If you want to judge the live output first, start with the sample survey pack preview, then see the deliverables page or the portal page for how the finished pack is handed over.
What PDF v2 is
PDF v2 is the current Vertex survey pack PDF system. It is the format used to build the finished installer pack after a survey has been linked, checked, and prepared for delivery. That matters whether the job is an ASHP survey, a broader heat pump survey, a solar PV survey, a battery storage survey, or a heat loss survey.
In practical terms, PDF v2 is the pack that brings the cover summary, heat loss table, room and floor plan evidence, heating and radiator notes, electrical evidence, loft notes, ASHP location checks, cylinder position, EPC and bills, photo documentation, installation reference, and thermal imaging into one survey pack PDF.
What changed between the first and latest output
The clearest comparison came from the same live record in output/: the first Young S18 8NZ PDF generated on 16 April 2026 and the latest Young S18 8NZ PDF generated on 18 April 2026.
| Area | Earlier output | Latest output | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover page | A simpler front page with raw summary cards and no design watchlist. | A tighter cover with verified address details, cleaner labels, and a dedicated watchpoint block for emitters, cylinder, hydraulics, and outdoor unit. | The next reader can see the main risks before opening the technical sections. |
| Contents | A standard table of contents page. | A sharper table of contents plus a separate Quick Find Guide page near the front of the pack. | The pack is much faster to scan when design, estimating, and install teams only need one answer quickly. |
| Language | Some wording read more like internal document naming. | Descriptions are more decision-led: supply capacity, route context, fit envelope, supporting evidence, and handoff use. | The PDF reads more like an installer document and less like an export dump. |
| Page control | The early PDF was 139 pages. | The latest PDF is 138 pages, with less wasted space and better section handling. | Part of the v2 work was removing heading-only waste and keeping sections more usable on the page. |
The big front-of-pack improvements
The front of the survey pack PDF changed the most, and that is where the release earns its name.
A better first page
The cover now behaves like a real installer summary page. Instead of just listing the property facts, it surfaces key site context, verified location details, and watchpoints that affect pricing and design.
A new Quick Find Guide
PDF v2 adds a quick index near the front of the pack so teams can jump straight to property facts, heat loss, heating, electrics, and floor plan evidence.
A cleaner table of contents
The contents page was rebuilt for sharper print output, cleaner hierarchy, and better one-page fit even when the pack has a lot of sections.
This matters because the survey pack PDF is not only read by one person. A heat pump survey PDF might be opened by estimating first, then design, then install. A solar PV survey PDF might be checked by design and electrical teams. A heat loss survey pack might be used during system sizing and radiator review. PDF v2 now respects that reality much more clearly.
The structural and quality improvements through the pack
The deeper improvements are the ones that stop the pack feeling messy once you move past page one.
| Improvement | What changed in PDF v2 | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Photo documentation flow | Heading-only photo pages and empty categories were removed or suppressed when there was no valid image data. | The photo pack reads like grouped evidence instead of a stop-start export. |
| Photo orientation | EXIF orientation handling was fixed so rotated photos are corrected before the PDF is built. | Electrical, loft, access, and plant photos no longer lose trust because they are sideways. |
| Formatting cleanup | PDF v2 normalises units and labels such as loft insulation thickness in mm, proper property age ranges, title-cased values, and cleaner yes/no output. | The pack feels deliberate and easier to quote from. |
| Data placeholders | Unknown or missing values are handled more clearly, including explicit "Not available from floor plan" notes where PlanUp data is missing. | The reader can tell the difference between missing evidence and a genuine zero or no. |
| Thermal and special sections | Thermal imaging and similar sections are now shown when there is actual supporting data, not just because a template exists. | The pack stays tighter and more relevant to the live job. |
| Print quality | TOC rendering, SVG sharpness, colour accuracy, and card styling were all tightened for PDF output. | The survey pack PDF looks more like a finished handover pack and less like a draft export. |
There is also a quieter but important stability gain behind the release: one rendering fault that could stop body sections from appearing was fixed during the v2 work. That is not a visual feature, but it is exactly the kind of change that makes a production survey pack PDF more dependable.
GPS maps, floor plan context, and evidence handling
PDF v2 also improves how site context enters the pack. GPS extraction now prefers the property address, then geocodes it, and uses Google Maps or Mapbox static imagery where available. That gives the pack a better chance of showing the right property position rather than only relying on where a device happened to be edited.
On the floor plan and room side, the pack is clearer about what comes from measured rooms, what comes from PlanUp, and where a room is missing area or volume data. That is a practical improvement for a heat loss survey PDF because silent gaps are harder to spot than explicit placeholders.
How we get the pack from site survey to finished PDF
PDF v2 is not a separate manual document. It is the release layer that sits on top of the survey data and builds the finished survey pack PDF from the evidence already captured on the job.
- The booking is created and the survey is carried out on site.
- The survey record captures rooms, measurements, heat loss inputs, heating details, radiator details, electrical evidence, location notes, EPC and bills, photos, and thermal imaging where included.
- Floor plan data, property location, and supporting images are pulled into the PDF builder.
- PDF v2 assembles the front page, contents, quick-find page, technical sections, photo documentation, installation reference, and supporting evidence into one survey pack PDF.
- The pack is checked and published through the Vertex workflow before the installer sees it.
That is why the improvements matter across different job types. The same PDF v2 system now supports the ASHP survey PDF, heat pump survey PDF, solar PV survey PDF, battery storage survey PDF, and heat loss survey pack with a cleaner front-end and a more reliable evidence path underneath it.
How installers get the finished pack
Once the job reaches Ready and Vertex publishes it, the finished pack is delivered through the portal. The normal route is simple:
- Installer design and installer master users can open the booking and download the PDF and the photos ZIP.
- Those users can also read the PDF in the portal instead of downloading it first.
- Rep users can track the booking, but the actual pack download sits with the roles that need to review and use it.
That means the survey pack PDF is not sent out as a loose attachment that can go stale in email threads. The pack lives in the same route as the booking status, and the download appears when the job is ready for installer use.
- Portal for the delivery route and status flow.
- Sample survey pack preview if you want to judge the PDF structure first.
- Deliverables if you want the section-by-section view of what the pack includes.
Why PDF v2 matters for heat pump, solar PV, and heat loss work
The main reason is simple: different teams read the same pack for different decisions.
Better for ASHP and heat pump quoting
The front-page watchpoints, heat loss basis, electrical evidence, cylinder location, and outdoor-unit context are clearer, so the ASHP survey pack is easier to price from and easier to pass into design.
Better for roof and electrical review
A solar PV survey pack only works if roof evidence, obstructions, inverter or battery context, and electrical details stay readable. PDF v2 does a better job of keeping that evidence grouped and usable.
Better for room-by-room review
The pack is clearer about what is measured, what is assumed, and what is missing. That is a real improvement for heat loss calculations, emitter review, and radiator sizing conversations.
Better for retrofit decisions
Battery storage work often turns on access, electrics, siting, and existing kit. PDF v2 makes those practical constraints easier to see without digging through raw uploads.
That is the real release story. PDF v2 is not only a prettier survey pack PDF. It is a more useful installer pack.
- Open the sample survey pack preview.
- See how the pack is delivered in the portal.
- Send one real job if you want to judge the live route on a current install.