How to Add a Document Step – Streamline

Adding a document to your workflow is an essential step for capturing important approvals and ensuring data integrity. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to add a document to your project, customize the fields, and configure it to suit your needs.

The Document step in Streamline supports both dynamic and static document generation, giving users greater flexibility in how documents are created within workflows.

Step 1: Add the Documents Step

Navigate to Your Workflow Canvas. In your workflow canvas, click the Add button to begin adding a new step & Select the 'Documents' Option.

Name the Document. You can name your document here. Choose a name that fits the document's purpose or the task it serves in the workflow.

Step 2: Choose your preferred method for building the document

When configuring a Document step, users can select either:

Dynamic > inserted fields flow naturally dynamic as part of the document. Users can upload a DOCX or create one with our document builder. It's important to note that the output is PDF only.

Overlay > inserted fields are overlayed on fixed positions on a document. Users must upload PDF files only, and the output is PDF only.

Feature Capabilities:

Dynamic Builder (DOCX)

Fields are embedded naturally into the flow of the text.
Supports DOCX uploads only.
Output is always a PDF.
Built with Only Office, mirroring the Microsoft Word experience.

Static Builder (Overlay)

Fields are overlaid on fixed positions of the document.
Supports PDF uploads only.
Output is always a PDF.
Ideal for collecting static data.

Dynamic Document Builder (Only Office)

Leverages the familiar interface of Microsoft Word.

Allows users to:

Create new documents or upload existing DOCX files.
Add and format text with full document styling options.
Insert data fields inline within the document.
Embedded fields flow naturally with the document content.
Perfect for structured contracts, letters, or formatted agreements.

Static Overlay Builder

Designed to add form fields (names, dates, etc.) on top of a fixed PDF.

Useful for:

Applying fields to existing forms or scanned documents.
Upload your PDF, then drag and drop basic or data fields.
More limited in layout and styling compared to the dynamic builder.

Note for both builder types: You can upload multiple documents if necessary under the Navigation tab on the left. These documents will be combined into one file at the end of the workflow process.

Pre-fill Data:

You can pre-fill some fields in the document with data you've already collected in the workflow under the Data Fields section.

From the Data Set: Pull data from the data set you've used earlier in the workflow.
From the Workflow: If there is data being held within the current workflow, you can also pull that data into the document.

Note: Prefilling available in both dynamic and static builders.

Step 3: Customize Your Fields (Optional)

Adjust Field Sizes. You can adjust the size of the pre-filled fields, resize it by dragging the corners to the desired size.
Add Additional Options. If you need to include extra options, such as checkboxes or yes/no fields, you can easily add these through the Basic Fields section.

Additional Features

Built-in PDF Viewer: Preview documents within the workflow interface.

Notification Step Delivery: Documents must be delivered via a Notification step. Without it, users won’t receive access to the generated file.

Feature Limitations

Overlay Builder:

Only supports PDF uploads.
Limited formatting; not intended for complex document creation.

File Size Limit:

Max 25MB per Document step.

Best Practices

Use Dynamic Builder for rich, formatted documents where the data needs to be embedded seamlessly.
Use Overlay Builder for working with pre-designed PDFs.
Always include a Notification step to ensure the generated document is delivered.

By following these steps, you can easily add documents to your workflow, ensuring that your documents are completed with the necessary data.