How to create a document template
A template is a ready-made form of your company's document: you upload a file once, mark up variable fields in it, and from then on Darlean fills them in automatically whenever you create a document — so you don't have to assemble the document from scratch every time.
Templates can be created and edited by a user with permission to create templates — the "View and edit templates" toggle on a role.
Before you start
Before creating your own template, check whether a ready-made one already exists. It's worth creating your own template only if none of the ready-made ones fit.
Prepare your file in .docx format. Maximum file size — 25 MB.
A template is built from a single file. If the document needs to combine several parts — for example, a contract and its mandatory attachment — merge them into one .docx file before uploading: you can't upload two files separately and link them together.
How to mark up variable fields
Mark variable fields in the text of your file with double curly braces, for example: {{ Full name }}, {{ Date }} — when a document is created from this template, the system will show them as fields to fill in.
Where you place a field in the file text determines where the value will appear in the finished document — mark up the field exactly where its value should go.
If the same field repeats several times in the document — for example, the manager's name appears both in the header and in the signature block — use the same markup for it. The settings you configure for the field at the field-review step apply to every occurrence of it in the document.
How to upload a template
Step 1 — Open the "Templates" directory.
Step 2 — Create a new template and upload your prepared .docx file.
Step 3 — Check the recognized fields. The system automatically finds the variables marked with curly braces and shows them as a list. Check that all the fields you need have been recognized, and configure them — field name and data type.
Don't rely on the automatic check alone: before publishing, make sure yourself that every recognized field is configured. The system may not catch every case of an unconfigured field.
Step 4 — Specify the template's destination — the module where this template will be available for creating documents.
Step 5 — Save the template. A new template is saved with the "Draft" status — in this status it isn't visible when creating documents. To make the template available for use, publish it — its status changes to "Published".
How to edit a template
Open the template you need and make your changes — name, destination, recognized fields. You can't remove the .docx file from a template — you can only upload a new file in its place; the system will then recognize the fields in the newly uploaded file from scratch.
If you need to delete a template
You can delete a template only if it isn't used anywhere. If the template is already in use — for example, business processes link to it, or documents have already been created from it — the system will show an error indicating exactly where it's used, and won't let you delete it.
A template can never be permanently removed from the system — you can only make it unavailable for further use.