- In the first part you will create a generic PDF certicate without personal information.
- In the second part of the article you will learn how to add form fields to the pdf certificate that will be filled in by iSpring Online.
Create a Generic Certificate in Microsoft Office
The easiest way to create a certificate is to use a Microsoft Office template.
- In Microsoft PowerPoint, open the File tab.
- Choose New from the menu.
- Type "certificate" in the Office.com templates search field and
press Enter.
The program will list all available templates that contain the keyword "certificate" in their descriptions.
- Double-click a template that you like.
PowerPoint will download and open the selected template.
- Modify the certificate to your liking.
- Make sure to fill in all text placeholders or delete those that
will be later replaced with form fields for iSpring Online to fill
in.Note: iSpring Online currently supports three form fields: user name, course title, and completion date.
When your certificate is ready, you should save it as pdf:
- Open the File tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.
- Click Save As.
- Choose "PDF (*.pdf)" in the Save as type drop-down menu.
- Click Save.
Add Form Fields to Personalize Your Certicate
OK, now you have a generic certificate. You can use it in your course, but it's static. For example, if you typed your course title in this certificate, it won't do for other courses that you may add in future. So it's more convenient to create a certificate that will include some information inserted dynamically right before a student downloads it.
iSpring Online currently recognizes three form fields:
- NAME - the name of a student that completed your course
- COURSE_NAME - your course title
- DATE - the date when a given student completed your course
To add form fields to your pdf certificate, you will need Adobe Acrobat software.
- Open your pdf certificate in Adobe Acrobat X Pro.
- Click the Create button and choose PDF Form from the drop-down menu.
- Select Use the current document or browse to a file and click Next.
- Select Use the current document and click Next.
- Click Add New Field and choose Text Field in the drop-down menu.
- Use your mouse to move the form field to a desired location and then click the left mouse button to place the field.
- Type a field name: use one of the three names supported by iSpring
Online: NAME, COURSE_NAME, or
DATE.
Repeat Steps 5-7 to add more form fields and then save the
certificate. You should end with something like this: