What happens to my PDF design if I change my Form?

When a form is edited in a GoCanvas Form Builder, it is recommended to immediately launch the PDF Designer in order to have the changes to the form reflected in the output.

PDF Designer

When first creating a form, we highly recommend completing most of the form before starting the PDF Design as you may create more work for yourself if changes are still being regularly made. There are very few things that will dynamically update with the form, namely field labels and types on simple screens. Everything else will not dynamically change.

Navigate to the PDF Designer

The PDF Designer is accessible from several locations in the portal.

• Navigate to the Forms page and select the Edit PDF icon.
• Or if you are already in the Builder, toggle to the PDF Designer using the button at the top of the screen.
• If you have other form settings to configure, you can access the PDF Designer from the Form Settings page as well. Scroll to the setting PDF Options, select the Settings button in the box, and select Launch PDF Designer in the right corner of the page.

What will automatically update? 

If a field name or field property is changed, that item will be automatically updated in the PDF Designer only if the field has already been added to your output.

What needs to be manually updated? 

If a field is deleted on the form that was included in the PDF design, the PDF output may need to be adjusted. The field will be removed from the PDF Designer, leaving a blank space where it was located.

When fields are added to the form, they will appear in the PDF Designer’s Form Outline, but they will not automatically be added to the design of the PDF. In order to add new fields to the PDF, the new fields must be dragged into the design from the Form Outline.

If a Loop Screen or Table is edited in any way, the entire table needs to be deleted from the design and dragged back in to fix any added field, broken values, or deleted fields.