How to Add a Document Generation Button in Salesforce with Dochly

Updated June 2026 6 min read Document Generation

The Generate Document button puts one-click document generation directly on any Salesforce record page — Opportunity, Account, Contact, Contract, Case, or any custom object. This guide walks through how to add the button to a Lightning page layout, how to handle multiple layouts and profiles, how to make it available on mobile, and how to control which users see it.

Where the button lives on a record page

In Salesforce Lightning Experience, the Generate Document button sits in the record's Highlights Panel actions — the row of action buttons at the top of every record page. This is the same area where standard actions like Edit, Delete, Clone, and Send Email appear.

Acme Corp — Enterprise Renewal 2026

Opportunity · Closed Won · $85,000

Actions

Edit

Send Email

Generate Document

Clone

Key Fields

Amount

$85,000.00

Close Date

June 30, 2026

Owner

Sarah Johnson

Clicking Generate Document opens the Dochly generation modal — the user selects a template, confirms settings, and generates the document without leaving the record.

Which objects to add the button to

Add the Generate Document button to every object that has an Active Dochly template. The button only shows Active templates for the current record's object — so adding it to the Opportunity layout only shows Opportunity templates, and won't interfere with other objects.

Object	Common templates generated	Navigation path
Opportunity	Proposals, quotes, invoices, order confirmations	Object Manager → Opportunity → Page Layouts
Account	Account summaries, welcome letters, statements	Object Manager → Account → Page Layouts
Contact	NDAs, onboarding packets, HR letters	Object Manager → Contact → Page Layouts
Contract	Renewals, amendments, addenda	Object Manager → Contract → Page Layouts
Case	Case summaries, resolution letters	Object Manager → Case → Page Layouts
Custom object	Any custom document type	Object Manager → [Object API Name] → Page Layouts

Step-by-step: adding the Generate Document button

Open the page layout in Salesforce Setup

Navigate to the page layout for the object you want to add the button to:

Setup→ Object Manager→ [Object Name]→ Page Layouts→ [Layout Name]

If your org has multiple page layouts for the same object (e.g. different layouts for Sales Rep vs Manager profiles), you'll need to add the button to each layout separately. See Multiple page layouts below.

Find the Dochly Generate Document button in the palette

In the Lightning page layout editor, look at the palette on the left side. Click Mobile & Lightning Actions in the palette sections — this is where quick action buttons are listed.

Scroll down in the palette to find Generate Document. Installed package actions appear near the bottom of the actions list. You can also use the search box in the palette to type "Generate" and filter the list.

If Generate Document doesn't appear in the palette, confirm Dochly is correctly installed (Setup → Installed Packages → Dochly = Installed) and that the Dochly connection status shows green (Dochly → Settings → Connection Status).

Drag the button into the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section

In the layout editor, scroll down to the section called Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions. This is the section that controls which buttons appear in the Highlights Panel actions row on the record page.

Drag Generate Document from the palette into this section. Position it near other frequently-used actions — users typically expect generation buttons near Edit and Send Email.

Do not add the button to the "Buttons" section at the top of the page layout — that controls a different, older button area that doesn't appear in Lightning Experience. Always add it to the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section.

Save the page layout and verify

Click Save at the top of the page layout editor. The layout saves immediately and the button becomes available on record pages without requiring a deploy or refresh.

To verify: open a record of this object type (e.g. an Opportunity) and look for the Generate Document button in the actions row. If it doesn't appear immediately, hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R).

Multiple page layouts

Many Salesforce orgs have multiple page layouts for the same object — different layouts for different profiles (Sales Rep layout vs Manager layout vs Partner layout). The Generate Document button must be added to each layout separately.

How to find all layouts for an object

Setup → Object Manager → [Object] → Page Layouts. All layouts for that object are listed. Check each layout name and identify which profiles are assigned to which layout via the Page Layout Assignment button at the top of the layouts list.

Profile-to-layout mapping

Click Page Layout Assignment on the layouts list page to see a table of all profiles and which layout each profile uses. Add the Generate Document button to every layout that should have it, based on which user profiles should be able to generate documents.

A common approach: add the Generate Document button to all layouts, then control who can use it through the Dochly permission set. Users without the Dochly User permission set see the button but get an access error — so it's better to only add the button to layouts used by profiles that have the permission set assigned.

