Hi there,
We would like to be able to create a submission number based on a field in the App.
We have 15 pieces of equipment which are basically the same doing the same job in different locations for different clients. GoCanvas submissions are either numbered by the time they arrive at the servers or by the device they are sent from. So if you share with the client the end of shift equipment report and have server generated submission numbers then they get submission numbers which are all over the place. If you use device based submission numbering and have night shift or change devices you will get different numbering i.e. not in sequence for the same bit of equipment. this makes it more difficult than it need be to sort submissions into order.
If however you were able to generate a submission number based on the equipment number then each submission regardless of time or device would have a unique and in sequence submission number.
We currently use device numbering, equipment numbering and date in the submission name but this does not help the client sort the PDF's when they have been printed (nor us)
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Howdy Alan,
Thank you for this feedback! While you cannot include field data in the submission number at this time, there is a potential workaround that could apply to this use case.
If you are trying to display a particular string of numbers on the submission PDF, you could use a combination of fields to capture data and arrange it as needed on the PDF Designer.
Using the example you provided to my colleague in Support, let's say you want to generate a string of integers based on an equipment number, the date, and if day or night shift completed the submission.
In the App Builder, I have set up different fields to capture each piece of data:
To show examples of date formatting options, I have set up three different fields to capture the current date:
-Date of Work displays the date in YYYY/MM/DD format.
-Unique Date uses a calculation of 'Date of Work + 0' to produce a unique number from the current date (typically used for calculation field conversions).
-Converted Date pulls a date in YYYYMMDD format from reference data.
In the PDF Designer, I added four columns to a section and dragged each relevant field into these sections (I left one section blank so I could manipulate the width of the 'Day or Night' column). I also turned off the Use Global Settings option, so I could remove the labels from each field:
Next, I reduced the padding on each column, to remove as much spacing as I could between each field:
Finally, I manipulated the width of each column to get them as close as possible. This step may take some trial-and-error, but the resulting submission would appear with a string of numbers as you arranged them on the PDF Designer:
Here is a Help Center topic as an additional reference on editing within the PDF Designer.
I understand this workaround is a bit complex, but I wanted to provide you with a potential solution outside of working with our Professional Services team on a custom PDF as a paid option. I hope this helps!
I'm not sure if this helps with your use case, but if you wanted to try using submission name rather than submission number, you could include value(s) from field(s) in the app by going into the app builder, selecting the field(s) in question > more > Place value in... > Submission name (and / or PDF file name if you want the value(s) to be used in the PDF file name).