Advanced Print View - Using MS Word docs

[Chad-Smith]

Description

After much persistance, the Advanced Print View is proving to be practically impossible to use with the current HTML editor method. It also has a number of bugs which I have noticed surrounding working with Tables and Font Size.

Impact

The current method takes too long to achieve anything, if at all, in regards to getting it to look how you want it to.

Severity

High

Solution

Would it be possible to provide PLM with an MS Word file which already has all the formatting done. In the Word doc we could then place the PLM Artifacts so that we can get awesomely good looking and formatted prints with minimal effort?

I would expect that the doc would have to be rendered to a PDF on the server side before providing it to the user for viewing/download.

A method such as this would provide the user with the means to correctly define formatting options such as;

• Tables (including borders - line types, colours and weights)
• Proper Headers and Footers
• User a Table of Contents
• Page Numbers
• Text Styles

[jared.sund]

I haven't played with this yet, but have you tried the "Paste from Word" option/icon in the advanced print view editor?  Just curious if you've tried this option, and how well it works.

[Chad-Smith]

The Paste from Word option is OK, but the problem being that there are quite a number of Word related features which you simply cannot translate into HTML.

We really do require the ability to do better document/report formatting to give a more professional output, and this may require looking beyond the current solution being HTML.

[scottmoyse]

I would like to see support for barcode fonts added here as well.

[DonovanJr]

Yes,

The paste from Word gets us halfway there but the formating available in the CSS that PLM uses is limited.

If all you are doing is generating a basic list of workspace information say for transmittal through workfow to a customer/supplier then the this is fine.

if you are printing or otherwise generating a formal document then the print out just looks like a web page print out - not very professional looking.

Either further develop the CSS formating is needed or I like the suggestion from Brausmith about pushing PLM artifacts out to a preformated document.

BD

[BiggePLM]

There is continued talk on the support forum and in the Idea station about improvements to the Advanced Print function but I have not seen any activity.

This is really limiting our expansion of use. At the moment all system output used from PLM for interface with our customers or internal forms is being handled by secondary processing. I.E. Using workflow or scripting to email the advanced print or standard print to the user that requested the document and they take and reformat the info (either in word or email) for use.

Defeats the automation, re-use of information and use in our workflows.

The option to store preformated files with PLM Artifacts still seems like a viable option. The files to use could be stored within a document workspace that could then be selected as the advanced print or included as an email attachment. This would fit workflow and scripting use.

1. Users or Administrators could have a workspace of system generated forms/documents (under revision control) and include the base file as an attachementi n that record.

2. Then either as a selectable option in a workflow notification or called from a script (since you know the dmsid of the document record) render the document and pull the plm record info embedded in the document artifacts, then attached to the email generated.

This seems like the original intend of Advanced Print views but falls short due to the limitations and HTML, CSS & formating limitations of the Current editor. I am strongly looking at API's for developing in house document transmittals.

Bob Donovan

Bigge Power Constructors

[giliar.defriesperez]

Hi folks,

Due to the current direction of the product, we are not considering this idea for implementation at this time. Thank you for your contribution, every idea is welcome. We encourage your continued participation on the Idea Station.

Giliar Perez
Product Owner - Fusion Lifecycle
Autodesk Canada Co.