Creating a new template

This manual page explains how to create new template from scratch in the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu, and how to create a copy of an existing template, which you can then adjust to suit your needs. It also explains the various settings that you need to adjust when you create a template.

Number of user-defined templates

The number of user-defined templates you can use depends on your contract type:

  • Lite: 0 Templates

  • Lite+: 1 Template

  • Expand: 1 Template

  • Scale: 3 Templates

  • Ultimate: 30 Templates

Click on Template usage in the document template overview to see how many templates are already in use.

1. Creating a new template from scratch

If you create a new template from scratch in DocumentBuilder, the new template will be empty of content. You will therefore need to structure it, fill it with content and configure it.

Creating a new template from scratch:

  1. Open the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu.

  2. Click on Search (search) to list the existing templates.

  3. Click at the top on New template (add).
    Or: In the side navigation on the left, click onadd New template.
    → The template settings open.

  4. Carry out the settings. Refer to the explanations on template settings in the table Template settings.

  5. Save (save) the settings.
    → The template is created and added to the overview.
    → The template view appears.

  6. Adjust the relevant settings in the template view. Refer to the explanations in the sub-chapter Adjusting the settings for a template.

  7. Create the structure and content for the template. Refer to the explanations on manual page Designing the template using the Editor.

2. Copying a template

All templates in DocumentBuilder can be copied. If you copy a template, the copy will have the same content and settings as the original. You can then adapt these as needed.

Copying a template:

  1. Open the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu.
    → The DocumentBuilder overview opens.

  2. Click on Search (search) to list the existing templates.

  3. Find the template you want to copy and click on its context menu (more_vert), which is located on the far right of the template row.

  4. Click on Copy template (file_copy).
    → The template is copied and directly opened.
    Note: The new template will have the same name as the copied template, with the addition of "Copy". Copies are disabled by default.

  5. Adjust the settings for the template. Note the explanations in subchapter Adjusting the settings for a template.

  6. Create the structure and content for the template. Refer to the explanations on manual page Designing the template using the Editor.

3. Adjusting the settings for a template

You adjust the settings for a DocumentBuilder template in the following three areas:

  • The template settings, where you specify the document type and the names for the template.

  • The order settings, where you specify the types of order that the template will be used for.

  • The output settings, where you set the format specifications for a template.

You adjust the settings in the template view. When you create a template or open an existing template in the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu, you switch to the template view, which looks like this:

EN orders docbuilder template view 640 329

  • Navigation: Opened templates appear here for selection (description). The template currently selected for editing (highlighted in grey) is displayed in the main window on the right. Click on add New template in the navigation to create a new template. Click on menu to expand or collapse the navigation bar.

  • Toolbar: Click onsave to save changes, on delete, delete the selected template (settings), onmore_vert, to copy or export a template, and ontoggle_off, to activate or deactivate a template.

  • Main window: In the left-hand section of the main window, you see the template structure of the template currently selected. At the top of the template structure, you see three icons. Click onvisibility for a template preview and on edit, to open the Editor.
    Click on settings to open and adjust the output settings.
    The top right section of the main window is where you adjust the template settings.
    The bottom right section of the main window is where you adjust the order settings.

You can only edit templates if they are in a deactivated state

Once a template has been activated, it is available for orders and cannot be edited.
If you make changes to a deactivated template, the changes will be applied only to documents generated after the template is activated.

3.1. Adjusting the template settings

Use the template settings in DocumentBuilder to specify the document type, the template name and the file name format for documents generated using the template. You can also use the template settings to set tags if required.
Note: On creating a new template, you will automatically be prompted to adjust the template settings.

Adjusting the template settings:

  1. Open the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu.

  2. Click on Search (search) to list the existing templates.

  3. Open the template that you want to adjust.
    → The template view appears.

  4. The template settings are in the top right section of the main window.

  5. Carry out the settings. Refer to the explanations in [table-template-settings].

  6. Save (save) the settings.

Table 1. Template settings
Setting Explanation

Document type

Select a document type from the drop-down list. This assigns the template to the order types and and to the number range associated with that document type.
Note: Document type is a mandatory setting.

