Custom PDFs

  • Updated on Jul 14, 2025
  • 3 minute(s) read
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Custom PDFs allow form builders to upload their own PDFs, which can replace the out-of-the-box PDFs generated as part of the form submission. Custom PDFs with form fields can be mapped to Process Automation and Digital Services form elements, allowing for the creation of completely custom PDFs.

Create a Custom PDF

Prerequisite

To use the Custom PDFs feature, you will need a PDF with fillable form fields. Ensure that these fields have informative names so you know which PDF fields to map to Process Automation and Digital Services form elements.An example PDF with fillable fields.

Instructions

  1. Sign in to your site

  2. Navigate to Forms and select the form you wish to add a Custom PDF to The Forms menu and an example selected form.

  3. Select the Settings tab The Settings tab at the top of the Forms screen.

  4. Scroll to the Custom PDFs section The Custom PDFs section within the Settings tab.

  5. Click Add Custom PDF The white, rectangular Add Custom PDF button at the bottom of the Custom PDFs section.

  6. Enter a label for your PDF The Label field at the top of the Add Custom PDF modal.

  7. Drag and drop the desired PDF from your device onto the upload field, or click the upload field to select a PDF from your device's file explorer The 'Click here or drag to upload file' field.

  8. Map the PDF form fields to the relevant Process Automation and Digital Services form elements The PDF Form Field Mappings options on the Add Custom PDF modal.

    Note: The PDF preview will only show when you first add the Custom PDF. The preview will not show when you are editing the PDF field mappings later.

  9. Click OK The green, rectangular OK button in the lower-right corner of the Add Custom PDF modal.

  10. Click Save to save your changes to the form The green, rectangular Save button in the upper-right corner of the Forms screen.

  11. The Custom PDF has been created, and it can be added to your workflow events or the Success Message

Workflow

Many of the out-of-the-box workflow events have the option to generate a PDF. Each of these can now be replaced with a Custom PDF:

  • Email + PDF

  • SharePoint: Store PDF

  • Micro Focus Content Manager

  • Authority Civica

Instructions

  1. Sign in to your site

  2. Navigate to Forms and select the form you wish to add a Custom PDF workflow to The Forms menu and an example selected form.

  3. Navigate to the Workflow tab The Workflow tab at the top of the Forms screen.

  4. Add the desired Workflow event and open the Advanced section An example workflow event and the Advanced button below the event configuration options.

  5. In the PDF Configuration settings, select the Custom tab and choose the desired Custom PDF from the dropdown The 'Custom' PDF Configuration tab and an example file in the Custom PDF dropdown.

  6. Click Save to save your changes to the form The green, rectangular Save button in the upper-right corner of the Forms screen.

  7. The Custom PDF has been added to your workflow events

Success Message

As part of a form submission, the user is presented with a Success Message. This message can include a button to download the submission PDF.

Instructions

  1. Sign in to your site

  2. Navigate to Forms and select the form with the Success Message you wish to add a Custom PDF to The Forms menu and an example selected form.

  3. Select the Settings tab The Settings tab at the top of the Forms screen..

  4. Toggle the Display a button to download the submission PDF switch to 'on,' if it is not already The gray and white Display a button to download the submission PDF switch.

  5. In the PDF Configuration settings, select the Custom tab and choose the desired Custom PDF from the dropdown The 'Custom' PDF Configuration tab and an example file in the Custom PDF dropdown.

  6. Click Save to save your changes to the form The green, rectangular Save button in the upper-right corner of the Forms screen.

  7. The Custom PDF has been added to the Success Message

Tips and Tricks

With the Custom PDF configured, Process Automation and Digital Services form data will populate the Custom PDF after completing a submission.

  • Font Size: Set a font size in your PDF editor, as this will be used when generating the content for the PDF. By default, this can be set to "Auto" (automatic), meaning the imported form data will increase in font size until it fills the container.

  • Multi-line: If you are populating a multi-line text box, enable the multi-line option within your PDF editor. This will ensure line breaks the user adds to the Process Automation and Digital Services form are respected within the PDF.

  • Field Naming: Ensure the name of the PDF field is relevant making the mapping process in the system much easier.

An example custom PDF with fillable fields.

Current Limitations

To release the first iteration of the Custom PDF quickly, and to start receiving feedback, a few features are currently not being catered for. If you need any of the below current items or any other feature that is not being catered for, please reach out using our Feature Request Board:

  • Images: Images uploaded using the Camera or Files element cannot currently be embedded in the Custom PDF.

  • Repeatable Sets: Elements within a repeatable set cannot be mapped to a custom PDF.

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