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How to Reference Fields
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Referencing Fields in PDF Mapping & Form Building

When building forms and mapping PDFs in Onboarded, you can automatically insert answers from a form—or details we already know about the employee—directly into the document. This lets you create professional, personalized PDFs without having to fill in anything manually.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through:

  • The two types of data you can reference in your forms and PDFs
  • How to format those references
  • Tips for making your documents dynamic, clean, and clear

Two Types of Referenceable Data

When mapping fields in a form or PDF, you can pull in two main kinds of information:

1. Answers Collected in the Form

When an employee fills something out, like their Driver's License Number, that answer becomes available to reference later in the form (or in the final PDF).

You’ll reference these using the form. path, like this:

{{ form.drivers_license_number }}

This works anywhere you want to show that answer:

  • On later pages of the form
  • In content fields (You entered: {{ form.drivers_license_number }})
  • In the mapped PDF output

2. Information About the Employee or Job

Some data doesn’t need to be collected—it’s already known when the task starts. This includes things like:

  • Employee first/last name
  • Address, phone number, email
  • Job or employer name (if provided when the placement/task is created)
  • The URL of the attached PDF (if a PDF exists for the task)

These can all be referenced using their object paths, such as:

{{ employee.first_name }}
{{ employer.name }}
{{ job.name }}
{{ input.urls.pdf_url }}

Because every task is connected to an employee, these fields are always available—no extra setup needed.

Pre-Filling & Updating Employee Info

If you use paths like employee.address.city instead of form.city, Onboarded will automatically fill in anything we already know.

So instead of showing the employee an empty field, they’ll see something like:

City: New York (already filled in)

If they need to update it, no problem—their changes will update the employee’s profile too.

This is a great way to let employees review and confirm info about themselves as they go.

Common Object Fields

Employee

{{ employee.first_name }}
{{ employee.last_name }}
{{ employee.date_of_birth }}
{{ employee.social_security_number }}
{{ employee.address.street }}
{{ employee.address.secondary }}
{{ employee.address.city }}
{{ employee.address.state }}
{{ employee.address.zip }}
{{ employee.address.country }}
{{ employee.phone }}
{{ employee.email }}

Employer

{{ employer.name }}
{{ employer.ein }}
{{ employer.phone }}
{{ employer.address.street }}
{{ employer.address.secondary }}
{{ employer.address.city }}
{{ employer.address.state }}
{{ employer.address.zip }}
{{ employer.address.country }}

Client & Job

{{ client.name }}
{{ job.name }}
{{ job.address.street }}
{{ job.address.secondary }}
{{ job.address.city }}
{{ job.address.state }}
{{ job.address.zip }}
{{ job.address.country }}

Other

{{ input.urls.pdf_url }}

Use this to say things like:
“Please review the attached handbook` before signing.”

Insert this {{input.urls.pdf_url}} as the link destination. It will link directly to the underlying PDF file.

PDF and Content Field Examples

Use CaseExample
Show employee name{{ employee.first_name }} {{ employee.last_name }}
Show signature name if form is signed{%- if form.employee_signature -%}{{ form.employee_signature.name }}{%- endif -%}
Show a date in MM/DD/YYYY format{{ form.start_date | date: "%m/%d/%Y" }}
Extract signed_at date from a signature field{{form.employee_signature.signed_at | parseDate: '%m/%d/%Y' }}
Display employee middle initial only{{employee.middle_name | slice:0,1}}
Include a link to the PDF{{ input.urls.pdf_url }}
Add an X to a checkbox if a choice is selected{% if form.shift_preferences contains 'night' %}X{% endif %}
Show an expiration date or "N/A"{% if form.alien_authorized_until %}{{ form.alien_authorized_until | date: "%m/%d/%Y" }}{% else %}N/A{% endif %}
Format a complete address with optional secondary line{{ employer.address.street }}{% if employer.address.secondary %}, {{ employer.address.secondary }}{% endif %}, {{ employer.address.city }}, {{ employer.address.state }} {{ employer.address.zip }}
Display SSN without hyphens or "N/A" based on form status{%- if form.i_9_ssn_status -%}{{ employee.social_security_number | remove: "-" }}{%- else -%}N/A{%- endif -%}
Create variables for complex nested conditionals{%- assign _employee_work_status = form.citizenship_status_code -%}{%- assign _noncitizen_doc_selection = form.i_9_alien_authorized_document_type -%}{%- if _employee_work_status == "alien_authorized_to_work" -%}{%- if _noncitizen_doc_selection == "uscis_a_number" -%}{{ form.alien_number }}{%- endif -%}{%- endif -%}

Formatting Dates

Looking for additional date format options? See our guide here.

Need Help?

If you're building a form and aren’t sure how to reference a field—or need help with formatting—reach out to our team. We’ll walk you through it or even help write the logic for you.

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