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Windward vs. Nintex: Which is a better Document Automation Solution?

If you are looking for document automation software to streamline your ever-growing documentation needs, you might have heard about Windward and Nintex by now. While Windward is known to revolutionize the document generation process for individuals and even large enterprises, Nintex is a robust DocGen tool for Salesforce.

Though both aim to simplify your document generation and automation needs, they have several key differences.

Nintex DocGen helps you build and share documents with just a few clicks within Salesforce or Office 365 environment, thus eliminating the hassles of copying and pasting data from one tool to another. But, what if you are operating in a setting other than Salesforce or Office 365? Well, Windward comes into the role, then. With its ability to integrate with any of your CRM or custom apps, it helps you automate documents, spreadsheets, reports, and even presentations.

Finding it hard to decide which is better – Nintex or Windward? Let’s have a side-by-side comparison of both based on the top-notch features you must look for while buying Document Generation and Automation software.

Side-by-Side Comparison: Windward vs. Nintex

1. No Code Behind

Windward and Nintex let you automate your document generation process without any code. Yes, you heard it right! Both are equally capable of creating templates with no code. However, Windward does provide a sample code to help you learn how to connect your application with their engine, which is not the case with Nintex.

2. Applications

Both of these DocGen solutions work flawlessly with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications. But if you need to work with PDF, sadly, Windward does not support it, whereas Nintex does! Moreover, Nintex has no differentiation for Windows or Web-based applications, but Windward only functions with Windows-based applications, which might be a consideration for many.

3. Conditional Formatting

If you work with Word and PowerPoint, you might be aware that they do not provide conditional formatting in table cells. So, if you require it, you must ensure that your tool provides it. In this case, Windward endows you with this ability, but unfortunately, Nintex doesn't.

4. Drag & Drop Doclets

While you are looking for document generation software, one of the reasons behind it is that it should reduce the time taken in designing templates. Isn’t it? What we mean here is that your DocGen tool must enable you to use the previously created doclets in any of the templates to eliminate repetitive tasks. This is one of the USPs of Windward, but on the other hand, Nintex lacks it.

5. Query Wizards

One of the most common activities for creating templates is creating queries to select the data. While Windward masters the arena with its Query Wizards, Nintex is nowhere close to it. Though Nintex is no code behind solution, it will require developers to dive into template creation as it comes with no wizards. This, in turn, makes the process slower.

6. Datasources

Windward’s datasources comprise a range of CRM solutions and other apps, including Salesforce, SQL, XML, OData, and more. On the contrary, Nintex only demonstrates the ability to fetch data from Salesforce.

7. Tags

Tags play a pivotal role in helping you showcase the data most effectively. Thus, there should be no limitations to where it should start or end. This functionality pretty differentiates between Nintex and Windward. On the one hand, where Windward offers 16 tags with no limitations, Nintex provides only 6 tags with major limitations.

Windward vs. Nintex At A Glance

Features

Nintex DocGen

Windward

Code Behind
No Code Behind
No code behind
Generate Code
No
Yes
Applications

Excel, Word, PDF & PowerPoint for Web and Windows-based applications

Only supports Word, Excel & PowerPoint for Windows. It neither supports PDF nor any Web-based applications.
Conditional Formatting
No
Yes
Drag & Drop Doclets
No
Yes
Query Wizards
No
It easily fetches data from multiple sources.
Multiple Datasources
No
Yes
Supported Datasources

Salesforce

Salesforce

MS Dynamics

JSON

OData

SQL

XML

Tag Start & End Locations
No
Yes
Tags

out

import

bitmap

forEach

if

chart

out

import

bitmap

set

query

forEach

if

else

switch

link

bookmark

chart

Imported Templates
Basic
Advanced
Document Locking
No
Yes
Validation, Error & Warning Handling
No
Yes
Data Count
No
Yes
Pros & Cons
  • Pro: Scalable and adaptable to a wide variety of use cases
  • Pro: Responsive customer support department
  • Con: Handling error is a trouble
  • Con: Not everyone on your team will be comfortable using it as it is an IT piece of software
  • Pro: Easily integrates with your existing applications
  • Pro: Great for beginners and people with no computer tech experience
  • Con: Only works with MS Office
  • Con: Lacks feature like Digital Signature
Pricing

Drawloop DocGen - $20 per user/month

Drawloop DocAutomation - Request a Quote

Visit Windward's pricing page for a detailed price list.

