Rendering API
Reports with a Document Creator report layout are rendered by using HTTP requests to a rendering API.
Default API¶
By default, Document Creator uses the rendering API that is hosted by Apportunix.
This API comes with a few restrictions including restrictions on the number of render requests that are allowed per Microsoft Entra tenant.
Restrictions¶
The usage from a Business Central environment is restricted to a maximum number of requests in a time period to ensure a stable experience. The restrictions that are put on the number of requests are configured differently for Production and Sandbox (Demo) environments.
Important
Apportunix holds the right to add, modify and/or remove restrictions on the default rendering API with the goal to improve the experience for the majority of the user base of the API.
As described by the Acceptable Usage Policy of the end-user license agreement, usage of the default API is subject to "fair use". Acceptable/fair use of the default rendering API is evaluated and determined by Apportunix and based, among other things, on usage quantity compared to that of other users of the API.
Production Environments¶
The following table summarizes the currently configured limits per time period for Production environments:
| Time Period | Maximum Number of Render Requests |
|---|---|
| 2 seconds | 8 |
| 1 hour | 1250 |
There is a time limit of 60 seconds for report rendering requests. When this time limit is exceeded you will get an error message that reads "Report generation timed out".
Sandbox Environments¶
The following table summarizes the currently configured limits per time period for Sandbox environments:
| Time Period | Maximum Number of Render Requests |
|---|---|
| 2 seconds | 5 |
| 1 hour | 1250 |
| 1 day | 8000 |
There is a time limit of 30 seconds for report rendering requests. When this time limit is exceeded you will get an error message that reads "Report generation timed out".
Alternative API¶
On the Document Creator Setup page you can also configure Document Creator to use an alternative API for rendering report layouts.
This can for example be used for fallback scenarios (e.g., when the default API is unavailable). By setting up and using an alternative API you confirm to take responsibility for ensuring you are using an API that is available and compatible with the latest versions of Document Creator and that Apportunix cannot be held accountable for the services provided by the alternative API.
- When an alternative/custom rendering API is used, a daily license check is performed using the default API. If this license check fails (e.g., because the default API could not be reached), then there is a 15-day grace period that the license check with the default API is allowed to fail.
- The alternative rendering API is used when Use Alternative Rendering API is enabled (i.e., set to TRUE) and the Alternative API Base URL is non-empty.
- In addition there is an Alternative API Scope field that can be used to configure for which environment types the alternative rendering API applies. This is added to account for environments being copied from Production as Sandbox environments (and vice versa).