Frappe Printing & Templates

Create print formats, email templates, and document templates using Jinja in Frappe.

When to use

• Creating custom print formats for documents
• Building email templates with dynamic content
• Generating PDFs from documents
• Using Jinja templating in web pages
• Configuring letter heads for branding
• Using the Print Format Builder

Inputs required

• Target DocType for the print format
• Layout requirements (fields, tables, headers)
• Whether format is standard (version controlled) or custom (DB-stored)
• Letter Head / branding requirements
• PDF generation needs

Procedure

0) Choose format type

Type	How to Create	Version Controlled	Customizable by User
Standard	Developer Mode, saved as JSON	Yes	No
Print Format Builder	Drag-and-drop UI	No (DB)	Yes
Custom HTML (Jinja)	Type "new print format" in awesomebar	Optional	Depends

1) Create a Jinja print format

Create via awesomebar → "New Print Format":

1. Set a unique name
2. Link to the target DocType
3. Set "Standard" = "No" (or "Yes" for dev mode export)
4. Check "Custom Format"
5. Set Print Format Type = "Jinja"
6. Write your Jinja HTML

<div class="print-format">
    <h1>{{ doc.name }}</h1>
    <p><strong>{{ _("Customer") }}:</strong> {{ doc.customer }}</p>
    <p><strong>{{ _("Date") }}:</strong> {{ frappe.format_date(doc.transaction_date) }}</p>

    <table class="table table-bordered">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>{{ _("Item") }}</th>
                <th>{{ _("Qty") }}</th>
                <th class="text-right">{{ _("Rate") }}</th>
                <th class="text-right">{{ _("Amount") }}</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            {% for item in doc.items %}
            <tr>
                <td>{{ item.item_name }}</td>
                <td>{{ item.qty }}</td>
                <td class="text-right">{{ frappe.format(item.rate, {'fieldtype': 'Currency'}) }}</td>
                <td class="text-right">{{ frappe.format(item.amount, {'fieldtype': 'Currency'}) }}</td>
            </tr>
            {% endfor %}
        </tbody>
        <tfoot>
            <tr>
                <td colspan="3" class="text-right"><strong>{{ _("Total") }}</strong></td>
                <td class="text-right"><strong>{{ frappe.format(doc.grand_total, {'fieldtype': 'Currency'}) }}</strong></td>
            </tr>
        </tfoot>
    </table>

    {% if doc.terms %}
    <div class="terms">
        <h4>{{ _("Terms & Conditions") }}</h4>
        <p>{{ doc.terms }}</p>
    </div>
    {% endif %}
</div>

<style>
    .print-format { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; }
    .print-format h1 { color: #333; }
    .print-format table { width: 100%; margin-top: 20px; }
</style>

2) Use Frappe Jinja API

Data fetching in templates:

{# Fetch a document #}
{% set customer = frappe.get_doc('Customer', doc.customer) %}
{{ customer.customer_name }}

{# List query (ignores permissions) #}
{% set open_orders = frappe.get_all('Sales Order',
    filters={'customer': doc.customer, 'status': 'To Deliver and Bill'},
    fields=['name', 'grand_total'],
    order_by='creation desc',
    page_length=5) %}

{# Permission-aware list query #}
{% set my_tasks = frappe.get_list('Task',
    filters={'owner': frappe.session.user}) %}

{# Single value lookup #}
{% set company_abbr = frappe.db.get_value('Company', doc.company, 'abbr') %}

{# Settings value #}
{% set timezone = frappe.db.get_single_value('System Settings', 'time_zone') %}

Formatting:

{{ frappe.format(50000, {'fieldtype': 'Currency'}) }}
{{ frappe.format_date('2025-01-15') }}
{{ frappe.format_date(doc.posting_date) }}

Session and context:

{{ frappe.session.user }}
{{ frappe.get_fullname() }}
{{ frappe.lang }}
{{ _("Translatable string") }}

URLs:

<a href="{{ frappe.get_url() }}/app/sales-order/{{ doc.name }}">View Order</a>

3) Build email templates

Dear {{ doc.customer_name }},

Your order {{ doc.name }} has been confirmed.

