Naming Output Files

When you send data to a Set of Forms, ExForms generates output files (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, HTML) and packages them in a ZIP. You control the subfolder each file lands in and the file name it gets — and you do this per file, so every template in the set is named from its own mapping.

Why per file? A set can mix file types — for example a PDF plus a multi-file Word document plus a multi-file PowerPoint deck — and each one has its own parent table. Naming the Word output after the PDF's columns wouldn't make sense, so each file gets its own naming patterns drawn from its own data.

Open the naming panel

  1. Select your Set of Forms and choose Edit Set.
  2. Click Naming Options.
  3. You'll see a list of every file in the set. Each file shows its current Subfolder and File name patterns, each with an Edit button.

Set a pattern for a file

  1. Click Edit next to the Subfolder or File name of the file you want to configure.
  2. A two-step wizard opens:
    • Step 1 — Choose parts: pick the tokens to include. The available tokens are that file's own parent-table columns, plus the built-ins {OriginalFileName} and {ID}.
    • Step 2 — Order & separator: drag the parts into order, choose a separator (none, _, -, or space), and review the live preview.
  3. Click Save. The pattern is stored for that file only.

Repeat for each file you want to name. Files you don't configure keep the set's existing naming as a fallback, so nothing breaks if you leave some files unset.

Tokens

Token Meaning
{OriginalFileName} The template file's own name (file name only).
{ID} The record's ID value.
{ColumnName} Any column from this file's parent table (e.g. {Region}).

Examples:

  • File name {OriginalFileName}_{Region} → Report_North.docx, Report_South.docx, …
  • Subfolder {Department} → each record's file is placed in a folder named after its department.

Notes

  • Naming is per file: changing one file's pattern does not affect the others.
  • Tokens offered for a file are limited to that file's own parent columns — you won't see another file's columns by mistake.
  • If a file has no per-file naming yet, ExForms falls back to the set's naming so existing sets keep working unchanged.