PDF Generator

What PDF Generator does

Use PDF Generation to create a PDF from each successful form submission. You can:

• Design templates in the admin PDF Editor
• Insert merge tags so each submission prints different values
• Attach the PDF to notification and/or confirmation emails
• Show a secure download link in the success notice
• Store PDFs temporarily or permanently and manage them under PDF Documents

Prerequisites

• Divi Form Builder is active and you can open Divi Engine → Form Builder settings.
• The form already has stable Field IDs for any merge tags you plan to use.
• Optional: email notification and/or confirmation are configured if you want PDF attachments.

Create a PDF template

1. In WordPress admin, open Divi Engine → Form Builder Settings → PDF Editor.
2. Create or edit a template with the visual editor (text, images, tables, shapes, barcodes, and related blocks).
3. Save the template.

Starter presets

The shipped starter preset currently available is Blank template. Create your layout from blank (or clone an existing saved template) rather than expecting separate invoice/receipt/ticket starters in the picker.

Enable PDF on a form

1. Open the form in the Visual Builder.
2. Select the Form module → Content → PDF Generation.
3. Turn on Enable PDF Generation.
4. Set PDF Template to a template created in PDF Editor.
5. Configure delivery and file options:

Setting	Notes
Attach PDF To	Notification Email, Confirmation Email, or Both Emails
PDF Filename	Supports merge tags such as %%form_id%% or %%pdf_invoice_number%%
Paper Size	A4, Letter, Legal, A5
Orientation	Portrait or Landscape
Watermark Text	Optional text such as PAID or COPY
PDF Password	Optional password protection
Conditional Field ID / Value	Only generate when a field matches a value
Enable Document Numbering	Auto-incrementing number; set Number Prefix and Starting Number
Store PDFs Permanently	Keep files for later download in admin
Enable PDF Download Link	Creates a secure temporary link for success messages

Merge tags

Use field merge tags in template text, filenames, emails, and notices:

• %%field_id%% — Submitted field value (field_id matches the field’s Field ID; de_fb_ prefix optional)

Built-in PDF tags

Tag	Use
%%form_id%%	Form ID (useful in filenames)
%%pdf_date%%	Submission date
%%pdf_time%%	Submission time
%%pdf_entry_id%%	Entry ID
%%pdf_form_title%%	Form title
%%pdf_site_name%%	Site name
%%pdf_invoice_number%%	Document number when numbering is enabled
%%pdf_qr_code%%	QR code for the entry ID
%%pdf_download_link%%	Secure download link (emails / success notice)

tip

If a field merge tag prints blank, confirm the Field ID (letter casing is matched case-insensitively) and submit a new test entry after saving the template.

Attach the PDF to emails

1. Set Attach PDF To to notification, confirmation, or both.
2. Keep the matching email channel enabled on the form.

If a channel is disabled, no attachment is sent for that channel.

• Email notification
• Email confirmation

Show a download link in the success notice

1. Enable Enable PDF Download Link.
2. In the success message, include %%pdf_download_link%%.

Example:

Thanks for your submission. Download your PDF: %%pdf_download_link%%

See Notices.

Storage options

• Temporary storage (default when permanent storage is off): short-lived access and lower disk use.
• Permanent storage (Store PDFs Permanently): files remain available for admin download. Generated files are stored under uploads/de_fb_pdfs/.

Manage PDFs in admin (PDF Documents)

Open Divi Engine → PDF Documents (or Form Builder → PDF Documents) to:

• Browse documents by form (count, size, latest document, date)
• Search and filter by date range
• Open a form’s documents to download or delete individual files
• Bulk delete selected documents

note

Rows can show a File missing state when a database record exists but the file is no longer on disk.

Verify it works

1. Submit a test entry with PDF Generation enabled.
2. Confirm the PDF attaches to the expected email channel(s).
3. If the download link is enabled, confirm %%pdf_download_link%% appears in the success message and opens the file.
4. If permanent storage is on, confirm the document appears under PDF Documents.

Common pitfalls

• Enabling PDF on the form before any template exists in PDF Editor.
• Attaching to an email channel that is turned off.
• Forgetting %%pdf_download_link%% in the success message after enabling the download link.
• Expecting permanent admin downloads when Store PDFs Permanently is off.
• Embedding very large images in templates (prefer Media Library PNG/JPG URLs when size limits are hit).

What's Next

• Notices — Success messages and download links
• Email notification — Admin emails with PDF attachments
• Email confirmation — Submitter emails with PDF attachments
• Form module reference — Form Content settings overview