Dynamic Document Assembly Workflow: Attachments
Using Dynamic Document Assembly, you can merge independent attachments from lookups (e.g., Products) to line-item level objects (Agreement Line Items, Proposal Line Item) into a single master agreement template using a set of predefined rules within a ruleset.
Use the following workflow to configure and define Doc Assembly Rulesets, Rules and Components for agreement and proposal templates containing dynamic segments to insert attachments.
Configuring Dynamic Document Assembly
- Specify the API name of the Child Object Types for the Agreement and/or Quote/Proposal objects in Comply Custom Properties.
- Populate the Doc Assembly Component Type Picklist.
- Add Attachments fields to the Doc Assembly Ruleset and Doc Assembly Component page layouts.
- Add Related Lists to the Template Object page layout.
- Enable Document Assembly Rulesets for the Quote/Proposal object (optional).
Creating Dynamic Document Assembly Rulesets
- Define a Doc Assembly Ruleset: Create a Ruleset that comprises the Rules that define the Components to be inserted into the generated document.
- Define Doc Assembly Rules: Define a Rule to serve as a container for Doc Assembly Components that reference attachments on line item objects.
- Specify Doc Components: Define the doc components (attachments) and the sequence in which they are included in the master agreement or proposal template.
- Navigate to X-Author and checkout an existing template or create a new blank template and check it in. Once the blank template is checked in successfully, insert a dynamic section in the template. For an existing template, insert the dynamic section in the required location and specify the Ruleset. The Dynamic section allows you to define the Ruleset for which the template is applicable for an agreement. This blank template is used as the master agreement template.
- Once you click Generate or Preview, if the agreement satisfies the Rules defined in the document Ruleset, the corresponding master agreement template for that Ruleset is shown. Select the master agreement template and click Generate. All the components defined in the Document Ruleset are inserted in the sequence by which they are defined.
This page only includes instructions for configuring and create Dynamic Document Assembly Rulesets for attachment components at the line-item level. If you intend to create Rulesets that also include Clause template components, refer to Dynamic Document Assembly Workflow: Clauses for additional configuration that requires Field Sets to filter identified clause components.
Configuring Dynamic Document Assembly Custom Properties
To enable support for Line Item attachments in Dynamic Document Assembly, you must create or modify existing Comply Custom Properties to identify the Child Objects of the Agreement and/or Proposal object that you want to include in your Rulesets.
- Click Manage to display Custom Properties for Agreements and Proposals.
- Click Edit next to Apttus__APTS_Agreement__c to display the Custom Properties information form.
- If you have the Apttus Proposal Management package installed and want to create Rulesets for the Proposal object, click Edit next to Apttus_Proposal__Proposal__c.
Populating the Doc Assembly Component Type Picklist
Each defined Doc Assembly Component requires a "Type" to identify its purpose in the generated document. Follow these steps to populate the Doc Assembly Component Type picklist with desired values.
- From Setup, go to
- From Custom Fields & Relationships, click Type.
- From Picklist Values, click New and add the required type values and save them.
Adding Context Fields to the Doc Assembly Ruleset Page Layout
To use line item objects as the context for a Doc Assembly Ruleset, you must add two fields to the Doc Assembly Ruleset Page Layout.
- From the Layout editor, drag and drop the Child Object and Parent Reference Field into the Information or System Information sections of the layout.
Adding Attachment Fields to the Doc Assembly Component Page Layout
To configure Doc Assembly Component for line item attachment support, you must add three fields to the page layout.
- From the Layout editor, drag and drop the Component Type, Field Name, and Attachment ID fields into the Information section.
- Click the Required check box to make the Content field no longer required. You must make this field optional because you may not include clause template components in your Ruleset.
Including the Related Lists
-
Select Related Lists and drag and drop the following
Related Lists onto the page.
- Doc Assembly Components: When you create a Doc Assembly Component and use it in your template, this Related List will have a new record added to it.
-
Template Dynamic Sections: When you add a dynamic section to a
template using Insert Dynamic Sections ribbon
from X-Author Templates, this Related List will
have a new record added to it.
-
Click Save. The Related Lists are now displayed on that
Template page layout.
Enabling DAR for the Proposal Object (Optional)
By default, a custom property is created for the Quote/Proposal object when you upgrade or install the Apttus Proposal Management package, but you still need to manually add the Quote/Proposal object to the picklist when creating a new Doc Assembly Ruleset.
-
Enter
Apttus_Proposal__Proposal__c
as a new
Picklist option.
Creating Doc Assembly Rulesets
User Permissions Needed | |
|---|---|
To create a Doc Assembly Ruleset | Doc Assembly Ruleset: Read, Create, Edit. Agreement: Read, Create, Edit. Template: Read, Create, Edit Doc Assembly Rule: Read Doc Assembly Component: Read |
- Go to the Doc Assembly Rulesets tab and click New. The Doc Assembly Ruleset form is displayed.
- Enter the following values for the Ruleset.
