Document Templates & Library
A document template is a fillable PDF FiscFlow populates from a submission's data, so a standard form - a reimbursement claim, a field-trip packet - comes out filled in consistently every time. Templates live in the Document Library, and a template's field mappings are what connect its form fields to the right values.
The Document Library
The Document Library (under Common in the navigation) is the catalog of every template your district has built. It's a flat list - there are no folders or categories; templates are organized instead by which submission types they're attached to. A single template can be linked to several types, and a type can offer several templates, so you build a form once and reuse it wherever it applies.
A template is made of four things:
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Name * | What the template is called in the picker. |
| Attachment | The uploaded template file - a fillable PDF (see the limitation below). |
| Field mappings | The list that connects each form field in the PDF to a value from the submission - the heart of it, covered below. |
| Submission types | The types that should offer this template. Only types whose category allows documents can be linked. |
Building a template
- Make a fillable PDF
In your PDF editor, add form fields and give each one a clear name (for example
EmployeeName,FiscalYear,Approved). Those names are what the mappings target, so keep them tidy. - Create the template and upload it
In the Document Library, add a template, give it a Name, and upload the PDF as its Attachment.
- Map the fields
Add a field mapping for each form field you want filled - see below.
- Attach it to submission types
Add the relevant submission types to the template's Submission types list. Now those types offer it.
Field mapping
Field mapping is how a template knows what to put where. Each mapping is a simple pair:
| Mapping part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Field Name | The exact name of the form field in the PDF. It must match a field in the document character-for-character. |
| Expression | A formula that computes the value from the submission. Whatever it returns is written into that PDF field. |
The expression is a DevExpress criteria expression evaluated against the submission, so you can reach anything on the submission and the records it links to - the employee, the assignment, the requisition and its fiscal year, the account, the site, dates, and totals. Wrap a property path in square brackets:
| PDF field | Expression | Fills with |
|---|---|---|
EmployeeName | [EmployeeAssignment.Employee.FullName] | the employee's name |
FiscalYear | [PersonnelRequisition.FiscalYear.Name] | the fiscal year |
Site | [Site.Name] | the submission's site |
TotalAmount | [TotalDocumentValue] | the summed document value |
SubmittedDate | [SubmittedOn] | the date it was submitted |
Approved (checkbox) | [Status] = 'Approved' | ticks the box when true |
Because it's a full criteria expression, you can also concatenate, format, and use conditionals - the same expression language used elsewhere in FiscFlow. The exact property names are those on the submission and its related records.
Text fields take whatever the expression returns (formatted as text). A
checkbox field is ticked when its expression evaluates to true -
so map checkboxes to a yes/no condition like [Status] = 'Approved'.
Getting a template right
Auto-fill is powerful but quiet - a few things to know so a template behaves:
- PDF form fields only. Auto-fill works on the named form fields of a fillable PDF, and only on text fields and checkboxes (other field types - radios, dropdowns, signatures - are left alone). Word, Excel, and other files can still be uploaded as templates, but they're attached as-is with no merge.
- Names must match exactly. A mapping whose Field Name doesn't match a PDF field is simply skipped.
- Problems are silent. A mistyped expression, a missing field, or a type mismatch doesn't raise an error - that field just comes out blank. So generate a test document from a real submission and check every field before rolling the template out.
What users see
On a document entry, a user's template choices are exactly the templates linked to that submission's type. Picking one generates the filled PDF and attaches it, and manual file upload is disabled for that entry (the template is the file). The generated document then routes and finalizes like any other - see Document submissions.