no value it is not sent to the template at all. Printing a missing field gives nothing, and testing it with {% if Comments %} counts as false, so that is the right way to check for an empty field. Tests like Score != 0 are true for an empty field, because "missing" is not the same as zero.
3. Some fields are more than text. A Yes/No field is a true or false value, so {% if Toggle %} is all you need. A User field always arrives with Name, _id, and Kind, so {{ Approver.Name }} prints the name and stays blank when nobody is assigned. A User field that allows multiple users arrives as a list of such users. A form table is a list of rows, which is why it needs a {% for %} loop.

Conditions

Show a line only when a Yes/No is on

{% if Need_Another_Interview %}
Second interviewer: {{ Interviewer_2.Name }}
{% endif %}

When the toggle is on, the line prints. When it is off, nothing prints. Don't write == "Yes"; the field is already true or false.

Print Yes or No instead of True or False

{{ 'Yes' if Package_Paid else 'No' }}

The same shape works for any two-way choice, for example printing a word based on a number: {{ 'Deposit' if Payment_Mode | int == 1 else 'Cheque' }}.

If, else if, and else

{% if Band == 'BL1' or Band == 'CL1' %}
Notice period: 2 months
{% elif Band == 'DL1' %}
Notice period: 1 month
{% else %}
Notice period: 3 months
{% endif %}

Join conditions with the words and, or, and not. The symbols || and && from the Formula builder are not valid here and cause a syntax error. A shorter way to test several values: {% if Band in ['BL1', 'CL1'] %}.

Hide a field that is empty, or print a placeholder

{% if Comments %}Comments: {{ Comments }}{% endif %}

Comments: {{ Comments | default('N/A') }}

The first line prints nothing when Comments is empty. The second always prints, with N/A as the fallback. For a User field, test the name: {% if Approver.Name %}.

Compare numbers

{% if Rating | int >= 2 %}Meets the bar{% endif %}

{% if Overall_Rating is defined and Overall_Rating | int != 0 %}
Rated {{ Overall_Rating }}
{% endif %}

Without | int (or | float for decimals) the comparison fails at preview or generation with An unexpected error occurred, because the value is text. is defined means "this field has a value"; the second example checks it first, so an empty rating prints nothing instead of passing the != 0 test.

Avoid a blank gap when the condition is false

Thank you for your order.
{% if Gift_Note %}Gift note: {{ Gift_Note }}{% endif %}
Regards, Sales

Keep the opening and closing tags in the same paragraph as the text they control. A tag on a line of its own is an empty paragraph once the condition is false, and that is the blank gap you see in the PDF. To hide a whole block of paragraphs, put {% if %} at the start of the first paragraph and {% endif %} at the end of the last one.

Tables

When you drop a form table, the editor writes the loop for you: {% for Line_Items in Table__Line_Items %} ... {% endfor %}. Everything between those two tags repeats once per row, and Line_Items is the current row. These examples build on that loop.

Number the rows

{% for Line_Items in Table__Line_Items %}
{{ loop.index }}. {{ Line_Items.Item }} x {{ Line_Items.Quantity }}
{% endfor %}

Prints 1. Pen x 2, 2. Ink x 1, and so on. Inside a loop, loop.index counts from 1, loop.first and loop.last are true on the first and last row, and loop.length is the number of rows.

Show only some rows, or split one table into several

{% for Line_Items in Table__Line_Items if Line_Items.Category == 'HRA' %}
{{ Line_Items.Item }}
{% endfor %}

Add if and a condition to the end of the for line that the editor wrote, and only matching rows are printed. loop.index counts only the printed rows. To show the same form table as three separate tables in the PDF, drop the table three times and give each for line a different condition.

Show a sentence if any row matches

{% if Table__Line_Items | selectattr('Category', 'equalto', 'HRA') | list %}
HRA is included in this payslip.
{% endif %}

Read it as "select the rows whose Category equals HRA". | list collects the matching rows so the condition can check whether there are any; with no matches the condition is false. Use 'ne' (not equal), 'gt' (greater than), or 'lt' (less than) in place of 'equalto'.

Print NIL for an empty table, count rows, total a column

{% if Table__Line_Items %}
(your table goes here)
{% else %}
NIL
{% endif %}

Items: {{ Table__Line_Items | length }}
Total quantity: {{ Table__Line_Items | map(attribute='Quantity') | map('int') | sum }}

Read the last line as "take the Quantity of every row, turn each into a number, add them up". Totals only work on numbers, so map('int') (or map('float')) converts the column first. For a Number column that can reach 1,000 or more, strip the separator before converting: map('replace', ',', '') | map('float'). For a per-row calculation: {{ (Line_Items.Quantity | float) * (Line_Items.Rate | float) }}, adding | round(2) around the whole thing if you need two decimals. For money totals, add a Number field to the form that sums the column with a formula, and insert that field; it avoids converting Currency text in the template.

Reuse a filtered set of rows

{% set travel = Table__Expenses | selectattr('Category', 'equalto', 'Travel') | list %}
{% if travel %}
{% for Expenses in travel %}{{ loop.index }}. {{ Expenses.Item }}{% endfor %}
Rows: {{ travel | length }}
{% else %}
No travel expenses
{% endif %}

{% set %} stores the matching rows under a name you choose, so you can loop over them, count them, and test for none, without repeating the filter each time.

Users and text

Names from a multi-user field

{{ Approvers | map(attribute='Name') | join(', ') }}

Prints Asha Menon, Ravi Nair. This is what the editor inserts when you drag a multi-user field's Name into the template. For a single User field, {{ Requester.Name }} is enough.

