Try the New PDF Creation Facility

[Phil]

AppSheet allows you to include PDF attachments via a Workflow or Report Email action. It also allows you to archive PDF files via a Workflow or Report SaveFile action.

PDF attachments and files are created as follows:

1. You normally begin by creating a Google Doc or Microsoft Word doc template file.
2. When the Email or SaveFile Workflow or Report runs, it reads the Google Doc or Microsoft Word doc template file in HTML format.
3. It replaces any “variables” you have included in your template file with data from your AppSheet data tables.
4. It calls an HTML to PDF conversion web service to convert the HTML from step 3 into PDF.
5. It retrieves the PDF from step 4 and either attaches it to the email, or saves it to a file, or both,

We will shortly begin upgrading the mechanism we use to convert HTML into PDF. You can get early access to this new PDF creation facility, if you wish. To do so, simply reply to this post and supply your AppSheet account id.

If you wish to try the new PDF creation facility, we suggest you use an AppSheet test account containing the applications you wish to test. We recommend this, because we enable the new PDF creation facility for an entire account. By using a test account, you can try the new PDF creation facility without affecting your existing applications.

[deepak_patel]

My ID 1343127

[PocketSurvey]

No answer to whether headers and footers are going to be support, so I guess I will have to try it and hope for the best.

My Account is 1698632

Please sign me up for testing. I have an app with extensive use of PDF reports that would beca good Test platform.

Thanks.

[Koichi_Tsuji]

As far as I see through my test with new PDF engine, it tells me we should not be too much excited, as basically there will be no additional new features, such as header, footer, bullet point etc, but just simply replacing PDF engine on the backend from Mandrill to HTML2PDF as a service, while the basic other features stays same, while I observe bunch of bugs during my testing.

[School_Bus]

Please sign me up
account is 1236495

[PocketSurvey]

Oh dear! I expected improvements.

Thanks for sharing.

[Koichi_Tsuji]

I hope I m wrong …

[PocketSurvey]

Me too.

Alas, my feature request on here has not got many upvotes. Obviously most AppSheet users think reporting is not important!

Lack of Headers, Footers, Page Numbering makes Aapsheet unusable as a full business app.

I have a very good app finalised now, but am having to redevelop for many hundreds of users on another no code platform, just because if poor reports!

[Koichi_Tsuji]

For me, the current appsheet capability to generate report is not a deal breaker to let the user go to other no code platforms which are generally not providing much of features Appsheet can do. But it is users choice we wont disturb.

[Koichi_Tsuji]

I suppose the appsheet dev team should take a step by step approach to change the PDF engine. Just initially change the service with existing features only to ensure it will work nicely wihtout disturbing the existing services we enjoy.

Once it is cleared, then next step to take to add new features. I m on that hope.If this is true, it is quite a resonable approach and tactics.

[Phil]

Hi Pocket Survey,

I agree it would be a fantastic to honor headers, footers, and page numbers.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how we can implement it.

To handle automatic page headers, page footers, and page numbering, we would need to implement a “page layout engine” that computes the page location of each element being displayed.
I have no idea how to do this that is not ridiculously difficult to implement.

[PocketSurvey]

AppSheet being part of Google, can the PDF processing in Google Docs be shared with Appsheet and sed as a starting point for headers & footers?

Typically, you need to do a TWO pass processing to gather page numbers.

QUESTION

I have a question, what template format can I use to produce plain HTML? At least then I can use our Javascript and CSS engine which when saved as PDF outputs headers and footers.

If I use a Google DOC template to create HTML output the HTML is too complex to read.

I need to embed or reference CSS and JS in the HTML to get our existing print engine t work with AppSheet.

[School_Bus]

How will I know when I can beta test it?

@tsuji_koichi are you able to do watermarks with word documents, and then put text on the page? When I tried this before, since it was converted into HTML, the system separated the watermark as it’s own page, so it failed what I was trying to accomplish. (I made a image of a government form as the watermark, W2, and then tried to type over it so I didn’t disrupt the formatting of a government document).

I’m not programmer, and I definitely don’t understand google script, but for the header page numbering problem. Isn’t that part of just using Google Document header function? Have you tried using a Word document as your template instead, and then just put header and footer in there with page numbers?

Once again, I’m completely out of my element here, but if I create a document in google docs, I know I can download it as a PDF, is there a way to just activate this capability? Using the API it fills in the appsheet data, and then have some type of macro that saves the file as a PDF (using the ability already in google docs), and have it save to the appropriate file location?

And yes, if any of you were wondering my super power is to take a really difficult problem, act like I know anything about it, simplify it in a way that isn’t possible, and ask experts why they can’t do it that way. I’ve had many items thrown at me in meetings throughout my life.

[PocketSurvey]

@Phil

Perhaps one solution to the headers, footers, page numbering problems, would be to have an output type of a Google Doc?

Then from Google Docs, the end users could print to PDF, and have the added benefit of being able to modify the document before printing if they needed to.

And of course making ut a Google only feature would have the added benefit of driving people away from Microsoft!

