Data Binding

Learn how to inject dynamic content into your PDF templates.

Overview

Data binding allows you to replace placeholders in your template with actual data when generating a PDF. This is how you create personalized invoices, certificates, reports, and more.

Defining Variables

In the template editor, use the syntax {{variable_name}} to create a placeholder:

Hello, {{customer_name}}!

Your invoice total is {{amount}}.

Passing Data via API

When calling the API, pass your data as key-value pairs in the data object:

{
  "template_id": "HMQywVpZxqAM",
  "data": {
    "customer_name": "John Doe",
    "amount": "$1,234.56"
  }
}

The API will replace {{customer_name}} with “John Doe” and {{amount}} with “$1,234.56”.

Supported Data Types

Best Practices

1. Use descriptive names - customer_name is better than n1
2. Document your variables - Keep a list of all variables used in each template
3. Validate data - Ensure all required variables are provided before calling the API
4. Handle missing data - Variables without matching data will remain as {{variable_name}}

Example: Invoice

Template Variables

• {{invoice_number}} - Invoice identifier
• {{customer_name}} - Customer’s full name
• {{customer_address}} - Billing address
• {{line_items}} - Table of products/services
• {{subtotal}} - Sum before tax
• {{tax}} - Tax amount
• {{total}} - Final amount due
• {{due_date}} - Payment due date

API Call

const response = await fetch('https://api.pdftemplateapi.com/v1/pdf/create', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    template_id: 'YOUR_INVOICE_TEMPLATE',
    data: {
      invoice_number: 'INV-2026-001',
      customer_name: 'Acme Corporation',
      customer_address: '123 Business St, Suite 100',
      subtotal: '$1,000.00',
      tax: '$100.00',
      total: '$1,100.00',
      due_date: 'January 15, 2026'
    }
  })
});