You can use Operate’s editor to create templates for any type of document that you might want to use within your business, in relation to your workspace, your customers, sales or billing.
While Operate provides specific features for creating key documents such as invoices or licence agreements, the more general document template features allow you to create any type of document that you might need.
There are two types of documents that you will already find preconfigured: The Standing Order Document and the Direct Debit Document (which you can use to send direct debit collection information to your bank).
To get started creating templates for your documents, go to the Settings > General >section, then select Templates > Document Templates.
To create a new template, click the New button, at the top of the list.
On the next screen, Operate will give you the option to start from scratch, using a blank layout; or select one of the pre-existing templates, which you can change according to your preferences. For the purpose of this guide, we will start with a Simple Standing Order template.
Once you have selected the layout you want to use, you will be presented with the following screen:
Click the Template Settings button to expand its options. Here is where you can name your template, set the paper size, choose if you want to add a header and footer and determine the size of your margins.
Click Add Merge Fields to expand the options. Here is where you can add fields to your document. First, select a field category, then select a merge field. In our example, we are looking into the Locations category and we are adding a Location Entity field. Now that the field is selected, all you need to do is click and drag it onto the invoice layout, wherever you want to place it. Please see the demonstration below.
Repeat this process for as many fields as you need to add.
Once you have added a field onto the template, you can hover your cursor over it and see which module it will pull data from.
Next, you can customize the look of your document, using the editor on the right. You can customize fonts, font sizes, colours, formatting or alignment. You can add page breaks, boxes, images, tables or sections. Here is a brief demonstration of each button within the editor and wt you can use it for:
You can add a header and footer to your template as well - please read more here.
You can remove page breaks by selecting the Source view and removing this block of code (you will need to remove one block per page break)
<div class="page-break" style="page-break-before:always"><span contenteditable="false">Page Break</span></div>
Save your template when you are happy with it. Your document will be immediately available for use.
If you want to make changes in the future, you can edit default or custom templates any time, using the pencil icon next to the template. You can delete a template using the “x” sign.
To update multiple templates at once, use the Update button at the top of the list and choose the elements that you would like to update.
To preview your template you can use the convenient print preview feature. This should alleviate the pain of guessing where page breaks naturally occur. It does not provide a preview of what the merge fields translate to, but does provide a very accurate illustration of how your document would appear once printed on paper or attached to an email as a PDF document. Merge fields are replaced by sample data.
