EMBERKIT BATCH · PART OF FORMS
One spreadsheet.
A PDF for every row.
Fill the same PDF template with different names, dates or details. Preview the result, then download all your completed documents together.
Read the step-by-step guide ↓No account needed for up to 5 documents. Your files stay local unless you choose cloud processing.
How to create PDFs from a CSV, step by step
- Prepare a fillable PDF. Use an existing PDF form, or open our free form builder, add text and checkbox fields, and download the blank template. Printed text stays identical in every output.
- Prepare your spreadsheet. Put column names in the first row, such as Name, Course and Date. Put one person or record on each following row. Export as CSV UTF-8 from Excel, Google Sheets or another spreadsheet app. Use unique headers, at most 100 columns and 100 data rows; the CSV must be under 500 KB.
- Upload both files. Open the batch tools above and choose the PDF and CSV. To learn without your own files, choose “Try a 3-record sample.” Uploading here reads files in your browser; cloud processing requires a separate choice.
- Match the columns. For each PDF field, select its CSV column: for example, Name → Name. Choose “Leave blank” to clear a field. For checkboxes use yes/no, true/false or 1/0. Dropdown values must exactly match an available option; separate multiple selections with a vertical bar (|).
- Choose filenames. Select a column such as Name, or use a fixed prefix. We add a record number so two people with the same name still get separate files.
- Validate and preview. Choose a record and click “Validate rows & preview PDF.” All rows are checked for field-value errors. Open the preview and inspect long answers, dates and layout. Preview other records as needed; validation cannot guarantee that long text fits visually.
- Choose local or cloud processing. Free mode generates up to 5 PDFs on your device, without an account. Forms Pro processes up to 100 PDFs per run and 500 per calendar month (UTC). Sign in, refresh your account, and explicitly confirm the cloud upload. Only mapped columns and the filename column are sent with the PDF.
- Download and extract the ZIP. Click “Generate PDFs & download ZIP.” Open your Downloads folder and extract emberkit-batch.zip (double-click on macOS; right-click → Extract All on Windows). Each numbered PDF contains one record. Output forms are flattened, so answers are no longer editable fields.
- Repeat the workflow. Forms Pro can save up to 20 mappings. Next time upload the same template and a new CSV with the same headers, load your saved mappings, click Apply, and preview again. Mappings save field and column names, not the spreadsheet or PDF.
Example: three course confirmations
A PDF has Name, Course, Date and Approved fields. Your spreadsheet contains three attendees. Match each field to the corresponding column, preview Alex’s confirmation, then generate. The ZIP contains 001-Alex Morgan.pdf, 002-Sam Lee.pdf and 003-Jamie Patel.pdf, each filled with that attendee’s details.
Free batches and Forms Pro
Free: 5 documents per run, templates up to 25 MB and 100 pages, and up to 50 MB of generated PDFs before ZIP compression. Forms Pro: US$9/month including cloud templates, 20 saved mappings, 100 documents per batch and 500 documents per calendar month. No additional Batch subscription is needed.
Cloud limits are 2 MB and 20 pages per template, a 2.9 MB total request, and a 3 MB ZIP download. Complex templates may need smaller batches to finish within the processing time limit. Rejected batches do not consume document quota. Retrying an unchanged request in the same open workspace does not count it twice; reloading the page starts a new request.
What this tool can and cannot do
Use it for confirmations, letters, certificates or labels whose variable content is represented by PDF form fields. It does not rewrite existing printed text, run spreadsheet formulas, perform OCR, send email, or create certificate-backed digital signatures. Export formulas as their calculated values. Password-protected and XFA forms are unsupported. Latin, Greek and Cyrillic text is supported where the bundled fonts provide glyphs; unsupported characters produce an error.
Keep sensitive details out of filenames. Review the original template for printed or read-only information that should not be copied. Local files are held in this tab; refresh clears the workspace. Cloud runs temporarily process the template and values; document contents are not saved to the cloud library. Usage counts and request fingerprints are retained for quota and retry handling.
Related tools: Create fillable PDFs · Save cloud templates · Edit and sign a PDF.