BOOST SOLUTIONS V2 Document Maker User Guide

: June 14, 2024
: BOOST SOLUTIONS

Table of Contents

BOOST SOLUTIONS V2 Document Maker
Introduction
Introduction to Document Maker
Manage Templates
Managing Rules
Using Document Maker
Troubleshooting & Support
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

BOOST SOLUTIONS V2 Document Maker

Copyright
Copyright ©2023 BoostSolutions Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. All materials contained in this publication are protected by Copyright and no part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, displayed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of BoostSolutions.
Our web site: https://www.boostsolutions.com

Introduction

Document Maker enables users to generate documents based on a set of templates in SharePoint list. Users can reuse data from SharePoint lists to generate individual documents or multi-item documents and then set rules to name these documents. Documents then can be saved as attachments, saved to the document library or saved to an auto-created folder. Users can choose from four document formats to save their generated documents. This user guide is used to instruct and guide users to configure and use Document Maker. For the latest copy of this and other guides, please visit the link provided: https://www.boostsolutions.com/download-documentation.html

Introduction to Document Maker

Document Maker is an easy-to-use solution that quickly helps you to create repetitive and recurring documents within SharePoint using pre-made templates that you produce in Microsoft Word. Once the Document Maker features are activated, the product commands will be available in the list ribbon.

In modern experience, the product commands look like as follows:

Generate Document

Generate individual documents for each list item.

Generate Merged Document
Generate a merged document which contains all the list items you select.

Manage Templates and Manage Rules are located in the List -> Settings group.

Manage Template
Enter the Document Maker template page to manage templates.

Manage Rules
Enter the Document Maker Rules page to specify rules for generated documents.

Manage Templates

Document Maker enables you to compose templates for document creation. To generate documents using data from list, you must first insert list columns into the templates. The value of the column, then, will be inserted in the area you designated in the template creation when the document is generated. You can also provide default content that appears in every generated word document, such as a preferred framework for a sales order or an official disclaimer in a page footer. To manage templates, you must have at least Design permission level in list or library.

Note Templates for the whole site collection will be stored in a hidden library in your root site. The URL is http:///BoostSolutionsDocumentMakerTemplate/Forms/AllItems.aspx

Create a Template

Navigate to the list or library where you want to create a template.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Templates in the Settings group.

Or, enter the List or Library Settings page and under the General Settings section, click Document Maker Settings (Powered by BoostSolutions).

On the Document Maker Settings page, click Create new template.
Enter a name in the Create a Template dialog box.
Click OK to create the template. A dialog will open asking if you want to edit the template. To edit the template, click OK, otherwise click Cancel.
Note: It is recommended that you use Edge browser so that a word file will open smoothly so that you can edit the template.
After clicking OK, the template will open in Word. You can configure the template based on your company policy. For more information on how to configure a document template, please refer to section 4.3 Configure Templates in Word.
Once you have finished configuring the template, click to save the template.
In the Template Settings page, you can view the basic information for the template (Template Name, Modified, Modified By, Applied Rule and Actions).

Upload a Template
If you have premade templates, you can upload and use them to generate documents.

Navigate to the list or library where you want to upload a template to.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Templates in the Settings group. Or, enter the List or Library Settings page, in the General Settings section and click Document Maker Settings (Powered by BoostSolutions).
In the Document Maker Settings page, click Upload a template.
A dialog box will appear. In the dialog box click Browse… to select your premade document template from your local computer or server.
Click OK to upload the selected template.

Configure Templates in Word
To configure a template, you will need to install the Document Maker plugin. For instructions on how to install the Document Maker Plugin, please refer to installation guide. Once the plugin is installed, a Document Maker tab will appear on your ribbon in Word.

Data Connection
Connect to a SharePoint list and get list fields and other related fields.

Show Fields
This function controls the Document Maker pane. You can decide whether or not to show the List Fields pane by clicking the Show Fields.

Refresh Fields
Click this option to refresh the fields so that you get up-to-date fields from list.

Mark Repeat Area
Mark repeat information in the document. This is very useful when you want to generate a merged document using multiple items.

Help
Get Document Maker plugin help documents from the BoostSolutions website.

Click the Document Maker tab on the Word Ribbon and then click Data Connection in the Get Data group.
Input the URL of the SharePoint list you want to get data from.
Select the Authentication type (Windows authentication or Form Authentication) you want to use and enter the correct user authentication.
Note: The user must have at least View Only permission level for SharePoint list.
Click Test Connection to check whether the user can access the list.
Click OK to save the connection.
- In the template you are creating, click on the area where you want to insert a field(s).
- In the Document Maker pane, select one field and double-click it. The field will be inserted as a Rich Text Content Control.

List Fields
SharePoint list fields and related fields from lookup list. To show related fields, you need to select them as additional fields in the list.

