Designing a PDF template

PDF templates (previously "Design templates") define the PDF's design, styling, and text formatting of the PDF, ready for export. Templates help maintain brand consistency for the different PDFs generated. PDF templates are chosen along with other settings when the user initiates a new Export as PDF.

Users can choose the existing system template (Default) or create a new one.

PDF templates overview page

You can access the PDF templates in the Knowledge base portal. Go to Content tools > Import & export > Export articles and select the PDF templates tab at the top.

• You can view a list of available PDF templates, including both system templates and custom templates. The list displays the template name and the last modified date and time, sortable in ascending or descending order.

• You can add and manage all PDF templates from this page.

Template actions on the overview page

You can manage PDF templates on the overview page using the following actions. Individual controls are visible when you hover over a template:

• Clone (): Duplicate a template. Clicking the Clone button opens the PDF template settings page, with ‘Clone’ appended to the original template name. Make the necessary changes and click Save.

• Edit (): Modify the settings of an existing template. After making changes, click Save. Use the Back button to return to the overview page.

• Delete (): Remove a template from the list. A confirmation prompt appears; click Yes to proceed.

NOTE

You cannot delete the default template. If only one template exists, it is treated as the default template and cannot be deleted.

Create a new PDF template

To create a new PDF template, navigate to the PDF templates page and click Create new template at the top. The Create PDF template panel appears. Enter a unique name for the template (mandatory).

• Maximum of 250 characters.

• Allowed: letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters (-, _).

In the Create PDF template panel, there are 3 tabs:

• Display options: Configure layout, margins, and additional pages.

• Header & footer: Customize header images, footer text, and page numbers.

• Text settings: Define font styles and colors for headings and paragraphs.

Display options

Layout and margins

Choose a page orientation: Portrait (Height > Width) or Landscape (Height < Width) and set margins:

You can also set custom margins between 10 and 80 px.

Cover page

Select Cover page to add a cover page to your PDF and expand its dropdown. The preview on the right updates as you make changes.

Title:
Enter a title for the cover page (up to 250 characters). You can type a static title or use + Add placeholder to insert dynamic metadata that automatically pulls information from the exported article or category.

To add a placeholder:

1. Click + Add placeholder next to the Title field.

2. Select a field from the dropdown. Fields appear in this order:

• PDF Generated Date

• Language Code

• Published date

• Workspace name

• Article version

• Publisher

• Article Title

• Category Title

Fields that don't apply to your export type are automatically skipped in the output.

Example output: Installation_20.Oct.2025_EN_v2_Acme

 NOTE

If your title is too long, It gets truncated at 60 character limit. If Article Title or Category Title is at the end, it uses the full 250 characters. If it appears anywhere before the end, it is cut off at 60 characters. Placeholder characters count toward the 250-character limit.

Description:

Add a supporting description for the cover page (up to 500 characters).

Appearance:

Layout

Use the layout options to set the alignment of the description text and the position of the logo:

NOTE

The Placement option for the logo appears only when the vertical alignment of the description text and the logo is the same.

Terms & conditions

Enable the Terms & conditions section to include an article or custom text in the exported PDF.

• Link an existing article: Select an article to include by default.

• Custom text: Use formatting options to add text, links, numbers, and special characters.

NOTE

There are no character limits for this section.

Table of contents

Select the Table of contents option to enhance navigation within the PDF.

• Title: Enter the heading of the Table of contents, which can be localized or customized.

• Select headings: Choose headings to include in the Table of contents. Selecting a subheading (e.g., H4) automatically includes its higher-level headings (e.g., H2, H3).

• Page numbers: Each heading displays the corresponding page number for quick reference.

Benefits:

• Provides a clear overview of the document’s structure.

• Simplifies navigation by indicating where each section starts.

 NOTE

When readers click headings or article links in the exported PDF, navigation occurs within the PDF itself if the linked content is included in the export; otherwise, links redirect to the corresponding article on the knowledge base site.

