Glossary

Document automation terms, translated into plain English.

Definitions for the words finance and operations teams meet when they turn spreadsheets, templates, approvals, and PDFs into repeatable document workflows.

B

Batch PDF generation

Batch PDF generation creates many PDFs from a shared template and a dataset, usually without manual edits between documents.

C

CSV to PDF

CSV to PDF is the workflow of turning spreadsheet rows into formatted PDF documents by mapping columns into a reusable template.

D

Document automation

Document automation turns repeatable document work into a workflow that fills templates, applies rules, and produces finished files without manual copy-paste.

Document template

A document template is a reusable structure that defines fixed content, layout, and variable fields for generated documents.

H

HTML to PDF

HTML to PDF is the process of rendering HTML and CSS into a fixed PDF document for download, delivery, or archival use.

L

Liquid template

A Liquid template is an HTML or text document that uses variables, filters, and simple logic to render personalized output from structured data.

M

Mail merge

Mail merge fills a template with values from a list, traditionally to create personalized letters, emails, labels, or simple documents.

P

PDF generation API

A PDF generation API lets software create PDF files from templates, HTML, or structured data through a programmable request.

PDF template engine

A PDF template engine renders structured data through reusable templates to produce consistent PDF documents.

Programmatic PDF

A programmatic PDF is generated by software from templates and data instead of being manually designed or exported one file at a time.

T

Template variable

A template variable is a named placeholder that gets replaced with a value from a CSV row, database record, or API payload.

V

Variable substitution

Variable substitution replaces placeholders in a template with values from a record, row, or API payload.

W

Webhook PDF delivery

Webhook PDF delivery sends generated document details to another system when a PDF is ready, often for email, storage, or workflow automation.