Variable Data in Online Template Builder - An Example

The option to upload a database file to populate the template fields is only available in the Forms Based version of Online Template Builder. Below is an example of the process using a simple Name tag product. It is assumed you are already familiar with the basics of creating a standard forms based template.

1) Create the new document in the same manner as any other conventional document. In this example we have three fields (Name, Company, and Venue). Two of them will be populated by a database file (excel or csv) that will be uploaded during the customization process and one will be chosen by a drop down list of possible options the user will choose from.

The image below shows the name tag template in acrobat with our three fields.

2) Upload the master PDF to Online Template Builder. For this example we will not use any images and we will use the default Helvetica Font that is included with the system.

3) Set the properties for the Name Field. Refer to the image below. You can see we set the field type to Text, and set "Variable Data File" for the Data for the field. Data Capture is not needed for Variable Data fields.

4) Format the font and size under the Format tab. If you want the text to be white, make sure to set the color value to zero.

5) Save the formatting for this field. Then set up the Company field in the same way. Since we are discussing the variable data option we will not go into the setup of the third field (the venue). You can refer to the standard drop down formatting of a text field from previous chapters if you need help.

6) Commit Changes.

7) Test the template.

1. The first step is to upload a database file to the template.

2. Update Preview

3. The fields that need to be mapped will display

4. Map the fields with the columns in the database

5. Update Preview once more

 Note: if the field names are the same as the column headers in the database file, the match will happen automatically.

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