Setting Up Outputs

You can create as many output documents as you need.

Before you start, be sure to install the Capture Tool.

• To create a quote-based output,
  in the Administrative Interface navigate to Quotes and Workflows > Outputs.  Create your output, set its properties (below), and associate it with a template.
  
  
• To create a more commonly used configurator-based output,
  1. Create a template file (Word, Excel, or CAD), and save it in the Resources > Templates folder.
  2. open the configurator that will be the source of data for this output in the administrative interface. 
  3. In the design tree of the configurator, click the "builds" node to reveal any builds that have been created.  For example, in the screenshot below we see two builds: "Engineering" and "Sales".
     • If no build exists yet in this configurator,
       1. click the "+" symbol to the right of the builds node to create a new one.  A list of all existing build names appears.
       2. Select one of the existing build names.
          Only if none of them accurately describe the build you are creating should you select the final entry in that list of names to create a new one. Build names are shared across all configurators, so it's best to minimize the number of names you create. We suggest naming a build after the purpose of the documents within it, such as "Sales" or "Engineering" or "End User Documentation".
       3. The build name you selected or created appears in the configurator.
  4. Once you've found the build name you'd like to add an output to, click the twistie next to it to open it.
  5. You'll see an "Outputs" folder beneath the build name. Click the "+" symbol next to the outputs folder to add a new output. 
  6. You'll see a drop-down list of output documents you can create: select the document type you want to create a new output document.  In the screenshot below, we are selecting our first "Engineering" output document type.
     
     
  7. Select the new document type you just created. Edit its properties (described below), and associate it with a template.
  8. After specifying the template, click "Capture Output Fields" below the template name. This will launch the Capture Tool.
  9. Use the capture tool to create output fields in the template document.
  10. Close the capture tool to return to the configurator. You'll see the fields you've mapped now appear in the configurator, under the new document type you just created.
  11. Write data into the output fields from your configurator fields by using Snap rules.

A full step-by-step walk through based on a Word template is available.

Builds in Nested Configurators
In order for a build to successfully execute in a nested configurator, a build of the same name must be added to the parent configurator. The parent build can be empty, having no outputs, but it must be present.

Output Properties

Each output type has its own properties specific to the functionality of the output. Generally speaking, they each share the following common properties.  Remember, these properties can be hard-coded during design time, and overwritten with dynamic settings by your output rules during run time.