Custom Fields

Custom fields, include [Today], [Now], [Me].
[Today] represents the current day.
[Now] represents the current date and time.
[Me] represents the current user who generated the document.

Calculated Fields
A calculated fields can be used to compute data in column or items in the document. (The supported calculated field functions please see Appendix 2: Supported Calculated Field Functions for details.)

To get up-to-date fields from the list, click Refresh Fields.
To generate a merged document, you will need to mark a table or area as repeat.
Click to save template.

Modify a Template

Navigate to the list or library where you want to modify a template.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Templates in the Settings group.
In the Document Maker Settings -> Templates page, locate the template and then click Edit Template.
If you want to change the properties of the template, click Edit Properties.

Delete a Template

Navigate to the list or library where you want to delete a template.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Templates in the Settings group.
In the Document Maker Settings -> Template page, locate the template and then click Delete.
A message box will appear asking you to confirm that you want to proceed with the deletion.
Click OK to confirm the deletion.

Managing Rules

After a template is created, you will need to configure a rule to specify the documents generation. To manage rules for a list or library, you must have at least Design permission level.

Rules Settings
When you create a rule, the following settings need to be configured:

Settings	Description
Select Template	Select a template(s) to apply the rule to.

Naming Rule

| Specify a rule for automatic document naming. You can combine columns, functions, customized texts and separators to dynamically generate document names.
Date Format| Specify a date format you want to use in the document name.

Output Types

| Specify the output type (DOCX, DOC, PDF, XPS) for the generated document(s).
Distribute Document| Specify the path where you want to save the generated document(s).

Merged Document Generation

| Specify whether a merged document can be generated. Note: This option is optional.
Merged Documents Naming Rule| Specify a naming formula for merged documents.
Target Location| Specify the document library to save merged documents.

Create a Rule

Navigate to the list or library where you want to create a rule.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Rules in the Settings group.
In the Document Maker Settings -> Rules page, click Add Rule.
- Note: You cannot add a rule if no template exists in the current list.
In the Rule Name section, enter a name.
Specify which templates should use this rule. You can select multiple templates for one rule.
Note: Only one rule can be applied to a template. Once a rule has been applied to a template, a second rule then cannot be applied unless the first rule is removed.
In the Naming Rule section, you can use Add element to add a combination of variables and separators and use Remove element to remove them.

In the dropdown list, you can select Columns, Functions and Custom Text as an element for the document name.

Columns

Almost all SharePoint columns can be inserted in a formula, including: Single line of text, Choice, Number, Currency, Date and Time, People or Group and Managed Metadata. You can also insert the following SharePoint metadata in a formula: [Document ID Value], [Content Type], [Version], etc.

Functions

Document Number Generator allows you to insert the following functions into a formula. [Today]: Today’s date. [Now]: The current date and time. [Me]: The user who generated the document.

Customized
Custom Text: You can select Custom Text and enter anything you want. If any invalid characters are detected (such as: / \ | # @ etc.), the background color of this field will change, and a message will appear to indicate that there are errors.

Separators
When you add multiple elements in a formula, you can specify separators to join these elements. Connectors include: – _. / \ (The / \ separators cannot be used in the Name column.)

In the Data Format section, you can specify which date format you want to use.

Note This option is used only when you add at least one [Date and Time] column in the Naming Rule section.

In the Output Types section, specify the document format after generation.
Four file formats are supported: DOCX, DOC, PDF, and XPS.

In the Distribute Document section, specify the path to save the generated documents.

There are two options for you to choose from to save generated documents.

Save as attachment
Choose this option to attach the generated documents to the corresponding items. To save the document as an attachment, you need to enable the attachment feature in the list.

Use the option Overwrite existing documents to decide whether to overwrite an existing attachment for the current item.

Save in document library

Choose this option to save the documents to a SharePoint document library. Simply select a library in the Save to document library dropdown list.

Use the Create a folder to save documents option to save the documents into an automatically created folder and specify a column name as the folder name.

In the Merged Document Generation section, select the Enable option to enable the generation of a merged document using multiple items.

In the Merged Documents Naming Rule section, specify the naming rule.You can insert [Today], [Now] and [Me] in the rule to dynamically generate names.

In the Target Location section, select a document library to save the merged documents.
Click OK to save the settings.
In the Rule Settings page, you can view the basic information of the rule (Rule Name, OutputType, Template, Modified, and Modified By).

Modify a Rule

Navigate to the list or library where you want to modify a rule.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Rules in the Settings group.
In the Document Maker Settings -> Rule page, find the rule and click Edit. Make your changesand then click OK to save the changes.

