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NXTC Help Center

Report Generation Issues

When you click the Report button in nSpec and the PDF doesn’t appear, it could be a network problem, a browser download issue, a server timeout, or — if you’re on a Procore tenant — the wrong report type entirely. This article walks through every common report generation problem and how to resolve it.

How Report Generation Works

Section titled “How Report Generation Works”

When you click the Report button on an inspection screen:

  1. nSpec sends the inspection ID and report type to the server
  2. The server pulls every observation, photo, action item, and other content from the database
  3. The server renders the data into a PDF using the template for that report type
  4. The PDF is sent back to your browser as a download
  5. Your browser saves it to your downloads folder (or, on Safari, opens a share sheet)

This is server-side rendering — your browser doesn’t generate the PDF itself, it just receives it. That means a stable internet connection is required from start to finish.

There’s no Report button

Section titled “There’s no Report button”

Symptoms: The inspection screen header doesn’t have a Report button.

Solutions:

  • Type 42 (Procore Compliance) inspections don’t have a Report button. The data lives in Procore, not nSpec — there’s no PDF to generate.
  • For other report types, refresh the page
  • Check your role permissions — if your role doesn’t include report generation, the button is hidden

Report generation failed

Section titled “Report generation failed”

Symptoms: You clicked Report and got an error message.

Solutions:

  • Check your internet connection. Report generation requires a stable connection from start to finish.
  • Try again. Most failures are temporary network issues that succeed on a retry.
  • Wait a moment between retries — slamming the Report button doesn’t help
  • If the failure mentions a specific section (observations, photos, etc.), try removing or fixing the problematic item and retry
  • If you’ve recently added or edited a lot of content, give the database a moment to catch up before generating

Generation is very slow

Section titled “Generation is very slow”

Symptoms: The report eventually generates but takes minutes instead of seconds.

Solutions:

  • Large inspections (lots of observations, lots of photos) take longer to render. This is expected.
  • If the inspection has dozens of high-resolution photos, generation can take a couple of minutes
  • Don’t refresh or click Report again while the first request is still processing — that just creates more load
  • If generation routinely takes more than 5 minutes, contact support

The PDF is blank or missing content

Section titled “The PDF is blank or missing content”

Symptoms: The report generates but pages are empty or sections are missing.

Solutions:

  • Confirm the content actually exists in nSpec — open the inspection and verify observations, photos, etc. are saved
  • If you added content recently, wait a moment for the save to fully process before generating
  • Check that you’re looking at the right report type — some types skip sections that other types include
  • Try regenerating the report once or twice

The PDF doesn’t download

Section titled “The PDF doesn’t download”

Symptoms: Generation appears to succeed but no file appears in your downloads folder.

Solutions:

  • Check your browser’s downloads folder — the file may have downloaded but not popped up a notification
  • Check your browser’s download settings — make sure downloads aren’t being blocked
  • Disable any browser extensions that intercept downloads (some PDF viewers, ad blockers)
  • If you’re on Safari (especially iPad), the PDF opens a share sheet instead of downloading directly. Choose Save to Files, AirDrop, or Mail from the share menu to save it.
  • Try a different browser to confirm whether the issue is browser-specific

Safari opens a share menu instead of downloading

Section titled “Safari opens a share menu instead of downloading”

This is normal. Safari handles PDFs through the share sheet for a better mobile experience. Pick Save to Files to save the PDF to your Files app, or pick another option to share it directly.

If the share sheet doesn’t appear at all, refresh the page and try generating again.

Report is too big to email

Section titled “Report is too big to email”

Symptoms: The PDF generates but is too large to attach to an email.

Solutions:

  • nSpec compresses photos for the PDF, but very large inspections still produce large files
  • Use a file sharing service (SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox) instead of email attachment
  • Use the Distribution List feature to have nSpec send the report directly to recipients — this avoids email attachment limits
  • If the report needs to be smaller, consider splitting the inspection across multiple report files or removing optional sections

Report won’t generate offline

Section titled “Report won’t generate offline”

Symptoms: You’re in Offline Mode and the Report button doesn’t work.

Solutions:

  • Report generation runs server-side and requires an internet connection. You cannot generate reports while offline.
  • Sync your offline work via the Offline Hub, exit Offline Mode, then generate the report
  • See Offline Hub Guide

Reporting a Generation Bug

Section titled “Reporting a Generation Bug”

If you’ve worked through this list and reports still won’t generate, contact support with:

  • The inspection ID and project name
  • The report type you’re trying to generate
  • The exact error message (screenshot if possible)
  • The browser and operating system you’re using
  • Roughly how many observations and photos the inspection has
  • Whether it’s happening for everyone on your team or just you

Send to support@nxtconstruction.ai.

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