Feature Focus: Create Custom Reports with the PDF Designer

Learn How to Design PDF Reports in Minutes

When you go paperless, that doesn’t mean that you lose the need for reports. For many businesses, it is still extremely critical that their clients are able to receive a copy of the services that were rendered.

At GoCanvas, we developed the PDF Designer with those concerns in mind. This tool gives clients the ability to customize their output reports to replicate the style and design of their original forms without the limitations and issues of paper. The PDF Designer allows companies to create specific output reports based on each of their GoCanvas mobile forms.

Customers frequently create unique PDF reports for different types of mobile forms including:

• Invoices
• Timesheets
• Work Orders
• Job Safety Analysis (JSA)
• and more

How Does the PDF Designer Work?

Similar to the GoCanvas App Builder, the PDF Designer is a simple to use tool that requires no IT or design-based knowledge. It’s an easy to use drag and drop builder that allows you to map the data from your mobile form to your PDF report. The PDF Designer automatically syncs all the data fields from the app builder so that all you have to do is simply drag the data to where you want it to show up on the PDF!

Aside from just simply dragging the data fields to where you want them on the PDF, you are also able to add:

• Social Media Icons – Facebook, Home Advisor, Google Reviews, etc
• Images, Logos, and Graphics
• Static Text
• Borders
• Background Colors
• Hyperlinks

How Do I Get Started?

The best part about the PDF Designer is that we have given you a number of ways to get started in designing the perfect report.

The first way to get started is by choosing one of our five most popular form templates! These templates include a Work Order, Invoice, Inspection, Waiver, and an Estimate. This is perfect for users who are just getting started creating a new mobile form and want to save time! The template will give create the app and the output for you automatically, and give you quick headstart for tweaking anything you feel that needs to be changed.

The second way to get started is by using our new “Auto Layout” feature. This is an amazing feature that can take any of the forms that you have already built and give them a custom designed layout in just seconds! All you have to do is access the PDF Designer for the mobile form that you wish to create an output report. Once inside the PDF Designer, click the button that says “Auto Layout”. You will instantly see the report be created based on the data fields from the mobile form. All you will need to do is add your logo and connect any of your company’s social media accounts(if you wish).

The third way to get started with the PDF Designer is by going with a blank template! Just like when you are building your first mobile form with GoCanvas, you can start with a blank slate and build things from the ground up if you prefer. As you are customizing your report from scratch, you may use the “Preview” button within the PDF Designer so that you can confirm how your creation looks and tweak things in a flash.

This is the ideal way to start if you are going to be creating a report that needs to look a very specific way, and don’t want to waste time having to deconstruct a pre-built template that doesn’t fit the design you were envisioning.

And keep in mind, the 20,000+ pre-built mobile form templates in our Application Store all have professionally designed PDF reports assigned to them as well!

Why You Will Benefit

The biggest benefit in designing your own reports is obviously the fact that you are able to control the look, feel, and layout of your company’s information and brand.

Many services similar to GoCanvas will force your information to be placed into a generic looking document that serves only to show your information one way. With GoCanvas, we give you the power to control the way your information is presented to your customers, vendors, and internal staff. You now control how your forms are filled out, shared, and formatted with GoCanvas.

Take full advantage of this core feature of GoCanvas, and start customizing your reports today!