Save Records As PDF
 
Purpose 
Saves records to a specified PDF file.
See also 
Saving and sending records as a PDF file
Creating scripts to automate tasks
Format 
Save Records as PDF [Restore; Append; No dialog; “<output filename>”;
Automatically open; Create email; Records being browsed/Current
record/Blank record, as formatted/with boxes/with underlines]
Note  In order to save records as a PDF file, your privilege set must include Allow printing, or you must set the script to run with full access privileges.
Options 
 •
Append to existing PDF appends the records being browsed, the current record, or a blank record after the last page of the specified PDF file. When you append records, the PDF Options dialog box settings in the Document and Initial View tabs are ignored, but the settings in the Security tab are maintained.
 •
Perform without dialog prevents dialog boxes from displaying when the script step executes if a file has already been specified.
 •
Specify output file allows you to specify the file path. Choose the folder you want to save to, or type the file path directly into the list. Specify one path per line. FileMaker Pro will use the first path it locates. See Creating file paths. You can choose to Automatically open file or you can choose to Create email with file as attachment after saving.
If FileMaker Pro executes a script that does not specify an absolute path, and the database file containing the script is hosted, the path is assumed to be the current user’s Documents folder.
 •
Specify options displays the "Save Records as PDF" dialog box. From the Save list, choose Records being browsed, Current record, or Blank record. If you select Blank record, the Appearance pop-up is enabled. The Appearance pop-up box allows you to specify formatting options for fields: as formatted in FileMaker, with boxes, with underlines, or with placeholder text.
Select Options to display the PDF Options dialog box.
 •
In the Document tab, you can specify descriptive information for the PDF file. For each of the options in the document tab, you can enter text directly, or click Specify to enter a field name or values from a calculation.
 •
In the Security tab, you can assign passwords to the PDF file, as well as print and edit privileges. If print and edit privileges are allowed, you can specify if copying and screen reading software are permitted.
 •
In the Initial View tab, you can define the initial view for the layout and magnification for the PDF file.
Compatibility 
 
Where the script step runs 
Supported 
FileMaker Pro 
Yes 
FileMaker Server scheduled script 
No 
FileMaker Go 
Yes 
Custom Web Publishing 
No 
FileMaker WebDirect 
No 
Runtime solution 
No 
Originated in 
FileMaker Pro 8.0
Description 
This script step operates in all modes except Find mode.
Note  OS X: Save Records As PDF is not supported in runtime solutions. However, users can print the current record to PDF by choosing File menu > Print > PDF.
Example 1 
Goes to the Products layout, shows all records, sorts the records, and saves the records as a PDF without prompting the user.
Go to Layout ["Products"]
Show All Records
Sort Records [Restore; No dialog]
Save Records as PDF [No dialog; "Product Catalog.pdf"; Records being browsed]
Example 2 
Finds all invoices with the current record's Customer ID, sorts, saves the invoices to a PDF, and appends the products purchased by the customer to the PDF.
Go to Layout ["Invoices"]
Find Matching Records [Replace; Invoices::Customer ID]
Sort Records [Restore; No dialog]
Save Records as PDF [No dialog; "Customer Backup.pdf"; Records being browsed]
Go to Related Record [Show only related records; Match found set; From table: "Products"; Using layout: “Products”]
Save Records as PDF [Append; No dialog; "Customer Backup.pdf"; Records being browsed]
Go to Layout [original layout]
Related topics 
Export Records script step
Import Records script step
Script steps reference (alphabetical list)
Script steps reference (category list)
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