Features

Nintex DocGen

Windward

Applications

Excel, Word, PDF & PowerPoint for Web and Windows-based applications

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Supported Datasources

Salesforce

Salesforce

MS Dynamics

JSON

OData

SQL

XML

Output Formats
Everything including direct output to printer
IF Statements
Advanced
Code Behind
No Code Behind
No code behind
Drag & Drop Doclets
No
Advanced
Imported Templates
Basic
Advanced
Pros & Cons
  • Pro: Scalable and adaptable to a wide variety of use cases
  • Pro: Responsive customer support department
  • Con: Handling error is a trouble
  • Con: Not everyone on your team will be comfortable using it as it is an IT piece of software
  • Pro: Once the datasources are set, it is easy to use
  • Pro: Integrates with a range of business systems and applications
  • Pro: Supports 10+ languages
  • Pro: Prominent clients include Sunkist, Volvo, HSBC, Pfizer, and more
  • Con: Doesn't work with web applications
  • Con: You find it difficult to pick tags if you mixed them with a block of text

Features

Nintex DocGen

Windward

Code Behind
No Code Behind
No code behind
Drag & Drop Doclets
No
It supports drag and drop throughout the platform
Multiple Datasources
No
It easily fetches data from multiple sources
Validation, Error & Warning Handling
No
You can easily detect errors and warnings
Time Zone
There's no such functionality available
Document Status
There are no predefined modes, wherein you can put your documents. But you can preview them before finalizing
Conditional Statements
It supports 'if' and 'else' tags along with 12+ other tags
Output Formats
You can have the output in every format you desire
Pros & Cons
  • Pro: Scalable and adaptable to a wide variety of use cases
  • Pro: Responsive customer support department
  • Con: Handling error is a trouble
  • Con: Not everyone on your team will be comfortable using it as it is an IT piece of software
  • Pro: With easy datasource set-up, it makes document creation a breeze
  • Pro: It is great for beginners and people with no computer tech experience
  • Con: It integrates only with MS Office
  • Con: Sometimes, you may face a few minor glitches, but the team is quick to handle it

Features

Nintex DocGen

Windward

Applications

Excel, Word, PDF & PowerPoint for Web and Windows-based applications

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Code Behind
No Code Behind
No code behind
Process Embedded Office Objects
It has all types of embedded objects and also processes the same seamlessly
Supported Datasources

Salesforce

Salesforce

MS Dynamics

JSON

OData

SQL

XML

Tags

out

import

bitmap

forEach

if

chart

out

import

bitmap

set

query

forEach

if

else

switch

link

bookmark

chart

Features

Nintex DocGen

Windward

Multiple Datasources
No
It can also process multiple datasources simultaneously
Macros
You can create custom macros as and when required in your template
Rendering Barcodes
Windward renders barcodes as fonts, which may not be as effective as images
Validation, Error & Warning Handling
No
It takes care of each aspect to ensure you get the document as desired
Output Formats
You can have the output in every format you desire
Drag & Drop Doclets
No
Supports pretty well
Pros & Cons
  • Pro: Scalable and adaptable to a wide variety of use cases
  • Pro: Responsive customer support department
  • Con: Handling error is a trouble
  • Con: Not everyone on your team will be comfortable using it as it is an IT piece of software
  • Pro: Easily imports tags from connected datasources
  • Pro: Easy to use within established Microsoft Office Desktop applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
  • Con: You might encounter problems with reports
  • Con: APIs need improvement

While Windward and Nintex offer an easy-to-use interface, each has a competitive edge over the other. By letting you create forms seamlessly and access them on any of your devices, Nintex comes as a boon for the on-site workforce who do not necessarily use mail due to poor or no internet connectivity. On the other hand, Windward’s plethora of datasources, tags, and drag-and-drop doclets makes document generation effortless.

Without any doubt, Nintex is the best tool to use if you operate in Salesforce environment, but if you are seeking for a solution that runs with your MS Office, you must consider other DocGen options like Windward that comes with such abilities.

For more information, you can check out the detailed reviews of Windward and Nintex.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Try Windward with our 30-day free trial and start creating documents in quick time with our low/no code solutions.

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