Version: 3

🔥 Gravity PDF v3 end of life was 2017-06-20 and this version is no longer supported. This legacy documentation is kept for reference only.

Creating A Custom PDF Template With The $form_data Array

If you haven't read our introduction guide to custom templates, do this first.

Displaying Gravity Form entries using the $form_data array is a little trickier than using merge tags, but it's a much more robust solution and the one we recommend you use. Why? Because you can manipulate the entry data using any PHP or WordPress functions.

Here's an example illustrating why we recommend this method.

/* an example showing fixed interest repayments, compounded monthly  */
$loan_amount           = $form_data['field'][21]; /* field 21 represents a number field where users enter the amount of money they want to borrow */
$loan_term             = 240; /* 240 months, which is 20 years. */

$interest_rate         = 5.25; /* 5.25% per annum */
$monthly_interest_rate = $interest_rate / 1200; /* get the correct monthly interest rate */

$monthly_repayments    = ($monthly_interest_rate * $loan_amount) / (1 - pow((1 + $monthly_interest_rate), $loan_term * - 1)); /* do our compounded monthly repayments */
$rounded_repayments    = round($monthly_repayments, 2); /* round the results to two decimal places */

Getting Started with the $form_data Array

We've put together a video highlighting how to view, access and use the $form_data array. Before you watch this video you should view our Getting Started with Merge Tags video.

For those who want more of a breakdown on how to use and access the $form_data array read on.

Using the $form_data array

Once you have created a custom PDF template and configured the software to use that template on your form the next step is viewing the $form_data keys so you can use it in your PDF template. You can do this by adding &data=1 to your URL when viewing your PDF template via the admin area.

First, view your PDF from the entries list page. Then modify the URL with the &data=1 code. For example, the full PDF URL might look like this:

https://gravitypdf.com/?gf_pdf=1&fid=3&lid=20&template=my-custom-template.php&data=1Below is an example of what the $form_data array structure might looks like for your form:

Accessing the example $form_data array

Now you are able to view the $form_dataarray you can use the access keys to output the entry information in the form. To guide you in this task we've put together examples for displaying the fields shown in the example above.

<?php echo $form_data['form_title']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['form_description']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['date_created']; /* d/m/Y format */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['date_created_usa']; /* m/d/Y format */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['pages'][0]; /* page 1 title */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['pages'][1]; /* page 2 title */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['field_descriptions'][1]; /* field 1 description */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field_descriptions'][2]; /* field 2 description */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['misc']['date_time']; /* Y-m-d h:m:s format */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['misc']['ip']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['misc']['created_by']; /* user ID shown if logged in when filling out form */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['misc']['transaction_id']; /* if using Paypal Add On (or similar) you can get the Transaction ID if the payment has been received */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['field']['8.Text']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['9.Multi Select'][0]; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['16.File'][0]; /* get the first uploaded file */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['field']['17.List']; /* output the HTML list format */ ?>

<?php
/* loop through multi select array */
foreach($form_data['field']['9.Multi Select'] as $val) {
?>
    <li><?php echo $val; ?></li>
<?php } /* close foreach loop */ ?>

<?php /* output the 'name' field */ ?>  
<?php echo $form_data['field']['1.Name']['prefix']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['1.Name']['first']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['1.Name']['last']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['1.Name']['suffix']; ?>

<?php /* output an 'address' field */ ?>        
<?php echo $form_data['field']['5.Address']['street']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['5.Address']['street2']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['5.Address']['city']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['5.Address']['state']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['5.Address']['zip']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['field']['5.Address']['country']; ?>

<?php /* output product field #25's 'name' */ ?>        
<?php echo $form_data['products'][25]['name']; ?>

<?php
/* loop through all products */
foreach($form_data['products'] as $product) {
?>
    <?php echo $product['name']; ?>
    <?php echo $product['price']; ?>
    <?php echo $product['quantity']; ?>
    <?php echo $product['subtotal_formatted']; ?>
    <br>
<?php
    /* Inner loop to loop through options field */
    foreach($product['options'] as $option) {
    ?>
        <?php echo $option['field_label']; ?>
        <?php echo $option['option_name']; ?>
        <?php echo $option['option_label']; ?>
        <?php echo $option['price_formatted']; ?>
        <br>
    <?php } /* close option loop */ ?>
?>
<?php } /* close foreach loop */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['products_totals']['shipping_formatted']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['products_totals']['subtotal_formatted']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['products_totals']['total_formatted']; ?>

<?php
/* alternatively you can output a nicely formatted products table by calling the following */
GFPDFEntryDetail::product_table($form, $lead);
?>

<?php echo $form_data['html'][0]; /* output first HTML block */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['html'][1]; /* output second HTML block */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['pages'][0]; /* output a form page name */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['field_descriptions'][31]; /* output a field description value */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['list'][17][0]['Column 1']; /* output first column in first row of the list field with an id of #17 */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['list'][17][0]['Column 2']; /* output second column in first row of the list field with an id of #17 */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['list'][17][1]['Column 1']; /* output first column in second row of the list field with an id of #17 */ ?>
<?php echo $form_data['list'][17][2]['Column 2']; /* output second column in second row of the list field with an id of #17 */ ?>

<?php echo $form_data['signature_details_id'][9]['img']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['signature_details_id'][9]['path']; ?>
<?php echo $form_data['signature_details_id'][9]['url']; ?>