Create a dossier
The 4-step wizard to consolidate several evaluations into a dossier and export it to PDF from the browser.
Goal
Consolidate several evaluations into a single dossier, preview it, and export it to PDF. The wizard has four steps: type, sources, sections, and preview.
How to get there
- URL:
https://app.areacacao.com/sensory-analysis/dossiers/new - How to get there: in Consolidated dossiers, click + Create dossier (or Create first consolidated dossier if you don't have any yet).
Pro plan and above.
The wizard
The stepper shows the four steps: 1. Type · 2. Sources · 3. Sections · 4. Preview. You navigate with Next → and ← Back.
Steps
Step 1 — Type
Choose the dossier type among six cards:
- Quarterly / period: all evaluations from a quarter, month, or custom range.
- Production batch: the evaluations linked to a batch.
- Full product SKU: the history of a product.
- Supplier: year-over-year comparison of a supplier.
- End customer: a defensible dossier for a specific B2B customer.
- Custom: you pick the tastings that go in yourself.
The chosen type determines the source selection mode in Step 2: date range for Quarterly / period, batch search for Production batch, supplier list for Supplier, or multi-selection of tastings for Full product SKU, End customer, and Custom.
Step 2 — Sources
Define which evaluations go into the dossier:
- Dossier title (defaults to Consolidated dossier). You can change it.
- Source selector: a visual selector that adapts to the type you chose in Step 1. You don't paste identifiers: you select visually and AreaCacao figures out which evaluations go in for you.
Depending on the type, the selector shows one of these four modes:
For Quarterly / period: two date fields, From and To. The dossier will include all evaluations from your tastings within that range.
For Production batch: a search field Search batch by name, supplier or code… and a list of your batches. Click one to select it. If there are no matches, you'll see No batches for «your search».
If you don't have any batches yet, the selector says so: You don't have any batches registered yet. Create a batch in Sensory analysis → Batches.
For Supplier: a list of suppliers derived from your batches. Click one to compare all the evaluations from their batches.
If your batches have no supplier assigned, you'll see No suppliers in your batches. Assign a supplier to your batches in Sensory analysis → Batches.
For Full product SKU, End customer, and Custom: a multi-selection of tastings with checkboxes. Use the search field Search tasting by name… to filter and check every tasting you want to include. A counter shows N tastings selected.
If you don't have any evaluations yet, you'll see You don't have any evaluations yet. Create a tasting in Sensory analysis → Evaluations.
The Next → button stays disabled until you've selected a valid scope: a complete date range (From and To), a batch, a supplier, or at least one tasting, depending on the type.
Step 3 — Sections
The dossier includes six fixed sections: Cover, Executive summary, Individual evaluations, Comparison, Conclusions, and Disclaimer.
Granular section configurability is pending: for now all six are always included.
Step 4 — Preview
Click Generate preview → so AreaCacao consolidates the evaluations and renders the full dossier. The cover shows six summary metrics:
- Evaluations — total consolidated evaluations.
- Unique tastings — number of distinct tastings.
- Unique samples — samples evaluated.
- Panelists — panelists who took part.
- Batches — batches involved.
- Period — date range covered.
Below it you'll find:
- The Sensory attributes — cross-evaluation aggregates table, with columns Attribute, n, Mean, SD, Min, and Max.
- Included evaluations: each tasting with its type, status, and closing date.
- Batches involved and Panelist contribution (when there is data).
From here you can:
- Print / Save as PDF: opens the browser's print dialog; choose Save as PDF as the destination to get the document.
- Save dossier (see below): persists the scope so you can reopen it later.
While it consolidates, you'll see "Generating consolidated dossier…".
If the selected scope returns no evaluations, the preview shows "No evaluations in the requested scope. Adjust the filters or select other evaluations." If loading fails, the wizard shows the error detail (with its code, in the format Error 500 (...)) and a Reload button to retry.
Save dossier
Below the preview, the Save dossier panel appears:
- A dedicated title field, with the helper text Dossier title (e.g. Q1 2026 · Batch X).
- The Save button. If you leave the title empty, AreaCacao asks you to give it one before saving.
- After saving, you'll see "Dossier saved." with the View it in your dossiers list → link.
Export to PDF
The PDF is not generated by the server: it's produced from the browser with Print / Save as PDF. In the print dialog, select Save as PDF as the destination and adjust margins and orientation if you need to.
When printing, the document adds a brand header (AreaCacao · Sensory Analysis · Consolidated dossier) and closes with the disclaimer: "Consolidated dossier from a trained sensory panel · does not constitute origin certification or legal claim. · AreaCacao".
Reopen a saved dossier
When you open a saved dossier from the list, AreaCacao regenerates its content with the most recent data from its scope (only the scope was saved, not the PDF). Print / Save as PDF is available again so you can export the updated version.