Enable PO approval process to send PO in PDF format via email

摘自：http://oraclemaniac.com/2012/08/14/enable-po-approval-process-to-send-po-in-pdf-format-via-email/

Purchase Orders (PO) need to be approved after those are created. Until a PO is approved it cannot be sent to a supplier for fulfillment. Oracle provides 2 formats for sending the PO approval, Text and PDF.

Text format

In the Text format the PO details are embedded in HTML format within the approval notification. The approval notification looks like the following,

On the PO approval form the user can decide to send the PO to an email recipient (which could be the supplier) after the PO is approved as shown below.

The transmitted PO goes to the email address in HTML format. A sample email is given below.

PDF format

In PDF format the PO details are embedded in HTML format in the approval notification as displayed above. In addition to the HTML message, the PO is generated and attached as a PDF file on the notification. Within the notification the link to the PO appears like the following,

When the PO is set to be transmitted to another email id (set on the PO approval screen shown above) the email is sent from the workflow that contains the PO in PDF format as shown below,

Configuration Steps for enabling PDF for Purchase Orders

Step 1: Check for patch, 8983924

You need to check if the patch number, 8983924, is installed on Oracle or not. If not, you need to download this patch from Oracle Metalink and apply it into the database.

Step 2: Add license for Basic product

This step needs to be done if Step 2 (below) does not have PDF option. You can refer to Metalink note 301954.1, if you require further information.

Responsibility: System Administrator

Navigate to Oracle Applications Manager > License Manager

Choose Products under the heading, License

Check License Component Application and click Continue

Check the check box for Basic. Click Next

Click on Submit button

Step 3: Change PO Output format

Change responsibility to Purchasing Administrator responsibility

Navigation: Setup > Organizations > Purchasing Options

Click on Control Tab and modify PO Output Format from Text to PDF.

Oracle R12

The purchasing options screen in R12 is an OAF page

The output format can be changed to PDF on the page.

Important:

The PO Output Format selection defines the output format for purchase orders either in “Print”,
“e-mail”, or “fax”.

By changing the Control Parameter to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) you can view the purchase order fully formatted in PDF from the Purchase Order Summary window. From the toolbar navigate to Inquire > View document. You can also communicate the purchase order to the supplier using the report PO Output for Communication

With the ‘PO Output Format’ set to ‘Text’ the concurrent program, Print Purchase Orders, (POXPPO) is called by the PO workflow and when we use View Document from the PO form

With the ‘PO Output Format’ set to ‘PDF’ the concurrent program, PO Output for Communication, (POXPOPDF) is called by the PO workflow and when we use View Document from the PO form

Step 4: Check Document Type

We shall check the setting for Standard Purchase Orders

Change responsibility to EY Purchasing Administrator

Navigate to Setup > Purchasing > Document Types

Select document: Purchase Order & Document Subtype: Standard

Click OK.

On this form we can modify various important settings for a Purchase Order like, the default hierarchy it will follow, the workflow it should use, the PO layout format, etc.

Document types in Oracle R12

The same function in Oracle R12 will take you to an OAF form

If you click on Update button for the same document type as in 11i, i.e. Type: Purchase Order Standard and Name: Standard Purchase Order, you will get the following screen

You can update the workflow process on this screen.

Important:

1. To use a custom workflow instead of the standard workflow, PO Approval or POAPPRV, you can change the workflow name to the custom workflow. In this case you will also need to change the Workflow Startup Process.
   
2. You can also change the Document Type Layout to different template instead of Standard Purchase Order Stylesheet, if you want to use a different template for the PO. We have discussed this later in the document.

Step 5: Change the value for profile option

Change the responsibility to System Administrator

Navigate to Profile > System

Query for profile option, PO: Communication Email Default

Change the value at the site level to Contact

Test the changes

Open the PO form and create a PO

Click on Approve button to send it for approval

Click on the box named E-mail and enter a valid email address. Normally this will be the email address of the supplier.

Note:
If the email address is setup for the supplier site used in the PO, it will show up in the Email Address lov.

