Generating PDFs from your UI

Provide your users with tools to import case information to their own devices. By configuring an out-of-the-box activity to convert case data to a PDF file, you help users access and archive information that is related to their cases with less effort and at any time. For example, in a price comparison application, you can configure a button that prints out a PDF of the offers that the user selects for comparison.
The pyViewAsPDF activity is an example of an out-of-the-box solution that you can use to generate a PDF. You can also build a custom activity that matches your business needs and add steps that generate PDF files in the context of that activity. In that scenario, you need to configure the Property-Set-HTML method as described in the procedure below, and add a step calling the HTMLToPDF activity.
  1. In the navigation pane of Dev Studio, click Records.
  2. Expand the Technical category and click Activity.
  3. Open the pyViewAsPDF activity.
  4. Define the HTML content from which you want to generate the PDF:
    1. Expand the Property-Set-HTML method.
    2. In the HTMLStream field, enter the name for the HTML fragment on which you want to base the PDF, and then click the Open icon.
      For example: Enter CompareOffersHTML, and then click the Open icon.
    3. In the New tab, click Create and open.
    4. In the HTML Source field, enter the HTML code that you want to use to generate the PDF.
  5. Optional: To enable custom fonts in the PDF output, perform the following actions:
    1. Upload the .ttf file of the font that you want to use as a binary file.
      For more information, see Binary File rules - Completing the Create, Save As, or Specialization form.
    2. In the HTML Source field, add the custom font reference by using the @font-face rule.
      For example:  
      
    <style>
      @font-face {
        font-family: "Mangal";
        src: url("webwb/mangal.ttf") format("ttf");
      }
    </style>

      For more information, see Customizing fonts for your Pega application.

    3. Click Save, and then return to the pyViewAsPDF tab.
  6. Define the name for the output PDF file:
    1. Expand the Property-Set method.
    2. In the Param.PDFName row, in the PropertiesValue field, enter the name of the file in double quotation marks.
      For example: Enter "CompareOffers.pdf"
  7. Click Save.
What to do next: Integrate the activity into your case, for example by adding it to a control or a utility shape.