Generate documents
A document template is an ordinary Word (.docx) file with placeholders in it — like {{ clientName }} — that get filled in with your data. A generate action is the automation that fills the template with a record’s values and produces a finished PDF or Word file. Same record plus same template always gives the same document — there’s no AI in this step, just a reliable fill.
This page covers two building blocks you set up once and reuse: the document template and the generate action that fills it. It also shows how documents get reviewed and approved when a run produces them.
A document template is a Word file you fill with data. A project template is a starting point for a whole project. They are different things — this page is only about document templates. For project templates, see Project templates.
Anyone in your organization can view the document templates library. Creating, editing, activating, or deleting a template — and building generate actions — needs builder-level access. Without it you’ll see “You don’t have access to templates. Ask an admin if you need it.” See Roles and permissions.
How it fits together
To produce documents, three pieces work in order:
- A record type defines the shape of your data (for example, “Client”). See Record types.
- A document template is the Word file whose placeholders pull from that record type.
- A generate action fills the template with each record’s values and produces the finished files.
The template and the action are both Building Blocks — you set them up once and reuse them across projects.
Set up a document template
Document templates live under Document templates in the Building Blocks group of the sidebar. The library lists every template in a table with Name, Status, Kind, Binding, Version, Used by, and Updated. The Status badge reads Draft, Active, or Archived (a template must be Active before a generate action can use it). Used by tells you how many generate actions reference the template — for example “Not in use” or “2 actions”.
Create the template
Choose Word document
Under What kind of template?, pick Word document — “A .docx with placeholders, filled with record data to make PDF or Word files.” (The other option, PDF or image form, is for blank fillable forms.)
Add your Word file
Drop the file on the zone or click Choose a Word file. Only .docx files up to 20 MB are accepted. A wrong file type shows “Only Word documents (.docx) can be used as templates.”
Bind it and check the placeholders
In the editor, the header shows the template name, its Status badge, a Version badge, and the Save and Activate buttons. Below it you’ll bind the template, review its placeholders, and preview the result.
Bind to a record type
Use the Record type binding select to pick the record type whose fields fill this template — or choose Not bound — free-form data. Binding lets RakerOne check every placeholder against that record type’s fields and offer record-based previews. Changing the binding re-checks the file and bumps the version.
Need to fix the file? Click Download to open it in Word, make your edits, then use Replace file to upload the new version. Re-uploading re-runs Checks and bumps the version.
Preview before you activate
The Try it panel renders a throwaway preview — nothing is saved to any project. Provide Sample data (JSON) or, for a bound template, Pick a record to use real data, then click Render preview. PDFs preview inline; Word output can’t preview (“Preview isn’t available for Word output. Download the file to review it.”). If any placeholders came out blank, you’ll see “Some placeholders were left blank.” Click Save as sample data to keep your preview inputs as the default.
Activate
Click Activate to move the template from Draft to Active. The button is enabled only when there are zero check errors and the binding is valid; any blockers are listed inline. A generate action can only use an Active template.
What you can put in a template
The editor’s Writing templates help panel explains the placeholder language. The essentials:
Single values
Write {{ fieldName }} to drop in a value. Dot paths work for nested data — for example {{ client.name }}.
Loops and conditionals
Repeat content per item with a loop (put the loop tags inside a table row to repeat that row for each item). Use a conditional to show content only when a condition holds.
Built-in objects
Every render has _record, _org, _project, and _now available, plus _records when one document covers several records. These appear in the variables panel as “Provided automatically.”
Filters
Format a value by chaining a filter after it with a pipe — for example to format a number or a date. The help panel lists the available string, number, date, conditional, and array filters.
Images, barcodes, and rich text
Draw a text box in Word, give it a red border, and put a single expression inside it. It renders as an embedded image, a barcode (such as a QR code), or Markdown turned into real Word paragraphs.
Editing safely
It’s safe to edit the text around placeholders. If Word splits a placeholder while you type, RakerOne repairs it automatically; anything it can’t repair shows up in Checks.
Build the generate action
A template doesn’t produce anything on its own — a generate action does. You create it from the Actions library; see Actions for the New action dialog and the three action kinds. Choose Generate documents as the kind. The editor then has two parts.
How it’s built
This is where you point the action at its Word template:
- Library template — pick a published template from the document templates library, or
- Upload here — a
.docxthat belongs only to this action and won’t appear in the library.
The pickers read Pick a template, View template, and Replace template file / Upload template.
What it produces
This section controls the finished output:
Activate and the version pin
Activating the generate action pins it to the template’s current version. If someone later replaces the template file, that pin goes stale and a banner appears: A newer template version is available. You must Re-activate the action to adopt the new version. Until you do, generation refuses with a version-mismatch message.
A template can’t be deleted while a generate action uses it (“Templates used by a generation action can’t be deleted”). Archive it instead. Old versions are kept so a pinned action keeps rendering the version it expects.
Generate documents from a run
When a playbook includes a generate action as a task, the run produces documents for you. The task panel is Generated documents.
If the task needs approval, it parks at Pending approval and shows Documents to review (N). Each document previews inline (Word files show a Download instead), along with any render warnings such as “Some placeholders were left blank.” The prompt reads “Open each document to confirm it reads correctly, then approve. Approved documents become part of the project’s files.” Click Approve documents to finish.
Approving these documents is the same kind of human gate as approving any other AI or automated work — the documents only become real project files once you approve. See Reviewing AI work for the act of approving, and Assignments and approvals for when approval is required.
Generate documents in a batch
You can also run a generate action over many records at once from a project’s Project actions area. Because it’s a generate action, you pick Records (rather than files) to merge, and each one produces a document you review and approve in a grid. One run handles up to 1000 records.
Batch action runs owns the launcher, the review grid, and how you approve, reject, or retry each generated document.
Where the documents land
Approved generated documents become project files. They carry a Generated badge and a line noting which action, template version, and records produced them. Project files covers the file pool, badges, and how to find and reuse those documents.
Limits and gotchas
File size and type
A template file must be a .docx no larger than 20 MB — only Word templates can be rendered (XLSX and PPTX aren’t supported). A generated file must be under 50 MB (the project file limit); larger output fails with a clear message.
A required field was empty
If a placeholder maps to a required field that has no value, generation stops rather than produce an incomplete document. Fill in the record, then retry. Optional blanks just render empty and show a “Some placeholders were left blank” warning.
The template changed after the action was activated
Replacing the template file makes a pinned action’s version stale, so generation refuses. Re-activate the action to adopt the new file, then retry.
Watermarks are PDF-only
A watermark only appears on PDF output. It has no effect when the action produces Word files.
When a generate run fails on a specific row, the review grid shows the exact cause and a retry. Batch action runs lists every per-row error message and its fix.