Now press OK button. Now funds will be checked by Oracle and once it is done a message will appear on screen.

Press OK and the document will go for approval.

Now go to Workflow Administrator and check for the PO workflow. Open the notification.

Scroll down the notification to the bottom

Notice that the PO is attached to the workflow in PDF format as a link (PDF Document). Click on the link to open the PO.

Important:
All links in the References section within a workflow notification will appear as attachments in the notification email if workflow email is enabled for this user.

Click on Open button to open the PO.

You can see that the PO has been generated and sent to the approver for his approval. After reviewing the PO close the document and go back to the notification. Click on Approve to approve the notification.

Go back to Apps forms and click on View > Requests and click on Find.

You will find a concurrent program, PO Output for Communication (mentioned in Step 2). This program has been executed by the PO workflow and the program has attached the PO PDF file to the workflow notification.

Go back to Workflow Administrator responsibility and check whether the workflow has completed or not. If not you might need to go back and check if the workflow is pending for approval on another approver as the previous approver might not have limits. Also, if any of the workflow functions is in deferred mode then Workflow Background Process needs to be executed from System Administratorresponsibility

When the approval process is complete the workflow sends the PO in PDF format to the email address provided earlier. The email looks like the following.

The PO is attached to the workflow now.

Go back to the PO form and query for this PO number.

Click on Inquire > View Document

A popup will appear in a new web browser window.

We shall select Open to view the PO.

The same PO that was sent to the approver and the recipient of the email address is displayed. Close this document and go back to the PO form.

Notice that the attachment icon  has changed to . This means there are attachments on this document. Click on the attachment icon.

You can see 1 attachment. Click on the Source tab.

We can see that the same PO PDF has been attached to the PO on the form as well by the program, PO Output for Communication.

Change the standard PO layout/template

The layout of the PO is a standard template given by Oracle. We might want to use a different layout for the PO to suit our requirement. In that case we have to create a template in any of the standard XML Publisher formats and put in proper tags for each field. The comprehensive list of valid XML tags are given in Appendix B of the attached document below, PO Communication MethodsWhitepaper.pdf.

Create our own template in MS Word and saved it as a RTF file. (You can create your template in any of the standard methods)

Login to Oracle

Change responsibility to XML Publisher Administrator

Navigate to Templates tab

Click on Create Template

Enter the following,

Name: Purchase Order PDF Email

Code: POXPPO

Application: Purchasing

Data Definition: Standard Purchase Order Data Source

Type: RTF

File: XXEYPOPPDF.rtf

Language: English

Click on Save

Note: It is imperative that the Data definition used is Standard Purchase Order Data Source as that is the data definition used by PO Output for Communication program.

Modify the template in the Document Type Layout

Go to Purchasing Superuser responsibility.

Navigate to Setup > Purchasing > Document Types

Select Standard Purchase Order as we shall make the changes only for PO.

Select the LOV for Document Type Layout field.

You can see the custom template has been added to the list. Select the template.

Save the form.

Note: The data on this form resides in the table, PO_DOCUMENT_TYPES_ALL_B.

Usage:

Open a PO in the PO form.

Click on Approve to send the PO for approval.

The email address is entered to send the PO via email. Click OK to start the approval process.

In the workflow approval notification you can view the PO in PDF format.

Click on Open.

The PO is now in the new layout. If you now check the rest of the process, i.e. the PO in the recipient email or the PO attachment as discussed earlier you will see the PO in the new layout as well.

PO Communication Methods Whitepaper (PO Communication Methods Whitepaper)

Oracle Apps R12

We have discussed about the configuration in Oracle 11i. Oracle R12 has the same screens as Oracle 11i as well as the same navigation. In R12 the Document Types form has been moved to OAF. I have shown the form below.

Navigation: Setup > Purchasing > Document Types

We selected Purchase Order Standard by clicking on the Update icon.

The options are very similar to Oracle 11i. It just looks different as it is in OAF.

Cheers!