Placeholder Syntax Reference

This page consolidates every placeholder syntax supported in DocsAutomator templates. Use it as a quick reference while building your templates.

This {{...}} syntax applies to Google Doc and native Word (.docx) templates, where the brackets sit directly in the document and get replaced at generation time. PDF templates do not use this syntax. Don’t type {{...}} into a PDF; use the visual editor to position fields instead.

Standard Text Placeholders

Replace a placeholder with a text value from your data source.

Syntax	Description	Example
`{{fieldName}}`	Simple text replacement	`{{company_name}}`

Dear {{client_name}},

Your order #{{order_number}} has been confirmed.
Invoice date: {{invoice_date}}

Placeholder names must be unique within a document. The same placeholder can appear multiple times, but you only need to map the data once.

Image Placeholders

Insert images dynamically using the image_ prefix. Images must be publicly accessible URLs.

Syntax	Description	Example
`{{image_fieldName}}`	Single or multiple image insertion	`{{image_company_logo}}`

{{image_headshot}}
{{image_product_photo}}
{{image_signature}}

Supports JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, SVG, WebP, and more. PNG files retain transparency. See Dynamic Images for quality settings and resizing options.

Line Item Placeholders

Line items represent variable-length lists of data (invoice rows, attendees, products). They are declared as table rows in your template.

Basic Line Items

Syntax	Description
`{{line_items_N}}`	Line item marker (placed at the start of a table row)
`{{fieldName}}`	Field within a line item row
`{{image_fieldName}}`	Image field within a line item row

Where N is the line item set number (1, 2, 3, etc.). The marker goes in the first cell, immediately followed by the first field placeholder. There is no closing tag.

{{line_items_1}}{{description}}  {{quantity}}  {{price}}

Multiple Line Item Sets

Use incrementing numbers for separate line item tables:

{{line_items_1}}{{product}}  {{price}}

{{line_items_2}}{{service}}  {{hours}}

Line item sets must be numbered sequentially (1, 2, 3, etc.), and each number must be unique across the entire template. Even if two line item tables are in mutually exclusive sections, they must use different numbers — e.g. {{line_items_1}} and {{line_items_2}}, not {{line_items_1}} twice.

Images in Line Items

{{line_items_1}}{{image_product_photo}}  {{name}}  {{price}}

See Line Items for complete documentation.

Nested Line Items

Create hierarchical data structures with up to 3 levels of nesting. Currently available for Airtable and API data sources.

Level	Prefix	Example
Level 1 (Parent)	`{{line_items_N}}`	`{{line_items_1}}{{product_name}}`
Level 2 (Child)	`{{line_items_N_1}}`	`{{line_items_1_1}}{{component}}`
Level 3 (Grandchild)	`{{line_items_N_2}}`	`{{line_items_1_2}}{{specification}}`

Where N is the line item set number.

API Data Structure

When using the API, pass line items inside the data object using the children key for nesting:

{
  "docId": "your-automation-id",
  "data": {
    "project_name": "Website Redesign",
    "line_items_1": [
      {
        "product": "Service A",
        "price": "$100",
        "children": [
          {
            "task": "Task 1",
            "children": [
              { "detail": "Detail 1" }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

See Nested Line Items for setup steps and configuration.

Section Placeholders

Sections wrap larger areas of your document for conditional rendering. Everything between the opening and closing tags can be shown or hidden based on conditions configured in the automation settings.

Syntax	Description
`{{section_NAME}}`	Opening tag (start of conditional section)
`{{/section_NAME}}`	Closing tag (end of conditional section)

{{section_premium_content}}

This entire area only appears if the condition is met.
You can include text, images, tables, and line items.

{{/section_premium_content}}

Available Conditions

Condition	Description
equals	Value exactly matches
does not equal	Value does not match
contains	Value includes substring
does not contain	Value excludes substring
exists	Value is present (not empty)
does not exist	Value is empty or missing

See Sections for use cases and configuration.

E-Signature Placeholders

Add e-signature fields to collect legally binding signatures. Fields use the format {{esign.TYPE_SIGNER}}.

Type	Syntax	Purpose
Signature	`{{esign.signature_N}}`	Full signature capture (draw/touch)
Date	`{{esign.date_N}}`	Date picker with auto-fill
Text	`{{esign.text_N_label}}`	Text input field (append `_label` for a unique name per field)
Checkbox	`{{esign.checkbox_N_label}}`	Agreement checkbox (append `_label` for a unique name per field)

Where N is the signer number (1, 2, 3, etc.).

Signature: {{esign.signature_1}}
Date: {{esign.date_1}}
Printed Name: {{esign.text_1_printedname}}
I agree to the terms: {{esign.checkbox_1_agreeterms}}

Co-signer: {{esign.signature_2}}
Date: {{esign.date_2}}

See DocsAutomator eSign for signer configuration, email customization, and API reference.