The options for the setting Document type, are divided into the following four categories:

  • Category: Order
    The templates in this category generate order documents that you send to your customers.

Document types in the Order category
Document type Use Available for order types

Pick-up delivery

To create pick-up delivery bills for customers who collect ordered goods from your location.

Order

Offer

To create customised offers for customers.

Offer

Order confirmation

To send out order confirmations for incoming orders.

Order

Entry certificate

To create entry certificates (mandatory for deliveries to other EU countries) for incoming orders from other EU countries.

Order

Credit note

For example, to arrange retrospective price reductions or refunds.

Credit note

Adjustment form

To create documents with corrected order items (e.g. where an incoming order required a retrospective change with corresponding credit note/refund).

Credit note

Delivery note

To generate delivery bills for deliveries to customers.

Order

Dunning letter

To generate letters reminding customers of outstanding payments.

Order

Pro forma invoice

For example, to generate pro forma invoices required by customs for import and export deliveries.

Order

Invoice

To generate invoices for incoming orders.

Order

Repair slip

To send customers repair slips with to return goods in need of repair.

Repair

Multi credit note

To generate the corresponding multi-credit note if several individual credit notes are combined within a multi-order.

Multi credit note

Multi-invoice

To generate the corresponding multi-invoice if several unpaid orders are combined within a multi-order.

Multi-order

Reversal credit note

To generate the reversal document required if a credit note is cancelled.
Note: You correct a credit note by cancelling it and creating a new credit note.

Order

Reversal dunning letter

To cancel a dunning letter, for example because you want to cancel an invoice for which one or more dunning letters have been issued.

Order

Reversal invoice

To generate the reversal document required if an invoice is cancelled.
Note: You correct an invoice by cancelling it and creating a new invoice.

Order

Note: You can find detailed information on the document types in the Order category on the manual page Order documents.

  • Category: All orders

    • Custom order document
      This template is available for all order types. It is used to generate an additional, freely customisable document for each order.
      Example: You have a product, with which you want to send out not only the usual order documents, but also an info sheet about the product’s manufacture. To generate the info sheet, you use the Custom order document.

  • Category: Purchase orders
    The templates in this category generate documents that are used in inventory management.

    • Reorder document
      This template is available for the order type Reorder. It is therefore used only for orders for goods from your suppliers.

    • PO delivery note
      This template is available for the order type Reorder, type redistribution. It is therefore used only for redistributing goods among different warehouses. Documents generated using this template list the order items to undergo redistribution.

Note: For further information, refer to the Stock management page of the manual.

  • Category: Warehouse

    • Incoming items receipt
      This template is only available if you use the PlentyONE Warehouse app. It is used to generate the corresponding document on receipt of ordered goods.

Note: For additional information, refer to the Booking incoming items page of the manual.

Template name

Enter a name for the template. (this name is only internally visible).
Note: Template name is a mandatory setting.

File name

Define the format for the dynamic file name that each document generated via the template is automatically assigned. This name is also visible to recipients of the documents. You can use your own information as well as variables from the drop-down list to define the name format.
Note: File name is a mandatory setting.

The variable $documentNumber is the only mandatory component for the file name.

Note: You can only use alphanumeric characters and special characters such as - _ ( ) for the file name.

Tags

If required, assign tags to the template. Tags are keywords that, for example, make it easier to identify a template in the overview.

To assign a tag to a template, you must select the availability type Document template when creating the tag. To assign a tag to a document, you must select the availability type Document when creating the tag. To transfer a tag from the template to a newly generated document, you must select the availability types Document template AND Document when creating the tag.

3.2. Adjusting the order settings

Use the drop-down lists in the order settings to specify the types of order that the template will be used for. Once the template is active, the system will only use it for orders whose parameters match the order settings defined for the template.

Adjusting the order settings:

  1. Open the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu.

  2. Open the template that you want to adjust.

  3. The order settings are in the top right section of the main window.

  4. Adjust the settings. Refer to the explanations on order settings in Table 2.

  5. Save (save) the settings.

Table 2. Order settings
Setting Explanation

Default setting

Language

Select the order languages for which the template is to be used.

Client / Location

Select the clients / locations for which the template is to be used.

