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Version: 4.1 (2026 H2)

Excel Template

Excel templates in primedocs enable the generation of pre-filled Excel workbooks from primedocs templates. They are created and maintained in primedocs Desktop, versioned, and made available to users based on permissions.

Creating a Template​

  1. In primedocs Desktop, activate the Administration View.
  2. Click New Template and select Excel Template from the Microsoft Excel category.
  3. Give the template a name and click OK.
  4. In the Template Editor, open the Editor to edit the Excel file.
  5. Design the workbook: add sheets, define named ranges, and insert primedocs placeholders where dynamic content should appear.
  6. Configure Document Functions as required.
  7. Save the template editor and set the template status to release the template.

Placeholders in Excel​

Dynamic content is inserted using named ranges (Excel defined names). The naming convention is simple: the name of the named range equals the field ID. Nested fields use dot notation (e.g. Profile.User.FirstName). No prefix is required.

To output a field value in a cell, reference the named range via a formula:

=Profile.User.FirstName

At generation time, primedocs stores the field values in a hidden worksheet and creates an equally named named range for each field that points to its value. The values come from profile data, form inputs, or connected data sources.

note

In headers and footers, fields are inserted using the {field-id} syntax (curly braces) instead — named ranges are not possible there.

Fields in headers and footers​

The following Forms field types can be bound in headers and footers via {field-id}:

  • Text — the value is inserted directly.
  • Date — the field's already-formatted value is inserted.
  • Choice — the label of the selected option is inserted (not the stored value). If the selection is empty, the label of the empty option is used, provided one is defined.
  • Images — embedded as a graphic via {field-id(width,height)} (dimensions in points).

Other field types (e.g. YesNo) are not supported in headers and footers. Binding an unsupported or an unresolvable field name aborts generation with an error message naming the affected field and the cause.

note

Excel limits headers and footers to 255 characters. If a binding exceeds this limit, the placeholder is left unreplaced and a warning is raised.

Supported Document Functions​

Excel templates support, among others:

  • Forms — query user input before generation.
  • Fields — map data to placeholders via JavaScript.
  • Data — connect to external data sources.
  • Global Providers — apply global configuration and translations.
note

Some Document Functions that depend on Word-specific features (e.g. Placeholder Definition/Mapping for headers and footers) are not applicable to Excel templates.

Permissions and Versioning​

Excel templates use the same permissions and versioning model as all other template types in primedocs.