Choosing a template engine
Automette has three template engines. They produce the same end result — a generated document — but suit different kinds of work. Pick the one that matches how you want to build and maintain your templates.
Visual editor (Canvas)
Best for designs where layout and visual appearance are the primary concern.
- Social media images, banners, certificates, ID cards, thumbnails
- Designs with precise positioning, overlapping elements, or image crops
- Teams where the person building templates is not a developer
You design by dragging and placing elements on a canvas. Fields are attached to text or image layers directly. No markup or code involved.
Output formats: PNG, JPG, PDF
Word document (.docx)
Best when you already have a Word document you want to automate, or when recipients need an editable file.
- Contracts, NDAs, offer letters, proposals
- Documents that get edited or signed after generation
- Teams that manage templates in Word today and want to add automation without rebuilding from scratch
You upload a .docx file and mark variable parts with {{field_name}} placeholders. Automette merges your data into the file at generation time. Supports loops ({% for item in items %}) for repeating sections like line items.
Output formats: DOCX, PDF
Typst markup
Best for precise, data-dense documents where layout needs to respond to content length.
- Invoices, purchase orders, payslips, tax documents
- Multi-page reports, certificates with variable amounts of text
- Templates that are version-controlled or generated programmatically
You write templates in Typst — a markup language similar in spirit to Markdown but designed for document layout. Fields are declared as variables and referenced anywhere in the source. The compiler handles pagination, text reflow, and table layout automatically.
Output formats: PDF, PNG
Quick comparison
| Visual editor | Word (.docx) | Typst | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Image-first designs | Text documents, editable output | Precise PDFs, multi-page |
| Built in | Drag-and-drop canvas | Your existing Word files | Markup editor |
| Recipients can edit | No | Yes (DOCX output) | No |
| Handles variable-length content | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Output | PNG, JPG, PDF | DOCX, PDF | PDF, PNG |
If you're unsure, start with the visual editor for image outputs and Word for document outputs. Typst is worth learning if you need precise PDF control or are generating programmatically at scale.
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