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# How to choose and preview invoice templates

When you open an order in Invoice Falcon, you can see exactly how the invoice will look before printing, downloading, or emailing it. The order detail page shows a full-size PDF preview on the left and a template selector on the right, so you can choose and preview an invoice template for any order in seconds. Switching templates instantly regenerates the PDF, giving you complete control over which design is used for each individual order without changing your store-wide defaults.

### Opening an Order to Preview Its Invoice

Every order in Invoice Falcon has a dedicated detail page where you can preview and manage its invoice. Here is how to get there from the orders list.

##### Navigate to the order detail page

1. Open the **Invoice Falcon** app from your Shopify Admin.
2. Click **Orders** in the left-hand navigation menu. This shows the list of all your Shopify orders (or switch to the **Drafts** tab for draft orders).
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/c/4/f/4/c4f40695834d1000/image_1jg8v76.png)
3. Click on the **order number** link (e.g., #1001) for any order in the list. This opens the order detail page for that specific order.

The order detail page has a two-column layout:

* **Left side (main section)** — A full-width invoice preview card showing the invoice number at the top, an **Actions** dropdown menu, and a large PDF preview of the invoice
* **Right side (sidebar)** — A collapsible **Templates** panel where you can select which template to use for this order's invoice

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/c/4/f/4/c4f40695834d1000/image_72lhfs.png)
| Tip: The page title shows the order number (e.g., "Order #1001") along with a financial status badge (Paid, Pending, Refunded, etc.) so you always know which order you are looking at.

### Choose and Preview an Invoice Template

The Templates sidebar on the right side of the order detail page lets you select which template to use for the current order's invoice. Switching templates regenerates the PDF instantly.

##### How the template selector works

The **Templates** panel is a collapsible card on the right side of the page. It lists all the invoice templates you have created in Invoice Falcon, each displayed as a radio button. Here is how to use it:

1. Locate the **Templates** card in the right sidebar of the order detail page. It is open by default when you first load the page.
2. You will see a list of all your templates, each with a **radio button** next to its name and an **Edit** link on the right side.
3. One template is already selected (indicated by a filled radio button). This is the auto-selected template based on your template settings — for regular orders, Invoice Falcon selects the template that has the "Orders" pre-selected option enabled. For draft orders, it selects the template with the "Draft orders" pre-selected option enabled. If no template has a pre-selected option, the first template in the list is used.
4. Click the **radio button** next to any other template name to switch to that template. The PDF preview on the left immediately starts regenerating to show the invoice using the newly selected template.
5. Wait a moment while the new invoice preview loads — you will see a loading spinner in the preview area.
6. Once ready, the full invoice preview appears on the left side of the page using the newly selected template.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/c/4/f/4/c4f40695834d1000/image_10j8lb0.png)
| Tip: You can collapse or expand the Templates panel by clicking on the "Templates" heading. This is useful if you want more screen space to review the PDF preview.

##### How auto-selection works

Invoice Falcon automatically selects a template for each order type when you first open the order detail page:

* **Regular orders** — The app selects the template that has the **"Orders"** pre-selected option enabled on the Templates page.
* **Draft orders** — The app selects the template that has the **"Draft orders"** pre-selected option enabled.
* **Fallback** — If no template has a matching pre-selected option, the first template in your list is used by default.

You can override the auto-selection at any time by clicking a different template in the sidebar. Your manual selection applies only to the current session — it does not permanently change the pre-selected template setting.

##### Editing a template from the order detail page

Each template in the sidebar has an **Edit** link on the right side of its row. Clicking **Edit** opens that template in the Template Editor page where you can make changes to the design, labels, and content. After saving your changes in the Template Editor, navigate back to the order detail page to see the updated design reflected in the preview.

### Previewing the Invoice PDF

The main section of the order detail page displays a live PDF preview of the invoice for the current order. The preview updates automatically whenever you change the selected template.

##### What the invoice preview shows

The invoice preview displays the complete invoice document exactly as it will appear when printed or downloaded:

* Your logo, store address, customer details, line items, taxes, totals, and footer — all rendered using the currently selected template
* The invoice number is shown in the card header (e.g., **"Invoice INV-2026-001"**). If the invoice has not been generated yet, the header shows the template name and order number instead (e.g., **"Default - #1001"**)
* You can scroll through multi-page invoices and zoom in or out using your browser's built-in PDF controls

| Tip: If the preview area shows "No invoice preview available. Click 'Print' to generate.", use any action from the Actions menu (Print, Download, or Send email) to generate the invoice.

