Skip to main content

Extract Template Placeholders and Generate Preview

The Extract Template Placeholders and Generate Preview endpoint parses an uploaded DOCX or PPTX file and returns every {placeholder} variable and font it found, without creating a template. By default it also renders a PDF preview of the file and returns it inline. This lets you show a user exactly what variables a file contains, and what it looks like, before they commit to uploading it as a template.

When to use it​

Use this endpoint to build an "upload and preview" step ahead of Upload Template with Optional Default Values: show the detected placeholders so the user can confirm or rename them, and show the rendered PDF so they can confirm it's the right file. Pass skipFile=true if you only need the extracted variables and fonts and want to skip the (slower) PDF render.

Example request​

curl -X POST "https://api.turbodocx.com/template/file?skipFile=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TURBODOCX_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-rapiddocx-org-id: $TURBODOCX_ORG_ID" \
  -F "file=@./sow-template.docx"

Example response​

With skipFile=true:

{
  "data": {
    "results": {
      "filetype": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
      "vars": [
        {
          "placeholder": "{CustomerName}",
          "name": "CustomerName",
          "mimeType": "text",
          "order": 0,
          "count": 1,
          "allowRichTextInjection": false
        }
      ],
      "fonts": [{ "name": "Calibri" }]
    }
  }
}

Without skipFile, the response also includes templatePdf, the rendered PDF of the uploaded file. It is a JSON-serialized Node.js Buffer, not a base64 string: an object of the form {"type": "Buffer", "data": [37, 80, 68, 70, ...]}, where data is an array of the PDF's raw bytes. To use it, reconstruct the binary from the byte array, for example Buffer.from(templatePdf.data) in Node.js or new Uint8Array(templatePdf.data) in the browser. Pass the vars array as the variables field (JSON-stringified) when you subsequently call Upload Template with Optional Default Values.

Common errors​

StatusWhenResponse body
401Missing or invalid API key/token, or the organization cannot be resolvedEmpty (status only)
403The key's role is not administrator, contributor, or userEmpty (status only)
400No file was attached, or the file could not be uploaded ("Improper File Upload"){ "message", "error", "data": { "explanation", "context" } }
400The file type is not supported (not DOCX, PPTX, or HTML){ "message": "Unsupported File Type", "error", "data": { "explanation", "context" } }
400Your plan's template or storage limit is reached{ "message", "type", "data": { "explanation", "context" } }
503The storage service is temporarily unavailable{ "message", "error", "data": { "explanation", "context" } }
Last updated on