Coversheet - User Documentation

Details

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Name Description
Wex ID com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet
Name Coversheet
Version 1.19

Overview

This extension allows to add cover sheet at the beginning of a an PDF document. This is often required when your PDF are distributed outside of your organization, as a typical use case consists in sending documents to regulation organizations: adding a cover sheet provides an audit trail of approval on a specific date for the PDF.

The sheet is designed with a GUI based tool, called the Report Manager and requires minimal training


Features

  • Adds a cover Sheet to a PDF
  • Generic template with configurable fields
  • Available on demand or configurable on a workflow
  • Multiple pages possible
  • Standard page formats available
  • Can be tailored to company standard
  • Includes data from the object, business process or system information
  • Example Demo templates to help start using the tool quickly
  • Trailing or coversheet

User Guide

Introduction

The coversheet tools supports documents and can append and remove coversheets.

It requires the following

  • Promotion Request or Change - Required if approval information is shown on the sheet
  • Document - To add the coversheet

Quick Start

Go to the Report Manager under the Quick Links menu

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Create a new Template to use as a Coversheet

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Go to a document associated to a change and access the menu (you need to be wex admin)

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The new UI allows you to download a coversheet

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User interface

The administrator have access to the following interface

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The Persisted Data shows if this document has an existing coversheet added

Designer tool

Various templates may be created using the Report Manager

The templates are stored in Windchill here

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Admin Guide

Testing and admin operation

A UI is added to both documents and CAD elements so that the admin can manually add a coversheet and test the template

Configuration

The behavior of which content to process can be adjusted

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The exact behavior is as follows

Primary Secondary Description
no no Nothing is processed
yes no The primary is processed if it is a PDF
no no All secondary are processed if they are PDF
yes yes If the primary is a PDF it is processed and no secondary are processed even if they are PDF. If the primary is not a PDF all secondary are processed

The users that can access the UI must be in the group that can be selected by the configuration or be admins

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The coversheet may render dates and these can be configured in the configuration screen of the Report Designer ​ file

Workflow Robots

The extension contains two sets of robots 1 to add the coversheet, the other can be used to publish and wait for the publishing

Coversheet Robots

Once created the templates can be added and removed using the following workflow robots

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.add-cover", self, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.remove-cover", self, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.add-trail", self, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.remove-trail", self, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.add-cover-rep", self, businessObject,representable, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.remove-cover-rep", self, businessObject, representable, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.add-trail-rep", self, businessObject, representable, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.remove-trail-rep", self, businessObject, representable, templateName);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.add-cover-change-object", self, templateName,includeAffected,includeResulting);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.remove-cover-change-object", self,  templateName,includeAffected,includeResulting);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.add-trail-change-object", self, templateName,includeAffected,includeResulting);

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-cover-robots.remove-trail-change-object", self,  templateName,includeAffected,includeResulting);

Here is a short description of what each of the workflow parameters means:

  • self - the workflow process object variable,
  • templateName - to be replaced by the name of the template to be added or removed,
  • businessObject - workflow variable that stores the primary business object (promotion request, change notice or change task)
  • representable - the workflow variable that stores the busines object (Document which holds the PDF)
  • includeAffected - to be replaced by true or false, denotes whether to use the documents found in the affected list of objects of a change object
  • includeResulting - to be replaced by true or false, denotes whether to use the documents found in the resulting list of objects of a change object

In addition to the standard keys all String workflow variables are also added to the mapping in the coversheet. For example if the workflow has a variable called user-data it will be available in the template as ${user-data}

Publish Robots

The first robot will send the object or containing object to be published

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-publish-robots.publish",self, republish,  purge);
  • self - the workflow process object variable
  • republish - boolean to force a republish
  • purge - boolean to remove representation before publishing

This robot will return true for as long as there is one item still to be published

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","workflow-publish-robots.isWaitingToPublish",self);

It is used in a loop with a timer

  • self - the workflow process object variable

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke(“com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet”,“workflow-cover-robots.remove-trail-change-object”, self, templateName,includeAffected,includeResulting);


Coversheet API

Similar to the workflow robots, download, overwrite/add and remove a coversheet using the API methods. The API provides the user with 3 different actions.

  • Downloading a coversheet
  • Overwriting an existing coversheet
  • Removing coversheet

Downloading and overwriting actions offer the possibility to pass a specific process or no process at all. In case the process is not specified, the latest process will be used.


Downloading

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","cover-api.download-coversheet", process, document, businessObject, template, coveronly, reportPosition, userData);
com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","cover-api.download-coversheet", document, businessObject, template, coveronly, reportPosition, userData);

Adding / Overwriting

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","cover-api.add-coversheet", process, document, businessObject, template,  reportPosition, userData);
com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","cover-api.add-coversheet", document, businessObject, template,
reportPosition, userData);

Description of each parameter used above:

  • process: The workflow process object
  • document: The document object to add the coversheet
  • businessObject: The workflow variable that stores the document (Promotion Request, Change Task…)
  • template: The template of the name.
  • coveronly: Choose to only download the coversheet, or coversheet + document.
  • reportPosition: Position of the coversheet to be removed (“First” or “Last”)
  • userData: Adittional user data to be added.

Removing

com.wincomplm.wex.kernel.api.invoke.WexInvoker.invoke("com.wincomplm.wex-coversheet","cover-api.remove-coversheet", persistable, reportPosition);

Description of each parameter used above:

  • persistable: The workflow variable that stores the business object.
  • reportPosition: Position of the coversheet to be removed (“First” or “Last”)

Diagnostics

The diagnostic tools is available to test the workflow robot

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It requires the process and template to be entered

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Article details:
Published date: 08/11/2020 7:26PM
Last updated: 10/05/2023 8:05AM (edouglas@wincom-plm.com - edouglas@wincom-plm.com)
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Author: author@wincom-plm.com (author@wincom-plm.com)
Permalink: https://windchill-extensions.ptc.com/kb/articles/coversheet-user-documentation