Delete a Rule

Navigate to the list or library where you want to delete a rule.
On the Ribbon, click the List or Library tab and then click Manage Rules in the Settings group.
In the Document Maker Settings -> Rule page, find the rule you want to delete and click Delete.
A message box will appear asking you to confirm that you want to proceed with the deletion.
Click OK to confirm the deletion.

Using Document Maker

Document Maker allows you to generate individual documents for each list item or merge multiple list items into one document.

Generate Individual Document

Navigate to the list or library you want to generate document for.
Select one or more item(s).
On the Ribbon, click Generate Document.
A Generate Document dialog box will appear. You can select a template you want to use in the Select Template dropdown list. The generated documents file names and the number of files generated will also appear in the dialog box, under the Select Template dropdown list.
Click Generate to generate the documents.
Once the document creation is finished, you will see the results of the operation. Click Go to Location to enter the library or folder where the documents are stored. Click on a file name to open or save it.
Click OK to close the dialog box.
If the document generation procedure failed, the Status will show as Fail. And you can view the Error Message under the Operations column.

Generate a Merged Document
This function allows you to merge multiple items into one document. To generate a merged document, you need to enable Merged Document Generation option in rule.

Navigate to the list or library you want to generate a document for.
Select the items you want and click Generate a Merged Document on the Ribbon.
A Generate a Merged Document dialog box will appear. From this dialog box, you can select a template you want to use in the Template dropdown. The generated documents file names and the number of files generated will also appear in the dialog box.
Click Generate to generate the document.
Once the creation of the document is completed, you will be able to see the operation results. Click Go to Location to enter the library or folder where the documents are stored. Click on the file name to open or save it.
Click OK to close the dialog box.

Case Studies
Suppose you are a sales specialist and after you have processed an order, you need to send an invoice or receipt (in .pdf format) to your customer. The invoice or receipt template and the file name should be consistent and based on your company policy. Here is the All Orders list containing all the details of the customer’s orders, including Product Name, Customer, Payment Method, etc.

In the Sales Receipt template, insert the list fields in the table as follows:

Enable the merged Document Generation option and configure the following sections:

If you want to send the order details to Tom Smith, for example, just select the item that is related to Tom Smith and click Generate Document on the Ribbon. You will get a PDF file as follows:

If your customer Lucy Green, for example, has purchased three products, you would want to place the three orders into one document. In this example, you should select the three items and then click Combine Generate on the Ribbon. The resulting PDF file will be generated as follows:

Troubleshooting & Support

Product & Licensing Inquires: sales@boostsolutions.com
Technical Support (Basic): support@boostsolutions.com
Request a New Product or Feature: feature_request@boostsolutions.com

Appendix 1: Supported Lists, Libraries and Galleries

Document Maker can work on these lists and libraries.

Lists

| Announcement, Calendar, Contacts, Custom List, Custom List in Datasheet View, Discussion Board, External List, Import Spreadsheet, Status list(do not show product buttons), Survey(do not show product buttons), Issue Tracking, Links, Project Tasks, Tasks
---|---

Libraries

| Asset, Data Connection, Document, Form, Wiki Page, Slide, Report, picture (product buttons are in the Settings menu)

Galleries

| Web Parts Gallery, List Templates Gallery, Master Pages Gallery, Themes Gallery, Solutions Gallery

Special lists

| Categories, Comments, Posts, Circulation, Resources, Whereabouts, Group Calendar, Phone Call Memo, Agenda, Attendees, Objectives, Decisions, Things To Bring, Text Box

Appendix 2: Supported Calculated Field Functions
The following table shows the calculated field functions that are supported in Microsoft Word.

	Name	Instance	Comment

Custom Functions

| Sum| Sum([YourColumn])|

1. Not case sensitive.

2. Does not support recursively nested.

3. Supports external scientific computing.

Max| Max([YourColumn])
Min| Min([YourColumn])
Average| Average([YourColumn]
Count| Count([YourColumn])

System functions

| Abs| Math.Abs|

1. Case sensitive.

2. Supports recursively nested.

3. Supports external scientific computing.

Appendix 3: License Management
You can use Document Maker without entering any license code for a period of 30 days from when you first use it. To use the product after expiration, you will need to purchase a license and register the product.

Finding License Information

In the products main page, click the trial link and enter the License Management Center.
Click Download License Information, choose a license type and download the information (Server Code, Farm ID or Site Collection ID).

In order for BoostSolutions to create a license for you, you MUST send us your SharePoint environment identifier (Note: different license types need different information). A server license needs a server code; a Farm license needs a farm ID; and a site collection license needs a site collection ID.

Send the above information to us (sales@boostsolutions.com) to generate a license code.

License Registration

When you receive a product license code, enter the License Management Center page.
Click Register on the license page and a Register or Update license window will open.
Upload the license file or enter the license code and click Register. You will get confirmation that your license has been validated.

For more details on license management, see the BoostSolutions Foundation.