Referrer

Select the referrers for which the template is to be used.
Note: Only active referrers are shown. For further information, see the manual page Order referrer.

Payment method

Select the payment methods for which the template is to be used.

Delivery country

Select the countries of delivery for which the template is to be used.

Net/Gross

Select whether the template is used for net or gross orders.

Customer class

Select the customer classes for which the template is to be used.

Additional order settings for the document type Custom order document

Contact/Supplier

Select the contacts/suppliers for which the template is to be used.

Warehouse

Select the warehouse for which the template is to be used.

Receiving warehouse

Select the inbound warehouse for which the template is to be used.

Sending warehouse

Select the outbound warehouse for which the template is to be used.

3.3. Adjusting the output settings

You use the output settings to set the format specifications for a template.

Adjusting the output settings:

  1. Open the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu.

  2. Open the template that you want to adjust.

  3. Click on Output settings (settings) at the top of the template structure.
    → The window containing the output settings opens.

  4. Adjust the settings. See the explanations in Table 3.

  5. Save (save) the settings.

Note: The available output settings may differ depending on the document type. For example, the setting Integrate the invoices for the orders only appears for the document type Multi-invoice.

Table 3. Output settings
Setting Explanation

Format

Select the format for the template. The following formats are available: US Letter, US Legal, US Tabloid, A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, Custom.

Orientation

Select Portrait or Landscape orientation.

Width (mm)

Enter the width of the template in mm.

Height (mm)

Enter the height of the template in mm.

Margin top (mm)

Enter the top margin of the template in mm.

Margin bottom (mm)

Enter the bottom margin of the template in mm.

Margin left (mm)

Enter the left margin of the template in mm.

Margin right (mm)

Enter the right margin of the template in mm.

Font family

From the drop-down list, select the default font family for the template. Choose between the fonts Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica and Courier. The font family you select here will be used automatically for all text in the template.

To use a different font family only for certain sections of text, change the format settings in the corresponding text widget or address widget.

Font size

Select a font size from the drop-down list.

Amount format

Select the format in which the amount is to be displayed. The following options are available:

  • System default (language of the order)
    Note: If the language of the order is German, the option Comma as a decimal separator is used by default. For all other languages, the option Dot as decimal separator is used by default.

  • Comma as decimal separator (e.g. 12.003,67)

  • Dot as decimal separator (e.g. 12,003.67)

Date format

Select in which format the date is to be displayed. The following options are available.

  • System default (language of the order)
    Note: If the language of the order is German, the format dd.mm.yyyy is used by default. For all other languages, the format dd-mm-yy is used by default.

  • dd.mm.yyyy

  • dd-mm-yy

  • dd/mm/yyyy

  • mm-dd-yyyy

  • yyyy-mm-dd

Format of currencies

Select which currency format to use. The following options are available:

  • ISO-Code (e.g. EUR, USD)

  • Symbol (e.g. $ or €)

Units

Select which unit format to use for units of measurement. The following options are available:

  • Long form: The unit of measurement is written out in full, e.g. kilograms

  • Short form: The ISO-Code is used, e.g. KGM

File format / XML format

Select the format in which the documents are to be generated.

PDF is selected as File format by default. This setting causes the documents to be generated as PDF files only.

The following options are available for creating templates that generate invoices in an electronic format:

  • Generating e-invoices in PDF format with embedded XML format

    • For the File format setting, select PDF/A3.

    • For the XML format setting, select the appropriate e-invoice format (X-Rechnung or Factur-X-Basic).

  • Generating e-invoices in XML format only

    • For the File format setting, select XML.

    • For the XML format setting, select the appropriate e-invoice format (X-Rechnung or Factur-X-Basic).

Notes:

  • Output as XML and PDF/A3 is only available in current systems for the contract types Scale and Ultimate. The function is not available for the contract types Lite, Lite+, and Expand. Contact our sales team to upgrade your contract if necessary.

  • Templates that use XML as the File format cannot be edited in the editor view. As soon as XML is selected as the file format for a template, the editor view in DocumentBuilder is disabled for that template.

  • Templates that use XML or PDF/A3 as the File format can be displayed in XML format using the preview function (visibility).

