Generate Document Action Block

What it does: Automatically create professional documents (PDFs, Word files, etc.) from templates using your workflow data.

📄

In simple terms: Fill templates with data and generate formatted documents like invoices, contracts, reports, or certificates automatically.

When to Use This

Use the Generate Document action when you need to:

✅ Create invoices from order data
✅ Generate contracts with customer information
✅ Produce reports with dynamic content
✅ Make certificates with personalized names
✅ Create proposals automatically
✅ Generate custom letters or emails

Example: When an order is placed, automatically generate an invoice PDF with order details, customer info, and payment terms.

Features

Multiple Formats: PDF, DOCX, HTML, TXT
Template Engine: Use variables and logic in templates
Dynamic Content: Insert workflow data automatically
Formatting: Rich text, tables, images, styling
Conditional Content: Show/hide sections based on data
Loops: Repeat sections (like line items)
File Storage: Save to cloud or return URL
Custom Styling: Apply fonts, colors, layouts
Headers/Footers: Add consistent branding
Page Numbering: Automatic page numbers

Setup

1. Choose Output Format

PDF: Best for professional documents

Invoices
Contracts
Reports
Certificates

DOCX: Editable Word documents

Proposals
Templates for editing
Form letters

HTML: Web-ready format

Email templates
Web content
Dynamic pages

TXT: Plain text

Simple reports
Data exports
Log files

2. Create Your Template

Templates use Handlebars syntax for variables and logic.

Basic Variable Insertion:

Hello {{customerName}},
 
Your order #{{orderId}} has been confirmed.
Total: ${{orderTotal}}

Nested Variables:

{{customer.firstName}} {{customer.lastName}}
{{customer.address.street}}
{{customer.address.city}}, {{customer.address.state}}

Conditional Content:

{{#if isPremiumCustomer}}
Thank you for being a Premium member!
{{else}}
Consider upgrading to Premium for exclusive benefits.
{{/if}}

Loops (Repeating Content):

Order Items:
{{#each items}}
  - {{this.name}}: ${{this.price}} x {{this.quantity}} = ${{this.total}}
{{/each}}
 
Total: ${{orderTotal}}

Conditional Sections:

{{#if hasDiscount}}
Original Price: ${{originalPrice}}
Discount: -${{discountAmount}}
{{/if}}
Final Price: ${{finalPrice}}

Template Examples

Invoice Template

INVOICE
 
Invoice #: {{invoiceNumber}}
Date: {{invoiceDate}}
Due Date: {{dueDate}}
 
BILL TO:
{{customer.name}}
{{customer.address.street}}
{{customer.address.city}}, {{customer.address.state}} {{customer.address.zip}}
Email: {{customer.email}}
 
ITEMS:
{{#each items}}
{{this.description}}
Quantity: {{this.quantity}} x ${{this.unitPrice}} = ${{this.total}}
{{/each}}
 
Subtotal: ${{subtotal}}
{{#if tax}}
Tax ({{taxRate}}%): ${{tax}}
{{/if}}
{{#if discount}}
Discount: -${{discount}}
{{/if}}
 
TOTAL DUE: ${{total}}
 
Payment Terms: {{paymentTerms}}
{{#if notes}}
Notes: {{notes}}
{{/if}}

Certificate Template

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
 
This certifies that
 
{{participantName}}
 
has successfully completed
 
{{courseName}}
 
on {{completionDate}}
 
Grade: {{grade}}
Certificate ID: {{certificateId}}
 
{{#if honors}}
WITH HONORS
{{/if}}
 
___________________________
Instructor: {{instructorName}}

Contract Template

SERVICE AGREEMENT
 
This agreement is entered into on {{contractDate}}
 
BETWEEN:
{{company.name}}
{{company.address}}
 
AND:
{{client.name}}
{{client.address}}
 
SERVICES:
{{#each services}}
{{@index}}. {{this.description}}
   Fee: ${{this.fee}}
{{/each}}
 
TERMS:
{{#each terms}}
- {{this}}
{{/each}}
 
Total Contract Value: ${{totalValue}}
Duration: {{duration}}
Start Date: {{startDate}}
End Date: {{endDate}}
 
{{#if cancellationPolicy}}
Cancellation Policy:
{{cancellationPolicy}}
{{/if}}
 
SIGNATURES:
___________________________    ___________________________
{{company.name}}               {{client.name}}
Date: _____                     Date: _____

Report Template

MONTHLY REPORT
{{reportMonth}} {{reportYear}}
 
SUMMARY:
Total Revenue: ${{metrics.revenue}}
Total Orders: {{metrics.orders}}
Average Order Value: ${{metrics.avgOrderValue}}
Customer Satisfaction: {{metrics.satisfaction}}%
 
TOP PRODUCTS:
{{#each topProducts}}
{{@index}}. {{this.name}} - {{this.unitsSold}} units sold
{{/each}}
 
GROWTH METRICS:
Revenue Growth: {{growth.revenue}}%
Customer Growth: {{growth.customers}}%
Order Volume Growth: {{growth.orders}}%
 
{{#if alerts}}
ALERTS:
{{#each alerts}}
- {{this.type}}: {{this.message}}
{{/each}}
{{/if}}
 
Generated: {{generatedDate}}

Advanced Features

Formatting

Bold and Italic (HTML mode):

<b>Bold text</b>
<i>Italic text</i>
<u>Underlined text</u>

Headers:

<h1>Main Title</h1>
<h2>Section Header</h2>
<h3>Subsection</h3>

Tables:

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Item</th>
    <th>Quantity</th>
    <th>Price</th>
  </tr>
  {{#each items}}
  <tr>
    <td>{{this.name}}</td>
    <td>{{this.quantity}}</td>
    <td>${{this.price}}</td>
  </tr>
  {{/each}}
</table>

