Create a template
A Template is a reusable document skeleton with named placeholder fields. Once a template exists, you (or any other DocuDesk flow) can render it into a finished document by filling those placeholders — useful for letters, contracts, receipts, GDPR responses, anything you produce more than once.
Goal
By the end you will have created a new template, added a few placeholder fields, uploaded the underlying document file (DOCX or ODT), and verified the placeholders are recognised.
Prerequisites
- You have completed Open DocuDesk for the first time.
- You have a DOCX or ODT file ready that uses DocuDesk's placeholder syntax (
\{\{ fieldName \}\}).
Steps
-
From the navigation, click Templates and then Add Template.
-
Fill in the Add Template dialog: a clear Name (appears in the renderer dropdown when other flows pick a template), a Description (for your future self and your colleagues), and the Category (used to group templates in the library).
-
Open the new template's detail view, switch to the Fields tab, and declare each placeholder field your DOCX/ODT references. For each field set the name (must match the placeholder), the type (
string,date,number,boolean) and an optional default. -
Upload the DOCX or ODT file in the Source tab. DocuDesk parses it, lists detected placeholders, and warns about any that aren't declared in the Fields tab (or declared fields that don't appear in the source).
Verification
You are done when: the template appears in the Templates list, the Fields tab matches the placeholders in the source file (no warnings), and the Render action on the detail view is enabled.
Common issues
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Source upload says "no placeholders detected" | Your DOCX uses the wrong delimiters — DocuDesk expects \{\{ name \}\}, not {name} or [name]. Update the source. |
| A declared field never gets filled at render time | The placeholder name in the source has a typo (e.g. trailing space inside the braces) — open the DOCX in Word/LibreOffice and re-check. |
| Template detail won't open after creation | The OpenRegister write failed at create time (often a permissions issue). Check Settings → DocuDesk → Logs for the underlying error. |
Reference
- Template management feature — full reference for the Template object.
- Render a template — how to turn a template into a finished document.