Expose DOCX/RTF export options so exported reports can be edited in Word
Hi everyone,
We use VertiGIS Studio Reporting to produce documents (permit advice notices, technical reports) that our staff has to finalize manually in Microsoft Word before sending them out. Most of these documents contain tables.
Problem
When a report is generated in DOCX, every control is exported as an absolutely positioned text frame. The output is visually faithful to the design, but it is effectively locked for the end user: rows and columns cannot be added or deleted, row/column sizes cannot be adjusted, and text does not reflow. Anyone who needs to complete or amend the document has to rebuild the tables from scratch in Word.
Why this should be easy to address
The underlying DevExpress reporting engine already supports export settings that produce a real, editable Word table instead of frames:
-
DocxExportOptions.ExportMode = SingleFile(continuous, table-based layout), or -
ExportMode = SingleFilePageByPagecombined withTableLayout = trueandKeepRowHeight = false
The equivalent options exist for RTF (RtfExportOptions.ExportMode = SingleFile). None of them are exposed today: they are not available as report properties in the Reporting Designer, and they cannot be passed to the reporting REST endpoint or to the Run Report activity in VertiGIS Studio Workflow, which only accepts a format argument.
What we would like
- Expose the DOCX (and RTF) export options as report-level properties in the Reporting Designer, so a report author can decide whether a given template should be exported as frames (pixel-perfect, read-only) or as a table (editable).
- Alternatively or additionally, allow these options to be passed at run time, as optional arguments of the report service and of the Run Report workflow activity.
- Ideally, let a report definition store a default output format together with its export options, so end users simply click "Run report" and get the expected result.
Business value
For every organization that uses Reporting to generate working documents rather than final read-only deliverables, this removes a significant manual step. It would also make DOCX a genuine alternative to PDF rather than a "PDF in a Word wrapper".
-
Official comment
Hi Ludovic,
Thank you for the detailed suggestion and use case.
A related enhancement has already been captured in User Story 341047: Support for Additional Report Output Formats (e.g. Word, Excel, HTML or OpenDocument formats such as ODF, ODS, and ODT).
At present, DOCX export is only supported for reports that do not contain a map inset. One of the key technical prerequisites for broader Word export support is the replacement of the current Chromium-based printing approach with the new Studio Printing Gen2 engine. This work is considered an important foundation for offering additional output formats beyond PDF while maintaining report fidelity and consistent rendering behavior.
We have reviewed the requirements and technical considerations outlined in your request and have added them to the existing work item so they can be considered as part of the broader export format initiative.
Please note that this work item is not currently on our roadmap, and therefore we are unable to provide a target release version or delivery date at this time.
We appreciate the feedback and the detailed explanation of your workflow. It helps us better understand the demand for editable Word-based report outputs and their associated configuration requirements.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
1 comment