Option
Description
Ruleset Name
Enter the name used to reference the Ruleset in the template.
Sequence
Enter the order in which the Ruleset will be evaluated, when you Preview or Generate an agreement document.
Business Object
Choose the Business Object context for the Ruleset. Select Apttus__APTS_Agreement__c for Agreements, or Apttus_Proposal__Proposal__c for Proposals.
Record Types
Choose one or more record types associated with the business object (Agreement or Proposal). To restrict the Ruleset to specific record types select them from the list and move them from Available to Chosen, otherwise leave the default of All.
Active
Select this checkbox to make the Ruleset available when you generate a document.
Description
Enter details about the Ruleset that describe its business purpose.
Child Object
Enter the child object API name of the specified Business Object to define as the Ruleset context. This will be a line item object and is restricted to the following objects
- Apttus__AgreementLineItem__c
- Agreement_Product__c
- Apttus_Proposal__Proposal_Line_Item__c
These API names must also be represented in the Comply Custom Properties as described in the previous section on this page.
Parent Reference
Enter the API name of the field on the Child Object you specified that references the parent. For example, if your Child Object is Agreement Line Item enter Apttus__AgreementId__c as the Parent Reference field. This is the API name of the Custom Field on the Agreement Line Item object that references its parent: Agreement.
- After entering field information, your Ruleset is as shown in the following image.
Creating Doc Assembly Rules
- Click New Doc Assembly Rule. The New Doc Assembly Rule form is displayed.
- Enter the following values for the Rule.
Option
Description
Rule Name
Enter the name used to reference the rule in the template.
Sequence
Enter the order in which the rule will be evaluated, when you preview or generate an agreement document.
Description
Enter details about the rule in the context of your ruleset.
Active
You must select this to make the rule available for the ruleset when you generate a document.
Filter By
Ignore fields in this section unless you are including a clause component as part of your rule. Fields in this section control whether the rule is applicable to the agreement, based on the filter criteria defined. If it matches, the rule may be applied; however, if it does not match then the rule is skipped.Note:If you are filtering the rule using these values, you must have configured a Field Set as described in Dynamic Document Assembly Workflow: Clauses.
- Click Save to display the Doc Assembly Ruleset record.
Creating Doc Assembly Components
- Click New Doc Assembly Component. The New Doc Assembly Component form is displayed.
- Enter the following values for the component.
Option
Description
Sequence
Enter the order in which the component is inserted in the master agreement template, when you Preview or Generate an agreement document.
Type
Choose the Doc Assembly Component Type. Type is a configurable field that is used to help indicate what the component is used for; however, it is only an indicator and does not have any impact on the generation process.
Content
Only applicable if the Component Type = Clause. Use the lookup to choose the clause template that will provide the content for the document. This is referenced when you Insert Dynamic Section in X-Author.
Component Type
Choose the Component Type to determine the specific content that is inserted into the generated document for this component. Component Types can be:
- Clause – use this Component Type when you want the inserted content to be the clause specified by the Content field.
- Attachment (Id) – use this Component Type when you want the inserted content to be an attachment with a specific Attachment ID into the generated document. The Attachment ID can be from any Header or Line Item-level object. Use the Attachment ID field to identify the specific Attachment ID.
- Attachment (Object/Field) – use this Component Type when you want the inserted content to be an attachment specified through a field on the context record or through one of its relationships. This can be a formula field that returns the Attachment ID as a text string, or a field relationship from the context object that holds an Attachment ID string. Use the Field Name field with this Component Type (see below).
- Parent (Object/Field) – use this Component Type when you want the inserted content to be an attachment residing in the Notes & Attachments related list of a lookup from the context object (e.g. an attachment on a Product lookup from Agreement Line Item). Use the Field Name field with this Component Type (see below). Note: This Component only brings the first attachment on the lookup record and is determined by Last Modified Date.
Field Name
Only applicable if the Component Type = Attachment (Object/Field) or Parent (Object/Field). Enter the API Field Name that refers to an attachment on a line item through a field on the line item record, a Salesforce relationship, or a parent record.
- Attachment (Object/Field) – Field Name can refer to an attachment through a field on the context record (e.g. Agreement Line Item) or through a relationship. Examples:
- ProductId__r.ShortDescription__c, where ShortDescription__c is a field on the Product that points to an attachment.
- ProductSpec__c is a formula field on the Agreement Line Item object. The Attachment ID is pulled from the formula field value (the formula value can be a relationship, as above, or any other formula that returns text in the form of an Attachment ID).
- Parent (Object/Field) – Field Name should be the API name of the Parent Reference field that points to the record where the attachment resides. For example, if the context object for the Ruleset is Agreement Line Item, then the parent reference field could be Apttus__ProductId__c.
Attachment Id
Only applicable if the Component Type = Attachment (Id). Enter the Attachment ID of a specific attachment on any object.
- Click Save. Repeat these to create additional components to be used with the same Doc Assembly Rule.
