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Reports and Certificates

calServer v2 offers a comprehensive reporting system for creating calibration certificates, inventory reports, and other documents.

Report Types

Report Type Description
Calibration Certificate Standards-compliant certificate with measurement results
Inventory Report Detailed report on a test instrument
QR Code Report Report with integrated QR code
List Report Export of the current table view

Generate Report

Reports can be generated in several ways:

  1. From the detail view — Via the action menu of an inventory item or calibration
  2. From the grid — Via the per-row report menu (detail reports, label, direct print) or the "Reports" toolbar button for the marked selection (master reports); see TableMaster
  3. As bulk export — Via the export function for multiple entries

Which reports appear in which grid (detail/master placement, label and direct print, role/group visibility) is controlled by the report administration.

The Report Dialog

A detail report opens in a dialog with a PDF preview. From there — depending on resource, DMS presence, and permissions — the following actions are available:

Action Description
Download Download the report in its configured format (PDF, XLSX, DOCX, CSV)
Print Print the PDF directly via the browser print dialog
File to DMS File the report as a document into the DMS
Release Generate the report per the release rules and file it as released into the DMS
Capture signature Capture a handwritten signature (calibrations, orders, and repairs only)
Send Send the report as an email attachment

Filing to the DMS

Generated reports can be filed into the document management system:

  • Manually via "File to DMS" in the report menu (grid or detail page)
  • Automatically: per report file, automatic DMS filing after every generation can be enabled in the report administration, incl. an explicit target category (file category/file_setting)
  • Release workflow and versioning follow the regular DMS rules

Multiple DMS categories

If several DMS categories are configured for a grid and none matches the report's filename unambiguously, the report dialog asks for the target category via a select list and retries the filing with the chosen category — for both "File to DMS" and "Release".

Release (Release Rules)

The Release action generates the report once per matching release rule in the required format and files it as a released document (DMS approve flow):

  • Release rules are maintained per report in the report administration, "Releases" tab (format PDF, PDF/A, or PDF/A Sign, optionally restricted to roles/groups)
  • One DMS document is created per rule matching the user's role or group; captured signatures are permanently stamped in
  • PDF/A variants are converted by the report runner
  • Without a matching rule the dialog reports "No release rule is configured for your role/group for this report" — an administrator then needs to create the rule

The 'PDF/A Sign' level does not produce a seal

The level was named that way because the report runner used to attach a self-issued certificate. That was a self-declaration, every viewer saw "validity unknown", and it has been removed. The name only stayed so that existing rules keep working; what you get is plain PDF/A.

The release now says so itself: instead of "Released" you get "Released, but not sealed". A verifiable seal is produced in the release process on the calibration, see Calibration Certificate Release. Which credential is permitted there is defined in the seal administration; as long as no rule carries "seal automatically after release", sealing is a manual step.

Report Templates

Reports are based on configurable templates (Report Templates):

  • Templates are managed by the administrator under Administration > Reports
  • Variables enable dynamic content (equipment data, calibration data, customer information)
  • JasperStarter generates the PDF output server-side
  • Templates support company logos, signatures, and standards-compliant layouts
  • The template files themselves are stored versioned in the DMS; existing v1 files are imported idempotently with php artisan reports:import-templates, and duplicating a report copies the template file along

Capture Signature (Handwritten)

Reports can carry a handwritten signature:

This is not a digital signature

What is captured is an image on a drawing pad, stamped into the PDF when it is rendered. It is not cryptographically protected and can be exchanged. For proof towards third parties there is the seal in the release process (the "Release" tab on a calibration, see Calibration Certificate Release): a PAdES signature with a laboratory certificate. The two have nothing to do with each other, and until 2026 this button was misleadingly called "Seal" as well.

  • Via Capture signature in the report dialog, the signature is captured on a drawing pad; the signature place (position on the page) is selected and shown schematically
  • Signature places are created per report in the report administration ("Signatures" tab), optionally restricted to roles/groups; the action requires the signature_write permission
  • Multiple signature fields per report possible

Captured once, visible everywhere

Once a signature has been captured, it appears on every PDF output of the report: the preview reloads automatically and shows the signed report, and download, email dispatch, and DMS filing carry the signature as well. On Release, it is permanently stamped onto the released document.

DCC Export

For accredited laboratories, calServer supports export in the Digital Calibration Certificate (DCC v3.3.0) format according to the PTB specification.

The calibration's "More" menu carries two entries for it: (DCC XML) downloads the file, (DCC ins DMS) files it as a document on the calibration — into the system folder dcc, matched by certificate number. Only filing turns the DCC into a versioned artifact with a checksum; filing again creates a new version, not a second document. The same folder takes in DCC files that arrive from outside.

Report History

All generated reports are logged:

  • Timestamp of creation
  • User who requested the report
  • Template used
  • Link to the data record