Configuring Custom PDF Exports

If you have multiple sources of data coming in from forms and need an easy way to download and view data of each person filling out a form then Custom PDF Exports are the way to go! In this documentation I will be explaining to you how you go about creating a template, collecting the correct data and then adding it into Site Planner on CRM Records!

Creating a Custom PDF Export Template

The first step in making your very own Custom PDF Export is to create it! Here are the steps to do just that:

• You will want to head on over to the CRM component within your SiteStacker installation (yoururl.org/admin).
• In this component you will see the Configuration tab off to the left-hand side of the screen. Click this and a row of tabs will be displayed in the Configuration window.
• This part is a bit tricky, but you will want to scroll on the tabs so that you can see the 'Print Templates' tab.
• Click this and you should now see a list of your current Custom PDF Exports
• Click on the 'Add' button near the row of tabs at the top and the 'Add/Edit Print Template' window will open up.
• Type in the Template Name (we recommend naming it similar to what the data is related to that will be displayed in the PDF), set margins, format, and it is then time to move onto typing in your data.

The Template field can be either very simple, or extremely complex based on how you want it to look and feel. You can do all sorts of things within this template such as create tables, use HTML, add images, style text, and more! Once you have a vision of what you would like your form to look like, it is then time to pull in the data using variables which can be found to the right of the Template field.

These variables ALL come from the Basic CRM and any entities that you have setup under the CRM > Configuration > Entities tab. To add variables, you will want to remember where each of those entities live. An example could be that we want to show the person's Church Address of the church they are attending. You will want to open the Entities, open the Church group, and then find the alias for the field (in this case church_addres). You can see that in the screenshot, we have pulled in multiple variables that come from the basic CRM profile (Name, Birthday, Email, Address, and Phone Number). Once you have added all of these variables and styling in, you can now click Save.

 

Previewing Your Custom PDF Export

After you have saved your template, you may want to preview it! You will notice that you can select any CRM Record - preferably one that has all of the data that you are pulling from your entities - and then choose 'Preview'. This will open up a new tab in your browser and will display your PDF in its entirety. This is great for determining if all of your styling and variables are working correctly for when you need them! After you are all set with testing and configuring your Custom PDF Export it is time to add it into Site Planner.

Adding Your Custom PDF Export to Site Planner

Custom PDF Exports can only be added to a person's CRM Record. To add this functionality, you will want to navigate to wherever your Record Detail, or CRM Record Module is living. An easy way to do this is by using the Search bar to find where either one is so that SiteStacker will take you right to it. Once you have found your CRM Record module, open it up by right-clicking and choosing 'Edit'. Scroll down to the very bottom and you should see the Export Settings section. Here, you can choose and included entities, name , and then choose your template as seen in the screenshot below. Once this is done, click 'Save & Close'.

Testing Your Custom PDF Export

To test this, you will want to view the CRM Record that you used for testing earlier when previewing the Custom PDF Export. This person should be a part of one of your workflows that has the information you are pulling from. When you preview their profile, right under their name you should see the label of your Custom PDF Export that is now a button. Click on this and it will open up a preview of your Custom PDF Export! You can then download it or grab the link and send it to anyone who needs to see it! If it looks good you are finished and if you need to make any edits you now know how to!

If you are having trouble configuring anything within your custom PDF export please contact our support team and they would be glad to assist with any questions or ideas you may have!

Modified on Fri, 8 Sep, 2023 at 2:29 PM