PDF Export API - Nextedy Documentation

Prerequisites

PDF export requires the sheet to be in a clean state. The export command validates two conditions before proceeding:

Condition	Check	Behavior if Failed
Unsaved changes	`isDirty()` returns `true`	Export blocked; user prompted to save
Comparison mode	`ComparisonManager` exists	Export blocked; user must exit comparison view

Always save your changes before exporting to PDF. The export reads the last saved revision of the document to ensure the PDF reflects a consistent, committed state.

Server Endpoint

Property	Value
Endpoint	`/api/pdfscript`
Method	GET
Required parameter	`revision` (document revision identifier)
Response	Generated JavaScript export script
Template file	`risksheetPdfExport.vm`

The server loads the risksheetPdfExport.vm Velocity template, renders it with the full Velocity context (including document, transaction, and pdfExportMacros.vm helper macros), and returns the generated JavaScript code to the browser for execution.

PDF Export Configuration Properties

Template Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
`risksheetPdfExport.vm`	`string`	`risksheetPdfExport.vm`	Name of the Velocity template file attached to the document or inherited from a template. Contains the export script configuration.
`pdfExportConfiguration`	`string`	None	Full content of the PDF export Velocity template as a string. Loaded from the template file.
`templateName`	`string`	None	Name of the template from which the PDF export configuration was loaded. Empty when the template is attached directly to the document.
`fromTemplate`	`boolean`	`false`	Flag indicating whether the PDF export configuration was loaded from a template rather than a document attachment.
`configPath`	`string`	None	Repository path to the configuration file that was loaded. Useful for debugging template resolution.
`fileName`	`string`	None	Name of the configuration file. Tracks which file contains the PDF export configuration.

Export Command Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
`mergeCacheFlag`	`boolean`	See application	Controls how merged cells are rendered in the PDF export. Logged during export initialization.
`masterMergeOnly`	`boolean`	See application	Determines whether the PDF export uses a flat table structure or hierarchical row merging. When `true`, only master-level merges are applied.
`emptyPlaceholder`	`string`	`null`	Text to display in the PDF for null or empty cells. When `null`, empty cells are left blank. Set this in your custom export script to show a placeholder like `"-"` or `"N/A"`.

Export Functions

The export script has access to the following functions through the exporter object. Each function renders a specific type of table in the PDF output.

exportMainSheet

Exports the primary Risksheet grid to PDF.

Parameter	Type	Description
`hideColumns`	`string`	Comma-separated list of column binding names to exclude from the PDF output. Columns are temporarily hidden during export and restored afterward.

// Export main grid, hiding the internal ID and revision columns
exporter.exportMainSheet("systemItemId,systemItemRevision");

// Export all visible columns
exporter.exportMainSheet("");

Use hideColumns to exclude internal or administrative columns that are useful in the interactive grid but not needed in printed output. The columns are hidden temporarily during PDF rendering and restored immediately after.

exportSubTable

Exports a filtered sub-table containing only rows where a specified control column has non-empty values.

Parameter	Type	Description
`controlColumn`	`string`	Column binding name used to filter rows. Only rows where this column has a non-empty value are included.

// Export a sub-table of mitigation tasks
exporter.exportSubTable("mitigationTask");

Typical use cases include exporting separate tables for mitigation tasks, verification activities, or other task-level data that you want to present independently from the main risk table.

exportDownstreamTable

Exports downstream traceability tables with deduplication. Unlike exportSubTable, this function tracks which control column values have already been processed and skips duplicate rows, producing a table of unique downstream relationships.

Parameter	Type	Description
`controlColumn`	`string`	Column binding name for the downstream link. Rows with duplicate values in this column are excluded after the first occurrence.

// Export unique downstream mitigation actions
exporter.exportDownstreamTable("actionItem");

exportRatingTable

Exports a risk rating definition table with three columns: ID, Label, and Description. Rating data is read from the ratings object in the risksheet.json configuration.

Parameter	Type	Description
`ratingId`	`string`	Key in the `config.ratings` object identifying which rating scale to export.

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

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

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

The output table always has three columns:

Column	Source
ID	`rating.id`
Label	`rating.name`
Description	`rating.desc`

exportEnumTable

Exports an enumeration value table showing ID, Label, and Description for a custom enum type defined in the enums object of the configuration.

Parameter	Type	Description
`enumId`	`string`	Key in the `config.enums` object identifying which enumeration to export.

// Export failure mode categories
exporter.exportEnumTable("failureCategory");

exportCustomTableData

Exports arbitrary tabular data with custom column definitions and optional absolute positioning.

Parameter	Type	Description
`columns`	`array`	Array of column definition objects, each with `binding`, `header`, and `width` properties.
`data`	`array`	Array of data row objects with keys matching the column bindings.
`xpos`	`number`	(Optional) Horizontal position in points for absolute placement on the PDF page.
`ypos`	`number`	(Optional) Vertical position in points for absolute placement on the PDF page.

