Render a template
Once a template exists, rendering it turns the placeholders into real values and produces a finished document in the Documents register. The rendered document is linked back to its template, so you can later trace any output to the source it was generated from.
Goal
By the end you will have rendered one of your templates, filled all required fields, and seen the resulting document appear in Documents.
Prerequisites
- You have completed Create a template and have at least one template with declared fields and an uploaded source.
- The template's source file passed the "no warnings" check — every placeholder in the source matches a declared field.
Steps
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Open the template's detail view and click Render in the action bar.
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The render dialog shows every declared field as a form input — typed according to the field's declared type, with the default pre-filled where you set one. Fill each value.
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Submit. DocuDesk renders the source DOCX/ODT into a finished document and writes it to the Documents register. The success banner links straight to the new document.
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Click through to the new document. The detail view's Source field links back to the template the document was rendered from; the Metadata tab carries the field values that were filled in.
Verification
You are done when: a new document appears in Documents, its detail view shows a Generated from template … badge, and downloading the file (PDF or DOCX, depending on your settings) shows the placeholders replaced with the values you entered.
Common issues
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Render dialog refuses to submit with "field required" on a field you set | The field type is date or number and your input doesn't parse — switch to the picker (calendar / number stepper) instead of typing freeform text. |
Output document has \{\{ fieldName \}\} literal text where a value should be | The placeholder name in the source doesn't match a declared field — open the template's Fields tab and reconcile. |
| Render succeeds but the document doesn't open (corrupt) | The source DOCX is missing or stale — re-upload it on the template detail's Source tab. |
Reference
- Template management feature — full reference.
- Document generation feature — what the render pipeline does internally.