# Using Form-Filling API in Tempalte Files

**URL:** <https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/using-form-filling-api-in-tempalte-files/4293>\
**Category:** Writer\
**Created:** [December 11, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/using-form-filling-api-in-tempalte-files/4293 "2025-12-11T16:59:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WRX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@WRX](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/u/WRX)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/using-form-filling-api-in-tempalte-files/4293/1 "2025-12-11T16:59:44Z")

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Hey there,

I’m very new to collabora online and stumbled across this handy feature, featured on #feature-friday: [Form-Filling API in Collabora Online #FeatureFriday](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/form-filling-api-in-collabora-online-featurefriday/3946) (lots of _features_ here 🫣)

I have a similar use case to the one in this video but couldn’t find any detailed informations about how to define or how I can use this feature for my templates.

Perhaps I’m overseeing something or this feature isn’t just there but I would like to know more about the possibilities of the Form-Filling API in combination with collabora online and nextcloud.

Do i have to define specific placeholders or form-fields in my template file to trigger the form to occur by creating a new document?

Thanks a lot!

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**Author:** ![darshan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.collaboraonline.com/darshan/32/2230_2.png) [@darshan](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/u/darshan)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/using-form-filling-api-in-tempalte-files/4293/2 "2025-12-12T11:41:14Z")

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hi @WRX

Great question — the **Form-Filling API** shown in the #FeatureFriday video is indeed very helpful, but at the moment it’s **not a user-facing feature inside Collabora Online yet**.

A few important points:

- You currently **won’t see any UI** in Collabora Online to define form templates.
- You **cannot trigger** the form dialog just by adding placeholders or fields in a Writer document.
- The API is still **developer-focused** , used in controlled partner integrations, and therefore not documented for general end users or for standard Nextcloud Office setups.

That’s why you don’t find instructions for “how to prepare a template” — the feature is not exposed in the editor yet.

Thanks  
Darshan

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**Author:** ![WRX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@WRX](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/u/WRX)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/using-form-filling-api-in-tempalte-files/4293/3 "2025-12-12T14:42:48Z")

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Thank you for your quick response. This helps me to better understand the feature and its intention.

Is there a roadmap for this feature or can you tell, when it might be released for the public?

I’m looking for a solution to pass, for example, the first and last name of the current user into a document template.

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**Author:** ![caroL23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@caroL23](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/u/caroL23)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://forum.collaboraonline.com/t/using-form-filling-api-in-tempalte-files/4293/4 "2026-02-09T12:15:59Z")

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Hi,

You cannot just drop placeholders in a Writer document and have them appear in Collabora at this time because the Form-Filling API is dev-only. People often either use placeholders (`{{firstName}}`) and change them with a script before opening the document, or they complete the template server-side using the API for something like first/last name. Workarounds and scripting are the only options till the UI feature is implemented.