Converting InfoPath/Nintex form-based list items using Nutrient Document Converter

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We recently released the Nutrient Document Converter extension for Nintex Automation Cloud. Download it today and learn more about available Nutrient deployments for Nintex from our product page.

When converting HTML to PDF, make sure you are running version 8.3 (or later) of Nutrient Document Converter as that version comes with a much improved HTML Converter. For more information, check out our comprehensive blog post on How to convert Nintex forms, including all attachments.

Nutrient Document Converter comes with extensive InfoPath support to deal with InfoPath attachments and Dynamic View Selection. However, most of the facilities provided are for ‘real’ InfoPath forms that are stored in a forms or Document library.

SharePoint also allows the List Item Data Entry form to be customized using InfoPath. However, data filled out using this facility is not stored as ‘real’ InfoPath forms and therefore cannot be converted using Nutrient’s InfoPath to PDF/Word/Excel converter.

Fortunately, list items are rendered as HTML, even when customized via InfoPath. As a workaround, you can use various HTML to PDF facilities provided by Nutrient Document Converter for SharePoint to convert InfoPath based list items to PDF. When using SP2010 or later, the results will improve dramatically when leaving out the ‘SharePoint chrome’ by adding &IsDlg=1 to the URL of the list item that is being converted.

If you need to convert a specific view, add &DefaultView=\[viewname\] to the URL.

Nintex forms is a good alternative for customizing list items. For details about using Nutrient Document Converter to convert those list items, see Practical Nintex forms to PDF conversion.

If you are looking to include list item attachments in your converted PDF, see Convert a list item including all attachments to PDF and Practical Nintex forms to PDF conversion to achieve it via Nintex Workflow.

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HTML is not inherently designed for printed media output, including PDF. While we strive to ensure optimal rendering and functionality, we cannot guarantee consistent results, particularly when third-party products outside our control are involved.

We regularly collaborate with the Nintex Forms team, and their official stance is that Nintex Forms is a data entry tool and not designed for print or PDF output. To process captured data, consider the following solutions:

  1. Embed data in MS-Word files: Use Nutrient Document Converter to convert the files, as described in Inserting SharePoint list data into a PDF document using a workflow.

  2. Use watermarking templates: Place captured data into a template using Nutrient’s extensive watermarking facilities.

  3. Convert HTML to PDF: Generate a string of HTML within your workflow, insert the form fields, and send the HTML string to the ‘Convert HTML to PDF’ workflow action.

These approaches ensure the captured data can be effectively formatted and converted for print or PDF output.

For any assistance, contact our support team and we’ll be happy to help!