👤 For pipe members and administrators who need to share card information with external people
🔐 Available on all plans
🎯 For those who already have the PDF Generator configured and want to know how to generate, download and troubleshoot the document
Generating a PDF of a card is one of the most used features for communication with people outside the process: clients, suppliers, managers who do not have access to the pipe. The flow is simple, but the question that comes up most often is always the same: the PDF was generated, but where is it?
This article answers that question and covers the complete path, from template to download, including what to do when the document comes out with incorrect data or is not generated.
📖 What you will learn here:
How does the manual PDF generation flow work?
Pipefy's PDF Generator works inside the card. The document is generated from the information filled in the fields of that card, using a previously created template.
Step by step to generate a PDF manually:
- Open the card you want to generate the PDF from.
- Locate the PDF Generator button inside the card.
- Select the template you want to use. If there is more than one active template in the pipe, all of them will appear for selection.
- Pipefy opens a preview screen with the filled document. Check whether the information is correct.
- Click Download. The PDF file is saved directly to your computer.
Only pipe administrators and members can generate PDFs. Users with view-only, read or start-form-filling permission do not have access to this feature.
How to download and share the generated PDF?
The manually generated PDF is downloaded directly to your computer the moment you click Download on the preview screen. There is no intermediate storage step inside the card: the file goes straight to your browser's downloads folder.
To share the document after the download:
- By email via the card: use the Email tab inside the card to send the PDF as an attachment to the recipient, keeping the record of the communication linked to the demand.
- By external email: attach the downloaded file in your email client as usual.
- By link or drive: upload the file to the repository your team uses and share the link.
If you need to generate the same PDF for several cards, the manual process needs to be repeated card by card. For larger volumes, consider automating the generation.
How does automatic PDF generation work?
Besides manual generation, Pipefy lets you configure automations that trigger PDF generation when a specific event happens in the process, such as a card changing phase or a field being filled in.
The automation eliminates the need for the operator to remember to generate the document: the PDF is produced at the right moment, as part of the process flow.
Configuring the PDF automation involves Pipefy's integration platform and is covered in detail in article #23 of this track. If you have not configured the automation yet and want to understand how to structure that flow, start there.
Use manual generation when the PDF is occasional or on demand. Use automation when the document is part of the standard process flow and needs to be generated every time a condition is met.
How to create and customize the PDF template?
The template defines how the PDF will look: which card information will be included, how the document is organized visually and which fields appear in each part.
To create a template:
- Open the pipe and click Tools.
- Select PDF Generator.
- Click Create new template.
- Build the template using fixed text, images, tables and dynamic fields, which are the card fields that will be filled in automatically in the document.
- Click Save when the template is ready.
To activate or deactivate a template, use the on/off toggle in the template list. Only active templates appear for selection at the moment of generation.
Dynamic field limitations: connections between cards, attachments, checklists and the card ID cannot be used as dynamic fields in the template. All other field types are available.
What to do when the PDF is not generated or comes out with incorrect data?
Two problems account for most of the questions about the PDF Generator. Here is how to identify and solve each one.
The PDF is not generated or the button does not appear
- Check your permission in the pipe. The PDF Generator button only appears for administrators and members. If you have view or form-filling permission, you will not have access to the feature.
- Check whether there is any active template. If no template is active in the pipe, the generator has no template to use. Access Tools > PDF Generator and confirm that at least one template is enabled.
- Check whether the feature is available in your plan. The PDF Generator is a native Pipefy feature, but confirm with the account administrator whether it is enabled for your context.
The PDF is generated but the data is incorrect or blank
- Are the card fields filled in? The template uses dynamic fields that pull the information directly from the card. If the field in the card is empty, the corresponding field in the PDF also appears blank.
- Is the field used in the template compatible? Connections between cards, attachments, checklists and the card ID do not work as dynamic fields. If the template uses any of these types, replace it with a compatible field.
- Is the template using the correct pipe field? If the pipe went through restructuring and fields were renamed or removed, the template may be referencing fields that no longer exist. Review the mapping inside the template editor.
Before distributing a PDF to a client or supplier, always use the preview screen to confirm that the data is correct. It avoids the rework of generating and resending the document.
Before moving on, confirm that you know:
☐ How to locate the PDF Generator button inside a card
☐ The complete flow: select template, review preview and download the file
☐ That the manually generated PDF goes straight to the computer's download
☐ How to create and activate a PDF template in Tools > PDF Generator
☐ Which field types do not work as dynamic fields in the template
☐ What to check when the PDF does not appear or comes out with incorrect data