### Taking Actions on the Invoice

Once you have selected your preferred template and reviewed the preview, you can take several actions directly from the order detail page. The **Actions** dropdown menu is located in the top-right corner of the invoice preview card.

##### Available actions

Click the **Actions** button to open a dropdown menu with the following options:

* **Print** — Opens the invoice PDF in a new browser tab for printing. If no invoice exists yet, one is created using the currently selected template before opening.
* **Download PDF** — Downloads the invoice as a PDF file to your computer. The file is named after the invoice number (e.g., `INV-2026-001.pdf`). The download uses the currently selected template.
* **Send email** — Opens the Send Email modal where you can email the invoice directly to the customer.
* **Review & send** — Opens the Review & Send modal where you can review the invoice details and customize the email before sending it to the customer.
* **Regenerate** — Re-fetches the latest order data from Shopify and regenerates the invoice from scratch. This is useful if the order has been updated (e.g., items added, refund issued, address changed) and you want the invoice to reflect the latest information. The selected template is re-applied automatically after regeneration.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/c/4/f/4/c4f40695834d1000/image_gxa4zg.png)

| Tip: All actions (Print, Download, Send email) use the currently selected template from the sidebar. Make sure you have selected the correct template before taking action.

### Known Limitations

* Selecting a different template on the order detail page does not permanently assign that template to the order. The next time you open the same order, the auto-selected template will be used again based on your pre-selected template settings.
* If you have no templates created, the Templates sidebar shows the message **"No templates found. Create one from the Templates page."** and no preview can be generated.
* The invoice preview does not support live editing of the template. To make design changes, click the **Edit** link next to the template name, modify the template in the Template Editor, save your changes, and then return to the order detail page.
* Draft order invoices follow the same template selection logic but use the "Draft orders" pre-selected setting instead of the "Orders" pre-selected setting.
* The Regenerate action is only available for orders that already have an invoice linked to a Shopify order.
* The Actions menu does not include a "Delete invoice" option. Once an invoice is created for an order, it cannot be removed from the order detail page.

### Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
| ---- |
| The Templates sidebar is empty and shows "No templates found" | You have not created any templates yet | Go to the **Templates** page from the left-hand navigation menu and create at least one template. |
| The PDF preview shows "No invoice preview available" | The invoice PDF has not been generated yet | Click **Print** or **Download PDF** from the Actions menu to trigger PDF generation. |
| The preview is stuck on the loading spinner | The PDF is still being generated for a complex order | Wait a few moments and the preview will appear. If it does not resolve, refresh the page and try again. |
| Switching templates does not update the preview | A network error may have occurred | Check your internet connection and try selecting the template again. If the error persists, refresh the page. |
| The wrong template is auto-selected when I open an order | The pre-selected template setting does not match the order type | Go to the **Templates** page, find your preferred template, and set its "Pre-selected for" option to "Orders" (or "Draft orders" for draft order invoices). |
| The Regenerate option is not visible in the Actions menu | The invoice is not linked to a Shopify order | Regenerate is only available for invoices created from a Shopify order or draft order. |

### FAQs

**Q: Can I use a different template for each order?**
A: Yes. When you open any order's detail page, you can select a different template from the sidebar before printing, downloading, or emailing the invoice. However, this selection is per-session — it is not permanently saved to the order.

**Q: Does selecting a template on the order detail page change my default template?**
A: No. Your template selection on the order detail page only affects the current viewing session. It does not change the pre-selected template settings on the Templates page.

**Q: How do I set a default template so it is always auto-selected?**
A: Go to the **Templates** page, find the template you want as your default, and set its "Pre-selected for" option to "Orders" (and/or "Draft orders"). This template will be auto-selected whenever you open an order detail page.

**Q: What happens if I switch templates and then click Print or Download?**
A: The Print and Download actions always use the currently selected template. If you switch templates, the PDF is regenerated with the new template, and all subsequent actions use that version.

**Q: Can I edit a template directly from the order detail page?**
A: You cannot edit the template inline, but each template in the sidebar has an **Edit** link that opens the Template Editor. After making and saving changes there, navigate back to the order detail page to see the updated design.

**Q: Does the invoice preview work for both regular orders and draft orders?**
A: Yes. The order detail page works the same way for both regular orders and draft orders. The only difference is that draft orders use the "Draft orders" pre-selected template setting for auto-selection.