Print reports are useful only when they come from current data. As soon as the team manually copies values from a database into a document, errors and delays appear. Apexloop connects databases, document pages, placeholders and automations so that output is created from the same system used to manage the work.
The template is a document page
A document page can contain text, headings, separators, media, a database component, a dashboard, a QR code, buttons and shortcuts. For a print report it serves as a template into which automation substitutes values.
Placeholders can look like this:
{{invoice_number}}{{customer}}{{due_date}}{{total_amount}}{{qr_payment}}
The advantage is that the same template can serve many records.
Data comes from the record and relations
An invoice is not just one row. It needs a customer, address, line items, currency, dates, status, attachments and often an ID sequence with a prefix. Some information is directly on the record, some comes via select, multiselect, record or view columns.
A view column is suitable for repeating parts of the report — for example, invoice line items, project tasks or risks in a report. Formulas over the view column calculate totals, counts, margins and other values.
Automation selects the output
The output can be triggered by a button on the record, a schedule, a webhook or a status change. Automation finds the necessary data, verifies conditions, fills the template and decides what should happen next.
Typical targets:
- print the document page to PDF,
- save the PDF to the record as an attachment,
- convert the content to email-safe HTML,
- send an email to the customer,
- call an external integration via HTTP or webhook.
Examples of reports
Invoices and proposals use ID sequences, currency amounts, line items and QR payments. Handover protocols combine dates, people, files, photos and signature text. Project reports use aggregations over tasks, timeline, charts and risks. Newsletters are created from document page content and scheduled automation.
All these outputs share the same principle: the record holds context, relations add related data, formulas calculate values and the template determines the form.