Automatically generating PDFs for required information

BMC Helix Business Workflows provides the ability to generate PDFs for requesters. As a case business analyst, you can create a document template to define the format and content for the PDF document. You then use the document template as an input value for the Generate PDF element within any process to generate a PDF document. Document templates help you save time by providing common content and format in a document that can be reused for generating PDFs in any process.

For an overview of document templates and generating PDF documents, see Defining-document-templates-and-generation-of-PDFs.

Generate PDF element properties

The Generate PDF element is used to generate PDF documents in any process. The following image shows the properties that you can define for the Generate PDF element:

The following table lists the input parameters for the Generate PDF element:

To create a document template

1. Log in to BMC Helix Business Workflows.
2. Click My Application Settings .
3. Navigate to Document Management > Templates.
4. On the Document Templates page, from the Line of Business list, select the line of business for which you want to create a template.
   If you have access to a single line of business, the line of business is selected by default.

5. Click Document Template, and enter the following details:

   Field	Description
   Template Name	Enter a name for the document template. You must enter a unique name for every template for a company.
   Line of Business	The line of business that you selected to create the template is displayed.
   Company	Select the company from the list to which the document template belongs. If you select Global, the document template is available for all the companies in the tenant.
   Label	Select a label for the document template. You can filter the templates based on a specific label.
   Description	Enter a short description for the document template.
   Document Body	Consider the following points to configure the document body: Use the formatting options that are provided to define the structure and content of the PDF document. Format the text by using the standard text and paragraph formatting options. Insert images and tables wherever required. Add fields such as, case fields, case association fields, dynamic fields, and other additional fields that are available for the templates that are defined for the company by clicking the Edit Expression  icon. The field values are updated based on the case for which the PDF document is generated. Important: Do not add confidential fields in the document body. If you add a confidential field in the document body, the field value is displayed in the document. Click  to add header and footer to the document. You can add links, images, and text to the header and footer that are displayed on each page of the PDF document. When you add header and footer for the document templates, you must define page margins for the document by clicking HTML content.

6. Click Save.

After you create the document template, it needs to be provided as an input to the Generate PDF element to get a PDF output.  

To add a Generate PDF element to a process

Generating a PDF can be a part of any process that is related to a case or task. To generate a PDF document, you must include the Generate PDF element in the process and add the document template as an input parameter. The process should also define an action for the generated document.

1. In a process, select the Generate PDF element, and add it to the process.

2. In the Element properties pane, specify the following properties in INPUT MAP:

   Property	Description
   Document Template Selection Mode	Select one of the following modes to specify the document template: View—Select a document template from the list of available document templates. Expression—Specify an expression to select a document template.
   Document Template	Perform the following actions based on your document template selection mode: If your document template selection mode is View, click Select Document Template, select a template from the list of available templates, and click Save. You can search and filter through the templates to find a specific template. If your document template selection mode is Expression, click Click to build an Expression, in the Edit Expression window, enter the expression to specify the template. Then, click OK.
   Record instance	Click Click to build an expression. In the Edit Expression dialog box, select the appropriate Record Instance field from Available Values. To use a different record, add the Get Record element to the process, and then select the Record Instance from the available values.
   Document Name	Click Click to build an expression. In the Edit Expression dialog box, enter a name for the PDF document that is generated.

3. Include an action for the PDF document to route the document to the correct destination.
   You can use the Send Notification Using Event action to send the PDF as an attachment to the notification email or use the Create Record in attachment record definition to associate it with a ticket.

When the process is run, the PDF document is generated by using the format that is defined in the selected document template. The fields are populated with the values that are defined in the case or task. The document is then routed to the appropriate destination as defined in the process.

Related topics

Defining-document-templates-and-generation-of-PDFs

Example of generating a formatted PDF document