kindly, I have two questions regarding this, if I may.
1) Am I able to upload PDF files (free text invoice for example) to Sharepoint Online using the standard SSRS reports? Or can I upload only PDFs if I use the electronic reporting definitions which you use in the video?
2) All our customers use standard SSRS reports, not the ones in ER, yet. When a customer gives you their current printout sample during the design phase, are you able to match the same layout using the ER definitions or would you say that a developer has got it easier to match the layout when creating a new SRRS report?
Hello Lukas,
For No 1: The standard print management settings that apply to SSRS reports do not allow you to send a SSRS report such as a free text invoice directly to a SharePoint document library.
For No 2: I would say that a developer can easier match the design using SSRS, not because SSRS is better or easier but because most developers that I know have a very long experience with SSRS reports and already know all ‘tricks’. Most of them would have to learn how to design reports using ER first.
Best regards,
Ludwig
However, I have one concern with the Print management – let us say I have the electronic reporting destination set up to e-mail and view on screen. When user clicks “Print selected” as it is called nowadays, the e-mail is sent to the customer and the PDF is displayed on screen – that is fine. The problem is that the account wants to view the PDF before sending it, or view it as many times as she/he wants after it was sent. And we do not want to send the invoice every time. the View ->Copy options always gives me the SSRS report, not the ER definition.
Hello Lukas,
With ER you can setup multiple print destinations in parallel. That is, you could print the PDF to a SharePoint site and at the same time say that you want to get it directly as a file that you can open and preview.
That would be one option to overcome your concern in my opinion.
Best regards,
Ludwig
Hello Ludwig,
your answer is clear for the scenario that I described in the first part of my last comment – and that is correct, I can setup multiple print destinations.
However, please imagine, that you, as an accountant, want to preview the PDF before sending it, or view the PDF for the auditors later, and you do not want to send it to the customer each time you view the PDF. For such scenario, I am not able to say “this time only print it to screen” because the two ER destinations are pre-set in the parameters (both for e-mail and print to screen or even send to Sharepoint, possibly)
If this problem cannot be overcome, than the customer will not want to use the ER definitions for invoice printouts.
Kind regards,
Lukas
Hi Lukas,
I think the issue that you are addressing is that you have one single button that has a single function attached but that you want to do two different things (a) preview the invoice if you press the button and (b) send it to SharePoint if you press the same button.
There are a couple of options in my opinion (1) ask the accountants to check the PDF on SharePoint before sending them out via PowerAutomate and possibly recreate the invoice if it is not ok. (2) If this is a project scenario then you can make use of the project invoice proposal functionality. (3) Another option would be to send the invoices to the accountants mail box where they could precheck and then forward them to the customer if this is ok. Yet, to be honest, that is not something that is suitable for a mass creation and distribution of invoices. Most companies I work with either use the project invoice proposal where they can preview things or batch process the invoice generation and distribution without prior check from accounting. I think what is important here is the quality of your master data and data entrance of people, which requires training to establish trust in what D365FO is doing.
Best regards,
Ludwig
I found out how to do it 🙂
There is a method getFileContentAsContainer (used in the OIOUBL from MS) that you can map to an XML format with a base64 encoding.
The result is the PDF attached to the invoice is added as a base64 encoded string in the XML.
Hey Ludwig – just wanted to say that this is a really nice demo, and was very helpful to me.
I spent hours banging my head against the wall trying to figure out electronic invoicing and the generation of that xml file on my own, and I’m glad I thought to search your blog specifically after doing a lot of unsuccessful general googling.
I love how this demo starts simple (how do I generate the electronic reporting xml) and then builds onto that concept in layers of complexity.
Dynamics 365FO/AX Finance & Controlling 
Dear Ludwig,
kindly, I have two questions regarding this, if I may.
1) Am I able to upload PDF files (free text invoice for example) to Sharepoint Online using the standard SSRS reports? Or can I upload only PDFs if I use the electronic reporting definitions which you use in the video?
