Printable Document#

PrintableDocument.Show

Overview#

The Printable Document is the core object of Advanced Layout & Printing, the module used for Label and Lot Traveler Printing.

The Printable Document represents a generic document whose content is generated dynamically whenever it is printed, based on a context that is a combination of user inputs and automatically calculated data (including serial numbers).

It also ensures full traceability by versioning the Printable Document object and, optionally, keeping the history of each print operation including a preview of what was printed.

The Printable Document is available for every object. However, only the Material object has a built-in button to print Documents from its detail page. In the case of the Material object, the documents to be printed are resolved using the Smart Table MaterialPrintableDocumentContext. For all other object types, printing needs to be triggered from the Printable Document page.

Global and Versioned Data#

A Printable Document, being a change controlled object, contains global and versioned data components as shown in the next picture.

graph TD
subgraph Printable Document
Main1["Global Data<br>(Without Change Control)"] --- A1[All other]
Main2["Versioned Data<br>(With Change Control)"] --- A2[Layout<br>Context Items]
end


classDef mermaid_title color:#000, fill:#fafafa, stroke:#fafafa, stroke-width:0x, font-size:100%, font-weight:200;
classDef mermaid_start color:#000, fill:#fafafa, stroke:#fafafa, color:#fafafa, stroke-width:0x, font-size:100%, visibility: hidden;
classDef mermaid_businessdata color:#000, fill:#65CDE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_nonbusinessdata color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#B7DEE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entity color:#000, fill:#FB9F53, stroke:#FB9F53, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entitylinked color:#000, fill:#FCD5B5, stroke:#FCD5B5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_context color:#000, fill:#B9CDE5, stroke:#B9CDE5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_optional color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:1px, font-size:100%, stroke-dasharray: 5 5;
classDef mermaid_state color:#000, fill:#d7e4bd, stroke:#000, stroke-width:1px, font-size:100%, font-weight:300;
class Main1,Main2 mermaid_entity
class A1,A2 mermaid_entitylinked

Tying Everything Together#

graph LR
    A1["Entity Type<br>'Applies To'"] --- Main[Printable Document]
    C1[Area Printable Document] --- Main
    C2[Resource Data Collection Context] --- Main
    C3[Material Data Collection Context] --- Main
    C4[Printer Type Printers Context] -.- Main
    Main === L1[Printable Document Print History]
    Main === L2[Printable Document Context Item Print History]
    Main === L3[Printable Document Context Item]

classDef mermaid_title color:#000, fill:#fafafa, stroke:#fafafa, stroke-width:0x, font-size:100%, font-weight:200;
classDef mermaid_start color:#000, fill:#fafafa, stroke:#fafafa, color:#fafafa, stroke-width:0x, font-size:100%, visibility: hidden;
classDef mermaid_businessdata color:#000, fill:#65CDE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_nonbusinessdata color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#B7DEE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entity color:#000, fill:#FB9F53, stroke:#FB9F53, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entitylinked color:#000, fill:#FCD5B5, stroke:#FCD5B5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_context color:#000, fill:#B9CDE5, stroke:#B9CDE5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_optional color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:1px, font-size:100%, stroke-dasharray: 5 5;
class Main mermaid_entity
class A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6,A7,A8,A9,A10 mermaid_businessdata
class L1,L2,L3,L4,L5,L6 mermaid_entitylinked
class C1,C2,C3,C4,C5,C6 mermaid_context
class N1,N2,N3,N4,N5,N6 mermaid_nonbusinessdata

click Main "../../business-data/printable-document"
click C1 "../../administration/tables/smart-tables/areaprintabledocumentcontext"
click C2 "../../administration/tables/smart-tables/resourcedatacollectioncontext"
click C3 "../../administration/tables/smart-tables/materialdatacollectioncontext"
click C4 "../../administration/tables/smart-tables/printertypeprinterscontext"

Sequence Of Steps#

The necessary steps for correctly using a Printable Document are the following:

1. Create a PrintableDocument - note that it is necessary to associate the Printable Document to a Change Set.
2. Create or Edit the Printable Document Layout, using the Layout Editor.
3. Approve the Change Set, which contains the Printable Document that has been created.