# rfp agent timed out waiting for pandadoc template preview render: how to fix it

Large templates with many merge fields render slowly, exceeding the agent wait. Preview a single-section test template first to validate the approach, then request the full preview with a longer wait budget.

```text
rfp agent timed out waiting for pandadoc template preview render
```

## When to use this skill
- Agent times out on the PandaDoc template preview
- Preview loads for humans but not for the agent

## When not to use this skill
- Preview renders with wrong content (a template issue)
- Preview fails instantly (a configuration issue)

## Tool compatibility
Agent PandaDoc preview rendering. Related area: agent frameworks.

Related area: proposal automation and agent-assisted RFP workflows.

Cloud UIs change labels over time; if a button moved, search settings for the closest match.

## Before you start
- Sign in to the tool and keep one tab open so sessions stay clean
- Copy the exact error text and note the time it happened
- Set aside 15 to 20 minutes; most of these resolve in a single pass

## Quick diagnosis
Make sure this is the right skill before you invest the 15 minutes.
- If you are dealing with agent times out on the PandaDoc template preview, start at step 1 below.
- If instead preview renders with wrong content (a template issue), stop here; you need a different skill.
- If neither quite matches, compare your screen against the verbatim error block at the top; that block is exactly what this skill covers.

## Fix it in steps
### 1. Build a single-section test

```
Duplicate the template with just one section.
```
Expected: Expected: small test template exists.

### 2. Preview the test template

```
Render the preview for the small template.
```
Expected: Expected: preview loads quickly.

### 3. Request the full preview with a longer wait

```
Render the full template with double the wait budget.
```
Expected: Expected: preview completes within the extended wait.

### 4. Fall back to section previews

```
If the full preview still times out, preview section by section.
```
Expected: Expected: every section previewed.

## Confirm each step worked
Run through this checklist before moving on. If a check fails, redo that step instead of pushing ahead.
- Step 1 (build a single-section test): Expected: expected: small test template exists.
- Step 2 (preview the test template): Expected: expected: preview loads quickly.
- Step 3 (request the full preview with a longer wait): Expected: expected: preview completes within the extended wait.
- Step 4 (fall back to section previews): Expected: expected: every section previewed.

## Quick recap
1. Build a single-section test
2. Preview the test template
3. Request the full preview with a longer wait
4. Fall back to section previews

## Still stuck?
Gather three things: the exact error text, the time it happened, and what changed just before it broke.
Check the vendor status page for an active incident. Then open a support ticket with those three things;
it cuts the back-and-forth in half. For agent runs, attach the last 50 lines of the agent log too,
since the loop or timeout signature in the log usually names the cause.

## Variant phrasings
### agent pandadoc preview timeout
Small test plus longer wait fixes it. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

### agent template preview render timeout
Section-by-section fallback works. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

## Why it happens
Preview rendering is synchronous and slow on field-heavy templates, while the agent wait budget is fixed. Validating on a small template first separates a broken template from a merely slow one.

## Edge cases
- Reduce merge field count on the preview path; unused fields still render
- Cache the preview between runs when the template has not changed
- A preview that slows over time suggests template bloat; audit the fields

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_mPzcDAWTaZbLuFhOxAw7dQ