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Export sales records to PDF

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  • 6 minutes to read

Create PDF files of sales records that look professional and read-only using your standard word templates and share it with your customers.

License and role requirements

Requirement type You must have
License Dynamics 365 Sales Premium, Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, or Dynamics 365 Sales Professional
More information: Dynamics 365 Sales pricing
Security roles Any primary sales role, such as salesperson or sales manager
More information: Primary sales roles

Export to PDF

Use the PDF generation capability to create and share read-only, professional-looking PDF files for Dynamics 365 records with your customers. The PDF file is generated by using a standard Word template from your organization. The capability to create PDF files is available for the following entities: Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Order, Quote, and Invoice.

Important

With the 2020 release wave 2, the PDF generation capability is enhanced to support all custom entities. The PDF enhancements are limited to the web experience and aren't available in the mobile app. If you haven't opted in, or you're using Sales Hub on a mobile app, you'll see the old experience.

Your system administrator can choose the entities for which PDF generation is enabled. If PDF generation isn't enabled, you won't see the option to create a PDF file.

  1. Open the entity record for which you want to create a PDF file—in this example, a record for the Opportunity entity.

  2. On the command bar, select Export to PDF.

    Note

    If you don't see the Export to PDF option, contact your administrator to Enable PDF file generation from sales record.

    The Export to PDF dialog box appears.

    Export to PDF dialog box.

    A preview based on the selected template is shown, and the PDF file name is populated. If you'd like to use a different template than the one selected, search for and select it in the Select a template to generate PDF document box. After you select the template, the preview will be refreshed.

    Important

    • Templates are available out of the box for the Account, Opportunity, Order, Quote, and Invoice entities. For entities that don't have out-of-the-box templates, you can create new templates. You can't create a PDF file for an entity record if there's no template available for that entity. To learn more about using Word templates, see Create and manage Word templates in Dynamics 365 Sales.
    • If there are multiple Word templates available for the entity, by default the first template in the list is selected.
    • If the setting to view or download a PDF file automatically is disabled in your browser settings, the preview functionality won't work.

  3. In the Save as field, change the PDF file name if you want.

  4. Do one of the following:

    1. To download the PDF file to your computer, select Download.

    2. To send the PDF file to your customer in email, select Email.

      In the email form that opens, the following information is automatically populated.

      Field Populated with
      To Potential customer, if applicable
      From The current user
      Attachments The generated PDF file, added as an attachment
      Regarding The record from which the email was triggered
      Subject The title of the record

      Email form with a PDF file attached.

      Note

      The Regarding field isn't populated if the Sending email flag in the primary entity isn't enabled in the Customization area. For more information about this flag, see Entity options that can only be enabled.

    3. Select Save to SharePoint or Save to Dynamics.

    • Use Save to SharePoint to save the PDF file to a SharePoint site. This button is available when SharePoint integration is enabled for your organization and the Document Management check box is selected on the entity page in the Customization area. If you don't see this button, contact your system administrator.
    • If SharePoint integration isn't enabled, you'll see the Save to Dynamics button. This command saves the PDF file as a note to the primary record. The Save to Dynamics button is available if notes are enabled for the primary entity. If you don't see this button, contact your system administrator.

Steps for creating a PDF file if you're using Dynamics 365 for phones on a mobile device

If you're using Dynamics 365 for phones on a mobile device, the capability for generating PDF files is limited to the following entities: Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Order, Quote, and Invoice.

  1. Open the entity record for which you want to create a PDF file—in this example, a record for a Quote entity.

  2. On the command bar, select Create PDF, and then select the template you want to use to create the PDF.

    A quote form showing the Create PDF button on the command bar.

    Important

    Templates are available out of the box for the Account, Opportunity, Order, Quote, and Invoice entities. For entities that don't have out-of-the-box templates, you can create new templates. You can't create a PDF file for an entity record if there's no template available for that entity.

    Tip

    To learn more about using Word templates, see Create and manage Word templates in Dynamics 365 Sales.

