Sage 200 Report Designer - How to apply secure PDF settings
Description

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Cause
Resolution

In Sage 200, when generating a report, letter, layout or label to file or e-mail, you can choose to create a .PDF document. If you are using Report Designer v1.3 or above, you can apply .PDF security settings to reports, letters, layouts and labels. This means you can set up passwords and restrictions on printing, amending and copying which apply when the document is saved as a .PDF file.

Quick Steps

These are the basic steps that explain how to apply secure PDF settings to documents. They include:

NOTE: Quick steps provide the minimum amount of information you need. For further information, please refer to the Detailed steps tab.

This article assumes that you have located the report or layout that you want to amend and opened it in Sage Report Designer.

To enter the .PDF security settings
  1. Report Explorer pane > select the document name.

  2. Properties pane > Security Options > finder button .

  3. Change the security options as required > OK.

    NOTE: For further information about the available security options, please refer to the Detailed steps tab.


To save the changes to your document
  1. Report menu > Report Properties > enter a new name and description for the document > OK.

    Report Designer v1.3 and below - Report Explorer pane > select the document name > Properties pane > Name > enter a new name for the document > Enter.

  2. File > Save As > File name > enter a new file name > browse to the required location for your document > Save.

  3. File > Exit.

To save the document as a .PDF file
  1. In Sage 200 locate and select the required report or layout > preview it.
  2. From the preview window click on the export option
  3. Save as type drop-down list > select *.pdf > select the required folder location > enter a file name for the report > Save.


Detailed steps

TIP: If any of the panes mentioned in this section are not visible, open the View menu and select the required pane. If the pane doesn't appear, you can reset the Report Designer view to its default. For further information about this, please refer to article 200427112330975.

To enter the PDF security settings
  1. In Report Designer, from the Report Explorer pane, select the document name.

    TIP: If you have chosen to auto-hide any of your Report Designer panes, the name appears in a tab to the left or right of your window. To expand a pane, click on its name.

  2. From the Properties pane, click Security Options then click the finder button .

  3. Change the security options as required. Choose from the following options:

    Do not encrypt the PDF documentTo apply no security settings to the document, select this option.
    Encrypt the PDF document with a fixed password

    To enter a fixed password to apply to this document only, select this option. By default the password you enter is hidden, to view the password clear the Hide the password check box.

    NOTE: The password is case sensitive.

    If you apply a fixed password to the report it has the following effects:

    • If you run a report to file as a .PDF the password is applied.
    • If you e-mail a copy of the layout to each individual customer, for example, when producing a statement run, this password is applied to every .PDF attachment.
    Encrypt the PDF with a password defined by an expressionTo use a password you have entered within your Sage 200 data, for example, in an analysis field within your customer record> Defaults tab, select this option.

    To select the variable you want to use, to the right of the Expression box, click the finder button. In the Expression Editor window, from the Fields pane, browse to and double-click the required variable, for example SLCustomerAccounts.AnalysisCode1, then click OK.

    NOTE: The password is case sensitive.

    If a password defined by an expression is applied to the report it has the following effects:

    • If you run a report to file as a .PDF for a group of customers, the password from the first customer record alphabetically is applied to the .PDF. If the first customer has no Analysis code set, no password is applied to the .PDF.
    • If you e-mail a copy of the layout to each individual customer, for example, when producing a statement run, the password from each customer record is applied to each relevant .PDF attachment.
    Restrict operations on the PDF documentTo restrict what can be done to the PDF document once it is created, select this check box. The following options then become available:

    • Allow the document to be printed - By default this check box is selected. To prevent printing of the PDF document, clear this check box.
    • Allow the document to be changed - By default this check box is selected. To prevent amendments to the PDF document, clear this check box.
    • Allow text and graphics to be copied - By default this check box is selected. To prevent the copying of text and graphics from the PDF document, clear this check box.
    • Allow notes to be added and changed - By default this check box is selected. To prevent the addition or amending of notes on the PDF document, clear this check box.
  4. To accept the settings, click OK.

You have now set the .PDF security options for your document and should make any further changes you require to the document then save the changes. For further information about how to save the amended document, please refer to the following section.

To save the changes to your document
  1. To save your changes, you must change the name and description of your document. To do this, open the Report menu, choose Report Properties, enter a new name and description for the document then click OK.

    Report Designer v1.3 and below - To save your changes, you must change the name of your document. To do this, from the Report Explorer pane, select the document name. From the Properties pane, in the Name box, enter your preferred description for the document then press Enter.

    TIP: You can check your Report Designer version in Help > About > Application > File Version.

  2. To save the changes, open the File menu and choose Save As. From the Save As window, in the File name box, enter a file name for your amended document. If required, browse to the required location for your document then click Save.

  3. To close Sage Report Designer, open the File menu and choose Exit.

    You have now saved your amended document.

    TIP: If you have any difficulty finding a recently saved document, you can open it from the Report Designer Recent files list and save it to the required location. To open a recently viewed report, from the main program, open the Tools menu, choose Report Designer then from the Recent files list, click your required report.

To save the document as a .PDF file
  1. From the Sage 200 desktop open the relevant module, for example, Sales Ledger.

  2. From the reports window, click on the report or the relevant layout option, for example, Statements to printer and e-mail.

  3. Locate and select the report you want to save to file.

  4. To run the document to file, Preview the report then click on the export option.

  5. Complete the Save As window as follows:

    • From the Save as type drop-down list, select *.pdf.
    • Select the folder location you want to save the report in, for example, My Documents.
    • Enter a file name for the report, ensuring it is easily recognisable, for example, Customer Statement.pdf.
  6. To save the selected report to file, click Save.

    You have now saved the required report, layout, letter or label as a .PDF file.

NOTE: If you are viewing this article from the Sage website, a list of Sage 200 Report Designer articles are now available.


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