SwiftReporter

Using Form PDF Templates

Use this guide when you want SwiftReporter to fill an official blank PDF form from your template.

Before you begin

  • Save the template first so SwiftReporter can attach files to it.
  • Use a blank PDF form that you want inspectors to complete from SwiftReporter.

Upload the blank PDF

  1. Open Templates.
  2. Open the template you want to edit.
  3. In the Form PDF section, click Upload PDF.
  4. Choose the blank PDF file.
  5. Wait for the upload to finish.

After upload, you can use:

  • Replace PDF
  • Preview
  • Remove

Place fields on the PDF

  1. Open the form PDF layout tool for the template.
  2. In Field placement, choose what you want to place.

You can place:

  • A Standard field
  • A question answer as Typed answer
  • A question answer as Answer as checkmark
  • A dropdown option as Shape
  • Signature-related placeholders such as signature, initials, and date fields
  1. Click Add field for a standard field, or choose the question placement option you want.
  2. Click on the PDF where that field should appear.
  3. Drag markers to move them.
  4. Resize selected signature placeholders with the corner handles when needed.

For signature-only instructions, see Adding Signature Placeholders to Templates.

Change how an answer appears

When a non-signature field is selected, SwiftReporter lets you choose how that answer appears on the PDF:

  • Typed text
  • Checkmark
  • Shape (one dropdown choice)

Use the placement controls that appear around the marker or in the selected-element controls.

Attach a form to an inspection

  1. Open the inspection.
  2. In the Forms card, click Add form.
  3. Choose a template from Search form templates.
  4. Click Add selected form.
  5. Open the form from the inspection when you are ready to review or complete it.

What happens next

  • The form stays attached to that inspection.
  • SwiftReporter uses the saved placement rules from the template when it prepares the form PDF.
  • If you change the template layout later, use the updated template for future inspections or update the inspection workflow as needed.

Troubleshooting

  • If Upload PDF is disabled, save the template first.
  • If SwiftReporter says to create a form template first, upload the blank PDF to a template before you try to add the form on an inspection.
  • If you need a shape placement for a dropdown answer, add the dropdown options in the template first.
  • If a marker is in the wrong place, select it and move it before you continue.

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