Can an AppWorks application map attributes/metadata to a PDF/Word Template?

Andrei Marculescu · 2021-12-20T15:16:18+00:00

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Hello!

I am very new to AppWorks, and I'm trying to achieve a solution where we receive data from an external form, and I want to have PDF/Word templates with text fields, the solution needs to map the data from the online form to these text fields automatically and export the finished document. Afterwards, this document most likely needs to be moved in a Content Server Workflow or Business Workspace (For importing/exporting data I think the API can do the job).

I'm asking if this is possible with AppWorks, I haven't been able to find this functionality in Content Server and its modules, but if it can be easily done in OTCS I would really appreciate some tips/instructions.

:) Thank you!

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Comments

Greg Griffiths

Content Server has the DPS module that allows the mapping of fields to and from some formats to Content Server attributes which may deliver what you need.

You may also be able to address this with WebReports as well as using some of the API offerings such as REST or CWS too.

Andrei Marculescu

Thank you @Greg Griffiths for your answer, I looked into the Document Properties Synchronization Module and I saw that the last version is 10.0, isn't that already obsolete?

As for the API, could you provide an example of an application for REST/CWS that might provide a solution?

Also, Do we need Admin Center if we want to work with APIs?

Thanks a lot!

Greg Griffiths

DPS is included as standard in many bundles now, so please check with your Admin / Account person to see if you have it too. There is a current version as far as I am aware.

For the API's the docs can be found at https://developer.opentext.com/apis/14ba85a7-4693-48d3-8c93-9214c663edd2/d7540c64-7da2-4554-9966-069c56a9341d for REST and https://knowledge.opentext.com/knowledge/llisapi.dll?func=ll&objId=17990637&objAction=browse for CWS.

Andrei Marculescu

@Greg Griffiths at last, I managed to make it work with the DPS Module.

I will explain here what I did for people that might want to achieve the same solution.

I created a Word document, where I added my own custom Advanced Properties, I added them using the Insert -> Quick Parts -> Field option (you find them in the DocProperty category). Within Content Server I created a category with the exact fields that I have in my Word Template, then I accessed the Binding Volume where I created a binding that is triggered when the Node is updated or a file is copied/moved, and I mapped the values from the previously created category to the custom file properties that I have in my Word document (the name must coincide).

After this, I made a Workflow that has as a default attachment that Word Template with the fields still unchanged, I added some attributes that a user can add data to by writing in some forms in a User step, and I added an Item Handler step that maps category attributes with workflow attributes, and that category is the one I made for our template, then the Item Handler adds the category to the template that is in the Attachment Folder of the WF, and copies this document in a folder designed to hold this type of files.

After this, in the folder where the Item Handler moved the template, it now has what I wrote in the forms in the User step, as text on the Fields that I added in Word.

(Note, I believe that the API can also add information into WF Attributes, so for an external solution this also works)

Thanks for the help Greg, I hope someone else finds this useful!

Greg Griffiths

@Andrei Marculescu thanks for sharing the steps and the update.