[Bahbus]

I agree with Phil here. Creating a whole page layout engine is kind of really difficult. There are PDF conversion services that you can link to AppSheet that do this, but they are also require much more complicated templates to set up, and cost more money. I think the best AppSheet could do would be to replace their current PDF service with one that does do layouts, or add it as an additional option for more expensive business users.

I mean, unless, AppSheet can somehow access Google’s page layout engine for Docs.

[School_Bus]

That sounds similar to just an auto mail merge system, but I think it would do the trick. I wonder if you could just create a macros to do this somehow.
I was sort of thinking about trying to build something for myself similar to this. Where you’d click a button that acted as a counter for a column. Use google script to detect the number being different, and if that is true it would activate a new method that would create a mail merge. Once again, I’m over simplifying a complex problem. Sorry @Phil, it’s a bad habit of mine.

When will I get access to the new feature, and how will I know if I have access?

Thanks for all your work, Appsheet is super cool.

[Paul_Morales]

I want to test the PDF ID: 1841323

Thanks

[Michael_Phillip]

Sign us up, please: ID: 673764

[Elijah_Magrane]

I would be interested in receiving access too please
AppSheet Id: 1167400

[Julien]

Hi, I would be very interested in testing it
ID : 402638

Thanks!

[Yayasan_TL_BP]

Let me try it
ID: 1093195

[Jan1]

I wish to get onboard for testing. ID : 136778

[Jonathan_S]

Ive been getting a bunch of corrupted pdf reports recently.

Could this have something to do with it?

[Aleksi]

Hi, may I ask they are conflicted in what way?

[Jonathan_S]

What exactly do you mean by this?

[Lynn]

Hi @Jonathan_S
How are your Pdfs corrupted?

[Aleksi]

@Jonathan_S I mean what kind of issue you have with the PDF? Are they for example empty?

[Jonathan_S]

They Don’t open, allot of our quality forms are sent out to customers automatically. They are telling me the PDFs they are getting are corrupted, so last week maybe 5 or 6 times I had to change my slices for the previous day and manually refire the report and than they seemed to work. Its Hit and Miss.

[Aleksi]

I would propose to contact support@appsheet.com with all the details, thanks.

[Jonathan_S]

I would propose to contact support@appsheet.com with all the details, thanks.

done

[Fabian_Weller]

@Jonathan_S
Maybe related to this:

Reports are generated as files with no extensions Questions

@Nirmal_Giri @Cpsaro Workaround: In Attachment Name you have to add the extension manually. [image]

[Jonathan_S]

Mine have the extension on them, Adding extension manually doesant help. It shows up as a PDF as well, just saying the following Error

As you can see the PDF extension is on the File, double clicking it also tries to open it up in Adobe.

[Jonathan_S]

Any Feedback on this? Did send an email to support. Happened with 3 reports again yesterday from the 16 going to various vendors.

Pretty annoying. Costing me un necessary time everyday.

[Tuskan]

Would love to test this out.
ID: 1566821 wehuman2020@gmail.com

[Antonio_Edvaldo]

Desejo acesso ao novo recurso de criação de PDF.

ID: 1544104 e2webtecnologia@gmail.com ( Google )

[Roger_Dalomba]

yes please add me

441509

[LeventK]

Hello @Phil,
Please count me in…
Account ID: 245151
Account Email: levent@able3ventures.com

[Sanmay_Jain]

It’s been a while since we made this post, so we want to provide you with an important update.

We are ready to begin rolling out the new HTML to PDF rendering service to more of you.

We have also improved the Snapshot Facility which you can read more about here: https://help.appsheet.com/en/articles/3500418-snapshot
We are rolling out both change at the same time because we tested the two improvements together.

Anyone who opts into the new HTML to PDF rendering engine will also be opting into the new Snapshot Facility.

If you’re just seeing this, and haven’t commented with an account ID to opt in previously, feel free to do so.
If you’ve already opted into the new HTML to PDF rendering service and you no longer want to do so, feel free to let us know in the next two days before we enable it for you.
And just as an additional reminder, please make sure that you’re using a test account ID.

The goal of the new HTML to PDF rendering service is higher availability, stability, and security.
Additionally, we are hoping for more fonts and formatting fidelity.

Thanks for helping us test the new HTML to PDF rendering service and Snapshot Facility.

[LeventK]

@Sanmay_Jain
Please do opt-in Account ID: 245151. Thanks for the consideration.

[Fabian_Weller]

Sanmay_Jain:

we are hoping for more fonts and formatting fidelity

That’s a good point.
I’m using Custom Fonts in my Google Doc Template:

• Consolas
• Libre Barcode 39 Text

Most of the times, the PDF is created with these custom fonts. Sometimes, instead of Consolas, the PDF is created with Arial.

Based on these articles, I’ve changed the text styles to my custom fonts. So the downloaded HTML now does not contain any Arial font. But I still sometimes receive PDF files with Arial font.

help.appsheet.com

Troubleshooting Custom Fonts

Resolving problems with custom fonts in templates.

support.google.com

Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document - Computer - Docs...

I hope this bug will be fixed with the new PDF creation facility.

If you like to have a look:
appName=Label-549987
Workflow: “Print”

[Cortex]

@Sanmay_Jain

Please do opt-in Account ID: 699357. Thanks for the consideration