PDF actions
Use a PDF action to generate a portable document from the service’s review content. It is useful when a person, reviewer or downstream process needs a fixed version of the answers after they have been collected.
Create the PDF only when the answers are ready for that purpose. A document generated too early can omit later answers or capture a route that the person subsequently changes.
Choose where the PDF belongs in the journey
Common patterns include generating a PDF on a review page, on completion, or immediately before an email or file-upload action that needs the document.
flowchart LR
A[Answers are validated] --> B[Review content is ready]
B --> C[PDF action]
C --> D[Download, attach or store PDF]Name the action for the document’s purpose, such as generate_submission_record or create_review_copy. If another action needs the PDF, put that action after PDF generation under the same trigger.
Configure the action
- Open Page actions on the page where the document should be created.
- Add a PDF action.
- Set a stable Action ID and an understandable name.
- Choose a trigger after the relevant answers have been validated or when the service is complete.
- Enable digital signing only where signing is configured for the target environment and the business process requires it.
- Test the generated document in QA with normal, long and optional answers.
The action uses the service’s review content. Check the review-page headings, labels and any conditional content before treating the PDF as an official record.
Use digital signing deliberately
The Digitally sign PDF setting applies the platform’s configured digital signature when signing is enabled for the environment. Turning it on does not by itself provide a signing service, approval process or evidence of a person’s intent. Confirm the legal and operational requirement with the responsible team before relying on it.
Test signed and unsigned behaviour in the intended environment. Ensure recipients know what the signature indicates and how they should validate it. If the environment does not have signing enabled, the output remains unsigned.
Design a readable document
Use clear component labels and review-page structure, because these become the basis of the PDF. Long free text, repeated group rows, optional answers and conditional routes need particular attention.
Review the generated file visually at ordinary zoom and in a PDF reader. Check that headings are clear, long answers are not confusing, page breaks do not separate labels from values unnecessarily, and content that was not relevant is not shown as an unexplained blank.
Avoid adding sensitive information to a review page just to get it into a PDF. Include only what the intended recipient needs.
Use the PDF in later actions
A generated PDF can be used as the source for a later email attachment or file upload. Use the action’s result only after successful generation, and test a failure route where document creation is unavailable.
For a document that must be retained, pair generation with the approved storage action and confirm that the stored filename and permissions meet the operational requirement. Do not rely on the person’s browser download as the only retained copy where an organisational record is required.
Test checklist
- The trigger creates the PDF only when the intended answers are complete.
- Review content and conditional routes are correct before generation.
- Long, optional and repeated answers remain readable in the output.
- Any email or file upload runs after the PDF action.
- Digital signing is enabled only for an approved, configured process.
- The QA document has been opened and checked visually, not only generated successfully.