Generate document
Use the Generate document action A tool for building the processes, logic, and direction within workflows. to generate template-based documents that include variables and images from your workflow.
The Generate document action retrieves placeholder-tagged templates from file variables A variable representing a single file. that you select, and creates one or more finished documents based on your configuration:
- A single PDF file.
- Separate PDF files.
- Same file type as the template: Word Document (*.docx), .pptx, or .xlsx.
You can even configure the Generate document action to create image tags and then insert those image tags into the templates used for outputting your documents.
You can also use the Generate document action to create a dynamic content in your document template and repeat rows, tables, or sections of data from a collection variable.
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The Generate Document action does not support Rich Text. This includes any variables and Rich Text fields created in a Start form. Rich Text data is displayed as plain text in the output of the Generate Document action.
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The Generate Document action does not support Strict Open XML Document (*.docx) file types. If you have a template saved as Strict Open XML Document (*.docx), the Generate Document action will fail. Word Documents are the only supported .docx file type.
Create document templates
Document templates are Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel documents that include placeholder tags from your workflow. Placeholder tags allow the workflow to insert variable values and images exactly where you want them in the generated document. Before you run the workflow containing your Generate document action, you need to copy the tags from the Nintex Document Tagger and paste them into your document templates where you want the variable values or images to appear.

Nintex Document Tagger allows you to copy the variable tags you need for adding placeholders to your templates to your clipboard.
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In the workflow designer, click the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Find actions by browsing action groups, or by typing an action name or function in the Search field at the top of the action toolbox.
- Drag the Generate document action to the point in the workflow you want to generate a document.
- Click the Generate document action.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
- To copy a tag:
- Select Word, PowerPoint, or Excel.
- Click a workflow reference data type (such as Start event variables) to show related tags.
- Click a variable tag (such as Name) to copy it to your clipboard.
If a tag is for a Date variable, select the date format that you want the value to be printed in.
After you copy a tag, paste it into a document template where you want the variable value to appear. See Add variable tags to document templates and Add image tags to document templates.


When the workflow runs, the Generate document action identifies the tags in the document templates and inserts the corresponding values from your workflow into the documents it generates.

- Open the Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint file.
- Select the area in the document template where you want the tag value to appear.
- Paste the tag you copied from the Nintex Document Tagger
- Save the Word document or PowerPoint file.

- Copy the variable tag from the Nintex Document Tagger.
- In the designer, click the Generate document action.
- Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window displaying all the tags for the workflow you are editing. - Select show tags for Excel, and choose the required workflow reference data type, for example, Start Event Variables.
The related variable tag(s) are displayed. - Click a variable tag to copy it to your clipboard.
- Paste the tag you copied from the Nintex Document Tagger into the Microsoft Excel template.
- Open the Microsoft Excel document.
- Right-click the cell or range of cells that you want to tag.
- Click Define Name. A New Name window is diplayed.
- Paste the variable tag and click OK. The updated variable tag is displayed in the Name Box.
- Save the Excel document.

When the workflow runs, the Generate document action identifies the image tags in the document templates and inserts the corresponding images from your workflow into the documents it generates.
You can render your image in the generated document using the
- Current dimensions of the image.
- Custom dimensions of a placeholder image.
To add image tags to document templates
- Open the Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint file.
Note: To add image tags to Microsoft Excel files, see To add resized image tags to document templates.
- Select the area in the document template where you want the image to appear.
- Paste the image tag you copied from the Nintex Document Tagger .
- Save the Word document or PowerPoint file.
When the document is generated, the image will be inserted in the document at the same size as the original image.
To add resized image tags to document templates
To add an image to a generated document at a different size to the original image, you need to add a placeholder image of the size you want to the document template, and then label that placeholder image with an image tag. When your workflow runs, the Generate document action replaces the placeholder image in the document template with the image from the tag, but resizes it to the dimensions of the placeholder image.
- Open the Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Microsoft Excel document.
- Insert a placeholder image of the size you want into the document template. For instructions on inserting images, see the Insert pictures Microsoft article.
- Click the placeholder image in the document template.
- Click the Format tab in the ribbon of the document template.
- Click Selection Pane.
- Copy the image tag from Nintex Document Tagger that you want to add to the document template. See Get tags for document templates.
- Paste the copied image tag into the image label field.
- Save the Word document, PowerPoint file, or Excel document.
Repeat data
You can use repeating data in your document template to display data from a collection variable as rows, tables, or sections in a table in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
For example, you want to create multiple rows, tables, or sections of data for each Case number related to the Acme Co. account using different Microsoft documents. The steps to configure repeating data are given below. All required and optional fields are described in the Generate document fields, buttons, and settings table.

