Customize PDF Export Scripts - Nextedy Documentation

Prerequisites

Administrator access to attach files to Polarion LiveDoc documents
Familiarity with Apache Velocity template syntax
A working Risksheet document with PDF export enabled

How PDF Export Scripts Work

When you trigger a PDF export, Risksheet follows this processing chain:

Loads the risksheetPdfExport.vm template from the document attachment or inherited template
Renders the Velocity template with access to pdfExportMacros.vm helpers
Executes the generated JavaScript against the exporter object
Produces the final PDF document

The script has access to these scope variables:

Variable	Type	Description
`exporter`	Object	PDF export controller with all export methods
`PDFExport`	Class	PDF document creation utilities
`GridPDF`	Class	Grid-to-PDF rendering engine
`isInCompare`	Boolean	Whether the sheet is in comparison mode
`compareRevision`	String	Revision being compared against
`currentRevision`	String	Current document revision
`showUnchanged`	Boolean	Whether to show unchanged items in comparison

Create a Custom Export Script

Step 1: Create the Template File

Create a file named risksheetPdfExport.vm with your custom export logic:

## Custom PDF Export Script for FMEA Risk Analysis

## Export the main risk sheet
exporter.exportMainSheet();

## Add a page break
#newPage()

## Export severity rating definitions
exporter.exportRatingTable("severity");

## Export occurrence rating definitions
exporter.exportRatingTable("occurrence");

## Export detection rating definitions
exporter.exportRatingTable("detection");

Step 2: Attach to the Document

Open the LiveDoc document in Polarion.
Navigate to the document attachments.
Upload the risksheetPdfExport.vm file as an attachment.
Save the document.

Alternatively, attach the file to the global template so all documents inheriting from that template use the same export script.

Step 3: Test the Export

Save the document and trigger a PDF export from the Risksheet view. The output should now follow your custom layout.

Available Export Methods

The exporter object provides these methods for building your PDF layout:

Method	Purpose
`exporter.exportMainSheet(hideColumns?)`	Export the main risk grid. Optional comma-separated column bindings to hide.
`exporter.exportSubTable(controlColumn)`	Export rows where the control column has non-empty values
`exporter.exportDownstreamTable(controlColumn)`	Like `exportSubTable` but with automatic deduplication
`exporter.exportRatingTable(ratingId)`	Export a rating scale definition table (ID, Label, Description)
`exporter.exportEnumTable(enumId)`	Export an enumeration definition table (ID, Label, Description)
`exporter.exportCustomTableData(columns, data)`	Export arbitrary tabular data with custom column definitions

Set exporter.emptyPlaceholder = "N/A" before exporting to display custom text for empty cells. For full method signatures, parameters, and cell formatting behavior, see the PDF Export Template reference.

Velocity Context and Macros

The Velocity template has access to the full Polarion Velocity context, including:

$document — the current Polarion document object
$transaction — the current transaction context
Custom macros from pdfExportMacros.vm (page breaks, table helpers)

The doc.pageAdded event only applies to the specific page where it is called. To show images or headers on every page, you must add doc.pageAdded after each #newPage() call. It does not auto-repeat for table overflow pages.

Complete Example: FMEA Report

## FMEA Risk Analysis Report - Custom PDF Export

## Section 1: Main Risk Analysis Table (hide internal columns)
exporter.exportMainSheet("internalNotes,reviewStatus");

## Page break before rating definitions
#newPage()

## Section 2: Rating Definitions
exporter.exportRatingTable("severity");
exporter.exportRatingTable("occurrence");
exporter.exportRatingTable("detection");

## Page break before downstream items
#newPage()

## Section 3: Mitigation Tasks (deduplicated)
exporter.exportDownstreamTable("mitigationTask");

## Section 4: Verification Activities
exporter.exportSubTable("verificationActivity");

Attach risksheetPdfExport.vm to the global template if all documents should use the same export layout. Attach it to a specific document to override the template for that document only. The fromTemplate flag tracks which source was used.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
Export produces default layout	Custom `.vm` file not found	Verify the file is attached with the exact name `risksheetPdfExport.vm`
Script error in export	Velocity syntax error	Check for unclosed directives or invalid variable references
Empty rating tables	Rating ID mismatch	Verify the rating ID matches the Polarion enumeration ID referenced by the `rating:<enumId>` column
Missing columns in output	Wrong binding names	Use column binding names (not display headers) in `hideColumns`

Verification

You should now see a PDF export that follows your custom layout. Verify that:

The main sheet appears with the correct visible columns
Rating tables display the expected scale definitions
Downstream tables show deduplicated linked items
Page breaks appear where you placed #newPage() calls

​Prerequisites

​How PDF Export Scripts Work

​Create a Custom Export Script

​Step 1: Create the Template File

​Step 2: Attach to the Document

​Step 3: Test the Export

​Available Export Methods

​Velocity Context and Macros

​Complete Example: FMEA Report

​Troubleshooting

​Verification

​See Also

Prerequisites

How PDF Export Scripts Work

Create a Custom Export Script

Step 1: Create the Template File

Step 2: Attach to the Document

Step 3: Test the Export

Available Export Methods

Velocity Context and Macros

Complete Example: FMEA Report

Troubleshooting

Verification

See Also