Use native Word (.docx) files as templates: the same placeholder syntax and features as Google Docs, rendered straight to PDF
Word templates let you use a native Microsoft Word (.docx) file as the base for document generation. You type {{placeholders}} directly into the Word document, map them to your data source, and DocsAutomator fills them in and renders the result to a PDF at generation time. Your original template file is never modified.Word templates support the same placeholder syntax and almost all of the same features as Google Doc templates. Line items, conditional sections, dynamic images, conditional styling, and e-signatures all work the same way.
Your team already designs documents in Microsoft Word
You want to keep editing the template in Word, not Google Docs
You need dynamic content: line items, conditional sections, e-signatures
You have an existing .docx brand template to reuse
Google Doc Templates
You prefer to build and edit templates in Google Docs
You want the in-app live preview while editing
You need nested (multi-level) line items
You collaborate on the template in real time
The placeholder syntax is identical between Google Docs and Word, so you can move between the two without relearning anything. If you already know how to build a Google Doc template, you already know how to build a Word template.
In your automation’s template area, start a Word template by choosing Start from scratch and then Microsoft Word, or by uploading or dropping a .docx file. From there, you have three ways to get a template in place.
The template library filtered to Word designs
Word Template Gallery
Pick a ready-made .docx design from the gallery. DocsAutomator copies it into your automation, detects its placeholders, and you map your data.
Upload a .docx
Upload your own Word file with {{placeholders}} already typed in. DocsAutomator scans it and lists every placeholder it finds.
Create with AI
Describe the document you need and AI generates a complete .docx template, layout, formatting, and placeholders included.
The gallery contains a large set of ready-made .docx designs (invoices, contracts, certificates, reports, and more). Select one and DocsAutomator copies the file into your automation and detects its placeholders automatically. From there you map each placeholder to your data source and customize the wording in Word if you want.
Type {{placeholders}} directly into your Word document wherever you want data to appear (see Placeholder Syntax below).
2
Upload the file
Click Upload a Word (.docx) file and select your document. The file must be a .docx (not the older .doc) and under 25 MB.
3
Review detected placeholders
DocsAutomator scans the body, headers, and footers and reports how many placeholders it found. You then map each one to a field in your data source.
DocsAutomator shows the file name, the number of placeholders detected, and a live preview
Only .docx files are supported, up to 25 MB. The older binary .doc format and other word processors’ formats are not accepted. Save or export as .docx first.
Don’t have a template yet? Describe what you need (“a clean consulting invoice with a logo, line items, and totals”) and AI generates a complete .docx template for you, headings, tables, formatting, and {{placeholders}} in the right places.You can:
Refine the colors and title, let AI suggest a title or pull a brand color palette
Add images, upload a logo or graphic to embed in the design
Edit by chatting, ask for changes (“make the header navy”, “add a notes section”) and the document updates
Undo, step back if an edit isn’t what you wanted
Preview as PDF, see exactly how the document will render before you save
When you’re happy, save it and the generated .docx becomes your template, ready for data mapping. This is the Word counterpart to the AI Template Generator, no Google account required.
You write placeholders directly into the Word document using double curly brackets. This is the same syntax as Google Doc templates.
This is the opposite of PDF templates. In a PDF you must not type {{...}} (it would print literally); you position fields with a visual editor instead. In a Word template you do type {{...}} into the document, exactly like a Google Doc.
Dynamic image, any placeholder whose name contains image is filled with a picture from your data
{{image_logo}}
Dear {{client_name}},Your order #{{order_number}} has been confirmed.Invoice date: {{invoice_date}}
For a placeholder to be found reliably, DocsAutomator stitches text back together even if Word splits it across formatting runs. To keep things robust, type each placeholder in one go (avoid changing the font mid-placeholder) and apply bold/italic/color to the whole{{placeholder}} rather than part of it.
At generation time DocsAutomator repeats that row for every item in the list. You can have multiple independent line-item tables in one document by using {{line_items_2}}, {{line_items_3}}, and so on (up to nine).