Name	A title for the output.
Description	A short description of what the output is used for.
Tags	Tags control document visibility.  If you set "post to cloud" below so this file can be seen by authenticated Epicor CPQ users, first add tags here to define who should see it at a general level, and then in the workflow associate those same tag names with specific users or groups.  Tag names can be created on the fly, and there is no restriction to the number of tags or which users/groups you associate them with.  If a file has no tags, then it won't be visible to any users (except Company Administrators). Example: if you have an editable Word Doc version of your quote that only salespeople should see, and a PDF version that both your salespeople and distributors should see, then tag the DOC with a tag like "forSales" and the PDF with "forSales" and "forPartners".  Then in the workflow, you can associate these two tags with the right users or groups.
Enabled	If this is unchecked, the output will not be built. Example: if your company creates quotes in English and French, then create one output file for each language.  In each output file, set the "enabled" to false, so they are not built.  Then add code to the output rule to set the "enabled" to true on either one or the other, based on your business rules (such as what language the user prefers, or what country they live in).  In this way, one configurator can generate different documents in different situations.  Learn more about localizing your outputs.
Post to Cloud	Output files can be stored in various places.  Posting to the cloud is the most common destination.  Check this box to attach the output file to the quote or configured product from which it was based. Note: as long as the output is "enabled", the file will be built. This property only controls whether the file is attached back to the quote. Example: if your configurator creates a CAD output, set this to false for that CAD output, and remove any tags.  Rarely do you want the native CAD files to be visible for the customer or salesperson to download. But perhaps you have a PDF export of this CAD output.  Set this to true for the PDF output, and add any necessary tags so it's visible on the quote to the right users.
Post to Public Cloud	Some files you want to share more widely than just to those authenticated users who can see the quote in Epicor CPQ.  Set this to true to save the file at a public URL that anyone on the internet can see. Any outputs built after this one via the workflow will also be on public blob storage. The URL can be shared easily, and is visible to anyone connected to the public internet.  The URL to download the output follows the syntax: https://[company].kbmax.com/api/quotes/productfile/download/[quote_product_file_id] where quote_product_file_id is the ID of the file attached to the quote product. Example: if your configurator creates an attractive scene render output, you may want to store this image in a way your user can easily share on social media.  Check "post to public cloud" for this scene render, and use an email template to share this public link to the creator.  They can use the link to share the image easily to anyone on the web, no password required.
Overwrite Pre-Existing Builds	Quotes may be submitted, rejected, and re-submitted into a workflow.  Or your workflow may have a loop.  When this happens, this build may be performed more than once.  Set to "True" to overwrite the old version of the document.  Set to "False" to keep the old version.  It remains visible to the same users, with its original name, only with a version number appended to the name.  Example: for internal files that you want to keep as a "paper trail" showing all the changes made across the many times this quote has been revised, set to false.  For customer-facing files, where only the most recent version is important and seeing other versions could be confusing, set to true.
Target Filename	Leave blank to default to the name of the output above.  Or enter a default filename here.  Or use a Snap output rule to set the name of the file dynamically.  Note: simple, short filenames are best.  Longer filenames, or filenames that include complicated characters or whitespace characters, can cause problems. When using your own output builder, remember to only use characters supported by your output builder's file system.  For example, a filename of "Quote1234.pdf" is easy to share, but a filename of "引用1234 for customer use/only/.pdf" may cause some filesystems to have an error.  Keep it simple.
Target Directory	If you use the Epicor CPQ cloud builder to make this output, the path is ignored. If you use your own output builder to make this output, then use this parameter to specify the folder path where the output file should be written. If left blank (recommended), the default location specified in your output builder settings will be used.
Template File	If you use the Epicor CPQ cloud builder to make this output, click on the button to select the correct template file from the Resources > Templates directory.  If it doesn't exist yet, you can upload your template into the Templates directory, create subfolders, and perform other maintenance on the Templates directory. If you use your own output builder to make this output, specify a full absolute path, from the perspective of the output builder machine. When an absolute path is used, Epicor CPQ will attempt to find the file at that location from the machine that output builder is running on. Example: if you are creating CAD outputs, and have a few output builder machines in your company network assigned to the Queue servicing these requests, don't repeat yourself by saving the same templates over and over on each output builder.  Rather, save your templates once in a shared network location within your company network accessible by all the builders, like "E:\CAD\Templates".   Of course, each output builder should have this same drive mapping and the same access to that drive.

Output Related Objects

When creating an output, other objects are listed below the output in the design tree.  These objects are specific to just that output, and help it work. 

Output Fields

Output fields are the dynamic content of your template.  They define parts of an output that you mark for control/automation via rules. Examples include a particular location for text in a Word document, a specific dimension or feature in a CAD model, or a specific cell in an Excel spreadsheet.

The best way to collect fields for automation is to use the Capture Tool which captures existing fields and creates new ones depending on the output type. Output fields can also be added manually in the configurator and output file. Similar to configurator fields, output fields must have a unique name.

Output Rules

Output rules run only if the output is active.  They manipulate the template: for example, they fill the output fields of the template with data from the configurator, or set the filename of the output. Depending on the output type, you can also use rules to add your own output fields dynamically. 

Exports

Each output can be exported to a specific file type for consumption to another output or to be attached to a quote. For instance, a CAD Drawing output can be exported to a JPG file which can be embedded into a Word Output. Also, a CAD Drawing output can be exported directly to PDF. Exports, like outputs, can be tagged and have their own target filename and description. In order for an output to use an export of another output, it must appear in the tree below that export.

CAD Drawings

The CAD Drawings folder is only visible when managing a CAD-based output.