Print purchase orders in different file formats for different vendors

Let’s say that we want to print Purchase orders as PDF files, and for specific vendors we want to print Purchase orders as Word documents.
We have an opportunity to specify a particular vendor or group of vendors for which we want to have purchase orders always printed in Word by using the Print Management setup:

 

For the rest of vendors we want to print Purchase orders as a PDF file. To achieve this, we should set up Print management for the Purchase order report as follows:

 

Now, if you run the Purchase order report by clicking the Use print management button on the Purchase order confirmations form, you will get the purchase order printed to Word only in case that the vendor is CN-001.

Similarly, we can set even different print destinations, or we can have the Purchase order printed to multiple print destinations (under specific conditions as well). To achieve this, we should use the Copy settings in Print Management.

Let’s say now that for a specific vendor we want to print out the report in Excel. Docentric File print destination does not support Excel as a file output format, so we have to use the built-in SSRS print destination and the built-in (original) SSRS report design.

Use of Docentric and built-in SSRS designs at the same time

When a SSRS report is activated to run as a Docentric report, each time when you execute this report to the one of the enhanced Docentric print destinations, a new enhanced Docentric design is used. If you have a SSRS report which prompts before running, then you will be able to choose one of the Docentric print destinations and start the report:

It is possible to use both Docentric and SSRS original designs simultaneously. The prerequisite is to have the following flag turned on:

With this flag turned on, you can switch between the Docentric and SSRS built-in print destinations.

 

If you select the built-in Screen destination, the built-in SSRS report design will be used and the report will be open in the SSRS preview form. If you select the Docentric Screen destination, then the Docentric design will be used and generated report will be open in the Docentric preview form.

Similarly, if we choose any other built-in SSRS print destination, the built-in SSRS report design will be used, and if Docentric print destination is selected, the Docentric design will be used.
However, for Purchase order, Sales invoice and many other reports there are built-in buttons (e.g. the Original or Copy Preview menu items) that execute reports to Screen, a built-in SSRS print destination, without opening the report dialog form first. If Purchase order is activated to run as Docentric report, and the SRS print destinations can be used along Docentric print destinations flag is turned off, then the click the Original Preview menu item will result in an error, since Screen is not a Docentric print destination.

On the contrary, if the SRS print destinations can be used along Docentric print destinations flag is turned on, and the For Print Management reports use Docentric Preview flag is turned off, then the click the Original Preview menu item will invoke the built-in SSRS Purchase order report to be shown on Screen.
If the SRS print destinations can be used along Docentric print destinations flag is turned on, and the For Print Management reports use Docentric Preview flag is also turned on, this means that instead of the built-in SSRS Screen print destination and built-in SSRS design, the Docentric Screen print destination and Docentric design will be used.

Read more about reporting parameters >>

Print Purchase order in Excel for specific vendors

Let’s go back to our task: print Docentric Purchase orders as PDF files, and for specific vendors print Purchase orders in Excel by using built-in SSRS reports. The prerequisite is to have the SRS print destinations can be used along Docentric print destinations flag in Reporting parameters turned on.

To print Purchase order in Excel you have to use the built-in SSRS report design in combination with the built-in SSRS File print destination. As we did before to choose the Word output format for a specific vendor, we will repeat the same procedure within Print Management, but instead of using Docentric File print destination, we will select the SSRS File print destination for this particular vendor and Excel as output file format:

 

Printing of Purchase orders as PDF files (and using the Docentric design) for all other vendors are already enabled in the Print management setup:

 

Now, if you run the Purchase order report by clicking the Use print management button on the Purchase order confirmations form, you will get the purchase order printed to Excel in case that the vendor is CN-001, because the built-in SSRS File print destination and the built-in SSRS report design has been used. In all other cases, i.e. for all other vendors you will get the purchase order printed in PDF format (and immediately open if you set the Open report flag) by using Docentric File print destination and the Docentric report design.

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