Goals of PDF Component: We want to hear from you!

Hi all,

Our PDF component has been in Alpha for a while now and we are planning to rebuild it from the ground up.

While your specific feature requests or workflows are important to us, I’d like to keep this focused on overall GOALS of the component. For example…

Ability to generate a PDF with a Scheduled Task

or

Include a PDF as an email attachment.


Let’s try to have an open dialog by answering the following questions.

  1. Do you use the PDF Component?
  2. What are your goals in regards to incorporating PDF’s in your application?

I’ve tested the PDF component and felt it would be useful to create a PDF for a Details Page based on field values from various Data Tables, instead of just one. For example, I have a building Property page, and would like the PDF to include selected details from the Property record, selected details from the connected Companies record, selected details from the connected Contacts record.

Also, ability to format the details labels with color and style.

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Thanks for sharing and welcome to the Community :+1:

Do you mean that you’d like to see connected fields in a single table component?

Currently, you can add components of connected records in PDF on a details page.

(1) Ability to attach a PDF to an email
(2) Ability to generate a PDF with a Scheduled Task + email the PDF
(3) Ability to generate a PDF with an Action Button and attach to table field

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I like all the ideas above. I would also suggest having the pdfs live where the automations live and build the pdfs based on the tables instead of on the individual pages and details pages. More of a pdf template area that you can call from any page, table or button.

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Hi Tim,

  1. Do you use the PDF Component?
    R: yes, I do.
  2. What are your goals in regards to incorporating PDF’s in your application?
    R: I would like you to consider two characteristics at the moment,
    First: That the pdf component can compress the images so that it does not down or give an issus when generating this when there is a lot of data.
    Second: I wish I could filter before requesting the PDF. For example I want all record now or I want record filter by …

that would be great,

thank you,

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How do you envision doing this? Would you be setting filter criteria and generating a PDF on the live app or builder, or both?

Oh boy, this is what I have been excited (and waiting for). Every single one of my applications (about 6-8) are stalled due to the inability to create custom formatted PDFs. The industries that I work with all want/need “paper” copies for records/audits/judicial proceedings/etc. Here are my thoughts on this funcationality:

  1. It would be great to have full WYSIWYG design functionality. Similar to using Word to develop a form letter. Several applications I have designed need to use a format of a document that a regulatory has created and therefore cannot be replaced. See example below (ICS 204 form):

  2. The ability to insert specific fields into specific areas of a PDF would be extremely helpful. For example, a learning management system I’ve used allows someone to create a PDF certificate of completion and then use the “create a form” functionality in Adobe to insert specific fields that use the nomenclature assigned by the online platform for [first name], [last name], etc. These form fields can be placed anyone on the PDF and uploaded to the system and it will automatically identify those fields as valid and viola the certificate comes out perfect with the person’s name and other information (such as date) exactly on the document where it should be. There was no CSS/HTML needed for adjusting location/position/size.

  3. Creating PDFs from multiple table selections. I have an app that uses several tables to create the “documents” of what, in the end, will be a packet for distribution. In essence, it is a set of forms that are collated to build an action plan. This action plan is then distributed electronically and printed. Thus, being able to create a portfolio (Adobe term of multiple documents collated into one single file) would be extremely helpful.

  4. The ability to view a PDF without having to create a details/list page then create a PDF would be nice. For example, you can have a PDF button in a table which would take the user directly to a custom PDF document. This would eliminate the need to create a details page of each table record then create another “Print” button to create a PDF.

That is all for now, as I come up with other use cases, I will add additional comments.

Thank you for asking for input…its been a long wait (14 months) and I am excited to see where it leads.

Cheers,
Adam

4 Likes

I would like setting filter on the live app.
Details page contains multiple records but I only want to print the records to PDF according to a criteria defined in the filter. For example a student table and I want only the records of 1 student.

1 Like

I agree to all but definitely need:
(1) It would be great to have full WYSIWYG design functionality. Similar to using Word to develop a form letter.
(2) The ability to view a PDF without having to create a details/list page then create a PDF would be nice. For example, you can have a PDF button in a table which would take the user directly to a custom PDF document. This would eliminate the need to create a details page of each table record then create another “Print” button to create a PDF.

2 Likes

Great topic!

As we run a clothing factory, we still do need to use printed documents for production, such as production orders to sewing partners.

Would be great to have one or more QR Codes printed directing to specific links. Suchs as the record detail page or to a specific form, so the third part (sewing partner) could be able to approve, decline or make an observation to the production order he receives using his mobile.

I tried to print the QR Code with HTML component (using this link), but the variable for the Record ID was not working properly when generating the PDF. The variable {!!id!!} works fine in the live Record Details Page, but was getting the wrong one when generating the PDF.

All others suggestions above are also great!

Tks, André

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Hi everyone,
below are some of the expectation from PDF Component.

1.With the help of PDF Component one should be able to design custom templates (Like Invoice,Purchase Order etc).
2. It will be very helpful to generate report by gathering info from various tables and can be attached to mail as PDF.
3. Automated generation of Report in PDF and Sending via email
4. Integration of 2D Stack chart with PDF to generate the report.
5. Welcome letter / Appointment letter autogeneration

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FWIW, I got this working perfectly using Integromat and PDFFiller. Basic steps are:

  • Create Tadabase ActionLink in table link that updates a hidden field called “CreatePDF” with a flag like “Yes”
  • Create WebHook between Integromat and Tadabase that runs on Update to any record in that table
  • Create a Scenario in Integromat that runs when the Webhook fires and set a filter to CreatePDF=“yes”.
  • Scenario gets records from Tadabase for updated record and populates the PDFFiller template, creates a PDF (You’ve already setup an account in PDFFiller.com and set up your template and named the fields ahead of time… so the PDF formatting happens inside PDFFiller)
  • Download the PDF you just made from PDFFiller
  • Send an email / save to Box / save to Tadabase / whatever you want to do with your PDF
  • Delete the PDF from PDFFiller (to prevent bloating from too many old files there)
  • Reset the UpdatePDF flag in Tadabase to null
  • Done

You can create fully customized PDF with PDFFiller, including uploading Word DOCs and then adding in the fields you want to populate. Works beautifully.

And if you’re not already hooked in with Integromat, highly suggest you dig in as this is my all-purpose work-around for limitations with Tadabase (and Airtable, etc.). Very powerful and flexible tool.

Good luck!

Many thanks Dan @DJ_Cosmo !

Great that you got it to work using PDFFiller. Unfortunately, some of my applications have got protected information such as health info and sending it to an external source to then return it back to the application would not meet security requirements under HIPAA.

However, if, in the future, I have an application that does not have security restrictions…I will keep this in mind.

Cheers,
Adam

Any update on the progress of the PDF Development?

Hey @SuiteUpstairs,

Sorry, but no updates yet! Hopefully soon :grinning:

Ability to view PDF and other documents in a viewer within tadabase would be great!

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@tim.young @moe

How hard would it be to add the new custom component to the PDF alpha tab? I know you guys are thinking about or possibly already working on a new PDF feature but if we could have the Custom Component in the PDF tab it might solve some issues I’m having, particularly with the new attachment field.

Currently, the new attachment field only displays links on a pdf page which makes sense if it’s a file but if you are using the attachments field for photos it would be nice to display the photos instead of the links.

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Alternatively, if you can fix the new attachment field to display images in PDFs that would greatly help me out right now.

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Howdy Tada Team (@moe, @tim.young, @Chem) -

Can you provide an update on when the new PDF functionality will be rolled out? It has been a long wait (almost 2+ years now) and all of my applications require this. I am stalled.

Thank you,
Adam

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