You can repeat rows, tables, and sections in Microsoft Word.

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Add the Generate Document action to the workflow and open the configuration panel.
- Find the action in the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Type the action name in the Search field at the top of the action toolbar.
- Drag the Generate Document action onto the designer canvas.
- Click the action to open the configuration.
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Configure the Document templates section so that there is at least one template and corresponding Output file name.
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In the Repeating data section, click Add repeating data.
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Specify a Collection.
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From the Repeat by drop-down, select Row.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
Collections specified in the Repeating data section of the configuration panel and their child parameters are displayed in the Repeating data section of the Nintex Document Tagger.
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In the Show tags for section, click Word.
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In the Workflow repeating data section, click Row, and then locate the collection that you want to be repeated in the document.
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Click the Start tag for the collection to copy it, and then paste it into your Word document.
Example: The tag would be:
<<Case_Start>>
This tag will prompt Nintex Automation Cloud to produce a new row of data for each child record of the collection.
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Once the tag is placed in your Word document, you can assign other tags to the columns within your table.
Note: Collections nested in a parent collection are not supported.
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Save the Word document.
The Microsoft Word output is shown below. As you can see, three rows of data that are related to the Acme Co. account were added into the document.
The tagged document below is what we'll use for our Word example. When we run the workflow, you should receive multiple rows of data with the Case information.

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Add the Generate Document action to the workflow and open the configuration panel.
- Find the action in the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Type the action name in the Search field at the top of the action toolbar.
- Drag the Generate Document action onto the designer canvas.
- Click the action to open the configuration.
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Configure the Document templates section so that there is at least one template and corresponding Output file name.
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In the Repeating data section, click Add repeating data.
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Specify a Collection.
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From the Repeat by drop-down, select Table.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
Collections specified in the Repeating data section of the configuration panel and their child parameters are displayed in the Repeating data section of the Nintex Document Tagger.
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In the Show tags for section, click Word.
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In the Workflow repeating data section, click Table, and then locate the collection that you want to be repeated in the document.
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Click the Start tag for the collection to copy it, and then paste it into the header row or column of your Word document.
Example: The tag would be:
<<Case_Start>>
This tag will prompt Nintex Automation Cloud to produce a new table of data for each child record of the collection.
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Once the tag is placed in your Word document, you can assign other tags to the rows or columns within your tables.
Note: Collections nested in a parent collection are not supported.
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Save the Word document.
The Microsoft Word output is shown below. As you can see, three tables of data that are related to the Acme Co. account were added into the document.
The tagged document below is what we'll use for our Word example. When we run the workflow, you should receive multiple tables of data with the Case information.

