2019.2

Tip
While the Generate Counter script is really useful for things like raffle tickets, it's unusable in
combination with a data file or database, as it cannot complement that data automatically. This can
only be done with a script. A script that adds a counter to data, using the current record index to
calculate the current counter value, can be found in this how-to: Manual counter in designer.
Variable Data
Variable data are data from a database or data file that are used to personalize documents.
Data fields can be inserted in the text directly. For example, if a person's last name can be
found in your data, the field that holds the last name can be used in the text of a web
page,letter, invoice or email. Scripts in PlanetPress Connect Designer are the basis of Variable
Data Publishing and are used to personalize documents based on your data.
After loading - or creating - a Data Model (see "Data Model pane" on page1031), a data
mapping configuration, or data from a data file or database (see "Loading data" on page788),
you can add variable data fields to the contents of your template. You can do this via the drag-
and-drop method, or using the Text Script Wizard.
Use the Text Script Wizard when there are empty fields in the data, and the value of a data
field needs to be preceded or followed by a space, line break or text in the template. Otherwise,
empty data fields will cause empty lines and superfluous white spaces to show up in the text.
You should also use this method for blocks of data, such as address blocks, and when you
want to format data differently, for example, when you want a number to be displayed as a
currency.
You can use the drag-and-drop method for simple fields that do not need to be preceded or
followed by a space, line break or text.
Note
Web templates are personalized just like any other template. There are a few extra possibilities,
though; see "Using variable data on a Web page" on page549.
Inserting variable data directly (drag-and-drop)
An easy, quick and direct way to insert variable data in the content is via drag and drop:
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