Smart documents
PDF templates with mapped variables for certificates, contracts, enrollment confirmations, transcripts, and other institutional paperwork — configured in Settings and generated from user profiles.
Smart documents are PDF templates with mapped variables (placeholders) that Fuxam fills with live data when you generate a document. Institutions configure templates under Settings → Documents, map each field on the PDF to a Fuxam data source, and produce filled PDFs for individual users or other academic objects. Typical outputs include enrollment certificates, study contracts, service agreements, room schedules, course-completion certificates, and staff paperwork that must stay consistent with records already in the platform.
Smart documents sit in the extended FuxamCMS layer alongside health insurance and time tracking: they turn structured institutional data into official paperwork without maintaining parallel Word mail-merge files.
Why it matters
Universities issue a steady stream of formal documents — proof of enrollment, tuition agreements, completion certificates, employment terms, and compliance-related letters. When those documents are produced manually, staff copy-paste from spreadsheets, risk outdated wording, and struggle to prove which data snapshot was used. Smart documents solve that by binding each PDF field to authoritative Fuxam data at generation time.
The result is faster student services, fewer transcription errors, and a clearer audit trail: each generated PDF is stored on the relevant user profile (or attached to the workflow that requested it) rather than living only on someone’s desktop.
How this fits into Fuxam
Smart documents connect template administration in Settings to day-to-day work in User Management, student self-service on the Management tab, and — where enabled — study-contract and certificate workflows tied to programs and tuition.
Concrete relationships:
- User Management is where staff open a user’s Documents tab, generate smart documents, and review assigned fillable files. User profile fields and custom columns are common data sources for User-type templates.
- Study programs and cohorts supply enrollment context — program name, cohort intake, curriculum assignment — that flows into user records and can appear on enrollment certificates or study contracts when those features are enabled.
- Health insurance handles statutory GKV XML notices (Meldegrund 20 and 30) through the Dakota integration; that is a separate compliance channel from smart-document PDFs, but both depend on accurate user and study-timeline data. Staff may use smart documents for internal letters while GKV exports run through the insurance workflow.
- Time tracking feeds period-based fields on templates that report hours, absences, or schedule data for a selected date range.
- Management tab is where eligible students and staff download self-service documents configured in settings.
See also FuxamCMS for how smart documents relate to academic structure, exams, and other extended CMS areas, and Permissions and features for how feature packages and roles gate visibility.
Key concepts
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Template | A named PDF uploaded in Settings → Documents with an Object type that determines which Fuxam data keys are available for mapping. |
| Variable / placeholder | A field placed on the PDF in the document editor and assigned to a Fuxam data key (standard attribute, custom institution field, or object-specific key). |
| Object type | The entity the template is designed for: User, Module, Curriculum, Room, or Certificate. This scopes which fields you can map. |
| Document editor | The in-app PDF editor where you place fields, assign data keys, and optionally define field conditions. |
| Mapped fields | The set of fields you assigned on the template. The templates table shows this as a Fields count. |
| Generation | Resolving mapped variables against live data and producing a filled PDF, usually from a user profile or a settings preview action. |
| Fillable document | A generated or assigned PDF that may require the recipient to complete or sign fields before the workflow is finished. |
| Self-service document | A user-type template linked to eligible roles so end users can generate their own PDF from Dashboard → Management → Documents without an administrator initiating each request. |
Catalog of common document types
Universities typically maintain a small library of templates that cover the academic year. The table below is a domain catalog of frequent outputs — not every institution enables every type, and layouts are yours to design. Use it to decide which templates to create first and which Object type fits.
