The following article outlines and addresses some frequently asked questions about certificates
Here are a few things to check if your merge fields aren't pulling through all the correct information:
- Check the merge fields are compatible with the type of certificate template you are creating.
Certification certificates and course certificates have different merge fields available, check them out here.
- Ensure your merge fields have been formatted correctly with no spelling errors.
- Check the registrant's information and confirm there is data in the field you are trying to pull information from.
You can do this by adding custom merge fields to your certificate.
To make a merge field that pulls custom field information, you need to begin the merge field with the field entity type (e.g. Contact, Registration) followed by the system name of the custom field.
Examples of custom field merge fields:
- { MERGEFIELD contact_fieldsystemname }
- { MERGEFIELD registration_fieldsystemname }
You can see all available custom field merge fields when you download sample merge data and start a mail merge on your certificate in Microsoft Word. This means you won't need to create them yourself and will help prevent adding unavailable merge fields.
Do note that merge fields cannot be copied and pasted onto certificate templates. It is best to add them in Word by running a mail merge.
Yes. You can add a merge field that takes the event end date and adds a set number of years to it, so the expiry works itself out on every certificate.
The expiry is built from two merge fields sitting next to each other. The first prints the day and month, the second takes the year and adds your chosen number of years:
- { MERGEFIELD event_end_date @ "d MMMM " }{ = { MERGEFIELD event_end_date @ "yyyy" } + 3 # 0 }
Change the 3 to however many years the certification lasts. With an event end date of 24 June 2026, this prints 24 June 2029.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
- The curly braces have to be inserted as Word field codes, not typed. Place your cursor where you want the field and press Ctrl+F9 (or Cmd+F9 on a Mac) to insert each pair of braces, then type the contents inside.
- The # 0 stops Word adding a comma to the year, so you get 2029 rather than 2,029.
- After editing, select all with Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on a Mac) and press F9 to refresh the fields, then run a test merge to check the date reads correctly.
Add a date format switch to the end of your date merge field, just before the closing brace. The switch is @ followed by the format you want in quotes.
- { MERGEFIELD event_end_date @ "d MMMM yyyy" }
This turns a raw value like 06/24/2026 16:00:00 into a clean 24 June 2026. Some common formats:
- "d MMMM yyyy" gives 24 June 2026
- "dd/MM/yyyy" gives 24/06/2026
- "MMMM yyyy" gives June 2026
As with any field code, insert the braces with Ctrl+F9 (or Cmd+F9 on a Mac) rather than typing them, then refresh with F9 before exporting.
There are no limitations on the orientation of your certificates - both landscape and portrait are accepted.
Elearning courses are self-paced and they do not have a event start date or end date like the face-to-face courses. Hence, adding the date merge fields like event_start_date and event_end_date to elearning certificate templates will not return any information on the certificates.
- Place the cursor where the date should be added.
- From the Insert tab in Word, under Text group, click Date & Time.
- From the opened dialog box, choose the desired date format.
- Select the Update automatically check box and click OK.
- You'll see a faint gray box when you rest your mouse pointer over the date.
