How do I print an employee's full name in one PDF field?

Last updated: October 9, 2026

Onboarded stores an employee's first, middle, and last name separately — there's no single full-name fact. When a PDF has one box for the whole name, map that box to a short Liquid template that joins the parts, so it fills from the employee record instead of asking the employee to type their name.

Why the AI adds a name field you don't want

The employee record holds employee.first_name, employee.middle_name, and employee.last_name. When Onboarded AI builds a form from a PDF, it links a box to the record only when the box is clearly one of those facts. A combined Employee name box isn't, so the AI falls back to a new form field for it — something like form.employee_name — that asks the employee to retype their name.

That field doesn't pre-fill, and what gets typed lives on this form only, so the PDF can drift from the employee record. Map the box to the record instead.

Pick a format

Every PDF field mapping is a LiquidJS template. Use the one that matches how the document prints the name:

Format	Template	Prints
First Last	`{{ employee.first_name }} {{ employee.last_name }}`	`John Doe`
First Middle Last	`{{ employee.first_name }}{% if employee.middle_name %} {{ employee.middle_name }}{% endif %} {{ employee.last_name }}`	`John Middle Doe`, or `John Doe` when there's no middle name
First M. Last	`{{ employee.first_name }}{% if employee.middle_name %} {{ employee.middle_name \| slice: 0, 1 }}.{% endif %} {{ employee.last_name }}`	`John M. Doe`
Last, First	`{{ employee.last_name }}, {{ employee.first_name }}`	`Doe, John`

The {% if %} around the middle name keeps an employee with no middle name from printing a double space.

Steps

Map the box first, then delete the field the AI created.

Map the box to the employee's name

Open the form's draft version in Form Studio and switch to the PDF tab.
Click the name box on the PDF. The PDF FIELD panel shows the box's settings, with its mapping under DATA / MAPPING.
If the AI mapped it, the template references the field it created — for example form.employee_name. Keep that path handy for step 7.
Click the pencil icon on the mapping card to open the template editor. An unmapped box reads No template configured. Click edit to add a mapping.
Replace everything in the editor with the template for your format — for example:
```
{{ employee.first_name }} {{ employee.last_name }}
```
Type it rather than dragging fields onto the box — each drop adds to the template, so first and last name dropped on the same box print as JohnDoe.
Click Done.
Click Save in the toolbar above the PDF. Done only closes the editor; nothing is stored until you save.

Delete the extra field

Switch to the Canvas tab and find the field from step 2.
Hover the field, click its trash icon, and confirm with Delete.

Deleting a field doesn't clear its PDF mapping. A box still pointing at a deleted field counts as Mapped but prints blank on every PDF — replace the template before you delete the field.

When the box sits on a signature line

If the name box sits next to the employee's signature, you can map it to the signature field instead. Clear the box's template, drag the signature from FORM FIELDS onto the box's mapping card — not onto the page, which creates a new box — and choose Signature Name.

The box then prints the name as captured at signing: from the employee record if the signature's Template Paths are set (for example with Use Employee Name), otherwise whatever the employee typed. It stays blank until they sign. See 📄 Understanding Signature Field Configuration.

Showing the name on the form

To show the name on the form itself, read-only, add a content block containing {{ employee.first_name }} {{ employee.last_name }}. See 📄 How do I add a content block with variables to a form?

Verify

After saving, click Preview in the header, then Preview PDF. Preview uses a sample employee, so the box reads John Doe — or John Middle Doe with the middle-name template.

If the box is blank:

The template still references the deleted field. Open the mapping and replace it.
A path is misspelled. Paths are case-sensitive — employee.first_name, not employee.firstName.
You clicked Done but not Save.