PDF Template Placeholders

PDF templates use a visual editor instead of text-based syntax. Rather than typing {{placeholder}} in a document, you upload an existing PDF and position data fields on top of it. The PDF itself is not modified — DocsAutomator overlays your data onto the original layout at generation time. PDF templates support the following placeholder types:

Type	Description
Text	Replaced with text data, with configurable font, size, color, alignment, and overflow
Image	Replaced with an image, auto-scaled to fit the placeholder bounds
Checkbox	Draws a checkmark when the value is truthy
E-Sign Signature	Signature capture field for e-signing
E-Sign Date	Auto-filled signing date
E-Sign Text	Text input for the signer
E-Sign Checkbox	Agreement checkbox for e-signing

Each placeholder has a Name property that maps to your data source fields, just like {{fieldName}} in Google Doc templates. See the PDF Template Guide for detailed instructions on uploading PDFs and using the visual editor.

Advanced Placeholder Options

These features are configured through the settings/gear icon next to each placeholder in your automation settings. They do not require additional syntax in your template.

Conditional Paragraph / Row Deletion

Automatically remove entire lines or table rows when a placeholder value is empty.

Context	Behavior
Outside tables	Entire paragraph is deleted
Inside tables	Complete row is deleted
Line items	Line item row is removed

See Conditional Paragraph / Row Deletion.

Conditional Show / Hide

Show or hide individual placeholder values based on conditions (equals, contains, exists, etc.). Combine with row deletion to remove the entire line when hidden. See Conditional Show / Hide.

Conditional Styling

Apply dynamic text formatting (color, bold, italic, font size, and more) when conditions are met. See Conditional Styling.

Markdown Formatting

Interpret a placeholder value as Markdown to render headings, bold, italic, lists, and links in the generated document. Enable per-placeholder via the settings gear. See Enable Markdown Formatting.

Hidden Values

Set a placeholder to “Always hide” so its value is never rendered in the document. Useful for driving section conditions or email routing without displaying the data. See Hidden Values.

Auto Row Numbers

Enable automatic sequential numbering for line item rows. Configured in the line item settings (not via template syntax).

Scenario	Output
Flat line items	1, 2, 3, …
Nested line items	1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.2, 2, 2.1, …

See Auto Row Numbers.

Quick Reference Table

Feature	Template Syntax	Configured In
Text placeholder	`{{fieldName}}`	Template
Image placeholder	`{{image_fieldName}}`	Template
Line items (marker)	`{{line_items_N}}`	Template
Line items (field)	`{{fieldName}}`	Template
Nested level 2 (marker)	`{{line_items_N_1}}`	Template
Nested level 3 (marker)	`{{line_items_N_2}}`	Template
Section (open)	`{{section_NAME}}`	Template
Section (close)	`{{/section_NAME}}`	Template
E-signature	`{{esign.TYPE_N}}`	Template
Row deletion	—	Settings gear
Show/hide	—	Settings gear
Conditional styling	—	Settings gear
Markdown formatting	—	Settings gear
Hidden values	—	Settings gear
Auto row numbers	—	Line item settings
PDF text/image/checkbox	—	Visual editor
PDF e-sign fields	—	Visual editor

Google Doc Template Guide

Template creation guide and best practices

PDF Template Guide

Overlay data fields on existing PDFs

Line Items

Variable-length lists and tables

Sections

Conditional document sections

DocsAutomator eSign

E-signature configuration and workflows

Dynamic Images

Image insertion and quality settings

​Standard Text Placeholders

​Image Placeholders

​Line Item Placeholders

​Basic Line Items

​Multiple Line Item Sets

​Images in Line Items

​Nested Line Items

​API Data Structure

​Section Placeholders

​Available Conditions

​E-Signature Placeholders

​PDF Template Placeholders

​Advanced Placeholder Options

​Conditional Paragraph / Row Deletion

​Conditional Show / Hide

​Conditional Styling

​Markdown Formatting

​Hidden Values

​Auto Row Numbers

​Quick Reference Table

​Related Pages

Google Doc Template Guide

PDF Template Guide

Line Items

Sections

DocsAutomator eSign

Dynamic Images

Standard Text Placeholders

Image Placeholders

Line Item Placeholders

Basic Line Items

Multiple Line Item Sets

Images in Line Items

Nested Line Items

API Data Structure

Section Placeholders

Available Conditions

E-Signature Placeholders

PDF Template Placeholders

Advanced Placeholder Options

Conditional Paragraph / Row Deletion

Conditional Show / Hide

Conditional Styling

Markdown Formatting

Hidden Values

Auto Row Numbers

Quick Reference Table

Related Pages