Nested (multi-level) line items are not yet supported in native Word templates. The {{line_items_1_1}} / {{line_items_1_2}} syntax for sub-lists currently works only in Google Doc templates. If you need nested line items today, use a Google Doc template. Single-level line items are fully supported in Word.
Show or hide whole blocks of the document based on your data. Put each tag in its own paragraph.
{{section_eu_terms}}These additional terms apply to customers in the EU…{{/section_eu_terms}}
Configure the show/hide rules in the section settings UI. Word sections use the same condition engine as Google Docs. Operators adapt to the field type: equals, does not equal, contains, does not contain, exists, does not exist, greater than, less than, greater than or equal, less than or equal, and is true / is false. A condition can compare against a value you enter, another placeholder, or a source field. When a section has multiple conditions, choose the match mode: ALL (the section shows only when every condition passes) or ANY (it shows when at least one passes). See Sections for details.
Word templates work with DocsAutomator eSign using the same text-based tags as Google Docs:
{{esign.signature_1}} Signature field for signer 1{{esign.date_1}} Auto-filled date for signer 1{{esign.text_1_label}} Text field for signer 1{{esign.checkbox_1_label}} Checkbox for signer 1
Type these tags where the signing elements should appear, then configure signers in the E-Signing card of your automation.
Any placeholder whose name contains image; one image per placeholder (a multi-image field inserts the first), with per-placeholder resizing, file-size optimization, and clickable links
Per-placeholder options (formatting, conditional show/hide, conditional styling, markdown) are configured in the field-mapping UI, exactly like Google Doc templates. See Advanced Placeholder Options.
When you generate a document, DocsAutomator fills your Word template and produces a clean .docx, then converts it to a PDF for the final output. To make those PDFs faithful, keep the following in mind.
If you connect a Microsoft account, you can render the PDF with Microsoft’s own Word engine instead of the default renderer, for the closest possible match to how the document looks in Word. This is the best option for templates with floating elements, text boxes, or non-standard fonts.
DocsAutomator turns it on automatically when it detects elements the default renderer may not reproduce exactly (for example floating objects or a font it cannot match), and you will see a note explaining why.
You can also turn it on or off yourself for any Word template: it is a toggle in the template view, and an option in the template’s ⋮ menu.
If Microsoft is briefly unavailable, generation automatically falls back to the default renderer, so documents always go out.
For the PDF to match your design exactly, embed your fonts in the Word file. In Microsoft Word:
File ▸ Options ▸ Save ▸ “Embed fonts in the file”
If a non-standard font isn’t embedded, the default PDF renderer substitutes the closest available font, which can shift spacing and line breaks. Standard system fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, and similar) render reliably without embedding. DocsAutomator lists the fonts it detected in your template after upload so you know what to embed. Alternatively, rendering with Microsoft (above) draws on Microsoft’s broader font set and matches Word more closely.
The renderer automatically neutralizes invisible white borders on white backgrounds (which some converters would otherwise render as faint gaps in the PDF). Intentional, visible borders and dividers are always preserved, this fix is non-destructive and only touches borders that were invisible anyway.
Floating text boxes and anchored drawings are kept as-is but can shift position when rendered by the default engine. Rendering with Microsoft (above) reproduces them most faithfully. For the most predictable results with the default renderer, prefer in-line images and standard tables over floating objects.
You can take your .docx back out at any time, including every change you or the AI made to it inside DocsAutomator.In the automation, find the template card (the panel showing your template, with the Edit Template button). Click the ⋮ button next to Edit Template and choose Download Word file.
The download lives on the template card, not inside the template editor. If you already opened the editor (the view with the font and text-size toolbar), close it first, then use the ⋮ menu.
The file you get is the current template with your placeholders still in it as {{placeholder}} text, so you can edit it in Word and upload it again with Replace Word file.
Word templates work with every DocsAutomator data source:
Airtable
Notion
Google Sheets
SmartSuite
ClickUp
API
Zapier
Glide
Make
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The placeholder name is what maps to your data source. Field mapping is free-form: a placeholder named {{company_name}} can map to any column or field, regardless of what that field is called in your source.
