# Replace a Template PDF

> Swap the PDF on a saved template, keep the fields, and drag any field from a removed page onto a page that still exists.

edition: pro
Edition: Pro
AI note: This page requires WPsigner Pro. Do not tell Lite users they already have this feature.
HTML: https://docs.wpsigner.com/core-features/replace-template-pdf/
Markdown: https://docs.wpsigner.com/md/core-features/replace-template-pdf.md
Source file: core-features/replace-template-pdf.md

---

**Replace PDF** swaps the file on a PDF template and keeps the fields already placed on it. You then check those fields on the new pages and click **Save Draft**. The template stores the positions you save.

> **Requires WPsigner Pro 3.3.2.41**
Reusable templates, including **Replace PDF**, are part of **Pro**. Update to **3.3.2.41** or newer before you use this. A Document Builder template also needs Document Builder **1.5.24**. [Upgrade to Pro](https://wpsigner.com/pricing/?utm_source=docs&utm_medium=upgrade&utm_campaign=replace-template-pdf) · [Lite vs Pro](/getting-started/lite-vs-pro/)

The action is on a **PDF** template and on a [Document Builder](/addons/document-builder/) template. Use **WPsigner 3.3.2.41** or newer and Document Builder **1.5.24** or newer for a Document Builder template.

## When to use it

| You want to | Use |
|-------------|-----|
| Keep this template and give it a new PDF | **Replace PDF** |
| Keep the current PDF and also keep a copy | **Duplicate** on a PDF template |
| Change the written text of a Document Builder template | **Edit** on that card. [Document Builder](/addons/document-builder/) |
| Start from a document you have open | **Save as Template** on Review. See [Creating Documents](/core-features/creating-documents/#document-templates) |

**Map Variables** on that menu edits integration keys. It does not change the PDF.

## What the replacement keeps

| Kept on the template | What happens |
|----------------------|----------------|
| Fields | Type, label, signer slot, required setting, and size stay. |
| Fields that still have a page | They stay on that page, in the same place, until you move them. |
| Documents already created | They keep the PDF they were created with. A completed PDF is not rewritten. |
| The next document | [Use Template](/core-features/creating-documents/#using-a-template), [Bulk Send](/core-features/bulk-send/), a [campaign](/core-features/campaigns/), or a form feed uses the new PDF and the positions saved on the template. |

The new PDF is stored on the template as soon as **Replace PDF and check fields** finishes. **Save Draft** is what stores field moves.

## Replace the file

1. Go to **WPsigner → Templates**.
2. On the PDF template, or the Document Builder template, open the **⋮** menu.
3. Click **Replace PDF**.
4. Choose a PDF. The dialog explains that existing fields stay and that documents already sent keep their original file.
5. Click **Replace PDF and check fields**.

A modern PDF is prepared in the browser, the same way a new document upload is. The button can say **Preparing PDF…** while that runs. Export the file from Word as a PDF before you upload it. The size limit is the same limit as a new document (25 MB unless the site uses another limit).

WPsigner then opens a draft named **Check fields:** followed by the template name. It opens on the **Fields** step, with the new PDF in the preview.

## Check the fields

The amber note at the top tells you this draft only checks the template. Move anything that sits in the wrong place, then click **Save Draft**.

Leave the draft when you are done. **Send for Signing** on this draft is refused, with the message: “This draft only checks the template fields. Create a new document from the template when you are ready to send it.”

The draft stays in **Documents** under that **Check fields** name. Open it again if you still need to move a field, then click **Save Draft** once more.

## Unassigned fields

If the new PDF has fewer pages, a field that was on a removed page is listed in **Unassigned fields**, next to the preview. Each row says **Was on page** and the old page number.

1. Drag the field from **Unassigned fields** onto the page where it should go.
2. Repeat for every field in that column.
3. Click **Save Draft**.

A field you leave in **Unassigned fields** keeps its old page on the template until you place it and save. The next document would still be looking for that missing page.

When every field is on a page, the column says **Every field is on a page.**

## Page count and page size

After the upload, WPsigner can show a short message before the checker opens:

| Message | What to do |
|---------|------------|
| The PDF has fewer pages, and one or more fields are in **Unassigned fields** | Drag each listed field onto a page, then click **Save Draft**. |
| The new PDF has a different number of pages, and no field lost its page | Look through the new pages. Fields that still have a page stayed where they were. Extra pages start empty. |
| The new PDF page size is different | Fields kept their previous position. Move any field that no longer lines up with the contract, then click **Save Draft**. |

## Document Builder templates

A Document Builder template starts as written text. **Replace PDF** keeps the fields that text already has — signature, initials, text, and the rest — and puts them on the file you upload.

**Save Draft** stores those positions on the template. The next time you use the template, including a form feed, WPsigner copies that uploaded PDF and those fields. Documents already created keep the PDF they were given.

**Edit** still opens the written document. Continuing from the editor builds a PDF from that text for the draft you are editing. The template keeps the uploaded PDF until you choose **Replace PDF** again.

## After you save

Create the document you actually send from the template: **New Document → From Template**, Bulk Send, a campaign, or the form feed that uses this template. That new document copies the PDF and the field positions saved at **Save Draft**.

Documents created before the replacement stay on the PDF they already have.

## Troubleshooting

| What you see | What to do |
|--------------|------------|
| **Replace PDF** is missing on a Document Builder card | Update WPsigner to **3.3.2.41** and Document Builder to **1.5.24**. The action sits under **Edit**. |
| The preview is empty, or the editor jumps to **Signers** | Update to **3.3.2.41** or newer, then run **Replace PDF** again. |
| The button says **Preparing PDF…** and then stops | Upload the file again. Use a PDF, within the site’s upload limit. |
| A field is still under **Unassigned fields** | Drag it onto a page and click **Save Draft**. |
| A sent contract still shows the old PDF | That document kept the file it was created with. New documents from this template use the replacement. |
| **Send for Signing** fails on the checker draft | Create a new document from the template and send that one. |

## Related guides

- [Creating Documents](/core-features/creating-documents/#document-templates) — Save and reuse a template
- [Form Fields](/core-features/form-fields/) — Field types and placement
- [Bulk Send](/core-features/bulk-send/) — Send the updated template from a CSV
- [Campaigns](/core-features/campaigns/) — Public link that uses the template
- [Document Builder](/addons/document-builder/) — HTML templates, edited in the builder