---
title: "Print Format Editor"
space: "Framework"
url: "https://docs.frappe.io/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor"
updated: "2026-10-10"
---

The Print Format Editor is where you design how a document looks on paper. You drag fields onto a page, arrange them in sections and columns, and see the result straight away with the values of a real document. No HTML or code is needed, but you can add your own when you want to.

Applies to Frappe v16 and later.

![The Print Format Editor with a sales invoice loaded.](/files/printing-v16c-editor-overview.png)

## Before you start

You need:

- permission to create Print Formats. System Managers have it by default.
- at least one saved document of the type you are designing for, so the editor can show real values.

## Create a print format

1. Open the **Print Format** list and click **Add Print Format**.
2. Set **Print Format For** to **DocType** and pick the **DocType**, for example Sales Invoice.
3. Enter a **Name**, for example "Customer Invoice".
4. Leave **Start with** on its default, the visual editor.
5. Click **Create**. The editor opens.

![The New Print Format dialog.](/files/printing-v16c-editor-new-format.png)

The editor then asks how you want to start:

- **Start from default** fills the page with every printable field of the document, in the same order as the form. Remove what you do not need. This is the quickest way to start.
- **Start blank** gives you an empty page to build up yourself.

![Start from default or start blank.](/files/printing-v16c-editor-start.png)

You can also start from the print page. Open a document, press **Ctrl+P**, open the **⋯** menu and click **Customize** while the Standard format is selected.

## A quick tour

| Area | What it does |
|------|--------------|
| **Left panel** | Four tabs. **Fields** lists every field of the document. **Layers** shows the page as a tree. **Blocks** holds things that are not fields, like text, images and barcodes. **Library** holds your saved snippets. |
| **Page** | The printout itself. Click anything to select it. Drag to move it. |
| **Right panel** | The settings of whatever you selected. With nothing selected it shows the page settings. |
| **Preview document** | The box above the page. Pick a document here and the page shows its real values. |
| **Toolbar** | **Version History**, **Show Preview**, **Print Settings**, **Edit Print Format** (opens the format's form) and **Save & Apply**. |

## How a print format is built

A print format is a stack of **sections**, from top to bottom. Each section has one to four **columns**, and each column holds **fields** and **blocks**. Above and below the sections are the **Header** and **Footer**. They repeat on every page only when **Repeat Header and Footer** is on in [Print Settings](/framework/user/en/printing/print-settings). When it is off, the header prints once at the top and the footer once at the end.

```
Header          letter head and header fields
Section         1 to 4 columns
  Column        fields and blocks, top to bottom
Section
  ...
Footer          footer fields and letter head footer
```

The pages below explain each part:

- [Sections, columns and the page](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/layout): sections, columns, borders, header, footer, letter head and page breaks.
- [Fields](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/fields): adding fields and changing how each one prints.
- [Tables](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/tables): child tables such as invoice items, their columns, styles and row filters.
- [Blocks](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/blocks): text, images, barcodes, QR codes, linked values, custom tables, Custom HTML and Typst.
- [Show or hide content](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/conditions): conditions for sections, fields, table rows and columns.
- [Page settings and PDF renderer](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/page-settings): font, colours, margins, page numbers, Chromium and Typst.
- [Versions, snippets and shortcuts](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/versions-snippets-shortcuts).

## Saving your work

The editor keeps two copies of your format:

- The **draft** is what you see while editing. It is saved automatically as you work, and the toolbar shows **Saving…** and then **Draft**. Nothing prints differently yet.
- The **published** version is what prints. Click **Save & Apply**, or press **Ctrl+S**, to publish the draft.

If you leave the editor with changes that are not applied, it asks before you go. Your draft is kept, so you can come back to it later.

## Preview with real data

Pick a document in the box above the page. Every field shows that document's value, and anything that will not print for it is greyed out with a dashed border. Hover over a greyed section to see why: it is hidden by its condition, or it has no values for this document.

Click **Show Preview** in the toolbar to see the PDF exactly as it will print.

Draft and cancelled documents can be previewed only when **Allow Print for Draft** or **Allow Print for Cancelled** is on in [Print Settings](/framework/user/en/printing/print-settings).

## Use the format

- On the print page, pick it in the **Print Format** box.
- To make it the default for its document type, select it on the print page and choose **⋯ > Set as Default Format**.

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | What to check |
|---------|---------------|
| My change does not show when printing | Click **Save & Apply**. The draft is not printed. |
| A field does not print | Its value is empty, or its condition is false. Hover over it in the preview to see which. |
| A section starts on a new page | There is a **Page Break** above it, or **Keep together** is on and the section does not fit on the current page. |
| **Typst (fast)** cannot be selected | Hover over the info icon next to **PDF renderer**. It lists what Typst cannot render, for example a Custom HTML block. See [Page settings and PDF renderer](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/page-settings). |
| The letter head footer is missing in the PDF | Turn on **Repeat Header and Footer** in [Print Settings](/framework/user/en/printing/print-settings). |

## Related topics

- [Printing a document](/framework/user/en/printing/print-page)
- [Letter Head](/framework/user/en/printing/letter-head)
- [HTML print formats](/framework/user/en/printing/html-print-formats), for full control with HTML and Jinja