Document Templates

Document Templates let you create standardised documents that automatically merge with your record

data. Perfect for generating purchase orders, labels, delivery notes, invoices, and other professional documents with consistent formatting.

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1. What Are Document Templates?

Document templates are pre-designed layouts that combine:

• Fixed content: Text, images, and formatting that stays the same
• Dynamic fields: Placeholders that pull data from your records
• Brand styling: Colours and typography from your Brand Guide

When you print or generate a document, Kinabase automatically fills in the field values from the selected record, creating a polished, professional output.

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2. Creating a Document Template

2.1 Access the Templates Section

1. Open your collection
   • Select the collection
     Collection

     A list of records in Kinabase, similar to a table in a spreadsheet or database.
     from the sidebar.
2. Go to Configure
   • Click ⋯ (options menu) in the top-right corner and select Configure, or right-click the collection name and choose Configure.
3. Navigate to Templates
   • Under the Documents section, click Templates.

2.2 Add a New Template

1. Click 'Add'
   • Click the Add button to create a new template.
2. Fill in template details
   • Icon: Choose an icon to represent your template.
   • Title: Give your template a descriptive name (e.g., 'Purchase Order', 'Delivery Label').
   • Description: Optionally add a description to help users understand when to use this template.
3. Click 'Add'
   • Your template is created and you can now edit its contents.

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3. Editing a Document Template

3.1 Open the Editor

From the templates list, click Edit (pencil icon) next to your template to open the document editor.

3.2 The Editor Interface

The document editor has four main areas:

1. Toolbar (top): Formatting tools and element insertion
2. Page List (left): Thumbnail view of all pages
3. Canvas (centre): The main editing area
4. Properties Sidebar (right): Settings for selected elements

3.3 Text Formatting

The toolbar provides comprehensive text formatting options:

• Text styles: Paragraph, Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3
• Character formatting: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough
• Alignment: Left, Centre, Right, Justify
• Lists: Bullet points, Numbered lists
• Indentation: Increase or decrease indent
• Colours: Text colour and highlight colour

3.4 Inserting Dynamic Fields

To insert data from your records into the template:

1. Type '@'
   • In any text area, type the @ symbol.
2. Select a field
   • An autocomplete dropdown appears showing all available fields
     Field

     A column in a Collection that stores a specific type of information for each Record, such as text, number, or date.
     from your collection.
   • Use the search box to filter or scroll through the list.
3. Click to insert
   • Select the field to insert it at the cursor position.

The field appears as a highlighted placeholder that will be replaced with actual data when the document is generated.

3.5 Adding Elements

Use the toolbar to insert additional elements:

• Tables: Standard tables for structured data
• Data Tables: Dynamic tables linked to lists or related records
• Images: Upload and embed images
• QR Codes: Auto-generated or custom URL QR codes
• Text Boxes: Positioned text elements on the page
• Logos: Your organisation's logo from the Brand Guide
• Horizontal Rules: Visual dividers

3.6 Managing Pages

• Add page: Click Add Page in the page list to create additional pages
• Reorder pages: Drag pages in the sidebar to change their order
• Delete page: Right-click a page thumbnail to remove it

3.7 Canvas Controls

• Zoom: Use the zoom controls to adjust your view
• Margin guides: Toggle guides to see the printable area
• Sidebar: Show or hide the properties panel

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4. Using Document Templates

4.1 Printing from a Record

1. Open a record
   • Select the record you want to generate a document for.
2. Open the options menu
   • Click ⋯ in the top-right corner of the record details.
3. Select 'Print'
   • The print preview opens showing available templates.
4. Choose your template
   • Use the tabs or dropdown to select the template you want.
5. Print or save
   • Click Print to send to your printer, or save as PDF.

4.2 Batch Printing

You can print multiple records using the same template:

1. Select records
   • In your collection view, select multiple records using checkboxes.
2. Open bulk actions
   • Click ⋯ or right-click to access bulk options.
3. Choose 'Print'
   • Select your template and generate documents for all selected records.

The system shows progress as "X of Y records loaded" during batch operations.

4.3 Label Printing

For label templates, Kinabase supports Zebra label printers in addition to standard printers. Configure your printer preferences in the print dialog.

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5. Automating Document Generation

Document templates can be used with automations

to automatically generate PDFs.

Setting Up PDF Generation

1. Open Automations
   • Go to Settings → Automations.
2. Create or edit an automation
   • Add a trigger (e.g., when a workflow stage changes to 'Approved').
3. Add a 'Generate Document PDF' step
   • Select Generate Document PDF as the action.
4. Configure the step
   • Template: Choose the document template to use.
   • Filename: Set a dynamic filename (supports field expressions).
   • Save to Files: Optionally save the PDF to the record's files.
   • Email: Configure email delivery with recipients, subject, and body.

Read our Automations guide for more on setting up automated workflows.

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6. Brand Integration

Document templates automatically apply styling from your Brand Guide:

• Typography: Headings and paragraph styles use your brand fonts
• Colours: Access your brand colour palette
• Logo: Insert your organisation logo

Read our Brand Guide documentation for details on configuring your brand identity.

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7. Best Practices

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Troubleshooting

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Document templates help your organisation maintain professional, consistent documentation while saving time on repetitive document creation. Combine them with automations to fully streamline your document workflows.

If you need assistance, contact your System Admin or our Support Team.