Build a PDF Template from Scratch

Modified on Wed, 10 Sep at 2:25 AM

Linarc allows you to create a new PDF template from scratch when existing templates don’t meet your needs. You can customize the template layout to align with your reporting standards.

Note:
Only one user-generated (custom) template can be active at a time for each document type.
When a custom template is activated, it automatically overrides the system template and applies to all related documents. 
If no custom template is activated, the default system template is applied.
Manually generated PDFs (on-demand, during or after a document’s lifecycle) always use the template of the company the user belongs to.
System-generated PDFs (auto-created for archival at workflow closure) use the template of the company responsible for closing the document.

Create a New Template

Ensure you are in the 'PDF configuration' Template screen. If not,
- Click the App Launcher buttonin the top-right corner and select "Portfolio" from the dropdown.
- Click 'Config' at the top
- Select 'Document Templates'

The PDF configuration screen opens with the list of available templates for different document types:

Click the '+Create Template' button on the top right

Select Module - Select the module / the type of document to which the new template applies
Title - Enter a label for the template
Click the 'Create' button to open the blank template

The template editor is divided into three sections for easy customization:

1. Left pane - Manage the page layout, with headers, footers, body section, etc.

2. Right pane - Select the content in the included sections by placing the document-specific and generic elements as dynamic variables

3. Center pane - Configure the sections by entering the text and placing the dynamic variables.

Use the links below to jump to the section you need help with:

Formatting options
Insert Images
Add Horizontal Line
Insert Dynamic Fields
Step 1- Margin Setup
Step 2- Layout Setup
- Add Header and Footer
- Add Subheader and Subfooter
Step 3- Cover Page
Step 4- Table of Contents
Step 5- Document Content Setup
Step 6- Save and Activate your Template

Formatting options

The 'Template Editor' gives you full control to customize the appearance of the content with a variety of formatting tools. You can insert images, links, tables, and horizontal lines, as well as adjust visual styles to match your organization’s branding. The Format menu provides options ranging from text colors to background customization for your template. You can also use the formatting tools at the top of the editor to format the added text.

Click 'Insert' to embed images, add tables, hyperlinks, line breaks, etc
Click 'Format' menus at the top of the editor to explore available options, or quickly apply changes to the inserted text using the formatting tools in the toolbar.

Insert Images

Place the cursor where you want the image in the template.
Click 'Insert' at the top and choose 'Image'. Alternatively, click the 'Insert/Edit Image' toolfrom the toolbar at the top.

You can add an image in two ways:

1. Insert via URL – Ensure you're in the 'General' tab and paste the image URL into the 'Source' field. This is useful if you don’t want to permanently embed the file or if the image is expected to change over time.Any update to the image at the URL will automatically reflect in your template at the time of document generation. You can also define the display size of the image.

2. Upload from device – Select 'Upload' on the left, then drag and drop the image into the box. Alternatively, to upload a picture from your device, click theicon from the toolbar and browse to the image file. Once inserted, you can resize it by dragging the corner handles.

Optional Configurations

Resize the image – Specify width and height in pixels. To maintain aspect ratio, click the lock icon to keep dimensions proportional.

Spacing and borders – In the 'Advanced' screen, set margins on all sides and adjust border width, style, and other formatting options.

Add a caption – Label or describe your image, whether added via URL or upload:

In the 'General' screen, enable 'Show caption'.

Click Save to place the image in the template.

Once inserted, the 'Caption' field appears below the image where you can type your description.

Example:

Add Horizontal Line

You can add a horizontal line to give page breaks in the template.

Use the 'Insert' menu at the top and select 'Horizontal Line'

Insert Dynamic Fields

The 'Dynamic Selections' pane on the right lets you add context-specific and generic content blocks to your PDF template. Linarc provides the following elements to be added to your template.

Click the right arrow beside a category to expand the items under that category
Click on the location inside the selected section in the middle pane, and click the '+' icon on the right of the element to add it to your PDF template

Document Type Specific Elements: Based on the document type, Linarc provides content blocks that can be added to any part of the document layout. Includes elements that are directly related to the selected document type. For example, in an RFI template, fields such as RFI Question, Answer, Workflow, and Status are available.
Company Details: These fields automatically pull information about the contractor company associated with the document:
- For manually generated documents (on-demand), the details come from the company of the employee downloading the PDF.
- For auto-generated documents (created upon closure of the document’s approval lifecycle for archival), the details reflect the company that finalized the item.

