Create Low-Code Document Workflows in Workfront
Automate document workflows using Workfront Fusion, Adobe PDF Services, and Acrobat Sign.
When managing marketing projects, it can often be the case that you have to work with various applications to get your work done. You log into your email to send notices to customers. You log into Acrobat Sign to send documents for signature. You draft your documents in Microsoft Word. You share and collaborate on documents with your client using Dropbox. You reference customer records in your CRM like Microsoft Dynamics or Salesforce. All day, it is working across different apps to get daily work done.
There are a lot of documents related to client projects: proposals, statements of work, and invoices all need to be created. As projects evolve, scope changes and documents need to reflect that and get sign off. Managing the paperwork of projects means copying and pasting from different systems, creating documents in Word, sending them in an email to get signed, and back into storage systems.
Fortunately, Workfront makes this much more manageable. As part of Workfront Fusion, there are now new connectors for Adobe PDF Services and soon Acrobat Sign to easily create new workflows.
What is Workfront Fusion?
Adobe Workfront Fusion is a workflow solution included as part of Workfront that allows you to connect to your business-critical applications and create dynamic workflows without writing code . It’s a powerful integration platform that lets work flow freely across systems and teams. It increases your team’s productivity and efficiency by giving them a single, connected solution to manage and deliver great work.
Workfront Fusion allows you to connect to various apps, including Microsoft SharePoint, Dynamics, Google Workplace, Salesforce, and many other connectors. If connectors do not have a turn-key connector, you can also use the generic HTTP connector to connect to any API easily.
Part of the critical benefit of Workfront Fusion is easily connecting your data systems in workflows. It is a simple drag and drop interface to set up connections, add conditional routing, and parse content.
New connectors for document workflows
Workfront Fusion now includes connectors for Adobe PDF Services, allowing you to create workflows for some of your common document workflows. It includes all of the features available as part of Adobe PDF Services, including:
- OCR a PDF: Use optical character recognition to make PDF documents searchable.
- PDF file properties: Get metadata properties of a PDF to help inform workflows with information such as whether the document is scanned, has images, encrypted, et.
- Protect a PDF: Protect a PDF with a password. Ideal for securing sensitive information in a PDF.
- Combine Files: Combine multiple PDF documents into one — ideal for eliminating many file attachments.
- Compress PDF and Linearize: Compress a PDF to make a smaller size. Ideal for optimizing PDF documents for publishing or sharing in email.
- Convert Document to PDF: Convert formats like DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, and other formats into a PDF.
- Convert HTML to PDF: Convert HTML content into a PDF.
- Convert Image to PDF: Convert images into a PDF.
- Extract PDF: This allows you to extract content from documents to republish into different platforms, import into databases, and other processes.
- Generate Document: Use Document Generation API to quickly generate documents based on data with templates designed efficiently in Microsoft Word.
- Page Manipulation: Add, remove, and move pages within a PDF.
One of the great benefits of using Adobe PDF Services within Workfront Fusion is that Adobe PDF Services is included as a standard connector. Users can start utilizing Adobe PDF Services for free. For larger volume, there is enterprise licensing available.
Adobe Acrobat Sign connector
Along with Adobe PDF Services, Acrobat Sign connector is available within Workfront Fusion, allowing you to generate documents based on data and send them for signature with Acrobat Sign. In addition, this is a great way where the flow can be triggered based on an event in Acrobat Sign, such as when a document is signed and completed. PDF Services, Acrobat Sign, and other connectors work seamlessly together offer end-to-end digital document workflows.
Scenarios for document workflows
Adobe PDF Services are flexible to use with different workflows within Workfront Fusion, such as:
- Statement of Work: Use data from your Workfront projects and CRM data to generate a statement of work for your clients.
- Release Forms: Capture release forms for talent or parties involved in projects with Acrobat Sign and store them in Workfront or other storage connectors (BOX, Dropbox, SharePoint, OneDrive, etc.)
- Whitepapers for publishing: Use Compress and Linearize to optimize documents published on the web.
- Optimize scanned documents: Use OCR PDF to take scanned documents and make them searchable.
- Brand checking: Use PDF Extract API to examine content in a PDF to ensure that content is on-brand before publishing.
Learn more
If you would like to learn more about Adobe PDF Services, Acrobat Sign, and Workfront Fusion, join us on Paper Clips where we will be discussing the new connectors.
In addition, we will have a session at Adobe Summit showcasing how these connectors help automate document workflows within projects.
Learn more about Adobe PDF Services to see how you can get the most out of Adobe PDF Services within Workfront Fusion and your own apps.
UPDATE (08/24/2023): Updated the article to reflect that Adobe PDF Services is available to start using with Workfront Fusion for free, but higher volumes may require enterprise licensing.
