Edit an Existing Document Template

Modified on Wed, 13 Nov at 3:02 PM

If you need to update an existing document template from the document template dashboard. Click Download Template on the template you want to update.

Next step is to open and edit the downloaded .docx template as required.   If you haven't done so already, we recommend you enable the View Gridlines option in the Table Layout ribbon. This is essential to display the hidden tables that Word uses to control the layout of the template  

The merge field reference contains all the fields available to add to your template. You can add fields or field tables or data as required. All formatting, images, headers and layout is provided by Microsoft Word's features. Ensure the .docx template is saved when ready.

To re-upload the updated template, click on the document template name in the document template dashboard.

Confirm the template name and type and click Select files and select the updated .docx template file on your device.

Click Save Template to upload the updated template. The template is now available to select to print to test.  Repeat the download - edit - upload process until you are happy the template is formatted and displaying data how you want.


Document template rules:

  • Layout and formatting - Layout and formatting is all controlled by Word. If you need the output to be bold, italics, different font, size, colour, etc, just format the WorkGuru merge field (including the square brackets) the way you want the output text to look like. 
  • Margins - Custom margins may also impact the final layout when it comes to printing so we also recommend sticking with the default margins selectable within MS Word.
  • Word Version - Ensure the Word document is NOT saved in the 2007-2013 Word document format. This is not compatible with WorkGuru's PDF converter and will cause an error. Save in the current Word format (.docx) with the compatibility checkbox NOT selected.
  • Images
    • All images must be inline with text for the PDF converter to pick up. Especially when placed within tables.
    • Images need to be in either the JPG or PNG format to be picked up by the PDF converter correctly. 
    • Not compatible - Image groups, Word drawings, word art, watermarks etc. Note: we recommend only 1 image on the template as more can introduce issues when printing
  • Tables - Data that is displayed in table format, must have the correct alt-text entered in the table's properties to display correctly. Note: you can only have ONE of each table type (e.g. you cannot have 2 tables with the Alt Text of "Products") on the same template. 
  • MS Word Objects - Objects such as lines, formulae, shapes, etc are not supported

What to do if, on the printed PDF:

  • The merge field is blank - This indicates the field does not have any data to print. Edit the source document and populate the relevant field for the document template to display.
  • The merge field is displaying in full (with the square brackets)- This indicates either:
    • There is a typo in the merge field text.
    • The merge field is not compatible with that document template type. Eg: Invoice number cannot be displayed on a Quote template as it doesn't exist at the quote stage.
  • Tables not displaying - Tables are designed to be hidden if there is no data provided to the document when printed.   If the table is expected to display date and isn't, ensure that the correct table description is set in the table's properties correctly. Note - depending on the layout of the word document, a table that can't display correctly may also prevent non-table information from displaying on the template as well.

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