// Export a custom summary table
exporter.exportCustomTableData(
  [
    { binding: "category", header: "Risk Category", width: 200 },
    { binding: "count", header: "Count", width: 80 },
    { binding: "maxRpn", header: "Max RPN", width: 80 }
  ],
  [
    { category: "Electrical", count: 12, maxRpn: 480 },
    { category: "Mechanical", count: 8, maxRpn: 320 },
    { category: "Software", count: 15, maxRpn: 560 }
  ]
);

Script Context Variables

The generated export script has access to the following scope variables:

Variable	Type	Description
`exporter`	`object`	Export helper object providing all `export*` functions listed above.
`PDFExport`	`object`	Low-level PDF generation API for advanced customization.
`GridPDF`	`object`	Grid-to-PDF rendering engine.
`isInCompare`	`boolean`	Whether the export is running in comparison mode.
`compareRevision`	`string`	Revision being compared against (if in comparison mode).
`currentRevision`	`string`	Current document revision being exported.
`showUnchanged`	`boolean`	Whether to include unchanged rows in comparison exports.

The export command passes the current application state (app.state) to the PDF renderer. This means the exported PDF reflects the current view configuration, including top panel settings and active filters.

Cell Formatting in PDF

The export engine automatically handles cell formatting for different column types:

Column Type	PDF Rendering
Text / String	Plain text value
Boolean / Checkbox	`true` or `false` text
Enum	Resolved display name from enum configuration
Multi-Enum	Comma-separated list of resolved display names
Item Link	Label text from the linked work item
Multi-Item Link	Newline-separated list of linked item labels
Server-Rendered HTML	Stripped to plain text with line breaks preserved from list items
System Item ID	Standard item identifier
Calculated / Formula	Computed value at time of export
Empty / Null	Value of `emptyPlaceholder` if set, otherwise blank

Based on reported issues, be aware of the following PDF export behaviors:

Enum fields: Regular enums export with display titles, but rating fields (numeric IDs) and user reference fields may export with internal IDs instead of display names. Use saved views as an alternative export mechanism for consistent formatting.
Risk matrix calculations: Risk matrix totals in PDF export may not correctly count risks across all severity categories in some configurations. Verify risk matrix counts against the interactive grid.
Long text overflow: Tables may not automatically expand to accommodate long text content. Test your PDF export with representative data to verify layout.
Baselines: PDF export baseline display may show incorrect or missing baselines in variant projects. Baselines should be identified by document ID/path for reliability.

Template Inheritance for PDF Export

The risksheetPdfExport.vm template follows the same inheritance chain as the main risksheet.json configuration:

Document attachment (highest priority) --- Template file attached directly to the LiveDoc document
Template document --- Inherited from the document’s Polarion template
Global template --- Project-level default template configuration

To create a document-specific PDF export template, use Menu > Override Template to detach from the inherited configuration, then attach a custom risksheetPdfExport.vm file to the document.

Complete Example

A typical risksheetPdfExport.vm export script that produces a complete FMEA report:

// Export the main FMEA risk table, hiding internal columns
exporter.exportMainSheet("systemItemId,systemItemRevision");

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

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

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

// Export downstream mitigation actions as a separate table
exporter.exportDownstreamTable("mitigationTask");

Progress Feedback

During PDF generation, Risksheet displays a persistent toast notification:

Property	Value
Title	`Exporting to PDF`
Message	`Please wait while the file is being generated...`
Display time	Persistent (dismissed on completion)
Progress indicator	Animated progress image

The notification remains visible until the PDF file is generated and the download begins.

PDF Export Template for the Velocity template syntax and macro reference
Velocity Template Context for the full list of context variables available in export templates
Custom Renderer Templates for cell-level rendering customization
Configuration Properties Index for all configurable properties

Sources

Support Tickets

Source Code

RisksheetViewServlet.java
ExportToPdf.ts
ExportToPdfCommand.ts
CommandFactory.ts
PdfExportConfigurationService.java

​Prerequisites

​Server Endpoint

​PDF Export Configuration Properties

​Template Properties

​Export Command Properties

​Export Functions

​exportMainSheet

​exportSubTable

​exportDownstreamTable

​exportRatingTable

​exportEnumTable

​exportCustomTableData

​Script Context Variables

​Cell Formatting in PDF

​Template Inheritance for PDF Export

​Complete Example

​Progress Feedback

​Related Pages

Prerequisites

Server Endpoint

PDF Export Configuration Properties

Template Properties

Export Command Properties

Export Functions

exportMainSheet

exportSubTable

exportDownstreamTable

exportRatingTable

exportEnumTable

exportCustomTableData

Script Context Variables

Cell Formatting in PDF

Template Inheritance for PDF Export

Complete Example

Progress Feedback

Related Pages