2) All our customers use standard SSRS reports, not the ones in ER, yet. When a customer gives you their current printout sample during the design phase, are you able to match the same layout using the ER definitions or would you say that a developer has got it easier to match the layout when creating a new SRRS report?
Thank you in advance,
Lukas
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Hello Lukas,
For No 1: The standard print management settings that apply to SSRS reports do not allow you to send a SSRS report such as a free text invoice directly to a SharePoint document library.
For No 2: I would say that a developer can easier match the design using SSRS, not because SSRS is better or easier but because most developers that I know have a very long experience with SSRS reports and already know all ‘tricks’. Most of them would have to learn how to design reports using ER first.
Best regards,
Ludwig
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Hello Ludwig,
thank you.
Lukas
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Hello Ludwig,
I followed your example and it works.
However, I have one concern with the Print management – let us say I have the electronic reporting destination set up to e-mail and view on screen. When user clicks “Print selected” as it is called nowadays, the e-mail is sent to the customer and the PDF is displayed on screen – that is fine. The problem is that the account wants to view the PDF before sending it, or view it as many times as she/he wants after it was sent. And we do not want to send the invoice every time. the View ->Copy options always gives me the SSRS report, not the ER definition.
What do you think about this?
LikeLike
Hello Lukas,
With ER you can setup multiple print destinations in parallel. That is, you could print the PDF to a SharePoint site and at the same time say that you want to get it directly as a file that you can open and preview.
That would be one option to overcome your concern in my opinion.
Best regards,
Ludwig
LikeLike
Hello Ludwig,
your answer is clear for the scenario that I described in the first part of my last comment – and that is correct, I can setup multiple print destinations.
However, please imagine, that you, as an accountant, want to preview the PDF before sending it, or view the PDF for the auditors later, and you do not want to send it to the customer each time you view the PDF. For such scenario, I am not able to say “this time only print it to screen” because the two ER destinations are pre-set in the parameters (both for e-mail and print to screen or even send to Sharepoint, possibly)
If this problem cannot be overcome, than the customer will not want to use the ER definitions for invoice printouts.
Kind regards,
Lukas
LikeLike
Hi Lukas,
I think the issue that you are addressing is that you have one single button that has a single function attached but that you want to do two different things (a) preview the invoice if you press the button and (b) send it to SharePoint if you press the same button.
There are a couple of options in my opinion (1) ask the accountants to check the PDF on SharePoint before sending them out via PowerAutomate and possibly recreate the invoice if it is not ok. (2) If this is a project scenario then you can make use of the project invoice proposal functionality. (3) Another option would be to send the invoices to the accountants mail box where they could precheck and then forward them to the customer if this is ok. Yet, to be honest, that is not something that is suitable for a mass creation and distribution of invoices. Most companies I work with either use the project invoice proposal where they can preview things or batch process the invoice generation and distribution without prior check from accounting. I think what is important here is the quality of your master data and data entrance of people, which requires training to establish trust in what D365FO is doing.
Best regards,
Ludwig
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Hi Dr. Finance
Is it possible to embed the content of the PDF invoice in the XML as a binary string using electronic reporting?
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To my knowledge not at the moment. Why do you need that?
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I found out how to do it 🙂
There is a method getFileContentAsContainer (used in the OIOUBL from MS) that you can map to an XML format with a base64 encoding.
The result is the PDF attached to the invoice is added as a base64 encoded string in the XML.
LikeLike
Great. Many thanks for sharing
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Hey Ludwig – just wanted to say that this is a really nice demo, and was very helpful to me.
I spent hours banging my head against the wall trying to figure out electronic invoicing and the generation of that xml file on my own, and I’m glad I thought to search your blog specifically after doing a lot of unsuccessful general googling.
I love how this demo starts simple (how do I generate the electronic reporting xml) and then builds onto that concept in layers of complexity.
Excellent work, and thank you very much!
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