# Generate documents from templates

> Fill Word, PDF, and Excel templates with project information, review the resulting draft, and save repeatable document workflows as skills.

Source: https://docs.specset.com/docs/document-generation · Section: Agents · Last updated: 2026-10-08

Use **Fill a Template** to draft a report, proposal, form, or spreadsheet in a format your team already uses. Provide the template, explain its purpose, and let the agent fill it from the project record and the details you supply.

## Choose the right template

| Template | Result | What to check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Word (`.docx`) | Document preview with Word and PDF downloads | Sections, repeated tables, headers, and page breaks. |
| PDF | Converted document with Word and PDF downloads | Conversion can change pagination and spacing. Check the final layout. |
| Excel (`.xlsx`) | Filled workbook | Target cells and tables, calculations, and any required inputs. |

Use a clean template with clear field labels, section headings, or table headers. Explain which parts should be filled and which boilerplate should stay. For a workbook, identify the sheets or tables that need values.

## Fill a template once

1. Open **Chat** in the project the document is for.
2. Attach the template, type `/`, and choose **Fill a Template**.
3. Explain the deliverable and its intended audience. Name the source documents to use and provide details that are not in the record, such as a recipient or reporting period.
4. Answer any questions about the template's fields, then let preparation and drafting finish. A large template can take several minutes.

For example: “Fill this coordination report from the project's open mechanical issues. Keep the introduction and approval section unchanged. Use one row per issue, include its source references, and leave the action owner blank for our review.”

## Review and revise the draft

Open the result in the artifact panel. Check the project details, source references, missing inputs, and document layout before sharing it. For spreadsheets, inspect the filled cells and totals as well as the individual entries.

Use **Open chat** on the artifact to request changes in the conversation that produced it. Be specific: “Shorten the summary to three bullets,” or “Leave unresolved dates blank and list them at the end.” The filled document preview is read-only; request revisions in that chat or edit the downloaded Word file.

Click **Export** to download the result. Word and PDF templates offer Word/PDF downloads; workbook templates export as `.xlsx`. PDF templates are converted to Word for filling, so the result may not match the original PDF page for page.

## Make it reusable

If your team produces the same deliverable regularly, ask the agent to save the prepared template and instructions as a skill. Use this chat workflow for Excel templates.

For Word and PDF templates, you can also create a skill under **Org Settings → Skills** or **Project Settings → Skills**. Choose **Document** as the artifact type, then attach the template.

Once the template is prepared, click **Edit template** to review its sections. Use **Copy as is** for boilerplate and **Generate** for sections that need fresh project content.

Give the skill clear instructions about the source material, required inputs, and sections to preserve. Test a draft, review its output, then turn on **Published** when it is ready for the team. Draft skills are visible only to managers and administrators.

![A coordination-report template with boilerplate copied as is and project-specific sections generated](https://docs.specset.com/images/docs/document-generation/template-setup.png)

See [Skills](https://docs.specset.com/docs/skills) for setup and the [Artifacts library](https://docs.specset.com/docs/library) for finding earlier drafts.