Custom PDF templates for participant documents

Custom PDF templates for participant documents

A custom PDF template generates a personal participant document with placeholders. It is suitable, for example, for an additional confirmation or certificate layout. It is maintained in the same template area as custom emails but has the type PDF.

Create custom PDF template

1. Open Settings → Email → Custom Templates.
2. Select Create new template and enter a clear name, such as “Continuing education attendance certificate”.
3. Select the entry PDF Template in the Type field and select Create.
4. Select the required language and design the document with text and placeholders.
5. Save and open the PDF preview. Additionally, check an actual document generation with a demo person in the offered document workflow.

Use appropriate participant data and certificate values

Custom PDF templates for participant documents use the certificate template’s placeholder family. This includes participant, offer and organization data, along with attendance, certificate number, validation link, QR code and instructor signature. Not every document workflow supplies all these values. A field remains empty if the current process has no data for it.

Start with a small layout:

<h1>Confirmation of attendance</h1>
<p>##UserFirstname## ##UserLastname##</p>
<p>##OfferName##</p>
<p>##OfferStartDate## to ##OfferEndDate##</p>
<p>##CompanyName##</p>

Then add only the values that the selected document workflow actually provides. The filtered PDF reference shows the offered entries.

Background, header/footer, and CSS

You can assign a single-page background PDF to a PDF template. It is used when generating the document and is not a separate email attachment. Use a compatible PDF/A file smaller than 1.0 MB. Headers, footers and specific PDF CSS classes complete the layout. For the rules and size limits, see PDF attachments and PDF backgrounds.

Select paper format and PDF version under Settings → Formats. The custom PDF-CSS is accessible in the PDF editor and also applies account-wide. The toggle PDF documents are password-protected is found under Settings → System: It protects generated documents from editing and is not a general opening password. After changes, check all used document types.

Design long certificates, columns, and signatures

Design the certificate with realistic data lengths. A single-sided background PDF determines the graphics but does not automatically reserve space for long texts, tables, or signatures. An arbitrary amount of content is not automatically scaled to exactly one readable page via a separate toggle.

1. Copy the working template and consciously select paper format and PDF version. These settings and the PDF-CSS apply account-wide.
2. Separate the variable main content from a short signature area. Use a simple table with two columns for two side-by-side entries; avoid a single high table row that contains the entire long certificate content.
3. Consciously select font size, cell widths, and spacing in the editor. Start with readable text and shorten unnecessary repetitions before reducing the font. For targeted CSS rules, use custom classes with custom_.
4. Keep distance in the content from the fixed logo and footer area of the background. Check the page break and design a consciously multi-page document if necessary. The background graphic does not shift the content out of its printed areas by itself.
5. Position the dynamic instructor signature and an additional fixed signature using the example with two signatures. Check image sizes, cases with multiple instructors and cases with missing signature data.
6. Generate actual PDFs with short and long offer names, long personal names, many additional details, and all languages. Check every page, the signature position, and the print output.

Example: A short certificate title with name and date fits on one page. The detailed learning content goes into a separate text area before the two-column signatures. If the learning content extends to a second page, the font remains readable; logo, footer, and signatures are checked on both pages. The HTML preview does not replace this PDF check.

Custom attendance lists have their own page margin fields. These control the attendance list layout and do not change the certificate template. Open an individual generated certificate directly from the booking’s participation card.

Check usage and dispatch

A custom PDF template does not appear as a custom email task or location/label email template. These selection lists require the type Email. The new PDF template also does not replace a system template such as Rechnung.pdf or Ticket.pdf.

The selection of a custom document takes place where the respective participant document workflow offers such templates. Creating it alone does not activate automatic dispatch. If a finished, identical PDF for all recipients is to be sent with an email, upload it as a static attachment to the email template.

Check the result

• Check text, font, file name, and background per active language.
• Use names with special characters and long offer names.
• Check a person with missing optional details.
• Check multiple pages as well as the header and footer.
• For attendance or certificate values, compare the actual document output with the participant record.

Select a PDF template with an automation

1. Open Settings → Automations and create or edit a suitable rule.
2. Select the communication trigger Before sending the booking confirmation or Before creating the certificate, suitable for your document.
3. Define the conditions under which your own layout should be used.
4. Select the action Replace PDF template and select your own PDF template from the template selection.
5. Save and test the rule with a suitable test object. Then compare the actual document output before activating it for your customer workflows.

The replacement uses the intended participant document context of the trigger. It does not generate any arbitrary additional attachment. E-mail and PDF replacement are separate actions; for a different message text, use the corresponding mail template action.

Replacement and fallback to the default template

You need the enabled template feature and access to the automations. Your own PDF template must be active, fit the participant document family, and be available for the required recipient language. The replacement type of the rule must be Replace PDF template; an e-mail template is not a valid selection for this.

If the selected template is deleted, inactive, unreadable, or unsuitable for the workflow, edoobox retains the default template. Therefore, if a rule appears to have no effect, first check the rule condition, type, active template, and language variant. The replacement applies to the intended participant documents and does not allow arbitrary exchange of invoices, tickets, or dunning PDFs.