Custom Export PDF from Workspace Form Including Related Lists - Best Practice?

NikhilSingh22_ · ‎09-10-2026

Hi Community,

I'm looking for the best practice to implement PDF export from a Workspace record form, including related list data, without attaching the generated PDF to the record.

Requirement

From a Workspace form, users should be able to:

Export the current record as PDF
Include selected related list records in the PDF
Download the PDF directly
Avoid attaching the PDF to the record
Follow supported Workspace best practices

Approaches Evaluated

1. Classic URL-based PDF export

var url = '/' + g_form.getTableName() + '.do?sys_id=' + g_form.getUniqueValue() + '&PDF';

top.window.open(url, '_blank');

Issue:

Relies on window.open()
Uses global window objects
Not considered a modern or Workspace-friendly approach

2. Using g_navigation

g_navigation.open(url, '_blank');

Issue:

Works in classic UI
Does not appear to work in Workspace

3. Server-side PDFGenerationAPI

var pdfAPI = new sn_pdfgeneratorutils.PDFGenerationAPI();

var result = pdfAPI.convertToPDF(

html,

current.getTableName(),

current.getUniqueValue(),

fileName

);

Issue:

Generates the PDF successfully
Automatically attaches the PDF to the record
My requirement is to allow download without creating attachments
Add Custom CSS using script is a big overhead.

4. Legacy GwtPollDialog approach

var dialog = new GwtPollDialog(

g_form.getTableName(), "", "", "", "unload_pdf", "", "", "", "true", g_form.getUniqueValue(), "", ""

);

dialog.execute();

Issue:

Not supported in Workspace
Appears to be tied to classic UI components

Question

Has anyone implemented a supported Workspace solution for exporting a record attached with related list data to PDF?

Specifically:

What is the recommended approach in Workspace?
Is there a supported way to generate and download a PDF without creating a record attachment?
Has anyone leveraged UI Builder components, Scripted REST APIs, or a custom PDF generation framework for this requirement?
Are there any OOTB Workspace capabilities I'm overlooking?

I would appreciate any recommendations, architectural guidance, or examples of successful implementations.

Thanks in advance!

Nikhil | KPMG | Associate - Consultant

christophenow · 2 weeks ago

Hello,

This functionality may help you to achieve your requirement ?

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