PDF Export Samples

In this page

Overview

This gallery displays sample exports created using the "factory-default" templates shipped with the Better PDF Exporter for Jira. Our aim is to give you a quick understanding of what is possible out of the box. This is, obviously, just the beginning of the story, because the possibilities of export creation and customization are unlimited.

You can use the "factory-default" PDF templates in many ways:

1. As they are! (We polished them further and further over the years so that they give a ready-made solution for most situations.)
2. Configure their look and behavior by updating their configuration variables (see next section).
3. Customize their look and behavior by editing the templates and the Groovy scripts.
4. Make a copy of them for the starting point of a new template.
5. Use their implementation as "cheatsheet" when developing custom templates.

Updating PDF template configuration variables

Many of the templates shipped with the Better PDF Exporter for Jira offer configurability via variables. These variables appear in the top part of the PDF templates or in the top part of the Groovy scripts, and are documented right in the code.

Some variables are required to work correctly (like setting up the Tempo authentication for Tempo Timesheets exports), while others affect the export's look or behavior. For instance, the Gantt chart template (gantt-chart-fo.vm) offers the following configuration variables:

#set($showCurrentTime = true)					## whether to highlight the current week or day
#set($startDateCustomFieldId = 10400)			## should be a date picker type custom field
#set($endDateCustomFieldId = 10401)				## should be a date picker type custom field
#set($progressPercentageCustomFieldId = 10800)	## should be a number type custom field or 0
#set($viewPeriod = "week") 						## use one of "week" or "day"
#set($groupSubTasksByParent = true)				## whether sub-tasks should be rendered

You can edit the configuration variables intuitively:

1. Login to Jira as administrator.
2. Go to Administration → Add-ons → PDF Templates.
3. Click the template file you wanted to edit, for example gantt-chart-fo.vm. It opens in the built-in template editor.
4. Edit the variables.
5. Save your changes.
6. Make a new export. It will reflect the changes in the configuration variables immediately.

Creating new PDF templates

You can easily create custom templates by reading the template development documentation and by using the recipes that we collected for frequent use cases.

For those who'd rather focus on their core business and use Midori's expertise to create custom PDF templates for them, Midori offers template development services.

Issue exports sharing customer-facing document archiving

The issue-fo.vm template exports one or more Jira issues (ad-hoc JQL searches, saved filters) to standard PDF documents. It offers you several configuration variables to choose what to include in the exported PDF files: field values, sub-tasks, comments, attachments, worklogs, change histories, etc.

The visual design is intentionally kept on the bare minimum so that the emphasis is on the content, not on the "chrome". Nevertheless, you can customize it with extreme flexibility: add your own logo, corporate colors and brand identity.

Unlike with browser exports, the layout is just perfect every time: no text cut-offs, no image overflows, no unwanted scrollbars.

Issue lists sharing customer-facing document archiving

The issue-navigator-fo.vm template exports any list of Jira issues from the Issue Navigator to a landscape-oriented table, using the currently configured columns and ordering. It allows you to create custom PDF documents from ad-hoc JQL searches and saved filters with a single click.

As for visuals, this one and all our templates apply the "invisible design" paradigm, allowing readers to focus on the data. Nevertheless, you are welcome to customize its look to your own branding and needs.

Jira dashboards & reports reporting project management

Jira dashboards and Jira reports are great tools to summarize issue, project and progress information in the Jira web user interface, but they were not designed for exporting and for sharing with external people. The dashboard-fo.vm template exports dashboards, reports and Scrum/Kanban boards to PDF documents which can then be shared, emailed or archived easily.

In addition to the manual actions, you can automate the PDF creation and emailing process, and the periodical reports will arrive to the target mailboxes 100% automatically!

Learn more about the Dashboards

See the Dashboards page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Timesheets & invoices reporting invoicing billing

The timesheet-fo.vm template calculates the Spent Time totals per issue and the grand totals for the whole issue list. It supports both the Jira internal time tracking feature and Tempo Timesheets, the most popular time tracking app for Jira.

When it is used to aggregate time values only, it will result in a timesheet. When it is used to aggregate money values (multiplying the spent time with an hourly rate), it will result in an invoice. The logic that determines the hourly rate can select that based on the project, the customer, the worklog creator user, the Tempo account, the Tempo team, the Tempo role and anything else!

Learn more about the Tempo Timesheets integration

See the Tempo Timesheets integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Jira Software exports scrum reporting kanban agile

Better PDF Exporter fully integrates with Jira Software, the Jira edition custom-tailored for software engineering teams. First, Jira Software specific custom fields (Sprint, Epic, Story Points and Development) are exported to PDF. Second, the PDF Export menus are seamlessly integrated to the Jira Software screens: to the Backlog view (to export the Jira backlog or one specific sprint) and to the Scrum/Kanban boards (to export the issues in one column).

All in all, this allows you easily extending the built-in Jira Software exports with custom ones, even across projects, across sprints or calculated from arbitrary JQL queries.

Learn more about the Jira Software integration

See the Jira Software integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Jira Service Mgmt. exports ticketing sla reporting

Jira Service Management is Atlassian's fast-growing IT service management offering for IT operations, customer service and business teams. Better PDF Exporter integrates with Jira Service Management and exports tickets, queues and other service related information like comments, SLA status, CSAT ratings, etc. to PDF documents.