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Add the Generate Document action to the workflow and open the configuration panel.
- Find the action in the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Type the action name in the Search field at the top of the action toolbar.
- Drag the Generate Document action onto the designer canvas.
- Click the action to open the configuration.
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Configure the Document templates section so that there is at least one template and corresponding Output file name.
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In the Repeating data section, click Add repeating data.
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Specify a Collection.
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From the Repeat by drop-down, select Section.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
Collections specified in the Repeating data section of the configuration panel and their child parameters are displayed in the Repeating data section of the Nintex Document Tagger.
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In the Show tags for section, click Word.
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In the Workflow repeating data section, click Section, and then locate the collection that you want to be repeated in the document.
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Click the Start tag for the collection to copy it.
Example: The tag would be:
<<Case_Start>>
This tag will prompt Nintex Automation Cloud to produce a new section of data for each child record of the collection.
- In your Word document, navigate to Developer tab > Controls section.
- Click Add a Rich Text Content Control to add the control to your document.
- Click the Rich Text Content Control box to highlight all the fields.
- In the ribbon, navigate to Developer tab > Controls section > Properties.
- Add a title and paste the Start tag that you copied from the Nintex Document Tagger.
- Click OK.
- Add more tags to the Rich Text Content Control box.
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Save the Word document.
The Microsoft Word output is shown below. As you can see, three sections of data that are related to the Acme Co. account were added into the document.
Note: Make sure that the Developer tab is visible in your ribbon.
A text box is inserted into your Word document.
Note: Collections nested in a parent collection are not supported.
The tagged document below is what we'll use for our Word example. When we run the workflow, you should receive multiple sections of data with the Employee information.

You can repeat only rows in Microsoft Excel.

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Add the Generate Document action to the workflow and open the configuration panel.
- Find the action in the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Type the action name in the Search field at the top of the action toolbar.
- Drag the Generate Document action onto the designer canvas.
- Click the action to open the configuration.
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Configure the Document templates section so that there is at least one template and corresponding Output file name.
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In the Repeating data section, click Add repeating data.
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Specify the Collection.
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From the Repeat by drop-down, select Row.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
Collections specified in the Repeating data section of the configuration panel and their child parameters are displayed in the Repeating data section of the Nintex Document Tagger.
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In the Show tags for section, click Excel.
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In the Workflow repeating data section, click Row, and then locate the collection that you want to be repeated in the document.
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Click the Start tag for the collection to copy it, then in your Excel document, highlight the columns you want to populate with repeating data, and then paste the tag.
For example, if your collection has 10 parameters but you want to show only three of them, highlight the three columns where the first row of data will start populating, then paste the tag.
Example: The tag would be:
Case_Start
This tag will prompt Nintex Automation Cloud to produce a new row of data for each child record of the collection. You can add headers to your data to indicate what each column of repeating data will be populated with.
- Once the tag is placed in your Excel document, you can assign other tags to the columns within your table.
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Add tags from the Nintex Document Tagger into the columns by copy and pasting or drag and dropping into the Excel document.
Note: Collections nested in a parent collection are not supported.
- Save the Excel document.
The Microsoft Excel output is shown below. As you can see, three rows of data that is related to the Acme Co. account were added into the document.

You can repeat only rows and tables in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Note: When there are more data than the rows in your table, Microsoft PowerPoint creates extra slides. The maximum number of rows displayed in each slide depends on the number of rows specified in the table in your template.

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Add the Generate Document action to the workflow and open the configuration panel.
- Find the action in the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Type the action name in the Search field at the top of the action toolbar.
- Drag the Generate Document action onto the designer canvas.
- Click the action to open the configuration.
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Configure the Document templates section so that there is at least one template and corresponding Output file name.
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In the Repeating data section, click Add repeating data.
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Specify the Collection.
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From the Repeat by drop-down, select Row.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
Collections specified in the Repeating data section of the configuration panel and their child parameters are displayed in the Repeating data section of the Nintex Document Tagger.
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In the Show tags for section, click PowerPoint.
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In the Workflow repeating data section, click Row, and then locate the collection that you want to be repeated in the document.
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Click the Start tag for the collection to copy it, and then paste it into your PowerPoint document.
Example: The tag would be:
<<Case_Start>>
This tag will prompt Nintex Automation Cloud to produce a new row of data for each record of the collection.
Important: Nintex Automation Cloud will create extra slides if you have more data than the rows that are displayed in your table.
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Once the tag is placed in your PowerPoint document, you can assign other tags to the columns within your table.
Note: Collections nested in a parent collection are not supported.
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Save the PowerPoint file.
The Microsoft PowerPoint output is shown below. As you can see, three rows of data that are related to the Acme Co. account were added into the document. Since the table in the template only has two rows and the Acme Co. account has three records, another row on another slide was added.
When we run the workflow, the PowerPoint file receives three rows of data.

