SimpleIndex Tips & Tricks – Creating PDFs from XML or JSON Data
Fill out forms or create human-readable PDFs from electronic transactions
More and more transactions that used to be document-centric are now taking place electronically using XML or JSON structured data files. However, the archives for these transactions may still use document management tools. For example, Accounts Payable Invoices may be sent as data files for some high-volume vendors, but the majority still send them as PDF documents.
How can you ensure your archive includes records for every transaction?
Using SimpleIndex, you can easily add records from EDI transactions using XML or JSON to your document management system. Here’s how it works:
- Create a template PDF with the design and layout elements, and blank spaces for each data field
- Add named Text input fields in the blank spaces for each data point in your XML or JSON
- Create a SimpleIndex job with Fixed fields for each data point and the template %XML/XPath% for XML or %JSON$.JPath% for JSON.
- In the Input folder, place the original XML or JSON file with a copy of the blank PDF form. Configure a SimpleExport pre-process to split the file into individual records and create copies of the PDF for each.
- Run the job to output PDF files filled in with the data from the XML or JSON file.
The XPath and JPath refer to the standard format for referencing an element within an XML or JSON file. For example: /Root/Subelement/RepeatingElement[0]/FieldName
Once you have confirmed that all of the fields are populating correctly, turn on the Pre-Index Batch option and you can run it as a Windows service or Scheduled Task to convert new files automatically.
Our Support Team is here to help! Configuring this type of job can be a little technical, so contact us if you need assistance!
SimpleIndex can also output the data captured from documents XML and JSON files using any schema your solution requires. There are simple built-in schemas that can be selected in the Log settings, or you can use SimpleExport to transform them into any conceivable text file format.
Contact your SimpleIndex representative or download SimpleIndex 11.4 today to get a demo of SimpleIndex’s XML and JSON capabilities today!
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