  • To generate an e-invoice, DocumentBuilder pulls data directly from the master data stored in the Setup » Settings menu. To create e-invoice templates for clients (webshops) whose company and/or bank data differs from the master data, refer to the manual page E-invoices.

Compliance with Directive EN 16931

The X-Invoice and Factur-X-Basic formats are both compliant with the Directive EN 16931. The user is responsible for deciding which format is most suitable for their company.

Integrate the invoices for the orders / Integrate the credit notes for the orders

Check the box if the individual invoices or individual credit notes should be added to the multi-invoice/multi-credit note as attachments.

Note: The respective setting only appears for documents of the type multi-invoice / multi-credit note.

Upload PDF background

Use the dropdown list to select how the PDF background is to be used. The options are as follows:

Repeat first page

  • If the PDF background consists of one page, the layout of this page is applied on every page of the document.

  • If the PDF background consists of multiple pages, only the layout of the first background page is applied to each document page.

Use continuously

  • If the PDF background consists of one page, the layout of this page is applied on every page of the document.

  • If the PDF background consists of multiple pages, the layouts of these are applied in alternation on all document pages, starting with background page one.
    Example sequences: 121212 or 123123123

Repeat last page

  • If the PDF background consists of one page, the layout of this page is applied on every page of the document.

  • If the PDF background consists of multiple pages, the layouts of the first page(s) is/are applied once; the last background page is applied on all remaining pages of the document.
    Example sequences: 12222 or 12333

Use once

  • If the PDF background consists of one page, the layout of this page is applied only on the first page of the document; all remaining document pages have no background.

  • If the PDF background consists of several pages, the layouts of each background page are applied once; all remaining document pages have no background.
    Example sequences: 12---- or 123----

Upload PDF background

Select a file (more_horiz) that you want to use as the PDF background of the template and upload it. The selected background is then displayed in the PDF preview. If necessary, you can also delete the selected background (delete).
Note: Only one background can be uploaded.

Display header

Activate the toggle button (toggle_on) to display the header.

Display footer

Activate the toggle button (toggle_on) to display the footer.

Use header/footer from existing template

Use these drop-down lists to link the current template with the header and/or footer of another template. From the corresponding drop-down list, select the template to serve as the source for the header or footer.

Detailed instructions on setting up a global header/footer

First, set up the header/footer. To do so, proceed as follows.

  1. Open the Setup » Documents » DocumentBuilder menu.

  2. Set up the header/footer area in either a new template or an existing template. Refer to the explanations on manual page Designing the template using the Editor.
    Note: We recommend using a fully functional template (e.g. an order confirmation template) as the source of a global header/footer. Using a template solely as the source of a global header/footer can lead to confusion.

  3. Save (save) the changes.

  4. Activate the template (toggle_on).

Then link another template to the configured header/footer. To do so, proceed as follows.

  1. Open the template that you want to adjust. Refer to the explanations in the section Adjusting the output settings if needed.

  2. Click on Output settings (settings) at the top of the template.
    → The window containing the output settings opens.

  3. Scroll down in the window to the dropdown lists Use header from existing template and Use footer from existing template.

  4. From the listed templates, select the one whose header/footer you want to appear in the current template.
    Note: Only templates that are active and contain a header/footer will appear in the respective dropdown list.

  5. Save (save) the settings.

Notes:

  • Headers and footers that are linked to by other templates are referred to as global headers and footers.

  • The template containing the global header/footer must be active.

  • We recommend using a fully functional template (e.g. an order confirmation template) as the source of a global header/footer. Using a template solely as the source of a global header/footer can lead to confusion.

  • If a template links to a global header/footer, you will not be able to edit the header/footer in that template.

  • If you deactivate or delete a template containing a global header and/or footer, any templates linked to it will have no header/footer.

  • The DocumentBuilder overview contains four different columns to indicate whether a template contains or links to a global header/footer. The columns are:

    • Header used in other templates

    • Footer used in other templates

    • Header used from template

    • Footer used from template

  • The filter options for the DocumentBuilder search function allow you to narrow a template search according to whether templates are linked to or contain a global header/footer.
Unsaved changes

Unsaved changes in the template settings or order settings are indicated by an asterisk next to the respective word in the side navigation.