Items:
{% for item in doc.items %}
- {{ item.item_name }} x {{ item.qty }}
{% endfor %}

Total: {{ frappe.format(doc.grand_total, {'fieldtype': 'Currency'}) }}

Thank you,
{{ frappe.get_fullname() }}

4) Generate PDFs programmatically

import frappe

# Generate PDF
pdf_content = frappe.get_print(
    doctype="Sales Invoice",
    name="SINV-001",
    print_format="Custom Invoice",
    as_pdf=True
)

# Attach PDF to document
frappe.attach_print(
    doctype="Sales Invoice",
    name="SINV-001",
    print_format="Custom Invoice",
    file_name="invoice.pdf"
)

# Send with email
frappe.sendmail(
    recipients=["customer@example.com"],
    subject="Your Invoice",
    message="Please find attached your invoice.",
    attachments=[{
        "fname": "invoice.pdf",
        "fcontent": pdf_content
    }]
)

5) Configure Letter Head

1. Navigate to Letter Head list → New
2. Upload company logo and header image
3. Set as default for the company
4. Letter Head appears automatically on print formats

6) Use Jinja filters

{{ doc.customer_name|upper }}        {# UPPERCASE #}
{{ doc.notes|truncate(100) }}        {# Truncate text #}
{{ doc.description|striptags }}      {# Remove HTML #}
{{ doc.html_content|safe }}          {# Render raw HTML (trusted only!) #}
{{ items|length }}                   {# Count items #}
{{ items|first }}                    {# First item #}
{{ names|join(', ') }}               {# Join list #}
{{ amount|round(2) }}               {# Round number #}
{{ value|default('N/A') }}          {# Default if undefined #}
{{ data|tojson }}                    {# Convert to JSON #}

7) Template inheritance and macros

{# macros/fields.html #}
{% macro field_row(label, value) %}
<tr>
    <td class="label"><strong>{{ _(label) }}</strong></td>
    <td>{{ value }}</td>
</tr>
{% endmacro %}

{# In print format #}
{% from "macros/fields.html" import field_row %}
<table>
    {{ field_row("Customer", doc.customer_name) }}
    {{ field_row("Date", frappe.format_date(doc.posting_date)) }}
    {{ field_row("Total", frappe.format(doc.grand_total, {'fieldtype': 'Currency'})) }}
</table>

Verification

• Print format renders correctly in Print View
• All fields display with proper formatting
• PDF generation works without errors
• Email templates render with correct data
• Letter Head appears on printed documents
• Translations work in templates (_())
• No XSS risks from unescaped content

Failure modes / debugging

• Template syntax error: Check Jinja delimiters ({{ }}, {% %}); look for unclosed blocks
• Field not rendering: Verify field name matches DocType schema; check child table access pattern
• PDF generation fails: Check wkhtmltopdf installation; verify print format Jinja is valid
• Styling issues in PDF: Use inline styles; avoid complex CSS; test with Print View first
• Permission error in template: Use frappe.get_all (no permission check) vs frappe.get_list

Escalation

• For app-level hooks and structure → app-development
• For DocType schema questions → doctype-development

References

• references/jinja.md — Jinja templating and Frappe Jinja API
• references/printing.md — Print formats and PDF generation

Guardrails

• Test with actual data: Always preview with real documents; edge cases break templates
• Handle missing fields gracefully: Use {{ doc.field or '' }} or {% if doc.field %}
• Use get_url() for images: Never hardcode URLs; use {{ frappe.utils.get_url() }}/files/...
• Escape user content: Use {{ value | e }} for user-generated content to prevent XSS
• Keep styling inline: PDF generators don't support external CSS; use inline style attributes

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Why It Fails	Fix
Wrong Jinja syntax	Template error, blank output	Use {{ }} for output, {% %} for logic; check closing tags
Missing filters	Raw data displayed	Use frappe.format() or frappe.format_date() for formatting
Hardcoded URLs	Images/links break across sites	Use {{ frappe.utils.get_url() }} for absolute URLs
Accessing child table wrong	Empty or error	Use {% for item in doc.items %} not doc.child_table_name
Complex CSS in print format	Styling lost in PDF	Use inline styles, simple layouts, <table> for structure
Not handling None values	'None' string in output	Use {{ value or '' }} or {% if value %}