Data App PDF Reports with Dash Enterprise
Meet the Speaker
Austin Kiesewetter
Austin Kiesewetter is a Plotly community member and software engineer at Martin Engineering.
This video introduces Dash Enterprise Snapshot Engine, a tool that lets you turn interactive Dash apps into annotated, shareable PDFs. We walk through setting it up using a prebuilt clinical trial app example and show how to launch both the web and Celery processes using the provided Procfile.
Snapshot Engine enables users to draw and comment directly on app components, highlight key areas, and create named snapshots. These snapshots can include selected charts, be shared via URL, or emailed as PDFs with custom messages. This adds a review layer on top of dashboards, making them more collaborative and presentation-ready.
We demonstrate features including:
- Drawing and commenting directly on app elements
- Creating snapshots with selected charts
- Sending the output via email or sharing a direct PDF link
- Running both the web server (gunicorn) and background tasks (celery)
- Configuring the system using the Procfile and README.md for guidance
The app uses multi-page layout, Celery for background processing, and standard Dash structure. The Snapshot Engine can be extended or customized depending on reporting needs, making it a powerful addition for client handoffs or internal reviews.
We close by pointing to the official documentation, which includes setup steps, example apps, and detailed usage guidance.
Watch the video to follow along with the full demo and see how to build snapshot features into your own Dash apps.