| Document type | Typical object type | What it usually maps | When staff generate it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enrollment / study confirmation | User | Name, matriculation or student ID (often a custom column), program, cohort, term dates | On request for authorities, landlords, or employers; peak at intake |
| Immatriculation / semester attestation | User | Enrollment status, program name, semester or organization term | Start of each term or on student request |
| Study contract / tuition agreement | User | Personal data, program, tuition terms, signature fields | After offer acceptance / enrollment; see Study contracts and certificates |
| Course-completion certificate | Certificate | Student name, course or module title, issue date | When a course or continuing-education track is completed |
| Transcript or grade extract (PDF letter) | User | Name, program, selected academic summary fields your institution maintains | Exam office or registrar requests — layout and content are institution-defined |
| Module or curriculum sheet | Module or Curriculum | Module version or curriculum structure from academic structure | Accreditation packs, program handbooks, internal reviews |
| Room or facility schedule sheet | Room | Room name, location, capacity-related attributes from Rooms | Facilities or exam logistics |
| Staff or service agreement | User | Employment or contractor fields, often custom columns | HR / administration onboarding |
| Time and attendance summary | User | Time-tracking period fields for a reporting range | Payroll or compliance periods; see Time tracking |
| Self-service attestation | User | Same as enrollment confirmations, restricted by role | Students generate from the dashboard without staff initiation |
Single vs bulk generation
| Mode | Where | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Single | OrgHub → User Management → [User] → Documents | One student, a corrected re-issue, or a review before go-live |
| Bulk request | Users table bulk actions → Request document | Intake cohorts, compliance campaigns, many fillable assignments at once |
| Self-service | Dashboard → Management → Documents | Low-risk, repeatable attestations students can create themselves |
Details: Use a document template for single generation, Generate documents in bulk for cohorts, and Document variables and data sources for what fills each field.
In this section
Create a document
Upload a PDF template and choose its object type.
Edit a document
Rename, replace the PDF, or re-open the editor to update mappings.
Use a document template
Map variables and generate a filled PDF for a user or object.
Document variables and data sources
How student, program, cohort, and date fields feed templates.
Generate documents in bulk
Request the same document for many users at once.
Study contracts and certificates
Tuition agreements and course-completion certificates.
Manage documents
List templates, remove unused ones, and download generated PDFs.
Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Institution admins | Upload templates, map variables, configure self-service access, and manage study-contract or certificate sections in Settings → Documents. |
| User managers | Generate documents for a user from OrgHub → User Management → Documents, request fillable assignments, and use bulk actions such as Request document when Smart Documents is enabled. |
| End users | Download assigned fillable documents or create eligible self-service PDFs from Dashboard → Management → Documents. |
Prerequisites
Smart documents require the Smart Documents feature to be enabled for your institution. Users need permission to view user documents to open the Documents tab in User Management (and related rights to generate or sign documents). Access to the settings page additionally requires permission to read users.
Data protection considerations
Generated PDFs often contain personal data (name, address, student ID) and sometimes sensitive academic or contractual terms. Treat templates and outputs with the same care as other student records:
- Minimize fields. Map only what the letter must show — unused personal data should not appear on the PDF.
- Control who generates and downloads. Restrict document permissions and the Documents tab to roles that need them; see Permissions and features.
- Prefer self-service carefully. Enable self-service only for low-risk attestations where wrong data would not create legal exposure.
- Retention. Generated files stay on the user profile until removed — align deletion practices with your institution’s retention policy. Prefer deactivating users over deleting them when you need to keep document history.
- Do not use smart documents as a substitute for statutory channels. GKV Meldeverfahren and similar legal exports have their own audited paths.
Where to start
A typical rollout follows this order:
- Create a document — upload the institutional PDF and select the correct object type.
- Document variables and data sources — decide which profile, program, and date fields the letter needs.
- Use a document template — map variables in the document editor and test generation on a sample user.
- Configure self-service documents on the settings page if students or staff should generate the PDF themselves.
- For cohorts, use Generate documents in bulk.
- Manage documents — maintain the template list and review generated files on user profiles.
For ongoing changes to naming, defaults, or field placement, use Edit a document rather than creating duplicate templates — and remember that edits are not retroactive.