Creating Custom PDF Layouts

This topic explains the customisation capabilities and configuration steps of the PDF Generator feature in the BMC Helix Portfolio Management (HPM) application.

It guides the developers and administrators in configuring and using the feature to generate custom PDF reports. This includes the configuration of Views, available Components, layout design and more. The steps below can only be performed by an Innovation Studio Developer or Administrator.

To create a Custom PDF layout of the HPM Root Objects (Records)

Step I – Create a new View for the PDF Layout.

  1. Log in to the BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
  2. Go to Workspace.
  3. Select Portfolio Management library and go to the View tab.
  4. Click New.
  5. Enter a name for the new view, say Demo PDF Layout, and save. This name will appear in the list under Views.
  6. Click on the view name, Demo PDF Layout, to open. This opens a blank canvas where you can start designing your custom PDF layout. 

Note –

  • Users may create a custom library instead of using the default Portfolio Management Library. In such cases, it is essential to assign the Group ID as com.fusiongbs to the newly created library to gain access to Fusion’s custom components such as the PDF Generator and PDF Page Break.
  • Users can create different Views to create different custom PDF Layouts.
  • One View can have only one PDF Generator container within it.

Step II – Define the custom PDF Layout.

  1. As defined in Step I, create and open a new view for the PDF Layout, Demo PDF Layout here. From the left-hand Palette, go to the Fusion Toolbox section. Here, we have created two custom components, especially to assist in the customisation of PDF layouts. These components include – PDF Generator and PDF Generator Page Break.
  2. Drag and drop the PDF Generator component onto the main canvas. This container allows six components inside it, including the out-of-the-box Image, Rich Text, Record Grid, Record Editor and Container from the Basic components section, along with the PDF Generator Page Break component under Fusion Toolbox. Note – All these components can be added multiple times inside the PDF Generator component.
  3. The PDF Generator component offers four key properties sections for customisation. The sections include –  
1 - General 
PropertiesDescription
NameTo define the name of the PDF Generator container.
First Rich Text as First Page

This toggle is to enable the first Rich Text component as the First Page of the PDF.

Users can configure the first Rich Text component with details like PDF Title, Author’s Name, Date and more.

First Image as LogoThis toggle is to enable the first Image as the logo of the PDF.
Compact View

To minimise the PDF Generator container. This is useful when a user has other components on the View, outside the PDF Generator container.

The same toggle can be disabled to maximise the PDF Generator container.

Note – This setting impacts only the design-time experience and has no effect on the runtime behaviour of the PDF.

Generate Table of Contents

This default enabled property is to generate a Table of Contents on the second page of the PDF, based on the H1, H2 and H3 headings.
Note –

  • H2 headings are grouped under the most recent H1 heading.
  • H3 headings follow the same logic under H2.
  • Table of Contents does not record the H1, H2 and H3 headings on the first Rich Text.
Show Section NumbersTo add numbers to the H1, H2 and H3 headings within the main content. Same toggle can be disabled to remove the numbers.
2 - Page Numbering
PropertiesDescription
Choose Page No. Display Format

Provides users with the following page number display formats

  • Numerals
  • Lowercase Roman Numerals
  • Uppercase Roman Numerals
  • Letters

Note – The default format for displaying page numbers under the Table of Contents is via Numerals. Changing the Page No. Display Format under this option will not change the Page No. Format on the Table of Contents unless you enable the Follow Above Numbering Format in Table of Contents toggle described below.

Follow Above Numbering Format in Table of ContentsTo apply the Page No. Display Format chosen above in the Table of Contents. The same toggle can be disabled to display page numbers under the Table of Contents via Numerals.
3 - Header & Footers

Headers and footers are applied to all pages of the PDF except the title page(s) and the table of contents page(s).

Note –

  • If the title page and/or table of contents spans multiple pages, headers and footers will be excluded from all associated pages, not just the initial ones.
  • If no content is configured for the headers and footers, they will appear blank by default.
PropertiesDescription
Header – Left ContentTo define the content displayed on the left side of the header. Supports both static text and dynamic data through expressions.
Header – Center ContentTo define the content displayed in the centre of the header. Supports both static text and dynamic data through expressions.
Header – Right ContentTo define the content displayed on the right side of the header. Supports both static text and dynamic data through expressions.
Footer – Left ContentTo define the content displayed on the left side of the footer. Supports both static text and dynamic data through expressions.
Footer – Center ContentTo define the content displayed in the centre of the footer. Supports both static text and dynamic data through expressions.
Footer – Right ContentTo define the content displayed on the right side of the footer. Supports both static text and dynamic data through expressions.
4 - Format & Layout
PropertiesDescription
Choose PDF Format

Provides users with below PDF format options –

  • Portrait - A4
  • Portrait – Letter
  • Landscape - A4
  • Landscape - Letter

Note - The default format is Portrait - A4.

Choose PDF Margins

To adjust the left-hand margin of the generated PDF. Available margin options are 10, 15, and 20 units.

This setting is particularly useful for printed PDFs that need to be punched or filed.

Note: The default margin on both sides of the PDF is 10 units.

Choose PDF Logo PositionProvides users with the option to choose the logo position on the first page of the PDF. The options include Top/Bottom – Left, Centre, and Right.
Note – The size of the logo can be configured using the out-of-the-box properties of the Image component.
Choose PDF Table Theme

Provides users with below table themes options –

  • Striped
  • Grid
  • Plain
  • Custom

Note – If a user chooses Custom Table Theme, they get further properties to customise the table header background and text colour, table body background and text colour and alternate row styles.

However, if the user misses configuring the extended properties after choosing the Custom option, the PDF will take the default Stripped option as the theme of the table.

Step III – Continue Adding or Configuring Components Inside the PDF Generator

  1. Design the different Rich Text components you have already dragged and dropped inside the PDF Generator container, and add new ones as per the design requirements. Note – Most of the out-of-the-box functionalities of the Rich Text component are supported for the PDF generator feature as well, including Expressions. Users can add static data to the different Rich Text components or make the data dynamic using Expressions.
  2. Add the Record Grid component to insert table(s) in your PDF, if required.
  3. Add the Image component to insert Image(s) into your PDF, if required.
  4. Add the Record Editor component to insert Card(s) into your PDF, if required. In other words, within PDF Generator, users can use the Record Editor component to show a single row of detail.
  5. Add the Container component, if required. Within PDF Generator, the only purpose of using the Container component is to leverage its hide/show property for other components like Record Grid and Record Editor, which do not have a Hide/Show property of their own. Note – The Container component also has a property Column, which we do not support under PDF Generator.
  6. Add a Page Break, the custom component under Fusion Toolbox, wherever required inside the PDF Generator Container. This component has below property sections to configure –
1 - General
PropertiesDescription
NameTo define the name of the PDF Generator container.
HiddenThis toggle is to hide/show the component in the actual PDF.
2 - Break Properties
PropertiesDescription
Break Type

This provides users with the option to choose the break type.

  • Page Break – This default break type moves the latter content to the next page.
  • Section Divider – This break type adds a line wherever the Page Break component is placed. Choosing this option brings another property, Divider Type.
Divider TypeThis property becomes visible only when a user selects Section Divider under the above Break Type property. Under this, users can choose the line type they want to keep as the section divider.

7. Click Save.

 

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*