Workflow: Batch Acceptance Records

The standard workflow for construction acceptance staff — produce 100+ work acceptance records (BBNTCV) from a single Excel table, convert them to PDF, and email them to the supervision consultant / client.

Objective

• Input: an Excel table with 100+ items to be accepted.
• Output: 100 separate Word records → 100 PDF files → one email to each party.

Workflow

Step 1 — Prepare the Excel data table

Create a DATA sheet whose first row is the column header row — the header names are exactly the mail-merge field names you will use in the Word file:

SoBB	MaCT	HangMuc	Ngay	DonVi	KhoiLuong	NhaThau	TVGS	EmailTVGS	EmailCDT
BB-001	MC-01	Pile foundation, grid A1	15/05/2026	m³	25	XYZ Co.	ABC Corp	a1@abc.com	b1@xyz.com
BB-002	MC-02	Pile foundation, grid A2	15/05/2026	m³	25	XYZ Co.	ABC Corp	a1@abc.com	b1@xyz.com
BB-003	MC-03	Pile foundation, grid B1	16/05/2026	m³	30	XYZ Co.	ABC Corp	a1@abc.com	b1@xyz.com
...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...

Tip:

• The SoBB column is used as the output file name → it must be unique on every row, otherwise two rows with the same name overwrite each other.
• Numbering fills a series from a start value + step, skips hidden rows and counts a merged cell only once — good for an STT column. With a text prefix it gives BB1, BB2… and does not pad with leading zeros, so a reference such as BB-001 still has to be built with a formula, for example ="BB-"&TEXT(ROW()-1;"000").
• The Ngay column should be a real Date format, not text.
• Auto-fill the NhaThau/TVGS columns with a lookup formula against the DanhSachBen sheet instead of copying by hand (see Workflow optimisation).

Step 2 — Build the Word template

To see the standard layout of a work acceptance record: DVD Cons → QAQC and Diary → Templates → Work Record Tpl (opens C:\DVDAddin\Template\FormNTCV.xlsx — this is an Excel form for printing and signing directly, not a Word template).

For a batch merge you need a separate .docx file. Draft the record in Word (company logo, header/footer, signature blocks for the supervision consultant / client / contractor), then place the blanks as [ColumnHeader] matching the column header names exactly in the DATA sheet:

Today, [Ngay], at item [HangMuc] (code [MaCT]), the parties carried out the acceptance of [KhoiLuong] [DonVi] executed by [NhaThau].

Save all template files into one folder, for example D:\Du an XYZ\Template\.

Create the titles automatically

DVD Addin → Merge Menu → Create Title scans the header row of the table and wraps each cell into [old value]. Looking at the table then tells you exactly which string to copy into Word — no mistyped diacritics or stray spaces.

Step 3 — Merge the data into Word

DVD Addin → File and Print group → Merge to Word:

Field	Value
Word template folder	D:\Du an XYZ\Template\
Output folder	D:\Du an XYZ\BBNT\
Pick Word templates	tick BBNT_CongViec.docx (hold Ctrl/Shift to pick several templates)
Data range (with header)	DATA!A1:J101
Output filename column	SoBB

Click Merge → each data row produces one Word file: BB-001.docx … BB-100.docx in the output folder.

The command only outputs Word

There is no option in this command to export straight to PDF or to combine everything into a single file — that is Step 4's job. If you pick several templates at once, the number of output files multiplies by the number of templates, so check your free disk space before running a large batch.

The machine must have Microsoft Word. Placeholders sitting in a header, a footer or a text box may not be replaced the way body text is — run a test with 2–3 rows before releasing the whole batch.

Step 4 — Convert the whole batch to PDF

DVD Addin → File and Print group → PDF / OCR → Word → PDF:

1. A dialog filtered to *.doc; *.docx opens → go to the BBNT\ folder → Ctrl+A to select everything → Open.
2. The add-in opens Word in the background and exports a PDF with the same name, in the same folder as the source Word file.
3. The closing message tells you how many files were converted.

Step 5 — Email the supervision consultant / client

Add columns to the DATA sheet, built with formulas:

• Subject: ="[DA-XYZ] BBNT " & C2 & " — " & TEXT(D2;"dd/MM/yyyy")
• Body: ="Dear Supervision Consultant," & CHAR(10) & CHAR(10) & "Please find attached the acceptance record for item " & C2 & " (code " & B2 & "), quantity " & F2 & " " & E2 & "." & CHAR(10) & CHAR(10) & "Best regards."
• Attachment: ="D:\Du an XYZ\BBNT\" & A2 & ".pdf"

Add a driver cell, for example DATA!$B$1, and a block of cells that use INDEX against the driver to return the recipient / subject / body / attachment path of the current row.

DVD Addin → Send Email:

1. Point To at the INDEX cell returning EmailTVGS, Cc at the cell returning EmailCDT, and Subject and Body at their matching cells (click the ⤴ button to pick a cell).
2. Point the Attachments box at the cell holding the PDF path.
3. Enable the Batch section → choose Continuous from 1 to 100 → Driver cell (n) = DATA!$B$1.
4. Click Preview — the Outlook compose window opens for the first iteration, without sending. Check the recipient, the content and the attached file.
5. If it looks right, click Send.