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Add the Generate Document action to the workflow and open the configuration panel.
- Find the action in the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
or
Type the action name in the Search field at the top of the action toolbar.
- Drag the Generate Document action onto the designer canvas.
- Click the action to open the configuration.
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Configure the Document templates section so that there is at least one template and corresponding Output file name.
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In the Repeating data section, click Add repeating data.
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Specify the Collection.
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From the Repeat by drop-down, select Table.
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Click Open Nintex Document Tagger.
The Nintex Document Tagger opens in a separate browser window and shows all tags for the workflow you are editing.
Collections specified in the Repeating data section of the configuration panel and their child parameters are displayed in the Repeating data section of the Nintex Document Tagger.
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In the Show tags for section, click PowerPoint.
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In the Workflow repeating data section, click Table, and then locate the collection that you want to be repeated in the document.
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Click the Start tag for the collection to copy it, and then paste it into the header row or column of your PowerPoint document.
Example: The tag would be:
<<Case_Table_Start>>
This tag will prompt Nintex Automation Cloud to produce a new table of data for each record of the collection.
Important: Nintex Automation Cloud will create extra slides if you have more data than the rows that are displayed in your table.
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Once the tag is placed in your PowerPoint document, you can assign other tags to the rows or columns within your table.
Note: Collections nested in a parent collection are not supported.
When we run the workflow, the PowerPoint file receives three tables of data.
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Save the PowerPoint file.
The Microsoft PowerPoint output is shown below. As you can see, three tables of data that are related to the Acme Co. account were added into the document and extra slides were added for the repeated tables.
Configure the Generate document action
Note: The Generate Document action does not support Rich Text. This includes any variables and Rich Text fields created in a Start form. Rich Text data is displayed as plain text in the output of the Generate Document action.

In the Designer page:
- Add an action that can retrieve the template you created, such as Google Drive - Get a file.
- Configure the action and specify the output.
- Click the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
- Drag the Generate document action to the point in the workflow you want to generate a document.
- Click the Generate document action.
- Select the Generation type of the document.
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Configure the Document templates section to edit the template and corresponding Output file name.
- Specify a File variable. Select a file variable from the workflow or add a file variable.
- Select the Generation order for the template. The generation order is the sequence in which to include this template in the generated output.
- Click Output.
- Specify the Output file name.
- To add repeating data, see Repeat data.
- In the Options section, specify the variable where the generated document is stored.
- Add an action to the workflow, depending on where you want to send the generated document or documents. For example, as a file attachment in the Send an email action or HubSpot CMS - Upload a file action.
For more information on the fields and buttons, see Generate document fields, buttons, and settings.

You can add multiple templates for document generation and configure the Generate document action to either combine all the templates into one generated document (single PDF) or output separate generated documents (either multiple PDFs or the original file types).
In the Designer page:
- Add an action that can retrieve the template you created, such as Google Drive - Get a file.
- Configure the action and specify the output.
- Click the Document Generation action group in the action toolbox.
- Drag the Generate document action to the point in the workflow you want to generate a document.
- Click the Generate document action.
- Select the Generation type of the document.
- If there are no existing templates, configure the Document templates section to edit the template and corresponding Output file name.
- For any template you want to add:
- Click Add template.
- Specify a File variable. Select a file variable from the workflow or add a file variable.
- Select the Generation order for the template. The generation order is the sequence in which to include this template in the generated output.
- Select the Merge type to use for this template and the previous template.
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For each generated document (determined by Merge type):
- Click Output.
- Specify the Output file name.
- To add repeating data, see Repeat data.
- In the Options section, specify the variable where the generated document is stored.
- Add an action to the workflow, depending on where you want to send the generated document or documents. For example, as a file attachment in the Send an email action or HubSpot CMS - Upload a file action.
For more information on the fields and buttons, see Generate document fields, buttons, and settings.

