Reporting & PDFs
Three printable PDFs cover the documents shop-floor operators need most: a build overview for handover, a pick list for gathering materials, and a shortage report for surfacing inventory gaps. All three use the same export dialog and the same template-config system.
On this page
Section titled “On this page”- The three PDFs
- The export dialog (preview + print)
- Templates and per-shop configuration
- Filenames and sharing
The three PDFs
Section titled “The three PDFs”Build Overview
Section titled “Build Overview”A full-page summary of the work order. Includes:
- Header with name, short ID, status, due date, assignee, production location.
- Items being built, with planned quantity, completed quantity, and per-item unit cost.
- Materials list, grouped logically.
- Cost summary — Planned, Baseline, Actual.
- Build runs history with status and dates.
- Source flow name (if the work order was created from a flow).
Use this for warehouse or supervisor handover, or as a paper companion to a multi-day project.
Pick List
Section titled “Pick List”The shop floor’s gathering document. Materials are listed with quantities to gather, current available inventory, shortage values, and any per-row metafields the template enables (lot numbers, supplier batches, specifications). By default they’re grouped by their consume-from location, but you can group by product type, category, or vendor instead — and optionally float out-of-stock items to the top so operators clear the shortages first. Both are set on the pick-list template (see Templates below).
The pick list is the most common print target on a busy bench — operators take a printed copy to the shelves.
Shortage Report
Section titled “Shortage Report”A gap analysis. For each material on the work order:
- Need — the effective quantityEffective QuantityThe quantity actually consumed by the work order, after operator overrides. Starts equal to the original BOM quantity, but can be adjusted up or down per material as plans change. The effective quantity is what the pick list and cost calculations use. Read more → required.
- Available — current inventory at the consume-from location.
- Shortage — the gap, only present where need exceeds available.
Materials with a shortage are grouped separately so they’re easy to spot. Use this PDF when you’re triaging a work order that won’t pick cleanly.
The export dialog
Section titled “The export dialog”The action row’s Print button opens the export dialog. It has:
- A tab per export type (Build Overview, Pick List, Shortage Report).
- An in-app preview rendering the same HTML the PDF uses.
- A template picker (if your shop has multiple templates configured for the export type).
- A Print button that opens the rendered PDF in a new tab.
The preview lets you spot-check the layout before opening the PDF in a new tab. The PDF itself displays inline (it doesn’t auto-download) so the operator can hit Cmd-P / Ctrl-P from the browser’s PDF viewer.
Templates and per-shop configuration
Section titled “Templates and per-shop configuration”
Each export type has a default template plus optional shop-level customisations. A template controls:
- Which columns appear (e.g. include the metafield columns or hide them).
- Logo and company info in the header.
- Column ordering and sorting.
- How the pick list is grouped — by pick location (the default), product type, category, or vendor. Each value becomes its own headed section.
- How out-of-stock items are shown — leave it off for a single flat list, split each group into numbered Out of stock / In stock sections, or float the out-of-stock rows to the top of each group with a highlight.
Product type and category come from each material’s linked Shopify product. You can also set them by hand when you create or edit a material — including virtual materials that aren’t in your Shopify catalog — so the pick list groups consistently no matter where a material came from.
Templates are configured at the shop level — the defaults that ship with Assemblified are sensible starting points. Pick a non-default template via the template dropdown in the export dialog; the loader merges the shop’s overrides over the defaults.
If a configured template can’t be loaded for any reason (was deleted, server issue), the export falls back to the default template silently — you still get a usable PDF.
Filenames and sharing
Section titled “Filenames and sharing”The PDFs use predictable filenames:
| Export | Filename pattern |
|---|---|
| Build Overview | build-overview-WO-NNNNN.pdf |
| Pick List | pick-list-WO-NNNNN.pdf |
| Shortage Report | shortage-report-WO-NNNNN.pdf |
The PDF is served as inline content, so the browser shows it in a viewer rather than auto-downloading. Use the browser’s download button to save a copy, or the print dialog to print directly.
Live data caveat
Section titled “Live data caveat”The Pick List and Shortage Report read inventory levels at the moment you generate the PDF. If you printed either document twenty minutes ago and someone has picked since, the numbers are stale — regenerate before relying on them. The Build Overview captures the work-order state at print time but doesn’t query live inventory beyond what’s already on the work order.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Material planning & costs — the cost figures that appear on the Build Overview.
- Canvas Editor — the metafields that surface on the Pick List.
- Glossary.