Document Automation Software Comparison

Features

Critical Functionality

Applications

If you need Excel & PowerPoint, then go with a solution that supports them too. If you only need Word, think carefully if you might want Excel or PowerPoint someday in the future.

Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Acrobat

Word

Ecrion Editor

Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Word

Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Acrobat

PandaDoc Editor

Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Word

Add-In

A good add-in assists you in creating your template, especially creating tags. It makes template design faster, smoother, & easier. A good add-in & query wizard (below) are what determine how quickly you can create templates.

Advanced

As an Office add-in, the system assists in all operations in the context of where you are in the document.

Basic

Just basic copy & paste from web app

Advanced

As an Office add-in, the system assists in all operations in the context of where you are in the document.

Drag & Drop Doclets

Create doclets so you and other users can drag those saved doclets to drop onto a template. This provides template designers a way to create very complex templates easily by dragging the needed components. It also eliminates repetitive tasks.

Advanced

Any fully formatted content from an Office document
Linked documents that auto-update
Does display content in template

Basic

Does not display in the template

Basic

Any fully formatted content from an Office document
Copied from repository to template - no update functionality
Does display content in template

Query Wizards

Your most common activity creating templates will be writing the queries to select the data. With no wizards, then template creation is a developer only task. And for developers, it will be slower. No wizards means you can never turn template creation over to business users.

Advanced

Wizards for SQL (select & stored procedure), Xpath, JSON, OData, & Salesforce. Fast & easy for both business users & developers with a brilliant innovative design

Basic

Very basic complex wizard

Multiple Datasources

If you have multiple datasources, then must get a docgen solution that lets you have tags in a single template that are marked for which datasource that tag is to be applied to. Preferably simultaneously.

Multiple datasources supported
Processed simultaneously

Yes, but it isn't specified if it can process data from different sources simultaneously.

Multiple datasources supported
Processed simultaneously

Multiple datasources supported
Processed simultaneously

Multiple datasources supported
Processed simultaneously

No, it is MS Dynamics only

Tag Start & End Locations

Any limitation on where a tag can start or end is potentially a limitation of something you will want to do - but can't. Best is no limitations on tag start and end locations.

Tags can start and end anywhere - no limitations

Tags come with certain limitations.

Tags can start and end anywhere - no limitations

Limited to 4 locations

Limited to table row

Tags can start and end anywhere you can surround with a content control

Imported Templates

There is great benefit in having support for imports of live templates - with a solution that process tags in the imported child template.

Advanced

Imported templates are live (tags processed)

Yes, it lets you add up to 10 pre-existing templates in a Solution (record)

Advanced

Imported templates are live (tags processed)

Advanced

Imported templates are live (tags processed)

Basic

Imported templates are static (tags are not processed)

Basic

Static documents only

Advanced

Imported templates are live (tags processed)

Important Functionality

Functions (Macros) Included & Custom

You will likely need many of the standard Excel functions available in your queries. And there is great benefit in being able to add your own custom functions.

Advanced

Support for custom functions - handled the same as the standard functions
Support for custom functions - handled the same as the standard functions

Basic

~ 50 standard functions
No support for custom functions

Basic

~ 50 standard functions
Inline scripts supported

Basic

~ 50 standard functions
Inline scripts supported

Advanced

Support for custom functions - handled the same as the standard functions
Support for custom functions - handled the same as the standard functions

Access Providers

What protocols are supported to read files for datasources & the import tag. If you use your own custom authentication & authorization protocols, the solution must support custom access providers.

Standard support for Windows credentials
Standard support for BASIC, Digest, & Negotiate
Support custom access providers
Access providers used for reading datasources, import tag URLs and OData connection

Unknown

Document Locking

Does document locking in DOCX & XLSX templates carry over to the generated DOCX & XLSX documents? This can be key to reducing your legal liability.

Fully supported

Unknown

Validation, Error & Warning Handling

Each solution has its own approach to this functionality. Try to get a measure of how well what's provided by each will help you.

Validate template
List errors & warnings on test generation
Runtime error handling setting at the document and tag level

List errors & warnings on test generation

Process Embedded Office Objects

Will an embedded object be carried over to the generated document? Including for PDF? If the embedded document is a template, will it be processed?

Embedded DOCX, XLSX, & PPTX objects are processed (tags handled)
Embedded object (all types) are displayed in output

Can't have embedded objects

Embedded DOCX, XLSX, & PPTX objects are processed (tags handled)
Embedded object (all types) are displayed in output

Can't have embedded objects

Embedded DOCX, XLSX, & PPTX objects are processed (tags handled)
Embedded object (all types) are displayed in output

Word Form Fields

If the Word template has checkboxes, drop down lists, or other form fields, are those carried over to PDF output? And if so, is there a way to set their values from the data?

Fully supported

Can't have form fields

Fully supported

Can't have form fields

Fully supported

Excel References & Pivot Tables

Any limitation on where a tag can start or end is potentially a limitation of something you will want to do - but can't. Best is no limitations on tag start and end locations.

