What’s in a name? When it comes to naming your document, it is typically the finishing touch, but it is also a critical part of the document generation process. An appropriate file name gives your document a polished first impression while it’s being opened by a customer, colleague or senior management.
When naming Conga Composer generated output files, you have some options. The output file name can either be the generic template name you uploaded or one that dynamically changes based on the information included within the document. With the OFN Conga Composer parameter you can have an output file name as customized as the information inside your document.
When generating a template, by default, Conga Composer will use the name of the uploaded template as the document name. Therefore, if you upload a template saved as “AccountPlanTemplate.doc” but want to change the file name to something specific to each account, you will need to customize the document using a parameter. To customize the file name, Conga offers the Output File Name parameter.
Within your custom button URL add the OFN parameter ( &OFN=[text] ) to override the default output file name and set the output file name to your desired name.
Here are a few best practices when setting up your OFN value
1. To include spaces use plus signs (+) or underscores (_)
• Example: &OFN=Monthly+Inventory+Report
• Output: Monthly Inventory Report
*Note: Internet Explorer 7 will replace spaces in a filename with the characters “%20” if the output file is opened before saving to disk. For example, the file above would appear as Monthly%20Inventory%20Report.doc if the file is opened before saving to disk.
• Example: &OFN=Monthly_Inventory_Report
• Output: Monthly_Inventory_Report
2. Include hyphens or dashes when naming the output file name with the OFN parameter
• Example: &OFN=Company+—+Account Plan
• Output: Company — Account Plan
*Note some symbols are not supported in filenames. \ / : * ? " < > |
3. Choose Static or Dynamic: Choose to include special fields within the OFN parameter if you want a more customized document specific to the account.
• Static: &OFN=Monthly+Inventory+Report
• Dynamic: &OFN={!Account.Name}+—+Account Plan
4. To avoid issues with ampersands (&), include the SUBSTITUTE() function within your URL field. For example if your reference field contains an ampersand (Account Name = X&Y Construction), add the SUBSTITUTE function to replace ampersands with a substitute value:
• Example: &OFN=SUBSTITUTE (Account.Name, "&", "{+and+}”)
• Output: Account Name would instead yield “X and Y Construction”
It’s as simple as that; with one quick addition of the OFN parameter to the custom button URL, you’ve fully customized the name of your Conga Composer generated document.
Time to get more advanced. Are you using multiple templates? Multi-template Output File Name sets the output file name when using multiple templates or running batches (e.g. with Conga Conductor), affecting the file name of .zip files or consolidated PDFs. To standardize the file name of multiple templates use the MTOFN parameter.
Example: &MTOFN={!Account.Name}+-+Invoice.
Now that you’re equipped to name file names, start customizing! And to help you get started here are some popular ways to set up OFN parameters. Add your own in the comments below.
1. &OFN={!Account.Name}+—+Account+Plan
a. Would generate…XYZ Widget Company — Account Plan
2. &OFN={!Account.Name}+Account+Plan
a. Would generate…XYZ Widget Company Account Plan
3. &OFN=SUBSTITUTE (Account.Name, "&", "{+and+}”)
a. If company was: X&Y Widget Company
b. It would generate: X and Y Widget Company
4. &OFN=Quote+for+{!Contact_Name}
a. Would generate…Quote for Jason Smith
5. &OFN={!Today}_AccountPlan
a. Would generate…8/22/2014_AccountPlan
6. &OFN=Quote+Version+{!Opportunity.Version__c}
a. Would generate…Quote Version 2.doc