Large Documents

What Counts as Large?

A document becomes "large" when it pushes beyond typical use cases:

• More than 10 pages
• Tables with 100+ rows
• More than 20 images
• Data payloads exceeding 500KB
• Many dynamic elements with complex bindings

Page Management

Use the multi-page feature to break long documents into pages. Design each page template separately so the engine can process them efficiently.

• Keep page templates focused — don't overload a single page with dozens of elements
• Use consistent layouts across pages for predictable rendering
• Place repeating headers and footers so they don't need recalculation

Handling Large Tables

Tables with many rows are the most common cause of large documents. Consider these approaches:

• Paginate the data — Split large datasets across multiple pages
• Limit rows per page — Design the table to fit a fixed number of rows, then overflow to a new page
• Summary tables — Show grouped or aggregated data instead of raw rows
• Appendix pattern — Show a summary on page one, detailed data on following pages

Image-Heavy Documents

• Pre-optimize all images before using them in templates
• Use JPEG format for photographs (smaller file size)
• Use PNG only when transparency is required
• Host images on a CDN for fast fetching
• Avoid embedding base64 images in the data payload

Data Payload Best Practices

• Only include data fields that the template references
• Pre-format values (dates, currency) on the client side
• Remove null or empty fields from the payload
• Flatten deeply nested structures when possible

Timeout Handling

Large documents may take longer to generate. Handle this gracefully:

• Use async generation with webhooks for documents that may take more than a few seconds
• Set appropriate timeout values in your HTTP client
• Show a progress indicator or "generating..." state in your UI
• Implement retry logic with exponential backoff

Splitting Into Multiple PDFs

Sometimes it's better to generate multiple smaller PDFs instead of one large one:

• Generate individual invoices instead of one combined PDF
• Split a report into chapters, each as a separate PDF
• Use a cover page PDF + content PDF + appendix PDF

Next Steps

• Performance Optimization — General speed tips
• Batch Processing — Generate many documents efficiently
• Multi-Page Templates — Design multi-page layouts