PDF Report Generation Issues

The PDF Report Generation troubleshooting guide provides instruction on identifying and resolving common problems related to generating and downloading PDF documents, including system reports, incidents, emails, and notices. Its primary purpose is to help staff resolve broken downloads, unopenable files, and malformed text layouts to maintain consistent document exports. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators. 

Setup and Configuration

There are no specific system configurations required to enable PDF generation. However, administrators should understand that many download-related issues are tied directly to the web browser being used.

Chromium-based browsers (such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Opera) handle security verifications during file transfers differently than non-Chromium browsers (such as Mozilla Firefox or Safari). A failed security verification that occurs after a download starts, but before it completes, can result in a file that appears finished but remains blank or unopenable.

Using this Feature

Administrators may occasionally encounter issues when the system generates PDF files for incidents, emails, printable hangtags, or notice letters. If you encounter a malformed or failed PDF, follow these steps to resolve the issue:

1. Click the Download or Generate button again to retry the request, as a second attempt will often successfully pass the browser's security verification.

2. Open the system in a non-Chromium browser, such as Mozilla Firefox, if the issue persists across multiple different files.

3. Review the source text formatting in the Email Template or Incident Description fields, as complex formatting pasted from external word processors can sometimes interfere with the PDF generator's layout.

4. Remove any hidden HTML or unusual characters from the text input field and click the Save button before re-attempting the export.

Switching browsers is typically not required for everyday use. If the downloading issue is infrequent, it is likely a temporary communication glitch between your current browser and the server.

Best Practices and Considerations

• Keep software updated: Regularly update your browser to the latest version to ensure the highest compatibility with PDF generation engines.

• Verify document layouts: Test new templates by generating a sample PDF immediately after creating a new notice letter or email template to ensure the layout appears exactly as intended.

• Clear hidden formatting: Seek technical support if text remains shifted or malformed after clearing your formatting, as this may indicate a need for a generator adjustment on the server side.

If you continue to experience downloading issues after trying a secondary browser and clearing your text fields of hidden HTML, please reach out to the OPSCOM Support team for further investigation.