Overview
This article answers common questions about generating documents in Azure Documenter — on-demand generation, scheduled runs, preview, notifications, generation history, and failure handling.
Business value
Understanding how document generation works reduces confusion about when documents are produced, where they are delivered, and what to do when generation does not complete as expected. Clear answers here prevent teams from missing reports or duplicating generation effort.
How it works
Azure Documenter supports two generation modes: on-demand generation triggered from the document configurations list, and scheduled generation that runs automatically at the day and time configured in the Schedule step. Both modes use the same settings stored in the configuration and publish output to the same destination. Generation time varies by document type and subscription scope.
FAQs
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What is the difference between on-demand and scheduled generation?
On-demand generation is triggered manually from the Actions menu on a configuration and produces the document immediately. Scheduled generation runs automatically at the day and time configured in the Schedule step, without requiring manual action. Both use the same configuration settings and produce identical output. -
How long does document generation take?
Generation time depends on the number of subscriptions in scope and the complexity of the document type. Simple document types with a small subscription scope typically complete in under a minute. Data-intensive types such as Resource details or Resource auditing across many subscriptions can take several minutes. See Document generation failures if generation appears to be stuck. -
Can I preview a document before generating it?
Yes. In the Review step of the Configure your document wizard and in the Generate document panel, click Preview document to review the document content and structure before committing. Preview does not publish the document or consume generation credits. -
How am I notified when a document generation completes or fails?
Notifications are configured in the Notifications step of the Configure your document wizard. You can enter recipient email addresses, select an email template, and configure additional notification channels. Notifications are sent for both successful completions and failures. If notifications are not configured, a generation failure is silent. -
Where can I view previously generated documents?
Documents published to an Azure Storage account are available in the configured storage container. Documents published to Document360 are available in the configured knowledge base project. See Accessing generated documents for the full access workflow. -
Can I regenerate a document using the same configuration?
Yes. Click the Actions menu on a configuration and select Generate document at any time to produce a fresh document using the current configuration settings. Each on-demand generation is independent of previous runs. -
What happens if a scheduled generation fails?
If notifications are enabled, a failure notification is sent to the configured recipients with the reason for the failure. If notifications are not enabled, the failure is silent and the document is not produced for that cycle. Check the document configurations list for generation status and see Document generation failures for a full diagnostic guide. -
Can I generate a document via the API?
Yes. Azure Documenter exposes a generation API through Turbo360. See the Azure Documenter API reference for available endpoints and authentication requirements.