Automatic printing of a document linked to an Equipment

Question

Good day SAP Experts,
I have a question which I hope there is a simple answer to within SAP.
I have created some documents that are stored in a seperate pc and are linked to SAP PM equipments. (Transaction CV01N)
I can follow the link from the equipment back to the document, open and view/change this document and also when the document is open, I can print it.
So far so good, now is the tricky bit,  I create a PM work order for this Equipment, I can see there is a document linked to the equipment, so I want this documnet to be printed automatically when I release and print the work order.
To put it simply, my request is similar to having received an email with an attachment, I want the attachment to be printed in full when I request the email to printed.
In  the customising of DMS I have found :
Application Type
This key controls the processing of original application files with applications in document info records.
Use
For authorization purposes, you can define the following settings for each application, depending on the data carrier type:
1 - Display
2 - Change
3 - Print
But I cannot get option 3 to work or am I misunderstanding the use of "3-Print"
Any help or guidance greatly appreciated.
Leslie

Answer 1

Hi Leslie
The print function in workstation applications won't automatically print the documents attached to an equipment. This function is designed to allow you to print using the print button in a SAP DIR or from CV04N, not for automated printing when a work order is released. This would require either an ABAP enhancement or a product like Seal.
The problem with linking a document to an equipment and printing it is that the equipment could have any documents linked including photos and numerous procedures or work instructions designed for different tasks. Unless all documents are relevant for all tasks, you could easily find yourself in a position where you end up printing 5 documents you don't need every time you release an order. This is the reason that the best technical solution is rather to link the document as a product resource tool to a maintenance order or task list. This indicates in SAP that the document is a tool required for that specific maintenance order or task and you can select different documents for different tasks and the order in which the documents should be used because without this the results could have serious safety impacts. I.e. ensure that the person follows the tag out procedure before trying to do another task on the equipment.
Regards,
Athol