How to create spec sheet PDFs in Notion

Creating product spec sheets are essential for varying businesses such as manufacturing, wholesalers and even e-commerce businesses.

Product spec sheets offers key information related to dimensions, materials used, product’s images to the different stakeholders including vendors, customers and other internal team members.

If you are using Notion to store data internally in connected data sources but are looking for a way to streamline spec sheet PDF generation, then this guide covers everything for you.

Let’s understand how we can automate spec sheets PDF generation using Notion…

Prerequisites for generating product specs PDFs on automation using Notion?

In this guide, we will learn you can automate and generate spec sheets using Notion and a template source.

3 things that are essential and will help generate spec sheets on automation using Notion:

Google Account - Make sure to have a google account which will be used to setup the templates source.

Notion Account - A notion account which has all the details related to spec sheets will be used to setup the automation and produce PDFs.

PDFOutput Account - Having a PDFOutput account is a must as it will act as the automation bridge between the template source file and Notion Database that will help produce the PDFs.

Limitations with other methods of PDF Export through Notion

Here’s some key limitations in place for using other methods of PDF export in Notion:

Zapier / Make - It doesn’t produce PDFs with the right format and layout as preferred.

Native Notion Export - It doesn’t export PDFs in bulk as required with the right layout and format.

CSV Export - Loses most of the properties from the Notion Database when its exported as a CSV File.

The fastest and the recommended way to produce professional looking branded product specs is to use PDFOutput automation tool which syncs with Notion data sources perfectly to create PDFs on demand.

Benefits of using PDFOutput automation for producing spec sheets in Notion

Creating product specs manually is a time consuming process for the team and requires a lot of copy and paste for the elements one by one from the Notion Database onto the template file.

A template file can be either in the form of a Word File or Google Document or a PDF File or even a template from list of available templates.

Doing things manually can cause several issues such as:

Prone to human errors - Creating PDFs manually can lead to human errors as it needs copy and paste every time for the properties visible for the added databases.

Inconsistent format of the document - Generating PDFs manually can lead to inconsistent formatting of the document which can inturn lead to an inconsistent styling of the document, this is not recommended at all.

No way to track the PDFs created - Manual form of creating the product spec sheets doesn't allow tracing the PDFs that have been generated as such and it becomes difficult to trace the records that have been processed.

Doesn't save any time - When you are consistently creating the same type of PDFs regularly that follow a regular pattern everytime but you do it manually it doesn't save any time at all.

Thus, automating the product specs generation with Notion is an ideal strategy when it comes to producing PDFs to take care of the above issues.

It pulls in the right records with the right values and produces the output consistent with the data stored in the database all

McKinsey has also highlighted in the report stating that setting up a digital transformation leads to reduction of the time utilised by upto 30-50% which eventually helps to reduce costs and improve profitability of the business.

How to setup automation for generating product specs in Notion?

In order to create the automation setup for generating product specs in Notion, we need the following things in place:

1. Preparing Notion Databases that has the product spec sheet setup

First of all, we need to create 3 databases to setup the packing lists overview:

Products Table Database - This contains the product name, SKU, manufacturer details etc for the products defined in the packing list.

Items Specification Database - This database contains the specifications item wise for the products used.

Features Database - This database contains the features for the specifications item wise of the products used.

!Products Table Database

We will require 3 databases for this setup:

Products Table (Primary)

This database will contain all the key fields related to the product spec such as:

Field Name	Field Type	Used for
Product Name	Title	Identify the main product
SKU	Text	Model Number
Manufacturer	Text	Name of Company
Category	Text	Classification of Products
Description	Text	Overview of products
Dimensions	Text	Physical Size of products (eg 480 x 320 x 285 mm)
Weight	Text	Weight of product
Power Rating	Text	Rating of product
Operating Temperature	Text	Temperature of product
Material	Text	Type of material used
IP Rating	Text	Rating of product used
Certifications	Text	Certifications of product
Product Photo	Files and Media	Main product image
Technical Drawing	Field and Media	Drawing of product
Price	Number	Price of the product
Lead Time	Text	Lead Time of delivery
MOQ	Text	Minimum order quantity delivered
Warranty	Text	Warranty of products ordered
Specification	Relation (linked to Items Database)	Linked to Items spec database

Items Specification Database (Secondary Database)

This table will contain all the fields related to the item specifications such as:

Field Name	Field Type	Used for
Spec name	Title	Name of parameter
Spec value	Text	Value of parameter
Product	Relation ( linked to Products table)	Linked to Products database

Features Database (Secondary Database)

This table will contain the field related to the features of the item specifications such as:

Field Name	Field Type	Used For
Feature	Title	Describes the features
Product	Relation ( linked to the products table)	Linked to Products database

In the template all the line items of specs and features will automatically be added inside a table dynamically and expanded when it will be added onto the template.

How to setup Shipping Documents Automation in Notion?

In order to setup the Shipping Documents Automation in Notion, we need to follow 4 steps:

Step : 1 Connecting the Shipping Documents Notion Databases

!Connect Notion

Click on Connect Notion to connect the Notion Databases for the setup.

