Take the hassle out of MS Office file generation
While ServiceNow is a sophisticated and constantly evolving platform, we all know its limitations when it comes to file generation.
The scenario is all too common: You’ve created a stellar report in ServiceNow platform. Now it’s time to export. Simple. Except once you’ve exported that pivot table or the graph that perfectly illustrates your data trends, you see a small tweak you need to make. Not possible.
With the baseline functionalities of ServiceNow only enabling single sheet Excel exports to PDF - and not even giving the option to generate Word or PowerPoint files - creating valuable, adaptable files is difficult. Too often it means you have to depend on clunky copy and pasting, and lots of manual work. Time not well spent.
Fortunately, there’s an app designed to transform this experience and dramatically increase the capabilities of file generation in ServiceNow.
Introducing Office Templater
The Office Templater app generates sophisticated Microsoft Office documents from ServiceNow - across Excel, Word and PowerPoint - with the tap of a button. Really. Continue reading to understand the full capabilities of Office Templater and the myriad benefits it could bring to your organisation.
1. Save time - now and later
With Office Templater you can configure a template in a couple of hours. This starts with building a Word, PowerPoint or Excel template directly in MS Office and then uploading those to ServiceNow.
Next, you configure a mapping - informing the Office Templater where the data needs to be inside those documents. This allows users to generate files over and over again. So the process goes: create once, configure once, generate as many times as you need.
It’s worth noting, you can even generate files directly from forms, lists or from widgets within the dashboard or portal.
2. Delivered at your convenience
Let’s say you’ve set up a template for a monthly report, with the same metrics each time. Well, with Office Templater there’s no need to go into ServiceNow to generate the report yourself each month.
Instead, take one thing off your to-do list and schedule the file generation. Set it up to land in your inbox at a designated time each month (or day, week, or year - depending on your needs). You can choose to receive it via a link or an attachment to download.
Files can also be time stamped and titles and notifications can be customised so it’s crystal clear what’s being received.
3. Manage access and security
Of course, files generated within ServiceNow will include sensitive information that only certain team members should have their eyes on. Office Templater enables you to create and assign groups for scheduled reports to be sent out to by email.
The option to email a download link - rather than an attachment - is more secure too, since individuals will need to log in via the link for individual access.
To maintain GDPR compliance, we’ve also created a feature called the ‘Attachment Time to Live’. Activating this means the recipient can download the file from the attachment but after a select time period the attachment will be automatically deleted.
Templates themselves can also have controlled access, with select teams or country offices only having access to file templates relevant to them.
4. Create accuracy and consistency
Office Templater makes inconsistent reports and presentations a thing of the past - both when it comes to data and design. By configuring your company’s colours, fonts and branding into each template, you can rest assured that no matter who is generating a file, it will remain polished and professional.
Similarly, using a template prevents errors or the inclusion of rogue metrics. Instead it ensures the data included across reports remains the same, where necessary, making cross-report analysis seamless.
Getting the most from Office Templater
With the high-level technical capabilities of Office Templater clear, it’s useful to understand where it could add value in your organisation.
Here at Fruition Partners, we use Office Templater to export our consultants’ CVs with a Word template. Not only does this mean that all CVs across the company follow the same look and feel, but it also makes updating them easier for individual consultants. So we can ensure up-to-date consultant profiles can be promptly delivered to our customers.
We also maximise the app’s Excel capabilities when creating project reports. Being able to export from records or lists and pre-create pivot tables, prepare graphs (which then become automatically populated) and export the data to multiple sheets makes creating, and amending reports considerably easier.
Across all organisations, Office Templater can also support Facility Management by auto generating and distributing such documents as visitor lists, catering orders or occupancy reports. Similarly, it can be used to give a clear overview on crisis and fleet management, and to create internal documents such as training certificates, project hour timesheets or purchase orders.
This just touches on a handful of use cases. In reality, Office Templater knows no bounds. It has the capabilities to adapt to and automate the generation of (almost) any file you might need.
Register for a commitment-free, live demo to see for yourself. A consultant will also be on hand to answer any specific questions you have about how you can maximise Office Templater’s capabilities. Register for your free demo here.
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