  3. In the dialog box that appears, save or download the PDF.

    Option to save or download a PDF file.

    • If you select Save, the PDF file is stored in the default SharePoint site if SharePoint is configured and enabled for the primary entity. If SharePoint isn't configured, the PDF is saved as a Notes attachment to the primary entity record in Dynamics 365 Sales.

    • If you select Download, the PDF is downloaded to your local drive. After it's downloaded, you can add this file to a note, send it as an attachment in an email, or upload it to SharePoint.

Steps for emailing a PDF file if you're using Dynamics 365 for phones on a mobile device

You can also generate a PDF file and directly email it to a customer.

  1. Open an entity record—in this example, a record for a Quote entity.

  2. On the command bar, select Email as PDF, and then select a document template.

    A quote form showing the Email as PDF button on the command bar.

    In the email form that opens, the following information is automatically populated.

    Field Populated with
    To Potential customer, if applicable
    From The current user
    Attachments The generated PDF, added as an attachment
    Regarding The record from which the email was triggered
    Subject The title of the record

  3. Verify or change any details in the email form as necessary, and then select Send.

Important

The time taken to generate the PDF file and download or send the email depends on the size of the file. You'll see optimum performance when the file size is less than 2 MB. Larger files can require considerably more response time.

FAQ

Question: What happens if more than one SharePoint document location is associated with a record?
Answer: Regardless of the number of SharePoint document locations that exist for a record, the generated PDF file is always saved to the default location: [<record_name>_<record_id>].

Question: Can I specify a different name for the PDF file before generating it?
Answer: Yes. You can specify a different file name if you are not using Dynamics 365 for phones on a mobile device.

Question: Can I choose to save the PDF file to the Sales app as notes or to SharePoint?
Answer: No. If SharePoint is enabled for the entity for which you're generating a PDF, the PDF file will be saved to the SharePoint location by default.

Question: Is the PDF generation capability available on all entities?
Answer No. The PDF generation capability is available only on seven out-of-the-box entities: Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Quote, Order, Invoice. With 2020 release wave 2, the PDF generation capability is enhanced to support custom entities.

Question: Does the generated PDF file support custom fonts?
Answer: The fonts in the generated file are limited to the fonts installed on the server that generates the PDF files. Here's a list of supported fonts:

  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-Courier
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-Fixed
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-MS_Sans_Serif
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-MS_Serif
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-OEM
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-Small
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-System
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Bitmap-Terminal
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-FMS
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-RegistrySettings
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-StaticCache
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Arial
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-ArialBlack
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Bahnschrift
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Calibri
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Cambria_Regular
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-ComicSansMS
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Consolas
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-CourierNew
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Ebrima
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-EbrimaBold
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-FontsRegistrySettingsMigration
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Gadugi
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Georgia
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Inkfree
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-JavaneseText
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-LeelawadeeUI_Regular
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-LeelawadeeUI
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-LucidaConsole
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MalgunGothic
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MicrosoftHimalaya
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MicrosoftJhengHei
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MicrosoftYaHei
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MongolianBaiti
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MVBoli
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-MyanmarText
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-NewTaiLue
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-NirmalaUI_Regular
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-NirmalaUI
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-PhagsPa
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-SegoePrint
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-SegoeUI_Regular
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-SegoeUI
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-SimSun
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-TaiLe
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-TimesNewRoman
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-TrebuchetMS
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Verdana
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Webdings
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-Wingdings
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-YiBaiti
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-TrueType-YuGothicMedium
  • Microsoft-Windows-Font-Vector
  • Microsoft-Windows-Type1-Fonts

Can't find the options in your app?

There are three possibilities:

  • You don't have the necessary license or role.

  • Your administrator hasn't turned on the feature.

  • Your organization is using a custom app. Check with your administrator for exact steps. The steps described in this article are specific to the out-of-the-box apps such as, the Sales Hub or Sales Professional app.

See also

Enable or disable PDF generation from sales records