XLSX references adjusted in output
XLSX pivot tables adjusted in XLSX output
XLSX cells re-calculated for non XLSX output

Unknown

N/A - does not support XLSX templates

Fully supported

N/A - does not support XLSX templates

Yes

N/A - does not support XLSX templates

Hide/Show Control Tags

Can hide the control tags so the template is only displaying tags that will render output in the generated document.

Basic

Yes - Word only

Capabilities

Programming Languages

Make sure it supports your programming language hosted in the mode you need.

RESTful Server
Java library (JAR files)
.NET library (DLL files)

SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language)

RESTful Server
Java library (JAR files)

RESTful Server

N/A

Unknown

N/A

RESTful Server

Supported Datasources

You may only need to verify it supports the type of data you're working with. But Odata support is a good insurance policy to connect to most anything.

Salesforce
JSON
OData
SQL
XML

Salesforce

JSON
OData
SQL
XML

JSON
OData
SQL
XML

JSON
SQL
XML

Unknown

Salesforce

Salesforce
MS Dynamics

JSON
SQL
XML

Salesforce
MS Dynamics
XML

Output Formats

Check that it renders in the output formats you need. And realize that PDF will not match Office exactly.

Advanced

Pretty much everything including direct to a printer

Basic

PDF, Word, Excel

Basic

DOCX, HTML, PDF, & RTF

Advanced

Pretty much everything including direct to a printer

Basic

CSV, DOCX, HTML, PDF, PPTX, RTF, & XLSX

DOCX & PDF only

Basic

DOCX, PDF, PPTX, & XLSX

PDF only

DOCX, XLSX, PPTX only

Advanced

Pretty much everything including direct to a printer

Parameters

All the products have a way to pass parameters to the template to use in the queries. Check that they have all the data types you need.

All standared data types

Everything is a string, but it auto-converts as needed

Unknown

All standared data types

Conditional Formatting

Word & PowerPoint do not have conditional formatting in table cells. If you need this, make sure the solution you are looking at has it, and if so, is it sufficient.

Similar to Excel capabilities

No (limited only to IF statements that MS Word supports)

Similar to Excel capabilities

Auto-hyphenation

If you want auto-hyphenation (PDF & Printer output), make sure the solutions you are looking at have it.

Default is to hyphenate if turned on in the template but can be forced on/off

No (One can download the output, save it to CRM, send it for eSignature, email, and post to Chatter)

Default is to hyphenate if turned on in the template but can be forced on/off

Unknown

Tag Tree

Does the designer have a way to show the structure of the tags in the document? And clicking on one, go to that tag?

Yes, with full query for each tag and go to the tag in the template

Data Count

Does the solution have a tool that tells you for each iterative select how many rows of data it returns and how long the query took to complete?

Yes, both number of rows and time to query

Generate Code

For solution without code behind, does it provide sample code to show how to connect your application to their engine?

N/A

Unknown

N/A

Unknown

Debuggers

What debuggers, if any, does a solution have to help you debug: the template, a datasource connection, and/or a query.

Template debugger
Datasource connection debugger
Query debugger

Unknown

Tags

out tag

Place the data from a select at this location.

Yes, including bitmaps

import tag

Data returns a filename or URL, place what’s in that file at this location.

Yes, including bitmaps

Sort-of

Yes, including bitmaps

bitmap tag

Some solutions have a distinct tag for bitmaps (sometimes called pictures).

Handled in out & import tag

set tag

Set the value of a parameter (new or existing).

query tag

Reads one row of data to be used by other tags.

forEach tag

Iterate through the rows of data in the query repeating the template content between them once for each row of data returned. Important that it have column and block mode as well as the standard row mode.

Advanced

Row major mode (default)
Column major mode
Block mode
Optionally insert section break (Word), new workbook (Excel), or new slide (PowerPoint) per iteration

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

Basic

Row major mode (default)

if tag

Conditionally include content between if and else or else and endIf based on the result of the query.

if
else

Yes (limited to Word's functionality)

if
else
else if

if
else
else if

switch tag

Like if but has multiple case statements within the switch. If a solution does not have this, you can make do with the if tag.

link tag

The ability to create a link for content in the document with the URL set from the data.

No, a tag can be made a link

bookmark tag

A link anchor inside the document. The name set from the data.

chart tag

A chart built from data. For DOCX, XLSX, & PPTX output it's a lot better if the created chart is an Office chart (as opposed to a bitmap).

Yes, chart in DOCX, XLSX, & PPTX output is a native Office chart

Sort-of, via a 3rd party web app pulling it down via a url

Yes, by placing data in a worksheet and making a chart from that worksheet

Yes, chart in DOCX, XLSX, & PPTX output is a native Office chart

Document Automation Software Comparison

Features

Windward

Conga

Docmosis

Ecrion

Formstack

HotDocs

Nintex

PandaDoc

Templafy

XPertDoc

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