Mobile and Salesforce app

Adding the button to the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section of the page layout automatically makes it available on the Salesforce mobile app — no separate configuration needed. Users on iPhone, iPad, or Android can tap Generate Document directly from any record.

Mobile behavior

On mobile, the Generate Document button appears in the Actions menu (the "…" dots menu at the bottom of the record). Tapping it opens the Dochly generation modal — optimized for touch with large tap targets and a scrollable template list.

Controlling mobile order

The order of buttons in the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section determines their order on mobile. Move Generate Document near the top of the section to make it appear earlier in the mobile Actions menu.

Adding the button to custom object layouts

The process is identical for custom objects — the only difference is navigating to the correct custom object in Object Manager. Custom objects appear in Object Manager alphabetically by their display label, not their API name.

Ensure the custom object is enabled in Dochly Settings

Before adding the button, confirm the custom object is listed in Dochly → Settings → Object Access. If it's not there, add it and create an Active template for it first. The Generate Document button on a custom object page will show no templates until there is at least one Active template with that object as its primary object.

Find the custom object in Setup → Object Manager

Go to Setup → Object Manager and find your custom object by its display label. Click it to open the object settings, then follow the same steps as standard objects: Page Layouts → [Layout Name] → drag Generate Document into the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section → Save.

Controlling button visibility

The Generate Document button is visible to any user whose profile uses a page layout with the button added. To control who sees and can use the button, use a combination of page layout assignments and Dochly permission sets.

Page layout controls visibility

The button only appears on record pages when the user's profile is assigned to a layout that includes the Generate Document action. Remove the button from layouts used by profiles that should never see it — e.g. read-only partner portal users.

Permission set controls usage

Even if the button is visible, users without the Dochly User permission set cannot successfully generate documents. Assigning the layout + the permission set together gives a user full Generate Document capability.

User scenario	Button on layout?	Dochly permission set?
Sales rep — full generate access	✓ Yes	✓ Dochly User assigned
Manager — view documents only	✓ Yes (optional)	✓ Dochly Read Only assigned
Partner portal user — no access	✗ Remove from layout	✗ No Dochly permission set
Admin — full template + generate access	✓ Yes	✓ Dochly Admin assigned

Verification checklist after adding the button

After adding the button to a page layout, run through this quick check to confirm it's working correctly:

Button appears on the record page — open a record of the correct object type and confirm Generate Document appears in the actions row. Hard-refresh if it doesn't appear immediately.
Button works for a standard user — log in as a non-admin user with the Dochly User permission set and confirm they can see and click the button successfully.
Template picker shows the correct templates — clicking the button should show all Active templates for this object. If no templates appear, confirm there is at least one Active template with this object as primary.
Generation completes and file attaches to record — generate a test document and confirm the file appears in the record's Files related list immediately after generation.
Button appears on mobile — open the record on the Salesforce mobile app, tap the "…" Actions menu, and confirm Generate Document appears in the list.

Frequently asked questions

First, hard-refresh the record page (Ctrl+Shift+R). If it still doesn't appear, confirm you added the button to the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section — not the older "Buttons" section at the top of the layout. Also confirm the page layout with the button is the one assigned to your current user's profile (Setup → Object Manager → [Object] → Page Layouts → Page Layout Assignment).

The button label is set by the Dochly package and cannot be renamed directly in the page layout editor. If you need a custom label (e.g. "Create Proposal"), you can create a custom Quick Action in Salesforce that calls the Dochly generation Flow action with the label you want, then add that custom action to the page layout instead of the standard Dochly button.

There is one Generate Document button that opens a template picker — users select which template to generate from the picker. If you want dedicated buttons for specific templates (e.g. "Generate Invoice" and "Generate Proposal" as separate buttons), create custom Salesforce Quick Actions that trigger the Dochly generation Flow action with a pre-set template ID, then add those custom actions to the page layout alongside or instead of the standard button.

The template picker only shows Active templates whose primary object matches the current record's object type. If you're on an Opportunity record but all Dochly templates are based on Account, no templates appear. Go to Dochly → Templates and confirm there is at least one Active template with the correct primary object. Also confirm the generating user has the Dochly User permission set assigned.

The Generate Document button is now on your Salesforce record pages — giving every user one-click document generation without leaving the record. Next in this series: How to trigger document generation from a Salesforce Flow with Dochly — automate generation without any user action.