Available Fields:

Company Name – The registered legal name of the company.
Address – The official business address.
Created On – The date the company profile was registered on Linarc.
Contact Number – The primary company phone number.

Project Details: Fields that reference the information about the project.
- Job ID – The unique identifier assigned to the project by your company.
- Project Name – The name of the project.
- Site Location – The address or location of the construction site.
- Created By – The name of the user who created the project on Linarc. Typically, the general contractor.
- Role Type – The role of the creator in the company they are an employee of.
- Project Status – The current state of the project
- Project Type – The category or type of project, such as Commercial, Residential, or Infrastructure.
Employee Details: These fields automatically pull information about the member associated with the document.

For manually generated documents (on-demand), the details come from the member downloading the PDF.
For auto-generated documents (created upon closure of the document’s approval lifecycle for archival), the details reflect the member who closed the item.

Available fields:

Employee Name – The team member who generates the PDF document
Employee Email – The member's official email address.
Employee Phone – The member's contact phone number.
Full Name – The first name, middle name, and last name of the member.
Role Name – The designation or role assigned to the member (e.g., Project Manager).

Default Details: General fields available across all templates, such as creation date, page number, document title, and other commonly used placeholders.

Date – The creation date of the PDF.
Current Page Number – Displays the number of the current page in the PDF.
Total Page Number – Displays the total number of pages in the PDF.

Creating a template involves the following steps:

Step 1- Margin Setup
Step 2- Layout Setup
- Add Header and Footer
- Add Subheader and Subfooter
Step 3- Cover Page
Step 4- Table of Contents
Step 5- Document Content Setup
Step 6 - Save and Activate your Template

Step 1- Margin Setup

You can customize the margins of the pages to align with your organization’s formatting preferences.

Even Margins – Enter the margin space (in pixels) that applies to all four sides of the pages equally.

Custom Margins – Enter specific margin spaces (in pixels) for the top, bottom, left, and right sides.

Step 2- Layout Setup

You can configure page headers and footers, and customize the overall document structure.

Add header and subheaders
Add footer and subfooters

Add Header and Footer

Placed only on the first page of the document, typically used for details like company name, logo, or project title.

Click the '+' icon of the required elements on the right pane to add them in your template. You can also do the following directly on the template editor:
- Text – Insert a single line of text, such as the report title, labels, or notes.
- Image – Add images, such as your organization's logo.
- Date – Displays the date the report was generated.
- Table- Insert table ( a row/ a column) to place text or images at a required position. You can also use tables without borders to place logo images and details like company name, address, etc., at desired positions.

Add Subheader and Subfooter

Applied to all subsequent pages of the document, ensuring consistent information such as page numbers, dates, or project details throughout the document.

Click the '+' icon of the required elements on the right pane to add them in your template. You can also do the following directly on the template editor:
- Text – Insert a single line of text, such as the report title, labels, or notes.
- Image – Add images, such as your organization's logo.
- Page Number – Automatically displays the current page number.
- Date – Displays the date the report was generated.
- Table- Insert table (a row/column) to place text or images at a required position

Step 3- Cover Page

Click 'Add Cover Page' and drag and drop the cover page as an image file. All image file types are supported.

Step 4- Table of Contents

Linarc automatically generates a table of contents with clickable links, allowing users to quickly navigate through the PDF document

Click the '+' button next to Table of Contents in the left pane.

Step 5- Document Content Setup

Select 'Body Section' on the left
Type your text and use the document-specific and general elements from the right pane to build and customize the body content of your PDF template.
Add elements to the template by clicking them from the left pane to complete your preferred layout. You can add text, images, tables, and page breaks as mentioned above.

Step 6- Save and Activate your Template

Click the 'Save Template' button at the top

Click the 'Active' check box for the template to replace the currently active system or user template.
Click the 'Save' Button

You can also clone an existing user or standard template and edit it to your preference to create a new template. See Create PDF Template from Standard Template for more details.