Dividing Documents into Groups
A group is a space in a document reserved for a specific type of content, such as the introduction, body, or conclusion. Groups organize documents into smaller parts to help users find information.
Each group has a sequence number that determines its order within the document. Groups with a lower sequence number are placed before those with a higher number.
You can include a group in a document only one time, or repeat it for every line item or configuration on the transaction. The group's frequency determines the section types you can create within that group. Each group can contain multiple sections.
To include or exclude groups in a document, use rules with question and answer combinations from configured items. For more information about rules, see Activating or Hiding Building Blocks with Rules.
When including a group for every line item, you can make a further selection at the section level to specify the line item type, such as configured or additional item line. For more information about sections, see Adding Content to Sections.
Regarding the look and feel of the group, you can define the page format, orientation, and margins. The group format takes priority over the template's format. If you don't specify the group format, the template format will apply.
On the group record, you can specify a transaction line field to group line items on the document depending on its value. For more information, see Grouping Line Items.
To create a group:
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In NetSuite, go to CPQ > Proposal Generator> Templates.
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Edit a template record.
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Go to the Groups subtab.
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Click New CPQP Group.
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Provide a descriptive name for the group.
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In the Repeat field, select how many times you want to include the group in the final document:
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Once – Includes the group one time only.
For example, you can use this frequency for the document introduction or the terms and conditions.
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Every Item – Includes the group for every line item on the transaction.
The sections in this group can be repeated for every line item. You can also restrict the sections to configured or additional line items only. Define your preferences in the Run For field on the section record.
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Every Config – Includes the group for every configuration in the transaction.
This group type is useful when the transaction may include configurations with additional items only.
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Provide a sequence number to determine the order in which the group is included in the final document.
Enter a negative or positive number, for example, -2 or 5.
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(Optional) In the Group Items By field, enter the transaction line field ID to group line items in the document. For more information, see Grouping Line Items.
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In the Page Orientation field, select how you want to arrange the sections in this group:
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Portrait – Defines a vertical orientation.
This is the default option, and it works well for text sections.
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Landscape – Defines a horizontal orientation.
You can use this option for tables with multiple columns.
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(Optional) To start the group on a new page, check the Page Break box. This option adds a page break before the group.
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(Optional) To avoid additional margins for the group, check the No Div Wrap box. This option prevents wrapping the group into a <div> element.
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In the Format field, select a predefined page format for this group.
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(Optional) Provide the top, right, bottom, and left margins in pixels.
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In the Show Rule field, provide the condition that determines whether the group is included in the final document.
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If the condition is based on question and answer combination from a NetSuite CPQ Configurator product, enter question and answer codes separated by a forward slash. For example, A/1. Use operators to combine multiple conditions. For example, A/1&B/2. For more information, see Activating or Hiding Building Blocks with Rules.
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Enter */*—the always true operator—in the following cases:
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To always include a group in the final document.
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To use the group for transactions without configured items.
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To include a group that is repeated one time only in the document.
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Click Save.
Grouping Line Items
To group line items, the group must be repeated for every line item.
Documents list line items in the same order as they appear on the transaction. Alternatively, you can organize line items by the values of a transaction line field. Grouping line items can improve the document structure and help users find information quickly.
In the document, you'll obtain a grouping for each value of the transaction line field. If some line items have a blank value for that field, those items will be grouped together. The content of the group will be repeated for every grouping.
To group line items on the document, enter the field ID in the Group Items By field on the group record.
You can also add a group header or group footer that repeat one time for each grouping. To do this, select Item Group Header or Item Group Footer in the Run For field on the section record. For more information, see Adding Content to Sections.
If you need to group line items according to business-specific information, you can create a custom transaction line field. For more information, see Creating Custom Transaction Line Fields.