Open Smartform output in Word / Create Output in word

[SimoneMilesi]

Hello all!

I've a strange request: open a smartform output as MS word or save it straight as WORD/WORDX.

I know how to save a smartform output as PDF and i read a bunch of thread here in the forums even if they are pretty old, like this one or this one, but all i could find was how to convert the spool via OLE (which i find pretty odd and i want to avoid it).

There is any solution (even commercial ones) to achieve it?

I'm still pushing with the business to stick with PDF, but this topic is coming up every meeting and steering committee, so i need a plan B.
Thanks!

[Jelena]

Dear ladies and gentlemen of the Steering Committee!

We all have a resume / CV and we all used it to apply for a job at some point. When you send yours out, what format do you use? If you are not a fool (and if you were, you wouldn't be steering anything, right?), you use a PDF format. Why is that? Correct, it's because we don't want an unscrupulous recruiter to replace our information with something else. We also want to preserve the formatting and style. Sure, even a PDF content can be changed but it's a hassle. Word document, on the other hand, is very easy to change. That's the main difference between two formats.

Many transactions in SAP represent legal documents. And their output represents legal documents. So how come you don't want anyone to change your resume but you seem to be fine with someone taking an invoice or a purchase order and just opening it in Word to make any changes they want? You might say, well, if someone really wanted to fudge a document, there is always a PhotoShop. But you see [goes to the previous slide] it's a hassle. And a Word document... yes, is very easy to change.

You might say "but, but we don't want to change our POs and invoices, we want to change only this document that is totally non-committal". Well, to quote this old anecdote, "Now we're just haggling over the price."

If your organization needs to get some information from SAP and represent it in a Word document format, there are ways to do that without involving any forms. But important questions to ask here is what value will this add for the business and what challenge will it solve?

Maybe don't try to solution something and instead explain the issue to the knowledgeable SAP professionals like Simone here and let the, find a solution? After all, he's not trying to do the steering for you. So why don't you let him do his job too? You're paying for it, after all.

[SimoneMilesi]

I wish the business would listen you 🙂

[Thorsten_Franz]

The last time somebody asked this question, I googled it and found a product that converts PDF to Word either on the desktop via command line or OLE or on premise on the server, or in the cloud via an http call. Then somebody pointed out that these days you can just open PDF documents in MS Word. I haven’t tried that, but these are a few options you can check out.

[FredericGirod]

Hi Simone,

I think you could do this from the Word document, in french it is call "Publipostage".

It is the tool where you create a template, and gives to Word a list of variable to create by row a page (more or less). I know it works with Excel file, but maybe you could create the Excel file and call the publipostage from SAP.

[SimoneMilesi]

Hi frdric.girod!
Yes, one of the options i saw is to create a template with macro&variables and then to invoke OLEs.

My main concerns are:

1. would they work with FIORI Apps?
2. The need to keep a template common for every user (on server?) or it would become a mess.

These are big "no" in my list, because i can forecast many calls due different output or unwanted changes on the template 🙂

[FredericGirod]

Your second question is also reveals an other issu, you will be able to run it only in foreground

Maybe you will need a dedicated Windows server to manage this, so ... what about PDF ? 🙂

[Jelena]

thorsten.franz.operatics I've just tried and in "plain vanilla" Windows / Office Word isn't an option to open a PDF. I think you might need some add-on to use it like that.

These days though some minor edits, like adding a comment, can be made in FF browser and Foxit app (which I recently replaced Acrobat with) also can do that.