Images

Insert Images:

<img src="{{logoUrl}}" alt="Company Logo" width="200" />
<img src="{{product.imageUrl}}" alt="Product Photo" />

Custom Styling (HTML/PDF)

CSS Styles:

<style>
  body {
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
    margin: 40px;
  }
  .header {
    background-color: #007bff;
    color: white;
    padding: 20px;
  }
  .total {
    font-size: 24px;
    font-weight: bold;
    color: #28a745;
  }
</style>
 
<div class="header">
  <h1>{{documentTitle}}</h1>
</div>
 
<div class="total">
  Total: ${{total}}
</div>

Helper Functions

Date Formatting:

{{formatDate date "MMMM DD, YYYY"}}
{{formatDate timestamp "MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm"}}

Number Formatting:

{{formatNumber value decimals=2}}
{{formatCurrency amount currency="USD"}}

Math Operations:

{{add value1 value2}}
{{subtract total discount}}
{{multiply price quantity}}
{{divide total count}}

String Operations:

{{uppercase text}}
{{lowercase text}}
{{capitalize name}}
{{truncate description length=100}}

Configuration Options

Page Settings (PDF)

Page Size:

A4 (default)
Letter
Legal
A3
Custom

Orientation:

Portrait
Landscape

Margins:

Top: 20mm
Bottom: 20mm
Left: 20mm
Right: 20mm

Headers and Footers (PDF)

Header Template:

<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10px;">
  {{company.name}} - {{documentType}}
</div>

Footer Template:

<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 10px;">
  Page <span class="pageNumber"></span> of <span class="totalPages"></span>
</div>

Output Settings

Filename: Generated file name

invoice-{{invoiceNumber}}.pdf
contract-{{client.name}}-{{date}}.docx
report-{{month}}-{{year}}.pdf

Storage: Where to save

Return URL (default)
Save to cloud storage
Send via email

Response Mapping

Map generation result to variables:

Available Values:

File URL → {{document.url}}
File Name → {{document.filename}}
File Size → {{document.size}}
Generated At → {{document.timestamp}}
Status → {{document.status}}

Common Use Cases

1. Automated Invoicing

Trigger: Order completed Generate Document: Invoice PDF

Template: Invoice template
Data:
  invoiceNumber: {{order.id}}
  customer: {{order.customer}}
  items: {{order.items}}
  total: {{order.total}}
Output: invoice-{{order.id}}.pdf

2. Certificate Generation

Trigger: Course completed Generate Document: Certificate

Template: Certificate template
Data:
  name: {{student.name}}
  course: {{course.title}}
  date: {{completion.date}}
  grade: {{student.grade}}
Output: certificate-{{student.id}}.pdf
Email to: {{student.email}}

3. Contract Creation

Trigger: Deal won Generate Document: Contract

Template: Service agreement
Data:
  client: {{deal.client}}
  services: {{deal.services}}
  terms: {{deal.terms}}
  value: {{deal.value}}
Output: contract-{{deal.id}}.docx

4. Monthly Reports

Trigger: Schedule (1st of month) Generate Document: Report

Template: Monthly report
Data:
  month: {{currentMonth}}
  metrics: {{fetchMetrics()}}
  topProducts: {{getTopProducts()}}
  growth: {{calculateGrowth()}}
Output: report-{{month}}-{{year}}.pdf
Email to: management@company.com

Best Practices

Template Design

✅ Test templates with sample data first
✅ Handle missing data gracefully
✅ Use consistent formatting
✅ Include all necessary information
✅ Add branding elements (logo, colors)

Data Preparation

✅ Validate data before generating
✅ Format numbers and dates consistently
✅ Handle null/undefined values
✅ Calculate totals beforehand
✅ Sanitize user input

Performance

✅ Optimize images before inclusion
✅ Keep templates reasonably sized
✅ Cache templates when possible
✅ Generate documents asynchronously for large files
✅ Use appropriate formats for use case

Quality

✅ Preview documents before deployment
✅ Test with edge cases
✅ Verify calculations
✅ Check formatting on different devices
✅ Validate against requirements

Troubleshooting

Template Errors

Check:

Handlebars syntax is correct
Variable names match workflow data
Closing tags are present
No typos in variable names

Missing Data

Solutions:

Use default values: {{value or "N/A"}}
Add conditionals: {{#if value}}{{value}}{{/if}}
Validate data before generation
Log missing fields for debugging

Formatting Issues

Fix:

Check HTML/CSS syntax
Test in different viewers
Verify image URLs are accessible
Ensure proper encoding
Check page margins and sizes

File Generation Failures

Check:

Template is valid
Data is properly formatted
File size is within limits
Storage permissions are correct
API quota not exceeded

Limitations

File Size: Max 50MB per document
Template Size: Max 5MB template size
Generation Time: ~30 seconds for complex documents
Images: Max 10MB per image
Pages: Recommended max 100 pages per PDF

💡

Tip: Use HTML templates for maximum flexibility - they can be converted to PDF with full styling support!

Example Workflow

Flow:

Customer places order
Retrieve order details
Calculate taxes and totals
Generate invoice from template
Save PDF to cloud storage
Email invoice to customer
Mark order as invoiced
Workflow complete

Related Blocks

Set Variable: Prepare document data
HTTP Request: Fetch additional data
Send Email: Attach generated documents
Condition: Generate different templates based on criteria
Loop: Generate multiple documents

Need Help?

Review Handlebars documentation
Test templates with sample data
Check generated document in preview
Verify variable names and paths
Monitor generation logs for errors

✅

Pro Tip: Create a library of reusable templates and use variables to customize them for different workflows!

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