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QuoteWerks Knowledgebase Topic (Article ID 5673)

Spec Sheet feature

This information applies to :

Article ID
5673

Created/Updated
February 8, 2007

Category
Printing


Are you using the most current release of QuoteWerks?
Version 24.0 Build 2
Question:
Is it possible to attach spec sheets to the Quote?

Solution:
QuoteWerks has a spec sheet feature that you can use to specify a picture and other information about each product. When you select the FilePrint menu to print a quote, there is a checkbox called "Include Spec Sheets". When this box is checked, QuoteWerks will automatically print out the spec sheets for each product that has a spec sheet defined.

The only format that QuoteWerks accepts for spec sheets is an RTF format. Microsoft Word can save documents in the RTF format. If you can get your spec sheet data copied into Microsoft Word, you can the select the Microsoft Word FileSave As menu, and choose RTF as the file type and save the file into the QuoteWerks\specs directory.

Starting with QuoteWerks 3.0 Build 18 or higher pdf formatted spec sheets are also supported. PDF formatted spec sheets and literature sheets can be used with the following limitation; PDF formatted spec sheets and literature sheets can only be used when emailing the quote. The PDF formatted spec sheets and literature sheets will not be included in the print preview, and will not be included when printed to a printer.

In a build of QuoteWerks 4.0, a feature was added to automate the separate printing of the PDF literature and spec sheets. Since the PDF files are separate files that our report engine cannot natively read or print, we would have automated the external application of Adobe Acrobat Reader to print those PDF files one-by-one, but automating an external application is not a seamless clean process and by definition it creates separate print jobs for each of the PDF files.

When you email the quote, the PDF formatted spec sheets and literature sheets will be attached separately in the email. This limitation is not a big stumbling block if you routinely email your quotes.

There are a couple of things that must be correctly setup for the Spec Sheet feature to work. First, you need to have unique manufacturer part #s for the products in the product database. That means that you cannot have more than one product in the product database that has the same manufacturer part #. Second, you need to enter only the file name like myspecs.rtf in the rtf specsheet field in the product definition, and lastly, you need to have the rtf file in the \QuoteWerks\specs directory.

If you have any trouble with some (or all) spec sheets not printing, it will be a simple problem of the manufacturer part # not being found in the product database, or there may be duplicate manufacturer part #'s in the same product database. The issue could also happen if the RTF spec sheet file name specified on the Advanced tab of the Edit Product window for the product in question is either invalid, or the file name that it refers to does not exist in the \QuoteWerks\specs directory.

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