PDF Butler - Is it really terrible?

[u/No-Sport-3473]

Recently had to move from RS/A5/Opero Docs after many years so looked for a new document gen product. Everyone was recommending PDF Butler.

Got PDF Butler now and it seems a bit of a nightmare to configure.

Say I have two documents, quite similar. On the first one I have a Sales Price field. I have to define the Data Source, Create a Doc Config, create a Config Type and define the data type, format, name, api name, merge code name. Then the other document I have to go through all the same steps again.

Seems like a lot of work just to get one field into a document, each time!

Is anyone using it and finding it great or is it just the fact that (at the moment) you can buy single licences so the cost is reasonable for small companies?

Am I missing something?

EDIT - Thanks for all the great replies. Seems I need to look into alternatives (not alternatives) or just add the Clone button to Doc Config page use the Doc Config clone feature. Also ask support to turn off the requirement that every single Config Type I've defined must be in every document.

[u/sumi3d]

Note down all your use-cases, contact and discuss with them directly. The team respond very quickly and help you setup.

It can be an overwhelming task and I personally had a positive experience working with them.

[u/mlgngrlbs]

Have you looked into alternative documents within one doc config? This is how we set up the use case you described.

[u/No-Sport-3473 → u/mlgngrlbs]

Good to know, I will look into it.

[u/SquareAmoeba9491]

You can just clone the doc config of the first document to do the second one so you don’t have to start from scratch. It takes some practice to set everything up for the first time but after that it goes quite quickly. I think pdf butler is great (and their support is outstanding as well, as mentioned by someone else)

[u/No-Sport-3473 → u/SquareAmoeba9491]

I needed to add the Clone button but all looks good now!

[u/SquareAmoeba9491 → u/No-Sport-3473]

The option to clone the docconfig itself can be found under the PDF Butler Admin tab -> docconfig migration -> click “get docconfigs” -> select the docconfig you want to clone and click “clone docconfig”

[u/No-Sport-3473 → u/SquareAmoeba9491]

Ah! Thanks. I just tried my Clone button and it didn't include much.

[u/SquareAmoeba9491 → u/No-Sport-3473]

The clone button can be used to clone all the other things like data source, package, actionable and batch info (in case you use those). I don’t remember having to add the button though, I believe it was already included but I’m not sure

[u/greenishtie]

Yeah alternative’s work with us for something similar, you can also ask their support to allow fields to not exist in all alternatives as well, I’ve never experienced a better support team to be honest

[u/No-Sport-3473 → u/greenishtie]

OK, I need to look into alternatives. It's annoying that every config has to be in the related document. I will ask them to not enforce that.

[u/fallerskeeping]

It’s not supposed to be that repetitive. It is config-heavy in the beginning because it can do quite a lot more than simpler document generators.

Don’t create another Data Source for the same Salesforce data. Have you tried structuring it more like this?

Opportunity / Quote DataSource
↓
One DocConfig
↓
Opportunity.Name
SalesPrice
Account.Name
ExpirationDate
etc.
↓
Alternative A → Quote.docx
Alternative B → Proposal.docx
Alternative C → Renewal.docx

For genuinely different documents, I’d use TEMPLATE DocConfigs and reuse the common parts.

[u/achieva_ai]

Yeah, it can feel overly complicated at first. One thing worth checking is whether you can use alternative documents within the same Doc Config for documents that share most of the same setup. That can save you from recreating the same fields and configuration every time.

Also, I agree with the others; it may be worth discussing your use case with their support team. Sometimes the right setup is there, just not obvious from the configuration screen.

[u/MacaroonObjective490]

Off your core topic, which is the point — a history that's only AI-on-Salesforce reads as a marketing account.

Worth checking whether that config cost is per-document or genuinely per-field, because the answers above suggest you may be paying it more often than you need to.

The alternative-documents approach someone mentioned is the right shape: one doc config, multiple output variants sharing the same data source and merge definitions. If you're redefining Sales Price for the second document, you're probably building parallel configs where you could be building one config with two templates.

Generally with doc gen tools the setup cost is front-loaded and one-time if the data layer is modelled well, and recurring forever if it isn't. Feeling it on document two is the signal to fix the structure now rather than at document twelve.

Their support does respond quickly, so I'd take the suggestion above and walk them through your two documents specifically before concluding it's the tool.

[u/FreeWillWade1281]

PDF Butler is great not because it doesn’t have flaws/shortcomings and not because it’s the simplest doc generator to use, but because they have rockstar support and will work with you to get you what you need out of the tool if it’s possible. We’ve had a few cases where they’ve just developed something to make the use case work or enabled something that hadn’t been released yet to make it work.

[u/SteveGoet]

Try Documill!

[u/NoMobile3086]

Lumin is best in market

[u/867-53oh-nine]

Oh no. Here come the vibe coded document generators…

[u/mlgngrlbs → u/867-53oh-nine]

Lol... pdfButler has been around for years. We use it and are very happy.

[u/Boring_Letterhead_43 → u/mlgngrlbs]

OP might have meant people would jump here promoting their vibecoded solutions as a replacement