Generate Microsoft Word or PDF documents from your Quickbase app
Exact Forms Plus is a Quickbase Extension that creates Microsoft Word (DOCX or DOC) and PDF documents from your Quickbase records: quotes, invoices, purchase orders, contracts, certificates, reports, and more. You design the template in Microsoft Word, keep it in a templates table in your app, and run it from a button on the record.
Each run produces a fixed, point-in-time document. Later changes to the record don't change a document that was already created. You can open the document in the browser, save it to the record, save it to another table, or send it to cloud storage.
How it works
Create a template in Microsoft Word. Where you want data to appear, type the field ID or field name between tildes, for example
~3~(by field ID) or~Record ID#~(by field name). Any version of Word on Windows or Mac works, as long as it saves a .docx or .doc file. There are no macros or add-ins to install.Run the setup wizard. The wizard adds the fields Exact Forms Plus needs to your table, including the Generate EFP Document button and the EFP Document file attachment field. See Exact Forms Plus setup type.
Select the button on a record. Exact Forms Plus reads the record, plus any other records the template's embedded reports ask for, fills in the template, creates the document, and saves or opens it based on the button's settings.
The button is a formula URL. Its parameters control which template is used, the output format, and where the document goes. You can change them at any time. See Formula URL parameters.
What you can put in a document
Field values from the record, by field ID or field name. Checkbox fields appear as
[X]or[ ].Embedded reports (subtables): tables of records from another table. They aren't limited to related records. Each embedded report names a table and either a Quickbase query or a saved report, so it can show:
the record's related (child) records, such as the line items on an invoice. The query refers to a field on the current record, for example
{'6'.EX.[Record ID#]};records that match a query unrelated to the current record, such as all open tasks or a list of active products;
the results of a saved report, including summary reports (crosstab reports aren't supported).
You control column widths, column headers, fonts (bold, italic, underline, name, size), alignment, header and row colors, borders, totals and subtotals, and grouping with a page break after each group.
Images from file attachment fields, at a size you choose.
Charts, barcodes, and QR codes.
Rich text from text fields that contain HTML.
Word headers and footers. You can put field values there too.
Output options
Format: PDF, DOCX, or DOC.
Protection: a password to open a PDF or to edit a Word document, and for PDFs an owner password that blocks printing, editing, and copying.
Watermark: watermark text on Word and PDF documents.
PDF options: fillable form fields, accessible (Section 508) PDFs, and embedded fonts.
Add other files: put PDFs from file attachment fields before or after the generated document.
Where documents go
Open or download in the browser.
A file attachment field on the record.
A repository table in your app (a new record each time, or an update to an existing one).
Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Egnyte, if your account is set up for one of them.
After the document is created, Exact Forms Plus can also update the record: stamp the date and time it ran, copy field values, set a user field, or clear fields.
Create documents for many records at once
Multiple records: pass a Quickbase query instead of one record. Exact Forms Plus creates one document per record and saves each one to its own record. The default limit is 50 documents per run.
Merged PDF: combine the documents from a multiple-record run into one PDF.
Mailing labels: print labels for every record a query or report returns.
Batch processing: for larger runs, Exact Forms Plus processes the records in the background so no one has to wait in the browser. The setup wizard adds the fields batch processing uses. See Exact Forms Plus Batch Processor overview.
For the full list, see Exact Forms Plus features and functionality.
Security
Exact Forms Plus connects to your app with the Quickbase user token saved for your account. A Client Admin manages it in the Extensions Portal under Client Credentials. The buttons the wizard creates work with Quickbase enhanced security (temp tokens), which is also required when Exact Forms Plus runs from Quickbase Pipelines.
Quickbase Document Creation
Exact Forms Plus can also create documents from a Quickbase Document Creation template, so you can keep your existing templates and add Exact Forms Plus features such as cloud storage or merged PDFs. For how the two compare, see Product comparison. For setup, see Quickbase Document Creation support for Exact Forms Plus.