Outlook is mandatory

The command sends through Microsoft Outlook with an account already configured on the machine — there is no separate SMTP mode. The driver cell is genuinely overwritten while the run is in progress, so save the workbook before a large batch. Sent mail cannot be recalled.

Step 6 — Alternative: print straight from Excel

If the record is already laid out on an Excel sheet (no Word needed), skip Steps 2–4 and use Batch print:

• Number range: Continuous 1 → 100.
• Driver cell (number): the cell the formulas on the form look up against.
• Sheet-print cell: the cell holding the names of the sheets to print each round, separated by + (for example BBNT+PhuLuc).
• Filename cell: the cell whose formula names the PDF file.
• Tick combine all exported PDFs into one file → the whole set of 100 records becomes one continuous volume to submit for signature.

The configuration is saved into the hidden DVDAddinSetting sheet inside the workbook itself, so it is ready to use the next time you open the file.

Workflow optimisation

Auto-fill from the master table

Instead of typing 100 rows by hand, look them up from the master sheet with dvdXlookup — it has built-in error handling, so the table does not fill up with #N/A:

=dvdXlookup(B2; MasterHangMuc!$A$2:$A$500; MasterHangMuc!$C$2:$C$500; "Not in master"; "Lookup error"; 0)

If the master data is spread over several sheets (one sheet per item), use dvdLookupAllSheets — the function scans every sheet in the workbook by column index number:

=dvdLookupAllSheets(B2; 1; 3)

Numbering by tree structure

If the acceptance-record list follows a 1., 1.1., 1.1.1. structure:

1. Set the indent level of each cell with the Increase/Decrease Indent buttons on Excel's Home tab — the level is taken from the Indent, not from the dots you typed by hand.
2. Select the item column → DVD Addin → Text and Number group → Multilevel → Multilevel 1.1.1.

Running it a second time stacks the numbers on top of each other — use (None) in the same menu before renumbering. The system supports up to 10 levels.

Test before sending the batch

• Set the Batch range to 1 to 1 and send a test to yourself → check the real body + attachment in your mailbox.
• Or click Preview to open the Outlook compose window without sending.
• Only open the range back up to the full run once that is fine.

Build the acceptance plan from the schedule PRO

If you already have a construction schedule, there is no need to type the acceptance list by hand: DVD Cons → QAQC and Diary → Acceptance Plan.

The command auto-detects the schedule table on the active sheet and asks for Project / package, Inspection parties and Date, plus two options — Auto-suggest applicable standards (TCVN/QCVN) and Include summary rows. The result is a sheet named Ke hoach NT YYYY-MM-DD with 10 columns: No., Code, Acceptance work item, Type, Applicable standard, Start, Planned acceptance, Parties, Status, Note — use it directly as the DATA sheet for Step 1.

Notes

Before sending a mail batch

• Verify that the supervision consultant / client email list is correct — do not spam your customers.
• The first time: send to yourself + 2-3 colleagues as a test, and only send the 100 mails once that is fine.
• Check that the attachment paths really exist on the machine; a missing file means the mail goes out with no enclosure.

If your organisation caps outgoing mail

Many companies' Exchange / Microsoft 365 servers limit the number of messages per minute or per day. If you are blocked part-way through, split the batch range into several passes (1–50, then 51–100) and space them out — the Discrete (1+3+5) mode lets you name exactly the rows still missing.

Advanced features

Track acceptance status

Add a Status column to DATA:

• Pending (not sent) · Sent (mail sent) · Approved (signed by the supervision consultant) · Rejected (has to be redone).

When you update the status:

• Conditional-format the Status column (green/red/yellow) with Excel's built-in feature.
• A PivotTable summary counting by status.

Trace the supervision consultant's replies

1. Create a dedicated folder in Outlook for the supervision consultant's replies.
2. DVD Addin → File and Print group → Email Menu → Import Email → pick that Outlook folder, pick the folder for saving attachments, set the From / To date range, tick the file types to extract → Import.
3. The message contents land on the Output sheet — if the workbook already has one, the previous contents are replaced and Ctrl+Z cannot rescue them, so use a separate workbook for archiving. Match a Subject containing BBNT MC-01 against the MaCT column to mark Approved/Rejected.

License gating

Command	Requirement
Merge to Word, Send Email, Import Email, Batch print	License required (Standard or PRO)
Acceptance Plan	PRO
Work Record Tpl, Create Title, Word → PDF, Numbering, Multilevel 1.1.1	Free

During the 30-day trial, every command including the PRO ones is fully available. After that you need to activate a license.

Related

• Merge to Word — details of the [ColumnHeader] merge mechanism.
• Send Email — details of the batch mail window.
• Email Template — a sample workbook that already has the standard column layout.
• Workflow: Construction Diary — the parallel workflow for diary records.