Turn comma-separated text into a list

{% for item in Services.split(',') %}
- {{ item.strip() }}
{% endfor %}

Turns Audit, Tax, Advisory into three lines. Text fields also accept {{ Name | upper }}, {{ Summary | truncate(80) }}, and {{ Reference | replace('-', '/') }}.

Formatting is not logic

Date order, time zone, currency symbol or code, and number separators are set with the Format button in the toolbar, not with tags. See Formatting currency, number, and date fields. There is no tag that writes an amount in words. If you need "Fifty thousand" in the PDF, compute it in a text field on the form or in an integration step, and insert that field.

What not to type

Each of these produces the error Action failed due to syntax error in document template, fails with An unexpected error occurred, or silently prints the wrong thing.

For anything not covered here, the Jinja template reference lists every tag and filter. Only the built-in ones are available; custom functions cannot be added.

Inserting an image

Add an image in any of these ways:

1. From your desktop — drag and drop an image file from your computer into the template editor.
2. From a web page — copy the image URL from the web page. In the template editor, click the Insert image icon (), right-click and paste the image address, then click Done. Hover over the image to format, resize, or delete it.
3. Copy and paste — copy an image from another document and paste it directly into the template editor.

Inserting a header and footer

A header appears at the top of a PDF document and a footer at the bottom. Both are typically used for information that repeats on every page, such as the document name, headings, page numbers, images, or the date.

1. Click Header & Footer in the editor to open a separate editor window for the header and footer. The height of the header and footer is set by the top and bottom margins of the base canvas — change these using the Margins icon (). Inside the header/footer editor, you can further configure a top and bottom margin, up to a maximum of 400px. The base canvas also determines the header and footer's left and right margins, and these can't be changed from inside the editor.

2. Add content to the header and footer:

   • Textual content
   • Images and static tables
   • Page number and page count
   Note

   You can't insert a child table in the header or footer. Conditions such as {% if %} do work there.

3. Once you've added the content you need, click Preview to see how the document template will render.

Formatting currency, number, and date fields

The Format option works the same way in app process forms as in standalone processes. If your template includes a Number, Currency, Date, or DateTime field, you can control how its values display using the Format option. Three formatting categories are available: Currency, Number, and Timezone.

Currency

Choose whether currency values show the currency code after the value, or the currency symbol before it.

Number

Choose how numbers are separated inside Number and Currency fields. Four separator styles are available, with the American style applied by default.

Date and time zone

Choose the time zone and date order used to display Date and DateTime fields. If your form shows dates as DD/MM/YYYY but the PDF shows MM/DD/YYYY, this is the setting to change. A preview of the expected result appears above the formatting options as you choose.

Customizing your page

Use the Page setup option to configure the basic layout and appearance of your document.

Page orientation

Choose Portrait (taller than wide) or Landscape (wider than tall) for your pages.

Page color

Set the background color of your pages.

Margins

Configure your page margins:

• Auto — automatically sets all four margins (top, bottom, left, right) to 92px.
• Custom — lets you set each margin manually.

Click Apply to save your changes.

Previewing a document template

Click Preview at the top of the editor once you're done drafting. From the preview screen, you can maximize the view or download the document as a PDF.

Finding a syntax error

If Preview or the Generate PDF step fails with Action failed due to syntax error in document template, the template contains a tag the engine could not read. The message does not point to the line, so check these in order:

1. Unclosed tags. Every {% if %} needs an {% endif %} and every {% for %} an {% endfor %}. This is the most common cause, especially after pasting content or duplicating a template.
2. Formula builder symbols. Search the template for ||, &&, and function names such as isBlank(. Replace them as shown in What not to type.
3. A tag split by formatting. Applying bold or a color to part of a tag, for example only to the field name inside {{ }}, breaks the tag in two. Select the whole tag and clear its formatting, then reapply formatting to the surrounding text only.
4. Comparing text to a number. {% if Rating >= 2 %} fails with An unexpected error occurred instead of the syntax message. Add | int.
5. Edited table lines. If the {% for ... %} or {% endfor %} around a form table was deleted or changed in any way other than adding a condition, drop the table in again.

To narrow it down, duplicate the template first (Managing a document template) and work on the copy: remove half of the logic tags, preview, and repeat on whichever half still fails. The original stays untouched until you have the fix.

Associating a document template

Automate PDF generation by connecting the process form and the document template in an integration.

1. In All integrations, click Create new integration or open an existing one.

2. Select the Kissflow process connector and the Generate PDF step.

3. Set up a connection with the required account.

4. Choose a process form, then select the process instance ID — usually the ID from the trigger step, so the PDF is generated for the item that started the integration.

   

   

5. Select the document template to map to the process.

6. Enter a title for the document, and choose whether to attach it to a field on the process form. If yes, select the attachment field to use.

   Note

   You can refresh fields to see any recently added form fields. You can also map fields from the trigger step or from earlier action steps — these values are filled in automatically once the action runs.

7. Click Next.

8. Add a Kissflow Email connector step to share the generated PDF as an email attachment.

   

9. Fill in the email fields, and under Attachments > Fields > Generate PDF, select the document field.

10. Toggle the integration ON to activate it.

Managing a document template

1. Navigate to your process form and click Document templates.
2. Choose a template, click More options (), then rename, duplicate, or delete it.

Supported languages

Document templates support the following languages:

• English
• Italian (Italiano)
• Russian (Русский)
• German (Deutsch)
• Spanish (Español)
• French (Français)
• Brazilian Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
• Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
• Arabic (العربية)

Editing a template with others

What's next

• Document templates (for standalone processes)
• Kissflow Process connector
• Email connector
• Basic and advanced fields
• Computing fields using Formula Builder