Creating Custom Forms for Printing PDF Transactions
- Former user (Deleted)
- Pat Zelei
- Former user (Deleted)
- Amanda Folkman
This page is a draft and may contain incomplete or inaccurate information.
Custom forms can be imported into USAS and used for printing custom PDF transaction records like Purchase Orders, Disbursements, Receipts, etc. To create a custom form, users would create their own word template and upload it to the Report Manager. Some Templates are available below.
Customize Template Form in Word
A custom form can be created using MailMerge fields in a Word Template document. The default templates found below can also be modified in Word to create custom forms.
Templates for USAS transactions:
Examples of Templates
Example of Default Disbursement Template
Example of a customized template
Example of a printed custom template
Create Forms in Report Manager
In the Report Manager, use the Create Form option to add custom forms to USAS.
Report Name - Will be what users see when they select the form to use for printing.
Description - Will be visible in the Reports Manager grid (optional).
Tag - An optional field that a user may define to categorize and filter reports on the Reports grid. (i.e. Forms)
Entity Type - Select the Entity type that corresponds with the Form that is being added (ex. Disbursement, Receipt, etc.)
Filename - Click Select Form and select the custom form file from your computer.
Click on to Save the Form or Cancel to exit. Once saved, the custom form will show in the Reports Manager grid.
If non-Admin users need to use this form for printing, use the share icon to grant access to other USAS roles.
Use Custom Forms when Printing Transactions
When printing transactions to PDF, users will have an option to select the form to be used from a drop down list. The dropdown options will show the Report Name(s) saved as a form once the ‘PDF' option is chosen.
How to Customize a Form
When editing the template forms in Word, "fields" are used with the USPS property names. For official documentation on how to use fields in Microsoft Word, please refer to the Microsoft Support/Documentation.
Word Formatting Tips
The template form is set up in a table format to keep everything in its proper spot. Before you begin customizing your forms, you can display borders and/or markups (hidden formatting) on the Word form in order to see the placement of the fields better.
To display markups:
Go to File>Options>Display, and checkmark 'Show all formatting marks.' Click OK. This will display the 'hidden formatting' markups on the form.
NOTE: Markups will not appear on the printed or emailed form. If you wish to turn off markups in Word, uncheck the 'Show all formatting marks' under File>Options>Display.
To display borders:
Go to Home>Select>Select All (Ctrl+A) to select the entire form.
Next, go to Home and click on the dropdown to the right of the borders option and select 'All Borders.'
This will display borders on the form.
NOTE: You must remove the borders before saving changes to the Word document or else the borders will appear on the printed/emailed form.
Example of Field Updates in Word
When editing the template forms in Word, "Fields" are used with the USAS property names. For official documentation on how to use Fields in Microsoft Word, please refer to the Microsoft Support/Documentation. Provided below are examples of what this may look like using USAS fields.
Adding a Field
Add Field to document using the keyboard shortcut or by menu navigation:
Keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F9, right-click on the field and select Edit Field .
Navigate to Insert->Quick Parts->Field
Insert the merge field(s).
Place your cursor where you'd like the new field to be placed.
Go to Insert>Quick Parts>Field. When the pop-up box appears, from the Field names:, scroll down and select MergeField.
Add a FreeMarker style tag ${value} in Field name: under the Field properties section and click OK.
i.e. ${d.amount}
Click OK.
Save the changes made to the form.
Editing a Field
Right-click on the field and select Edit Field.
Edit Field name value.
Click OK.
Save the changes made to the form.