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Working with PDF Packs and Snapshots

Overview

Brief Connect generates PDF packs and snapshots so you can view a record as a point-in-time PDF.

  • A PDF pack is generated on demand when you open or export a record as PDF.
  • A snapshot is generated by workflow and captures the record at that moment in time.

Both are intended to preserve the record as it existed when the PDF was created.

What is included

PDF packs and snapshots include the main parts of the record in a single PDF:

  • A cover sheet
  • Original correspondence, when the record contains it
  • Primary or department work documents
  • Endorsements or activity history
  • Attachments

If a signed copy corresponds to a primary document or attachment, the signed copy replaces the unsigned document in the same position. A signed document that Brief Connect cannot associate with an original document appears at the end of the PDF.

Supporting documents are not included as pages in the PDF. However, their sensitivity labels can raise the security classification shown on the PDF cover sheet. For example, if a supporting document is classified PROTECTED, the PDF can display PROTECTED even though that supporting document is not included in the PDF.

The order of primary documents and attachments follows the order set on the record. If you reorder documents in Documents, that order is reflected in PDF packs and snapshots generated afterwards.

For more detail about document order, see Briefing Pack order.

How PDF packs and snapshots work

PDF packs and snapshots are designed to represent the record at a specific moment.

  • A PDF pack shows the record content and documents included at the time you generate it.
  • A snapshot preserves the state of the record when the workflow created it.
  • Snapshots include the same record documents as a PDF pack, not just a cover page and endorsement trail.

Because these files act as a point-in-time record, Brief Connect applies protection to help prevent tampering.

Determine snapshot order

The creation timestamp indicates when Brief Connect created and recorded a snapshot. Use this timestamp to determine the order in which snapshots were created.

Known limitation

Snapshot entries might not appear in chronological order, and their displayed version numbers might not represent the sequence in which Brief Connect created them. This is a known limitation that will be resolved in a future release. Until then, compare the creation timestamps to determine snapshot order.

Why some downloaded PDFs look locked

If your organisation's tenant policies and settings allow downloading, users may download a PDF pack or snapshot and open it in a local PDF client.

Brief Connect adds an owner password to PDF packs and snapshots. This is not a password for opening the PDF. It restricts common modification operations, including editing, copying content, adding annotations, and assembling pages.

Some PDF clients may still:

  • Open the file in an apparent edit mode
  • Prompt for a password before allowing changes
  • Always prompt for a password and refuse to open the file without one

This behaviour depends on the PDF client. Brief Connect cannot control how individual PDF applications handle protected PDFs.

Where possible, do not download and share PDF packs or snapshots as files.

Instead, share the generated link so the document opens in the SharePoint PDF viewer. This avoids the password prompt issue some local PDF clients show, and it continues to respect the permissions on the record.

If someone cannot open the shared link, add them to the record as a view-only user.

For more information about PDF protection, see Securing PDF Packs and Snapshots.