!Select Workspace

Select your desired Notion Workspace from the top right side and then click on Select Pages

!Select Pages

Enter the databases names, Product Specification Database in the Search Pages section to connect both of the databases and click on Allow Access to proceed further.

!Allow Access

2. Connecting the Template Source

In this step, we will need to connect a template source file which will be the desired template for generating PDFs.

We can add template source in any one of the following ways:

• Word File or
• Google Document or
• PDF File or
• Choosing from an available template source

For this demonstration we are going to use a pre-defined template source which we have created beforehand for using spec sheet PDFs.

Simply search for “Spec Sheet” and choose the template available from the options and click on Continue.

!Template Selection

3. Mapping Notion Properties onto the template source

Once the template source is added and the notion Databases are connected, it's time to add the properties of the database onto the template source file.

Select the desired products notion database (primary database) added earlier in step - 1 above in the select notion database shown and it will load all the properties for our use.

!Select Notion Database

From the loaded properties, we can click on Copy and use Ctrl + V / Cmd + V to paste the properties onto the template source loaded on the left.

When we copy and paste the properties, it will add the property in the form of \{\{placeholder_text\}\} into the template source which will be replaced with the values from the database.

Eg: If we have a property Product Name and we copy and paste the same, it adds the property as \{\{Product Name\}\} onto the template.

This will fetch the Product Name from the Products Database and replace the same on the template source.

!Mapping Properties

If we are looking to add line items for the items shipped onto the boy section we can also copy the elements from the Line Items table and map the same onto the body section.

Eg: If we have Spec Name, Spec Value we can copy the same showing under Products Database properties and paste the same onto the body of the template

We can also add image properties which would be in the form of \{\{image_field\}\}_\{\{200*200\}\}.

Step : 4 Generating the Preview Output and enabling the automation

Click on Preview Output to generate a preview output file with the mappings that were created earlier.

!Preview Output Button

This will show exactly the output in a preview format which displays the generated pdf for one record of data obtained from the Products Database (primary database).

!Preview Generated PDF

Once you are satisfied with the generated preview document, you can automate the process by clicking on Setup Automation button.

!Setup Automation Button

This will setup the automation and activate the automation to run it forever.

How to generate product spec sheets on automation from Notion

We can generate the product spec sheets from Notion Database in 3 different ways:

Method - 1 : Preview Document

!Preview Document

When we click on the Preview Document button it generates one record as PDF and shows the preview of the document for our reference.

Method - 2 : Batch PDFs

!Batch PDFs Step 1 !Batch PDFs Step 2 !Batch PDFs Step 3

While generating the PDFs we also have an option to produce the PDFs in batches of PDFs, click on the 3-dots and then click on Batch PDFs.

This will produce PDFs in batches of 100 records at once and will save the generated PDFs back onto the Notion Database.

Method - 3 : One-click database automation

!One-click Automation Step 1

!One-click Automation Step 2

Once the automation is activated and enabled, we can mark the desired records as “Ready to Generate” under the GeneratePDF property.

Doing this will allow to generate the PDFs right inside the Notion database under the PDFFiles property once the automation is activated.

Pro Tip : Notion also has an in-built automation setup which allows to send emails to the recipient involved right within the database as well.

Things to consider before setting up Notion Automation to produce spec sheets

Here are the things to consider before setting up Notion Automation to generate spec sheet pdfs in PDFOutput:

• Preview the output file before enabling pdf automation

When you preview a document generated from the automation, make sure to check for all the formatting used to create the document to ensure that the output is generated as it's expected.

• Use consistent pdf file naming convention across all the output files

While generating the pdf, make sure to use a consistent style of naming the pdf files generated. If you want to use a custom name which is not directly related to any of field names provided, use a formula type property and then create your custom formula which defines the field name before creating a pdf.

Eg: Let's say you are want to use product name and the database name provided as pdf file name.

You can create another formula type property which would be like [Product Name + “Product Details”], this will provide a custom file name that will be unique for each pdf generated.

This will fetch the Product Name values for each record and then add the same to “Product Details” while creating the pdf.

• Use appropriate dimensions for producing images

PDFOutput also supports media file types in the form of png or jpg. While adding the image type placeholders, add the same onto the document with the dimension being provided in the following format “\{\{imagefield\}\}_\{\{2020\}\}*”.

Here the dimensions that are marked inside the \{\{…\}\} correspond to the size of the media files used in inches and can be tested through using preview to see how it fits the needs.

• Use a simple pdf template document to generate reliable output

While designing the sample template source file to create the PDFs, make sure to consider following:

• Use simple table formatting
• Use simple font style and provide minimum styling effects supported by Google Docs

This will help prevent any form of template design issues that can come up while generating the PDFs.

Using any form of complex formatting techniques can break and sometimes cause the template to not produce a consistent output file as it's expected.

• Formatting of the date field values

By default, all the PDFs which are generated follow the format of “MMMM DD, YYYY”.

Eg : For the date value 11th May, 2026 provided, it will generate the placeholder value as May 11, 2026.