End page

The end page is the last page of the exported PDF. It is typically used for legal disclaimers, compliance content, or closing information. Select End page to include it and expand the dropdown.

The end page has the same configuration options as the cover page; Caption, Description, Appearance, and Layout, with the same 250-character limit, placeholder support, and truncation logic.

Watermark

Enable the watermark option at the bottom of the settings page to include a watermark in your PDF.

Types of watermarks

• Image watermark:

  • Upload an image to use as a watermark by clicking the Upload logo or image option.

  • Choose from standard sizes (Small: 150px, Medium: 200px, Large: 250px) or set a custom size (20–350px).

  • Set Opacity to specify the transparency level of the watermark image. Enter a value in terms of percentage (example - 50%).

• Text watermark:

  • Add Watermark text (up to 65 characters) to display as a watermark, such as "DRAFT" or "CONFIDENTIAL."

  • Set Position to specify the placement of the watermark image. Click the dropdown to set the position as Default, Diagonal or Inverse.

  • Set Opacity to specify the transparency level of the watermark image. Enter a value in terms of percentage (example - 50%).

Header & footer

Header image

Add a header image to appear on all pages, excluding the cover page. This can be a logo or any other image.

• Upload image: Select Click to upload logo or image and choose the desired image from your local storage.

• Alignment: Choose the position of the header image: Left, Center, or Right.

• Image size: Select from standard sizes (Small: 50x60 px, Medium: 70x80 px, Large: 80x95 px) or set a custom size (20–150 px for both height and width).

Page numbers

Enable page numbers to appear on every page of the PDF.

• Page number type: Choose from the following formats:

  • Page 1 of 10, Page 2 of 10...

  • Page 1, Page 2, Page 3...

  • 1, 2, 3...

• Alignment: Set the position of the page numbers: Left, Center, or Right.

Footer text

Enable footer text to display information at the bottom of every page. Click + Add placeholder to insert dynamic metadata into the footer.

To add a placeholder:

1. Click + Add placeholder next to the Content field.

2. Select a field. The available fields are grouped by export type and appear in the same order as the Cover page placeholder dropdown. Fields under Single article export apply only to single-article PDFs, while fields under Single + Multi article export are available for both single-article and multi-article PDF exports.

Example output: GettingStarted_20.Oct.2025_EN_UserGuide_ProductDocs_v3

Settings:

• Content: Enter text, numbers, spaces, or special characters. The character limit is 120 characters. A counter shows current count and remaining characters.

• Font size: Customize the font size (10–16).

• Font color: Use the color picker or hex code to set the text color.

NOTE

If the footer exceeds 120 characters, it is cut off automatically. If Article Title or Category Title is at the end, it uses the full 120 characters. If it appears anywhere before the end, it is truncated at 60 characters. Placeholder characters count toward the 120-character limit. The footer space dynamically adjusts based on the text length and font size, ensuring the content is not truncated in the final PDF.

Configure the font and color settings for headings and paragraphs in the PDF.

Heading text settings

• Font family: Choose a font family for the headings (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Verdana).

• Heading color: Use the color picker or enter a hex code to specify the color for heading tags (H2, H3, H4).

Paragraph text settings

• Font family: Select the font family for paragraphs (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Verdana).

• Font size: Choose a font size between 10 and 24.

• Font color: Use the color picker or hex code to set the text color for paragraphs.

Hyperlink settings

• Disable links: Toggle this option to deactivate hyperlinks in the exported PDF, except for the Table of Contents and direct URLs.

  • For example, when this option is enabled, hyperlinks in the content are removed, but those in the Table of Contents and direct URLs remain functional.

• Link color: Set the color of hyperlinks using the color picker or hex code.

PRO TIP

Align link colors with your brand or match them with the heading colors for a visually cohesive design.

Set PDF template as default template

Any PDF template can be set as the Default template. The default template is automatically pre-selected in the Select PDF template field when initiating an Export to PDF.

Select the Set as default settings checkbox on the design template page before you Save any template. A Default tag appears next to the template name on the design template overview page.

NOTE

The default design template cannot be deleted.