You can conditionally include a template. For example, include a terms and conditions template only if the customer is based in a certain region and the start date is for the upcoming year.
In the Designer page:
- Click your Generate document action.
- Under Document templates, click a configured template.
- Under Include based on condition, click Add condition.
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Fill in the condition fields:
- Select or Add variable for When.
- Select an Operator.
- Type a value or select or Add variable for Value.
- Click Add condition to save the new condition.
- For each additional condition you want to add:
- Click Add condition.
Fill in the condition fields:
- Select or Add variable for When.
- Select an Operator.
- Type a value or select or Add variable for Value.
- Click Add condition to save the new condition.
- Select any or all to determine how to evaluate the set of conditions.
For more information on the fields and buttons, see Generate document fields, buttons, and settings.

You can add images to the Generate document action to add them to your documents, either in their original size, or resized. The images you add to the configuration become available as image tags for use with your document templates just like variable tags. See Add image tags to document templates for more information.
In the Designer page:
- Click a Generate documentaction.
- Click Images.
- Click Add image.
- Type the Image name.
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Select a file, file path, or URL for Image source.
- File: select an image file in the Image location field.
- File variable: select a file variable from the workflow or add a file variable in the File variable field.
- URL: type a URL to the image in the Image URL field.
For more information on the fields and buttons, see Generate document fields, buttons, and settings.

You can choose whether or not to store usage of Document Generation licensing. If you store usage, you can record the usage in your workflow instance for visibility using the Log to instance details action, or use it later in workflow, such as in an email notification.
In the Designer page:
- Click your Generate document action.
- Select an option for Store usage message.
For more information on the fields and buttons, see Generate document fields, buttons, and settings.

Section |
Field/button |
Description |
Variables |
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(unlabeled)
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Open Nintex Document Tagger | Launches the Nintex Document Tagger for inserting variable tags into document templates. See Get tags for document templates. | (n/a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Generation type |
This is the option for the number and types of documents that will be generated. You can choose one of the following options:
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(n/a) |
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Document templates |
(section labeling varies) |
Fields in the Edit template section:
Note: The first template in a given merge chain determines the styles for the generated document. Note: The merge type impacts the number of outputs for the selected generation type. ![]()
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Fields in the Output section:
Add template: Displays configuration fields for a new template. |
File variable: File. Include based on condition: When: Text, Decimal, Integer, Boolean, DateTime Operator: (n/a) Value: Text, Decimal, Integer, Boolean, DateTime
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Repeating data | Add repeating data |
Adds repeating rows, table, or section of data from a collection into a document. When you add repeating data, a corresponding tag for each variable or object in the collection appears in the Nintex Document Tagger. |
(n/a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collection | Information, such as mailing addresses and phone numbers that are pulled from the file and displayed in the Nintex Document Tagger as a tag. | Collection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Repeat by |
Determines how data is displayed in the document. You can choose one of the following options:
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(n/a) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Images
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Add image | Opens the Edit image section with configuration fields for image tags. | (n/a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Image name | Name of image tag as visible in the Nintex Document Tagger. | (n/a) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Image source |
Choose one of the following options.
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File: (n/a) File variable: File URL: Text |
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Options
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Store all files | The variable where the generated documents are saved. | Collection | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Store usage message |
The text variable to store the Document Generation quota usage at the time this action runs. Note: To log usage to instance details (displayed on the Instance details page when the workflow runs), use this variable in the action Log to instance details. |
Text, Decimal, Integer, Boolean, DateTime, Collection |