Not only the Jira Service Management custom field types (like SLA or Request Type) are supported, our app also integrates its Export drop-down menu to the Queue view, the most important screen in Jira Service Management. That allows exporting the tickets from a queue to a custom PDF report with one click.

Learn more about the Jira Service Management integration

See the Jira Service Management integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Jira Srvc. Mgmt. forms exports archiving forms reporting

Jira Service Management forms are a fast and easy way to collect and manage key information in Jira Service Management tickets. They streamline workflows by tailoring fields, questions, and data requirements to meet specific needs.

With Better PDF Exporter, you can export Jira Service Management tickets and any forms that are attached to them in just a single click!

Learn more about the Jira Service Management forms integration

See the Jira Service Management forms integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Advanced Roadmaps exports project management program management portfolio management roadmap

Advanced Roadmaps for Jira is Atlassian's Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solution, an agile roadmapping and project planning app for Jira Software. It helps project managers see the big picture by combining multiple projects and resources on a single timeline.

Better PDF Exporter exports the Advanced Roadmaps custom field values (Team and Parent Link) to PDF. Using the power of JQL, you can create custom documents from the complete portfolio, from multiple programs, from multiple plans, from multiple plan levels, or all these combined!

Learn more about the Advanced Roadmaps for Jira integration

See the Advanced Roadmaps for Jira integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Release notes software engineering release management

Using the app and the release-notes-fo.vm PDF export template has several advantages over the basic Release Notes generated by Jira. For example, this approach enables company branding (logos, colors), you can precisely specify what fields to include, you have full access to any piece of information inside and outside Jira. Also, you can include additional content like installation instructions, pricing information.

This is an easy and professional way to export software version documentation out of Jira.

Gantt charts scheduling reporting project management

Gantt charts are popular data representation tools in practical project management. The gantt-chart-fo.vm template exports Gantt charts from Jira epics, sprints or any list of Jira issues to PDF.

The report visualizes project schedules by displaying Jira issues as horizontal bars, along with their start and end-dates. These sample PDFs are Gantt charts created from Jira tasks with a single click.

Time by X reports reporting process management

The time-by-x-report-fo.vm PDF template exports various Key Performance Metrics and charts calculated from the changes of the given field. Out of the box, it can be used with the "status" field (resulting in a "Time in Status" report), the "assignee" field (a "Time by Assignee" report) and every sort of Jira custom fields. It can also be customized by adding, removing or modifying sections, or can be used as starting point for custom graphical PDF reports.

Zephyr Squad test exports test management testing reporting

Better PDF Exporter is tightly integrated with Zephyr Squad, the most popular test management app for Jira. Zephyr Squad tests are "first-class citizens" in the PDF exports, meaning that similarly to Jira issues you can export all test-related information to PDF. It includes test case details (fields, attachments, comments, etc.), test steps, test executions and detailed step results during an execution.

This is an effortless technique to archive, document or share testing information with your peers using the industry-standard document format.

Learn more about the Zephyr Squad integration

See the Zephyr Squad integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

ScriptRunner exports scripted fields reporting calculated fields

ScriptRunner is the most powerful app to extend and customize Jira with every kind of custom logic, programmed in Groovy scripts. Among other extension points, you can implement custom fields with it, whose values are programmatically calculated or automatically loaded from external databases, APIs or other sources.

Better PDF Exporter for Jira allows exporting all those script fields to PDF documents.

Learn more about the ScriptRunner integration

See the ScriptRunner integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Insight exports reporting asset management

Insight is the leading asset management app for Jira. It allows implementing CMDB, CRM, HR, ITSM or ITIL functionality on the Jira platform.

Better PDF Exporter is tightly integrated with Insight, allowing you to export all Insight custom fields with the desired granularity (object keys, names and attributes) to PDF. Having full access to Insight objects and their attributes, you can easily implement custom reporting and Business Intelligence on Insight data.

Learn more about the Insight integration

See the Insight integration page for the tutorial video and the configuration guide.

Project status reports reporting project management

The project-report-fo.vm helps to create an executive level status report with visual Key Performance Indicators (KPI) like Schedule, Costs and Risk in the cover page and with precise issue lists in the other pages. You can freely customize this PDF template to your own KPI's.

Requirements specification srs software engineering requirements management

The requirements-specification-fo.vm enables you to replace your hyper-expensive Requirements Management system with a practical and light-weight Jira based mechanism, producing accurate technical documentation with lower efforts. The template is based on the recommendations of the IEEE/EIA 12207.1-1997 standard (Recommended Practice for Software Requirements Specifications), but it can be applied to any kind of engineering discipline, from hardware design to mechanicals.

Traceability reports test management testing requirements management

The traceability-report-fo.vm template exports the input Jira issues (the "source") and the issues reachable from the input issues along issue links and parent-sub-task relationships recursively up to a maximum distance. While the leftmost column describes the link type and its distance from the source, it also adds the currently selected columns in the right, making this an easily configurable way to visualize dependencies between requirements, tasks, tests, bugs and any types of issues.

Custom reports reporting archiving

You can model any sort of business process and manage any sort of data with Jira. Thanks to its low-level approach, based on document templates and Groovy scripts, the Better PDF Exporter app gives you incomparable flexibility and power to generate complex documents.

In this section we collected some custom-built Jira PDF report examples for inspiration.