Exporting/Merging data to a PDF Template

Owned by David Eedle
Last updated: Oct 26, 2020 by Kai Vedanayagam

Data captured via an online School Form can be merged into a downloadable PDF. 

There are 3 steps to complete prior to merging a School Form to a PDF:

1. Prepare the PDF

2. Upload the PDF

3. Mapping Fields

Prepare the PDF

  • You will need the PDF to be created as a PDF form, with form fields assigned.
  • You will need Acrobat Professional or a similar software tool to create the PDF.
  • Make sure the form fields are named clearly and distinctly.
  • Make sure to use Arial as the font type for all text used in the PDF form.

IMPORTANT. The PDF must be Acrobat V1.5 or less. If your PDF software creates files in a later format, please save them in V1.5 format.

Upload the PDF

Once the PDF document is prepared

  • Go to Form Templates inside EdSmart
  • Click through to the School Form Template you are going to attach the PDF to.
  • There is a section at the bottom which lists the PDF templates attached to the Form Template.

  • Click the Add New button a new window will popup.
  • Enter a description of the PDF
  • Set Enable for Use to On
  • Select the PDF file by clicking the green Select File button.
  • The file will upload, once the upload is complete click the Save File Button.

Mapping Fields

The field mapping page will load.

- The left hand column lists all the available fields from your Form Template.

- The right hand column lists all the fields located on your PDF template.

- Map the fields as needed. You must map at least one field, you do not need to map all the fields.

At the bottom of the field list is a set of fields available all the time. They include:

  • Contact fields - the Parent Contacts if a Student is attached to the School Form
  • School Name
  • Student fields - fields for a Student if a Student is attached to the School Form
  • Date the School Form was created
  • Date the PDF was created
  • User fields - the Staff User who initiated the School Form

You can map each one of these multiple times - for example you might need the date to appear in multiple fields on yoru PDF.

Once you have completed the mapping, click the Save Mapping button. You can return and edit the mapping at any time.

Merging a School Form Data to a PDF

To Merge a School Form to a PDF:

  • Go to view a particular School Form.
  • Click the blue Export button and a menu will drop down.
  • Select the relevant PDF name.
  • Your file will be automatically generated, the data from your School Form will be merged into the fields in the PDF, and the file will begin to download.