If you are looking to generate the date in a different format, let's say in the form of 11.05.2026, then simply just add another formula property in the database, let's say “New_Date” with the following formula:

“[formatDate(prop(”originaldatefield”), “DD.MM.YYYY”)]”

This will create the required new date value in the above format of DD.MM.YYYY as we require.

Map this new field “New_Date” onto the document instead of the original date field and the output will show the date value in the above desired format of DD.MM.YYYY as we require instead of the “MMMM DD, YYYY”.

Troubleshooting common Problems while generating product spec PDFs in Notion

Here's some common problems associated with generation of product spec PDFs in Notion and the ways to fix them:

• Placeholders are not populating correctly inside the document

Issue : The placeholders used in the template source file isn't getting replaced with the desired values from the data source as expected.

Solution : Make sure that the field mapped from your data source is exactly the same field that is added onto the template source file.

Eg: If the field name in the database is “Product_nm” and the placeholdertext mapped to the template source is “Product_ID” then it will not be able to replace the placeholdertext correctly as both are different here.

Make sure both the texts used are exactly the same including the capitalisation or underscores being used in the placeholder provided.

Always ensure to click on Copy for the notion properties and then use Ctrl + V / Cmd + V to be able to paste the values onto the template that ensures the placeholder texts are correctly being added onto the template source as required.

• Line Items being added don't show any values as expected

Issue : The placeholders that are used for adding line item Item Specifications Database values may not be added correctly onto the template source file as expected.

Solution : When you are adding the placeholders make sure to check the Specifications Database is properly connected and is correctly added as a Notion Datasource or not.

• A quick way to verify the same is to head over to the Specifications Item Database and click on the 3-dots on the top right.
• Click on Connections to see if PDFOutput is available as a connection or not in the list shown.

→ If PDFOutput is showing in the connections, simply refresh the databases once again and it will show the data source in the list.

→ If PDFOutput is not showing in the connections, reconnect the database from the setup screen after signing in and it will appear again.

• PDF file is not generated as per correct format

Issue : The pdf file that is created doesn't preserve the actual correct formatting of the document as expected.

Solution: This happens often when the template file has a complex layout structure not natively supported by Google Document on its own.

When you add elements that are not natively supported by Google Document, it can lead to creating formatting issues with the design and layout of the document generated.

Using a simple template and avoiding using any of complex layout structures and formatting helps create PDFs in right manner.

Automate Product Specs today from Notion and scale your business

It's high time to setup an automation workflow when you are consistently doing things manually time and again that does only 2 things:

• Produces PDFs which are error prone.
• Kills valuable time which can be saved through automation.

Stop doing things manually that involves copying and pasting every element one by one into the template, but instead setup an automation workflow in PDFOutput to generate professional branded products specs PDFs that complies with industry standards and give you the best automated solution.

It takes less than 10 minutes to setup an automation for once and you can enjoy the benefits of running the automation forever.

Have any more questions ,reach out to me at notionformyuse@gmail.com for assistance.

FAQ’s on how to use PDFOutput

Here's some commonly asked questions about PDFOutput and its use:

Can I use PDFOutput to batch produce PDFs at once for Spec Sheets?

Yes, you can produce batch PDFs at once for the Spec Sheets. Click on the 3-dots icon next to the active automation setup on your dashboard, you will find an option for Batch PDFs. Click on that and it will start producing PDFs in batches of 100 PDFs at once for your use case.

Can I add multiple line items from linked databases connected onto the primary database?

Yes, PDFOutput allows to handle dynamically all the properties from linked databases, it doesn’t matter the record counts used for this. It can be as low as using 10 records or as high as using 50 records, but it will be able to dynamically generate from the linked Products Order items table automatically depending upon the linked database used. But, do make sure to use the right syntax formatting for this as it would be useful for generating the linked items properly onto the template source.

How do I add the fields from the linked database in Notion onto the report?

Simply copy and paste the fields from the corresponding linked database onto the template source, it will automatically pull the respective field values and replace the placeholders in the document. But, do make sure to connect all the databases used, i.e. Primary Database (Products Table) and other linked databases such as (Specs Items Database) or even (Features Database).

Are spec sheets generated automatically when the documents (records) are marked as “Ready to Generate” inside Notion Database?

Yes, when you mark a record as “Ready to Generate” inside the Products Details (primary database) table, it will automatically start generating the PDFs for you. It will change the status from Ready to Generate → Processing… → Completed and will generate the PDFs right inside the Notion Database.

Can I include images in the product specs that is generated?

Yes, you can add a “Files and media” type field in the Products Database and it will map the same placeholder onto the Template Source.

It will first convert the placeholder added into an image type and then generate the PDF for you.

But, do make sure that the image file added is a PNG or JPG file and it shouldn’t be a large file in terms of the size of the file.

You can adjust the dimensions of the file using the following placeholder format, eg: \{\{Field_Name\}\}_\{\{200*200\}\}

Here, \{\{200*200\}\} specifies the size in inches which can be altered as required to make the image fit properly onto the template.