Troubleshooting PDF issues

Creating PDF reports in Cascade is wonderful when it works, but what can you do when things don’t run smoothly? Here we cover some of the common issues that cause problems when creating PDFs, and how you can contact us for more help. Once the PDF Folder Path is set up correctly, you’ll be creating the reports with ease.

Can’t find your PDF files? See Finding your PDF Files.

PDF Process in Cascade

To identify the cause of a problem when creating PDFs in Cascade, there are three main areas to cover.

Need more help? Find out how best to receive support.

Do the PDF pages spill onto two pages? See our article for a workaround.

Check for a valid Folder Path in the Cascade Settings

In the Settings section of the Cascade Menu, check the PDF Folder Path.

1. Click on Insert Folder to populate or update the Folder Path.
2. Click on Test Path to see if Cascade can successfully create a PDF.

If all is good, try creating a PDF from one of the reports.

Troubleshooting the PDF Folder Path

Mac Computers

On a Mac, the PDF Folder Path should look something like
/Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Cascade/
Where the username will be your own login name for the computer.

Need help finding your PDF files?

Windows PCs

In Windows, the PDF Folder Path should begin with C:\ rather than https://

OneDrive and SharePoint folder locations often use the hyperlink format https:// which needs to be changed to the DOS format C:\ (or another drive letter). Follow these steps to get the DOS format for the Folder Path.

1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the folder to save the PDFs. You can select any valid folder.
2. Near the top it shows all the parent folders to reach the desired folder. click on the white space to the right of the folders and the full path is highlighted in blue – see image.
3. Copy the path with Ctrl+C or right click and Copy.
4. In the Cascade Settings, clear the cell for the PDF Folder Path, then Paste the path from Windows Explorer with Ctrl+V or right click and Paste.

Now try the Test Path button to see if it is successful.

If there are still issues and the folder location is on a shared network, it could be the network permissions. Try first using a local path on your C: drive to see if that will work, then contact your IT Support team.

On a Mac, you may need to grant permissions to the folder. See Set folder permissions for saving PDFs on a Mac.

Make sure the PDF filename does not use special characters

When saving the PDF file, Cascade generates the filename based on the person or the team name, followed by the name of the report.

The Individual reports use the person’s name followed by the report name. For example;
• Chris P Bacon – Personal Insights.pdf
Make sure there are no special characters in the person’s name, such as apostrophe ‘ or ampersand & etc.

The Team reports use the Team Heading, set in the Cascade Menu, for the first part of the filename. It is followed by the name of the report and may include a suffix for the number of themes. For example, a Team Grid showing the top 5 themes with a heading of ‘Management Team’, will look like;
• Management Team – Team Grid – T5.pdf
Make sure there are no special characters in the Team Heading, such as ‘&:\/<>*?%” etc.

Check that a PDF file of the same name is not already open

When creating PDFs in Cascade, the PDF report may automatically display on the screen. Be aware that if you try to create a PDF of the same report for the same person or with the same Team Heading, the PDF filename will be a duplicate. When the original PDF file is already open on the screen, it is not possible for Cascade to overwrite the file with the new PDF report. This will cause an error 70.

Close the open PDF on the screen, then try to create the report again in Cascade.

Need more Help?

We are here to help, so if you need assistance please get in touch and we can guide you in the right direction. Use the Contact Us form and describe as best as possible what is happening along with any error messages.

We can provide a more informative reply if we know your Cascade Settings.
1. In the Cascade Menu screen (Home tab), click on the Settings button.
2. Click on Show/Hide Systems Settings button (bottom right) to display the computer settings to the right of the screen.
3. Copy these settings and Paste them into the Contact Us form.
The settings automatically include your Cascade License number.

We usually respond within 24 hours.