PDF design templates

PDF design templates define the styling and text formatting aspects of the PDF ready to be exported. Users can choose the existing design template to apply along with the content template when they export the Knowledge base content as a PDF.
Design templates help maintain consistency and suit each type of document's requirement.

Accessing the Design templates overview

Users can access the PDF design templates in the Knowledge base portal. Go to Content tools → Import & Export → Export to PDF and choose Design templates tab.

Design template overview page

1. Go to Content tools → Import & Export → Export to PDF
2. Select the Design template tab at the top
3. Users can find the list of design templates available (both system template and custom templates)
4. A default system template can be found. The template name is the name of the respective project (If this feature is being accessed for the first time and no custom template is added)
5. Users can add and manage all design templates from this page

Template actions on the overview page

Users can perform the following action on the Design templates on the overview page. The individual template controls are visible when the user hovers the mouse pointer over each template.

1. Clone: Create a duplicate template similar to the original. Clicking on the clone button would open the design template settings page. The template name would have 'Clone' added to the original template name. The user can make the necessary changes and click Save.

2. Edit: Users can click on the Edit button and edit all the previously saved settings on the template. Once the changes are done, click on the Save button. Click on the Back button to return to the overview page.

3. Delete: Click on the Delete option to remove any design template from the list. A delete confirmation prompt is displayed. Select Yes.
   The delete option is disabled for the default template. Also, if there is only one template available in the list, that is considered a default template.

4. New design template: Unlike the other actions, this action has a dedicated button at the top of the page. Users can click on this button to create new design templates and add them to the list.

New design template

On the design template overview page, click on the New design template button at the top. A design settings window appears. Specify the following settings in each section

Template name

Add a name for the new design template. This is a mandatory field. The name can be a maximum of 50 characters with space. Letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters (only -Hyphen, Underscore_) can be added.

Design options

1. Coverpage

Users can add a cover page to the PDF template by turning on the toggle. The cover page is the very first page in the PDF file.

Once enabled, the following fields can be specified.

a. Title: The title text that appears on the Cover. The title must be less than or equal to 15 characters. It can comprise letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters.

b. Description: Provide a short description of the PDF document. The description must be less than or equal to 65 characters. It can comprise letters, numbers, spaces, and special characters.

c. Color: Specify the text color of the Title and description on the cover. Use the color picker or the hex code to specify the color.

d. Logo: Users can upload any logo image to the cover page. Click on the Upload button, select the image from the local storage file explorer, and click on the Open button.

e. Image size
Users can select the three standard square sizes available Small(100px), Medium(150px), Large(200px), or choose a custom size in pixels. The canvas size can be between 20 and 300 pixels in both width and height.

For example. 300px X 100px

2. Table of content

Turn on the toggle to enable the table of content in your PDF document. The table of content helps in easy navigation to the section of the PDF documents. This usually comprises the categories, sub-categories, and articles.

You can select the checkbox(s) of the heading(s) to make them visible in the table of content in the PDF. When you choose a heading, all the higher-level headings are automatically selected.

For example, when you select H4, H2 and H3 are automatically selected.

Using Table of contents in a document
A table of contents serves two primary functions:

• It's a straightforward way to show every topic your PDF covers at a glance
• It makes document navigation a breeze by clearly showing the page on which each subject is explained

3. Watermark

Users can choose to have either a text or image watermark on their PDF document.

What is a watermark?
A watermark is a text or an image that appears behind the document's main text. It is usually a lighter shade than the text to read the document easily.

Text watermarks are often used to categorize or show a document's purpose with words such as DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, etc.

Image watermarks add brand identity, visual attention, and a professional look with the use of imagery such as logos.

A simple text can be added as a watermark using the text field. If an image watermark is required, select image, click on the Upload image and select an image from your local storage file explorer to continue.

Users can select the three standard square sizes available Small(150px), Medium(200px), Large(250px) or choose a Custom size in pixels. The canvas size can be between 20 and 350 pixels in both width and height.

Layout

Users can choose the page orientation and margin in this section.

1. Orientation

Page orientation is the way in which the rectangular page in the PDF is oriented for normal viewing. Choose between Portrait(Height > Width) or Landscape (Height < Width).

2. Margins

Users can choose from the four different system margins or a custom margin.

• Normal - Top: 50px, Bottom: 50px, Left: 60px, Right: 60px
• Moderate - Top: 30px, Bottom: 30px, Left: 40px, Right: 40px
• Narrow - Top: 10px, Bottom: 10px, Left: 15px, Right: 15px
• Wide - Top: 70px, Bottom: 70px, Left: 80px, Right: 80px
• Custom margins - The margins can be set from minimum of 10 pixels to 80 pixels

Header

Set a header image for the PDF doc template using this section. This acts as a logo (or any image) place holder that appears on all the pages except for the cover.
Click on the Upload image option and select the required image from the local storage file explorer.

• Alignment - Users can select the position the header image should appear in the document. The selections available are Left, Center, and Right.
• Image size - Users can select the three standard sizes available Small(50x60px), Medium(70x80px), Large(80x95px), or choose a custom size in pixels. The canvas size for Height can be between 20 and 85 pixels and Width can be between 20 and 150 pixels.

Footer

Users can specify the data such as page number and custom text they want as recurring content on the footer of the document pages.

1. Page numbers

Turn on the toggle to enable page numbers on each page.

• Page number type - Users can select from the three types of page number provided

  • Page 1 of 10, Page 2 of 10, ...
  • Page 1, Page 2, Page 3....,
  • 1,2,3...

• Alignment - Choose which position the page number should appear on the document. Left, Center or Right

2. Footer text

Along with the page numbers in the footer section, users can add custom footer text to the PDF document. The footer text does not have a character limit.

• Content - Type in the content that should appear in the document's footer section
• Font size -The font size (10 to 16) can be customized based on the requirement.
• Font color - Specify the text color of the footer content. Use the color picker or the hex code to specify the color.

Text settings

Specify the font-related settings for the PDF text in the design template.

• Heading color - Specify the text color of the Heading tags (H2, H3, H4). Use the color picker or the hex code to specify the color
• Font color - Specify the text color of the paragraph content. Use the color picker or the hex code to specify the color
• Disable links - Enable or disable the hyperlinks in the PDF that you want to export. When you turn on the toggle, other than the table of contents and direct URL, the hyperlinks in the PDF are disabled

For example, when you turn on the Disable links toggle and export a PDF, the hyperlinks present in the exported PDF are disabled. However, the hyperlinks of the table of content and direct URL works.

• Links color - Specify the color of the links that appear in the document. Use the color picker or the hex code to specify the color

  Pro tip - Add a color that is associated with your brand or the Heading color for more visual appeal

• Font face - Select from the available font faces for the text in the PDF design template
• Font size - Choose the font size(10 to 24) in the PDF design template

Default template

A design template can be set as a Default template. The default design template is available without selection when the user creates a content template.

Click on the Set as default setting 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.

Check out the below tutorial video: