2021.2

Manuals Brands Objectif Lune Manuals Applications PlanetPress Connect

Table Of Contents

Summary of content (1828 pages)

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User Guide Version 2021.2.2 Last Revision: 2022-01-04 Objectif Lune, Inc. 2030 Pie-IX, Suite 500 Montréal, QC, Canada, H1V 2C8 +1 (514) 875-5863 www.objectiflune.com All trademarks displayed are the property of their respective owners. © Objectif Lune, Inc. 1994-2022. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced, transmitted or distributed outside of Objectif Lune Inc. by any means whatsoever without the express written permission of Objectif Lune Inc. Objectif Lune Inc.
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Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 Welcome to PlanetPress Connect 2021.
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Minor font changes Installation warnings regarding Cloud License service Uninstalling General information 112 113 124 127 Connect: a peek under the hood The Workflow server The Connect server The Connect database The File Store The engines The REST API Log files Location Name Format Connect file types OL Connect projects 127 128 129 130 130 131 131 132 132 133 133 134 136 Automation with Workflow Using the REST API Project Wizards Project wizard: Basic Email Project Wizard: COTG Timesheets Project Wizar
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DataMapper basics Data mapping configurations Creating a new data mapping configuration Opening a data mapping configuration Saving a data mapping configuration Down-saving a data mapping configuration Using the wizard for CSV and Excel files Using the wizard for databases Using the wizard for JSON files Using the wizard for PDF/VT or AFP files Using the wizard for XML files Advanced PCL to PDF options Data mapping workflow Creating a data mapping workflow Testing the extraction workflow Data source setting
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Objects Example Example Functions The Designer Designer basics Features Templates Contexts Sections Print Creating a Print template with a Wizard Print context Print sections Pages Master Pages Media Email Designing an Email template Creating an Email template with a Wizard Email context Email templates Email header settings Email attachments Web Creating a Web template with a Wizard Web Context Web pages Forms Using Form elements Using JavaScript Capture OnTheGo COTG Forms Creating a COTG Form Filling a CO
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Using COTG data in a template Designing a COTG Template Capture OnTheGo template wizards Using Foundation COTG Elements Using COTG Elements Testing a Capture OnTheGo Template Using the COTG plugin Dynamically adding COTG widgets Saving and restoring custom data and widgets Using submitted COTG data in a template Capture OnTheGo API Content elements Element types Editing HTML Attributes Inserting an element Selecting an element Deleting an element Styling and formatting an element Barcode Boxes Business grap
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Translating a snippet Styling and formatting Local formatting versus style sheets Layout properties Styling templates with CSS files Styling text and paragraphs How to position elements Rotating elements Styling a table Styling an image Background color and/or image Border Colors Fonts Locale Spacing Personalizing content Variable data Conditional content Dynamic images and Print section backgrounds Dynamic tables Snippets Scripts Loading data Variable Data Formatting variable data Showing content condition
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Editing preferences Email preferences Emmet preferences Engines preferences Hardware for Digital Signing preferences Language preferences Logging preferences Parallel Processing preferences Print preferences Project Wizards preferences Save preferences Scripting preferences Servers preferences Web preferences Writing your own scripts Script types Creating a new Standard Script Writing a script Setting the scope of a script Managing scripts Testing scripts Optimizing scripts The script flow: when scripts run
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Menus Panes Toolbars Welcome Screen Print options Job Creation Presets Wizard Output Creation Presets Wizard Designer Script API Standard Script API Functions and fields Example Functions and fields html() 1047 1059 1083 1089 1091 1170 1186 1281 1283 1310 1311 1311 1312 html() html(value) margins 1312 1312 1313 Fields Fields front, back 1313 1314 1315 Control Script API Post Pagination Script API Generating output 1405 1443 1468 Print output Fax output Email output Web output Generating Print output
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Print output variables Generating Fax output Generating Tags for Image output Generating Email output Before generating Email output Testing Email output Generating Email output from Connect Designer Generating Email output from Workflow Aborting content creation Using an ESP with PlanetPress Connect Generating Web output Web output settings in the Web context and sections Attaching Web output to an Email template Generating Web output from Workflow Aborting content creation Optimizing a template Scripts Im
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PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2018.2.1 PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2018.1.6 PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.8 PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.7.1 PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.6.1 PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.5 PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.4.2 Connect 1.4.2 Enhancements and Fixes Connect 1.4.1 New Features and Enhancements Connect 1.4.1 Designer Enhancements and Fixes Connect 1.4.1 DataMapping Enhancements and Fixes Connect 1.4.1 Output Enhancements and Fixes Connect 8.
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Welcome to PlanetPress Connect 2021.2 Note Since we are always looking for new ways to make your life easier, we welcome your questions and comments about our products and documentation. Use the feedback tool at the bottom of the page or shoot us an email at doc@ca.objectiflune.com. PlanetPress Connect is a series of tools designed to optimize and automate customer communications management. They work together to improve the creation, distribution, interaction and maintenance of your communications.
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Setup And Configuration This chapter describes the PlanetPress Connect installation and the different considerations that are important in regards to the installation and use of PlanetPress Connect. l "System and Hardware Considerations" below l "Installation and Activation" on page 33 l "Known Issues" on page 111 l "Server Configuration Settings" on page 89 l "Uninstalling" on page 124 System and Hardware Considerations There are a variety of considerations to be aware of.
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Directories and folders All Connect applications are installed under an arbitrarily selectable main folder. If the default installation folder options were used, this installation folder would be %PROGRAMFILES%\Objectif Lune\OL Connect. The installation folder will hold all the executable files and other files and folders required for the operation of the whole product suite. All these files and folders remain static after installation.
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Working folders Working folders for Connect are created and used on a per-user-basis under the respective user's profile folder, accessible on Windows with the standardized system variable %USERPROFILE% in the subfolder "Connect". Working folders are: l l l l %USERPROFILE%\Connect\filestore: This folder will hold non-intermediate files for the operation of Connect. Files in this folder will be used frequently, but not with a high frequency.
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Database Considerations This page describes the different considerations and pre-requisites for the database back-end used by PlanetPress Connect, whether using the MySQL instance provided by the installer, or pre-existing (external) instance. Using the MySQL Instance from the Installer The MySQL Instance provided in the "Installation Wizard" on page 38is already pre-configured with options to provide the most stable back-end setup.
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Warning If you chose not to install the supplied MySQL database, and instead opt for using a preexisting (External) database then you yourself must ensure that the External database is accessible to Connect. Objectif Lune Inc. will take no responsibility for setting up database connections to any but the supplied MySQL database. Options available within the installer: l l l The Configuration page for the local MySQL is displayed.
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Note Since PlanetPress Connect version 1.6 the minimum required version of the MS SQL Server is SQL Server 2012. l l l When MS SQL is selected, the default values for root user are sa and 1433 for the port. If database settings from a previous OL Connect installation are found, the pre-exising settings will be displayed for the matching database type. For MS SQL settings, this will only work if they were created with Server Config Tool 1.5.0 or later, or the Installer for OL Connect 1.6.0 or later.
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If the user has installed the Installer Supplied MySQL and then switches to an external Microsoft SQL by using the Server Configuration Tool, the supplied MySQL cannot be switched off. By design the installer adds a service dependency between Connect Server and the supplied MySQL service. Note The Microsoft SQL selection capability will be available only with 1.6 version and upwards. To remove this dependency the user needs to do the following 1.
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done as outlined above. l It is not possible to uninstall the supplied MySQL hereafter, when running the Connect 1.5 Installer in Modify mode. Important If a Server Product and a MySQL Product were selected to be installed on Connect 1.5.0, and then the Server Configuration Tool is used to switch the database used by the Server to an external Microsoft SQL, then the Update to 1.6 requires an extra step. The procedure is as follows: 1. Run the Update to Connect 1.6.
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on the server where PlanetPress Connect is located, unexpected behaviours may occur and will not be supported by Objectif Lune Inc.. Furthermore, using PlanetPress Connect in a Terminal Service environment is an infringement of our End-User License Agreement. Virtual Machine Support PlanetPress Connect supports the following virtual environments: l l l VMWare Environments. This includes VMWare Player, VMWare Workstation as well as VMWare ESX Server. VMWare VMotion.
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encountered, please contact OL Support and we will investigate. PlanetPress Connect 1.3 and later have been certified under Remote Desktop. 32-bit or 64-bit Operating Systems? PlanetPress Connect is a 64-bit software and can only be installed on 64-bit operating systems. Antivirus Considerations l l Antivirus software may slow down processing or cause issues if they are scanning in temporary folders or those used by PlanetPress Connect. Please see "Antivirus Exclusions" on page 15 for more information.
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The protection of the end user’s system is one of our main goals and therefore we have implemented a very strict verification mechanism, which ensures, that only these whitelisted ini entries and command-line switches are accepted, when one of Connect components is started and run. Please be therefore advised, that any non-whitelisted ini entry or command-line switch will be accepted and will - if tried to be used - lead to the respective application’s “sudden death”.
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Network Considerations The following should be taken into consideration in regards to network settings and communications l If a local proxy is configured (in the Internet Explorer Options dialog), the option Bypass proxy server for local addresses must be checked, or some features depending on local communication will not work. Firewall/Port considerations The following describes all of the ports that can be used by an OL Connect solution.
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Listens on port # LPR LPD Telnet FTP Input/Output MySQL Microsoft SQL Server HyperSQL 3306 Destination Type port # 515 TCP TCP TCP 21 TCP TCP+UDP 1433 TCP+UDP 9001 TCP 515 9100 Comment l Port numbers in bold type are user configurable. l Port numbers in bold underlined type are based on the type of database used. l Some of the ports listed above may also be used by other modules. l User-configurable modules may use other ports entirely, depending on the settings defined by the end user.
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Processing preferences" on page 103). Next, open the log file of the Weaver engine. By default, the log files are located in this folder: C:\Users\[username]\Connect\logs\WeaverEngine, where [username] is your own Windows user name. Search the log file for "PPM" (pages per minute). Repeat this a few times to determine the average output speed. Likewise, the output speed for an Email or Web template can be found by running it with one Merge engine and the maximum target speed per job.
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Note Connect Server and Connect Designer each have their own distinct scheduling preferences. Use the Connect Server Configuration tool to change the Connect Server settings and Designer > Windows >Preferences for changing Designer settings. Template optimization When you find that the speed per Merge engine - the Content Creation speed - is low, optimizing a template can make a huge difference. For advice on how to optimize a template see: "Optimizing a template" on page 1513.
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Connect Server and the Connect database need 1GB each, and that each engine needs 1GB as well, you can roughly estimate how much memory is needed. l l l Consider using a physical machine instead of a virtual machine. When running on a Virtual Machine, the machine may report that it has sufficient hardware (cores) available, but in a virtual environment you need to make sure that this hardware is not being shared with lots of other virtual machines. Consider using hardware with more physical cores.
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Virtual Environments l VMWare/VSphere l Hyper-V (8.0) l Azure l Amazon Web Services (AWS). Note that only EC2 M4 was certified, other instances may not work as expected. Minimum hardware requirements As with any software application, minimum hardware requirements represent the most basic hardware on which the software will run. Note however that settling for the minimum specification is unlikely to produce the performance you expect from the system.
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l Storage Type: Solid State Drive (SSD) l Networking: 10Gb Ethernet *1 This depends on the amount of data you process through OL Connect. For instance, a PostScript file containing several thousands of documents could easily take up several GBs. Requirements for individual Connect modules OL Connect Products comprises multiple modules that can be operated separately on multiple PCs. Each module has its own set of requirements that may differ from the other modules.
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Installation and Activation This topic provides detailed information about the installation and activation of PlanetPress Connect 2021.2. Note A PDF version of this guide is available for use in offline installations. Click here to download it. PlanetPress Connect 2021.2 is comprised of 2 different installers: one for the PlanetPress Connect software and one for PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2. Where to obtain the installers The installers for PlanetPress Connect 2021.2 and PlanetPress Workflow 2021.
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Installation - "How to" guides For information on how to conduct the installation itself, choose from the following topics: l "Installation Wizard" on page 38 l "Running Connect installer in Silent Mode" on page 46 l "Installing PlanetPress Connect on Machines without Internet Access" on page 36 Activation For information on licensing, please see "Activating a License" on page 55. Installation prerequisites l l l l l l Make sure your system meets the "System requirements" on page 30.
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User accounts and security Windows user account Connect requires local Windows Administrator rights when installing the software and activating the software license. This is to allow read/write access to protected Windows folders and registry entries. Once installed Connect requires only standard Windows user credentials to run.
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l In the Connection tab, define the account name and password that the service should use. This can be a local account on the computer or an account on a Windows Domain. The account must have administrative access on the machine. It should also correspond to the user account set up in PlanetPress Worfklow. OL Connect Server user accounts By default, authentication is enabled on the Connect Server.
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When a machine hosting the installation does not have access to the Internet, the installation will fail because the verification cannot be performed. To solve this problem one must first ensure that all Windows updates have been installed on the host machine. Once the Windows updates are confirmed as being up to date, then complete the following steps: 1. Go to https://certs.godaddy.
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1. Open the “Internet Options” via the Control Panel 2. Select the “Advanced” tab and scroll down to “Security” node. 3. Uncheck the entry “Check for publisher’s certificate revocation” under that node. 4. Click the OK button to close the dialog. 5. Re-start the computer. Installation Wizard Updating from Connect versions predating 2019.1 In order to update PlanetPress Connect to 2021.2 from Connect versions prior to 2019.1 it is first necessary to update the Connect License.
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l PlanetPress_Connect_Setup_x64.exe --verbose This adds extra debugging style logging to the installation process. l PlanetPress_Connect_Setup_x64.exe --trace This adds full trace style logging to the installation process. The log file this produces will be very large, as this option logs everything. Selecting the required components After clicking the Next button, the component selection page appears, where the different components of PlanetPress Connect can be selected for installation.
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See "Database Considerations" on page 18 for more information about setting up external databases. l Installation Path: This is the location where modules are to be installed. Note To cater for MySQL requirements, the installation path cannot contain any non ASCII characters (such as Asian language Unicode characters). Nor can it contain characters that Windows disallows in filenames (such as '?', ''>' or trailing spaces).
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The installer will automatically configure the Connect Server to use the supplied password and port. l MySQL user 'root' Password: Enter the password for the 'root', or administration account, for the MySQL server. The password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least one of each of the following: l a lower case character (a, b, c ... ) l an upper case character (A, B, C ...) l a numeric digit (1, 2, 3 ...) l a punctuation character (@, $, ~ ...
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Note This option is required if MySQL Server will need to be accessed from any other machine. It will also be required if the MySQL database is on a separate machine to this PlanetPress Connect installation. Tip This option may represent a security risk if the machine is open to the internet. We heavily recommended that your firewall is set to block access to port 3306 from external requests.
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l Administrator Username: Enter the user account of a user with database administrative rights. Administrative rights are required since tables will need to be created/modified/dropped in the database. If accessing a database on a different machine, the server must also be able to accept non-local TCP connections, and the user account must also be configured to accept remote connection.
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PlanetPress Connect Server Configuration The Server Configuration page is where the Connect Server component is configured. Connect Server settings The Connect Server settings will be available if Connect Server rather than Connect Server Extension was selected for installation. The options available are as follows: l Run Server as: Defines the machine username and password that the Connect Server module's service uses.
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l Username: Enter the username for connection to OL Connect Server. The default username for new installations is olc-user. l Password: Enter the password to be associated with the selected user. l Confirm Password: Re-enter the password, to confirm password selection. Note that prior to PlanetPress Connect version 2020.2, only one user account could be configured on a Connect Server. The default username was ol-admin and the default password was secret. When updating to version 2020.
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Note If the Product Update Manager was already installed by another Objectif Lune Inc. application, it will be updated to the latest version and will retain the settings previously specified. Select the desired options and then click OK to query the server and obtain a list of any updates that are available for your software. l l Note that the Product Update Manager can also be called from the “Objectif Lune Update Manager” option in the Start menu.
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Note Only the installation can be run silently. Silent Mode does not apply to uninstalling, modifying, or updating Connect. Any previous version of Connect must be uninstalled before using the Silent Installer (see: "Uninstalling" on page 124). The required properties file has the following attributes: l l Comment Lines, starting with # (e.g. # The options to configure an external database) Key = Value pairs (e.g. install.product.
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# Database configuration database.type = mysql database.host = 192.168.116.10 database.port = 3308 database.username = root database.password = admin database.schema = my_ol Verbose logging (optional) By default, the Silent Installer will log the same way as the GUI installer. That means logging of error and warnings, and certain information during database configuration. A more verbose logging can be switched on by using logging.verbose = true.
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Note This entry is case sensitive and must be entered entirely in capitals, as seen here: UPDATEMANAGER Installation folder (optional) To select an installation folder other than the default during a silent installation: install.directory=C:/Program Files/Preferred/Directory Note This file is a Java properties file. You must use either use forward slashes as shown above, or double backslashes. Using only a single backslash will result in failed installations.
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Database configuration Case 1: MySQL is among the selected Connect products to be installed (new MySQL installation) If MySQL is selected and there is no previous MySQL configuration on the machine, the following properties should be defined: database.password = (required and must meet the rules) database.port = (3306 is the default port value) database.
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Case 2: The Connect Server is selected and MySQL is not selected In this case, an external database must be configured for the Server (and other Connect products included in the Silent installation) to be used. 2a: Configuring an external MySQL database To configure an external MySQL database, the following properties should be defined: database.type = mysql (required) database.host = (default value is localhost, otherwise required) database.
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database.usessl = true/false (select whether to deploy using a secure database connection (SSL)or not) Note As of PlanetPress Connect 2020.2 the silent installer no longer requires a valid connection to a database in order to complete. This allows a system administrator to adjust the database connection post-installation, rather than at installation time. The installation log records whether the installer tested the database connection or not, allowing verification post-installation.
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Locale definition It is possible to define the Locale which affects the installation language and installed locale for Connect products by using the following properties in the install.properties file: user.language user.country Locales supported by Connect The Connect Setup supports a dedicated list of Locales, which is saved in the preinstall.ini file.
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Locale selection by defining only user.language If only user.language is defined in the install.properties file, the Installer will attempt to find a Locale in the list which starts with the given language code. The first match is selected for installation. If no match is found, the Installer will exit with an error. For example: l user.language = zh, will result in an installation with the Locale zh-CN l user.language = no, will result in an error Default Locale selection If neither user.
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installation can be started and the exit code can be evaluated. See the sample batch file below. Exit codes l l 0 = Success 1 = General Error in preinstall (e.g. not supported settings for user.language / user.country, for reason see preinstall_err.log) l 2 = Unknown Error in preinstall l 10 = General Error in Installer application (for reason see OL_Install_.log) Sample batch file @echo off preinstall.
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This allows time for reviewing the applications and for organizing a commercial license. If a modification to the trail license is required, such as to allow an extension to the trial period, or for extra functionality, then a new activation code will need to be requested. Obtaining the PlanetPress Connect Magic Number To obtain an activation file the OL™ Magic Number must first be retrieved.
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l l l l l I agree: Select to accept the EULA. This option must be selected to install the license. I don't agree: Select if you do not accept the EULA. You cannot install the license if this option is selected. Load License File: Click to browse to the Connect license file (.olconnectlicense), once it has been received. Install License - Active only when a license file is Loaded: Click to install the license and activate the software. Close: Click to cancel this dialog.
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l If you have both PlanetPress Workflow and PlanetPress Connect installed, it will not be possible to double-click on the license file as this will always open the PlanetPress Connect Activations Tool. Instead, open PlanetPress Workflow manually and apply the license through the activations dialog within. Activating PlanetPress Connect To activate PlanetPress Connect, simply save the license file somewhere on your computer where you can easily find it, such as on your desktop.
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more. Simply go to the product page and look for the "Release notes" in the Downloads area.
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template with its data mapping configuration, Job Creation and Output Creation preset files to Workflow by clicking on File > Send to Workflow... l l l If you still use PlanetPress 7 legacy documents, PTK files can be imported by clicking on the Workflow tool button at the top left corner of the Workflow tool interface. If copying the PlanetPress Workflow 8 folder directly, it's important to delete any file with the .ps7 extension so as to refresh the PostScript file for the new workstation.
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user account has been chosen: 1. Click on Tools in the Workflow Configuration menu bar. 2. Click Configure Services. 3. Select the user account. l l If required, grant permissions to other machines (Designer clients and other servers) to send documents and jobs to the new server. l Click on Tools in the Workflow Configuration menu bar. l Click on Access Manager l Grant necessary permissions to remote machines. l Restart the Workflow Messenger service.
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l l OL Printer Definition Files (.OL-printerdef): C:\Users\ [UserName]\Connect\workspace\configurations\PrinterDefinitionCo nfig OMR Marks Configuration Files (.hcf): C:\Users\[UserName]\Connect\workspace\configurations\HCFFiles Where [username] is replaced by the appropriate Windows user name. Tip Actually, the path may not begin with 'C:\Users', as this is language-dependent. On a French system, for example, it would be 'C:\Utilisateurs'.
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Capture 1. Download the latest version of the Anoto PenDirector. 2. Before installing the PenDirector, make sure the pen’s docking station isn’t plugged into the server. Then install the PenDirector. 3. Stop the Messenger 8 service on the old and new server from the Workflow menu bar: Tools > Service Console > Messenger > right-click and select Stop. 4. Import the following files and folders from the old server into their equivalent location on the new server: C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workfl
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1. Stop the OLConnect_Server service from Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > OLConnect_Server > Stop. 2. Configure the Merge and Weaver Engines scheduling preferences as in the previous installation l l l Open the Server Configuration from: C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Connect Server Configuration\ServerConfig.exe Configure the DataMapper, Merge and Weaver engines preferences (see "Parallel Processing preferences" on page 103). As of version 2018.
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Output generated at this point will normally bear a watermark which can be removed by transferring licenses from the old server to the new one. l l l To transfer Connect and Workflow licenses, the user is usually required to complete a License Transfer Agreement which can be obtained from their local Customer Care department. If you want to transfer your licenses to the new machine right away, you may ask your local Customer Care department for a 30day Transition activation code for your old machine.
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Uninstalling PlanetPress Connect from the previous workstation It is recommended to keep the previous install for a few days until everything is completed. However, once your transition is successful and complete, the OL Connect software must be uninstalled from the original server. See "Uninstalling" on page 124. Information about PlanetPress Workflow If you wish to use PlanetPress Workflow (automation) in conjunction with PlanetPress Connect, you will need to install PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2 as well.
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versions (as far back as Version 4) to run on PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2, removing the need to run both versions. For more information on the licensing of Workflow 2021.2, please see "Activating a License" on page 55. Upgrading This page provides information about Upgrading to PlanetPress Connect version 2021.2.
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Users of Connect 1.1 should see "Users of Connect 1.1" below first. Users of all other Connect versions prior to 2019.1 should note that Update Client 1.2.40 is a prerequisite for both OL Connect 2019.1 and Connect Workflow 2019.1 installations. Only Update Client 1.2.40 has the capacity to upgrade the OL Connect license to the newer format that is required by the installers of those products. If you do not have Update Client version 1.2.
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update itself. Once you have done this, PlanetPress Connect2021.2 will become available for download. Note From PlanetPress Connect Version 1.2 onwards, the new version (1.1.8) of the Update Client is included by default with all setups. Users of Connect 1.0 Users of Connect version 1.0 cannot upgrade directly to Version 2021.2. This is because Connect Version 1.0 is a 32 bit version of Connect. Users must first upgrade to Version 1.1 and from there upgrade to Version 2021.
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Backing up a real machine Note The scheduling settings in version 2019.2 have totally changed, making it impossible to revert these settings back to the previous version. Please make sure to record your current Scheduling settings for reference before proceeding with an upgrade. Backup these folders l C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\.settings\ConnectHostScope l C:\Users\[UserName]\Connect\filestore l C:\Users\[UserName]\Connect\workspace\configurations l C:\Users\ [UserName]\Connect\workspa
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If the default MySQL database is being used as the Connect back-end database, we would recommend the MySQLDump tool be used for this. See for details on this utility program: mysqldump (https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/mysqldump.html). Upgrading from PReS Classic PReS Classic and PlanetPress Connect are very different products. Whilst PlanetPress Connect provides considerably more options for email and web output, one need not abandon existing PReS Classic print jobs.
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l Imaging for PlanetPress Connect is available as an option. It contains: l PlanetPress Fax l PlanetPress Image l PlanetPress Search IMPORTANT: If you owned them, you must also upgrade your Imaging modules to use the new version. l l l PlanetPress Capture is still supported in PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2 but only with documents created with the PlanetPress Suite Design 7. PlanetPress Connect Designer. This is a design tool based on completely new technology.
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PlanetPress Connect installation considerations The PlanetPress Suite could run on a computer with a minimum of only 1GB of RAM available. The PlanetPress Connect Server with PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2, by default, requires 8GB of RAM, but if you intend on using the new PlanetPress Connect Designer on the same computer, you should consider having at least 16GB of RAM available. See "System requirements" on page 30.
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Note If you were a PlanetPress Production user, you retain all functionalities within PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2. These are automatically imported during the activation (see below). Create new documents and integrate them into your workflow at your own pace You can start benefiting from the innovative technology of the new PlanetPress Connect Designer right away by designing new documents, or re-doing existing ones at your own pace.
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then .NET 3.5 must also be installed. This will need to be installed manually, as .NET 3.5 is not included in the Workflow setup. 4. If you installed PlanetPress Workflow 2021.
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7.
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8. Then select the product from which you wish to upgrade: 9.
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10.
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11. After that you will need to get the activation file for your product. To obtain your activation, download the PlanetPress Connect installer from the Web Activation Manager (http://www.objectiflune.com/webactivationmanager/), follow the instructions for the installation using the serial number provided to you. You can activate your license through the Web Activation Manager. 12.
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PlanetPress Workflow tool to which you want to send the PlanetPress Design document. How to perform a Workflow migration What do you need to consider when upgrading from PlanetPress Suite 7 to PlanetPress Connect Workflow 2021.2 on a new computer? Installing and Activating Workflow 2021.2 on a new computer Points to consider: l l l l Before installing, be sure to read "Installation and Activation" on page 33.
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from the PlanetPress Suite Designer Help > Printer Activation menu option. When the "Activate a printer" dialog is launched, right click within it and select the Export context menu option, then save the file on the new computer. Double clicking on the .pac file will then activate all of your printers on the new computer. l l Login to our Web Activation Manager (www.objectiflune.com/activations) using your customer number and password to get your Printer Activation Codes.
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computer: "C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Suite 7\PlanetPress Watch\Documents" 2. Copy all the PlanetPress Suite 7 Documents and Compiled forms (*.ptk and *.ptz) from the Documents folder on the PlanetPress Suite computer and paste them into the equivalent folder on the Connect Workflow Computer. The PlanetPress Suite 7 folder would be "C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Suite 7\PlanetPress Watch\Documents". The PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 folder will be "C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\Plan
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Make sure that you copy only the custom plug-ins. Alternatively, you can download custom plug-ins from http://planetpress.objectiflune.com/en/suite/resources/support onto the new computer. Once you've copied your PlanetPress Suite Workflow configurations to Connect Workflow, you can confirm their availability through the Plug-in Bar Uncategorized category. There you will find all the Custom plug-ins that have been installed.
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l l l l l Manually install all external executables that will be referenced by the Connect Workflow processes in the configuration file. If possible, retain the local path structure as used on the older installation. If the Windows "TCP/IP Print Server" service is running on the new computer, it is recommended that you disable the Server so that it does not interfere with the PlanetPress LPD/LPR services. If you are using images from a virtual drive, copy the entire contents of "C:\ProgramData\Objectif
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How to perform a Capture migration This page provides information on how to conduct a proper migration of a Capture solution. For information about Capture see: http://capture.objectiflune.com/en/howitworks. These steps must be executed after a proper Workflow Migration has been completed. Instructions on how to do such can be found here: "How to perform a Workflow migration" on page 80. Failure to do so will result in unexpected problems.
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"C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workflow 8\PlanetPress Watch\capture" and overwrite the existing database. Note Prior to PlanetPress Suite 7.6, all Capture patterns, documents and several other details were contained within the one single database. As of PlanetPress Suite 7.6 a separate database has been used for the patterns alone (PPCaptureDefault.mdb). 5. Copy the contents of this folder: "C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Suite 7\PlanetPress Watch\DocumentManager" to this folder: "C:\
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to the old computer will be lost unless the steps to migrate are reproduce again. Once a Pen has been docked and the data transfer done, its memory is wiped, thus rending the parallel mode very hard to produce. It is not impossible, but describing how it can be done is beyond the scope of this migration article. Steps to migrate: 1. Update existing installation to PlanetPress Suite version 7.6 if not already done. 2. Install PlanetPress Connect Workflow 2021.2 on new computer. 3.
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2. Select Messenger in the tree list, right click and select Stop from the context menu. Note These steps must be done for both PlanetPress Suite Workflow 7 and PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8. 5. Copy the file PPCaptureDefault.mdb from this folder on the PlanetPress Suite 7.6 computer: "C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Suite 7\PlanetPress Watch\capture" to this folder on the new PlanetPress Connect Workflow 2021.2 computer: "C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workflow 8\PlanetPress Watch\c
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> Service Console). 2. Select Messenger in the tree list, right click and select Start from the context menu options. 9. Contact your local Objectif Lune activation team and transfer any Pen(s) licenses across. Server Configuration Settings This chapter describes configuring the PlanetPress Connect Server. The Connect Server settings are maintained by the Connect Server Configuration utility tool which is installed alongside PlanetPress Connect.
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l Engines preferences l "Automatic Restart Settings" on page 102 l "Hardware for Digital Signing preferences" on page 865 l "Language preferences" on page 103 l "Logging preferences" on page 867 l "Parallel Processing preferences" on page 103 Connection preferences Background The Connection preferences are a way to control precisely how to connect to the PlanetPress Connect Server. This preference page was added in Connect 2018.2 to simplify management of HTTP communication with Connect.
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l l Private key Password: Enter the Private key password. Confirm password: Re-enter the password, to confirm it was entered correctly. Note Enabling HTTPS for the primary REST Services connection requires different ports be used for the internal connections (IPC and REST) between Connect Server and its engines. l Internal communication on separate ports checkbox: Set the internal connection communication ports. These settings are purely for Connect inter-engine communication.
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l l Maximum queues: Sets the maximum number of requests can remain in the queue. This entry should only be changed in consultation with OL. Maximum asynchronous tasks: Set the maximum number of requests that can be executed simultaneously. Note This does not limit the number of requests that can be received, just how many are processed in parallel. Additional requests are buffered and are processed as capabilities allow.
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user must be entered in any remote Connect Designer that links to this Server. See the "Connect Servers preferences" on page 873 sub-section of the Designer Preferences dialog. - When disabled, a username and password is not required to make REST request, and tasks in PlanetPress Workflow do not require them in the Proxy tab. Nor would a username and password be required on any remote Connect Designer that links to this Server.
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Engine configuration The Connect Server cooperates with different engines to handle specific tasks. A DataMapper engine extracts data from a data file. A Merge engine merges the template and the data to create Email and Web output, or to create an intermediary file for Printed output. The intermediary file is in turn used by a Weaver engine to prepare the Print output. (For more information see: "Connect: a peek under the hood" on page 127).
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This topic explains all of these settings and the principles behind them, and it provides guidelines for letting the Server manage the workload in such a way as to achieve the highest possible output speeds. Factors to take into account are: l l l Your licence, which imposes a speed quota (see "Speed quota: Pages Per Minute" below). The processing power of your machine. How many cores it has determines how many engines can be launched (see "Launching multiple engines" on the facing page).
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l l l Weaver engines always require a Licensed task to run. Merge engines only require a Licensed task when creating Email or Web output. Merge engines involved in a Print process don't need a Licensed task in order to run. DataMapper engines don't need Licensed tasks. In situations where Print and Email and/or Web output are created at the same time, only the Merge engines that create Email/Web output count towards the maximum number of Licensed tasks for that type of output.
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cores, Windows Task Manager will show 4 cores and 8 logical processors on its performance tab. On a CPU like this, 5 or 6 engines can be configured to run in parallel. To configure the number of engines: 1. Open the Connect Server Configuration utility tool (see "Server Configuration Settings" on page 89). 2. Under Parallel Processing, go to the Content Creation tab and set the number of Merge engines for the various tasks. 3. Go to the Output Creation tab and set the Reserved Weaver (Output) engines.
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The Connect MySQL database needs a fast storage system (SSD or other fast devices) to be able to keep up with two or more DataMapper engines. When the database is installed on a system with a slow hard drive, adding a DataMapper engine may not increase the overall performance. Weaver engine Adding extra Weaver (Output) engine(s) might be useful when large Print jobs are to be run simultaneously with smaller Print jobs.
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Depending on the answers to these questions, you can allocate processing power to jobs in order to run them as fast as possible, and/or in the order of your preference. The first step in this process is to define the size of small, medium and large jobs. Job size Connect lets you define job sizes by setting the maximum number of pages a job can have and still be considered a small job, and what the minimum number of pages a job can have in order to be considered large.
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handled at the same time by that kind of engine, because there are only so many engines (and speed units) available. Note When each individual record in a job is composed of a very large number of pages, the Memory per engine setting and the machine's hard drive speed are probably more important than the number of Merge engines, since one record cannot be split over multiple cores (see "Memory per engine" on page 98).
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having engines reserved for HTML output can help performance. l l By reserving a number of parallel engines for Print jobs of a certain size (see "Number of parallel engines per Print job" on page 99). More parallel engines will make them run faster, but they will have to wait (longer) if the required number of engines isn't available when they come in. By specifying target speeds for simultaneous Print jobs of a certain size.
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Batch processing. In a batch processing situation, jobs don't have to be handled simultaneously. All jobs - whether they are big and small - are processed one after another. Every job should be handled as quickly as possible. It is therefor recommended to assign the maximum number of engines and target speeds to all jobs. Do not reserve engines for certain jobs. Web requests. In online communication, response times are critical.
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l l Daily restart period begin: Only available if Daily restart in period selected. Enter the daily start time for the time window in which automatic restarts will be scheduled to occur. Daily restart period end: Only available if Daily restart in period selected. The end of the daily time window in which the automatic restarts are scheduled to occur. Memory limit Enter the memory limit for individual Engines.
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Parallel Processing properties (Designer Preferences) Preset selection (Designer Preferences) Only the Custom setting is applicable to the Designer Preferences, so this option is always selected and the field made read-only. Content Creation Tab (Designer Preferences) A Tab with data that relates solely to Content Creation. The options are: l l Total Merge engines configured read only display: This is a read only entry that shows the total number of Merge engines available.
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l Additional engine every (records) entry: This controls how many Merge engines are used for a Content Creation task. It means that for every additional 'x' records in the task, an additional Merge engine will be used. For example, with the default 100 record threshold, tasks with 1-100 records will be assigned 1 Merge engine, tasks with 101-200 get assigned 2 merge engines, tasks with 201-300 get assigned 3 merge engines, and so on. Note These entries aren't applied instantaneously. There is often a lag.
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l l l l l l l Default - Basic settings that are good for running most things. Single jobs have preference over multi-tasking, however. Batch Print - Best settings for processing jobs, one by one, in a sequential, first in first out (FIFO) order. On demand Print - Best settings for processing many small print jobs simultaneously. On demand - Use when serving web pages, sending emails, and printing many on demand jobs simultaneously. Connect Send - Settings optimized for use with Connect Send.
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is a Merge engine available. How many Merge engines to use is based on the number of records in the input data. Select from the following options: l Optimize per task: This runs each task with as many Merge engines as needed (until engines are exhausted). Using this option means that Merge engines will not be reassigned when new tasks come in. This option is better suited for batch processing.
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engine for less than 100 records will probably not make a big enough difference to throughput speed. Obviously, there are situations where these assumptions will not apply. Note Currently, it’s only the print and PDF content creation tasks that use multiple Merge engines. l Reserve engines for on demand tasks group checkbox: Reassigning engines is not instantaneous when a new task arrives.
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l l Licensed speed limit (pages per minute): This read only entry shows the current license speed limitations, in pages per minute. The speed limitations are determined by your Connect license. This information is to help you choose what settings would make sense when assigning the “Target speed” values later in the Tab. Licensed tasks limit: This read only entry shows the current license task (or job) limitations. Note The terms "job" and "task" can be used interchangeably.
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target speed for small jobs, this will automatically allow more for the large and medium jobs. l l Medium job (engines): Optionally enter the number of Weaver engines to reserve for Medium jobs. Total Weaver engines configured: This read only entry shows the number of Weaver engines still available. This is the Total engine count, minus the number of engines assigned to both Small and Medium jobs. To change this value, you must update the total amount of Weaver Engines in the Engines preferences page.
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simultaneous jobs by a ration of the target speed. Some general rules of thumb to apply when distributing target speed: n Do you need to change speeds? In many cases there will likely be no need to change the target speed. n The target speed is not a guaranteed actual speed, but a speed limit that the engine is allowed to exceed in order to utilize the licensed speed. n When changing the target speed, don’t be overly precise, you are unlikely to get that exact value anyway.
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l page-break-before:always or page-break-after:always combined with data-repeat l page-break-after:always combined with page-break-before:avoid on the next sibling TR (or similar combinations) These issues will be addressed in a later PlanetPress Connect release. DataMapper: Automatic Date/Time does not work with certain negative UTC time zone offsets The new "Automatic" date parsing option in the DataMapper cannot parse dates with negative UTC time zone offsets of non-zero minutes.
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Installation warnings regarding Cloud License service Upgrades of PlanetPress Connect from 2020.2 or 2021.1.0 to PlanetPress Connect 2021.1.1 can sometimes throw the following warnings: WARN [ModalContext] com.objectiflune.installer.ui.actions.InstallAction.a(InstallAction.java) Failed to register the OL Cloud Licensing Service WARN [ModalContext] com.objectiflune.installer.ui.actions.AbstractProvisioningAction.logSoftError (AbstractProvisioningAction.
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Issues when loading some Workflow plugins for the first time Under some circumstances, certain of the new Workflow plugins introduced with Connect 2019.2 will fail to load correctly when run for the first time. Instead of opening the plugin dialog as expected, the plugin hangs and displays a message that it is "Loading UI .... ". This is due to an issue with a third party library which will be addressed in a future release. To get around the problem, please close and reopen the plugin.
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Connect installation or version upgrade in Connect's Knowledge Base: http://help.objectiflune.com/en/kb-connect/#KB/FAQ/OL Connect/KB2002.htm. Backend database might require periodic maintenance Databases maintain a variety of statistics in order to optimize performance. When high levels of inserts and/or deletions occur, the statistical data keeping can struggle to keep up.
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Windows 10 Search service impacting Connect The Windows 10 Search service runs as a background task, indexing files and folders. It has been noted that this background task is sometimes preventing files being added to the Connect temporary files folder when large amounts of files are being output and copied. If this is an issue for you, we suggest disabling Search Indexing on the C:\Users\\Connect folder. This issue will be fixed in a later release.
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Business Graphics: Backward Compatibility Issues introduced in 2018.1 As a consequence of changes in both the user interface and the underlying technology, Business Graphics made with a version prior to PlanetPress Connect 2018.1 may not display correctly when opened in version 2021.2. The currently known backward compatibility issues are listed here: All charts l l l Legend position: The position of the legend is not converted. It defaults to 'left' in a converted chart.
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Known Font issues The following font(s) are known to have issues in PlanetPress Connect 2021.2: l Benton Sans CFF font Minor differences in PCL output introduced in 2018.1 The browser component (Mozilla Gecko) used in the WYSIWYG editor of the Designer was updated for Connect 2018.1. This allows use of new CSS properties, such as flexbox. However this update could lead to increased output file sizes for some PCL jobs.
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Print Output: Booklet Impositioning changes introduced in 2018.1 When Booklet Impositioning is enabled, all pages within a document need to be changed to duplex prior to Impositioning . The method for duplexing jobs has been changed to now always combine existing pages into the front and backsides of sheets, rather than adding empty backsides to any simplex pages. The result is that now every document in the job becomes a booklet without any empty pages between the first page and the last page.
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l C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Connect Server Configuration\ServerConfig.ini 2. Change the language parameter to the required one under Duser.language=en | es | de | fr | it | ja | ko | pt | tw | zh Only one of the above language tags should be selected. Once saved, Connect will appear in the selected language at next start-up. GoDaddy certificates When installing Connect offline, dialogs allow installing the GoDaddy certificates. Most users should use the default settings and click Next.
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Available Printer Models Note that only the single Printer Model (Generic PDF) will appear on the Advanced page of the Print Wizard by default. To add additional printer models click on the settings entry box. button next to the Model selection Note that the descriptions of some of the printers were updated in version 1.2 meaning that if you had version 1.n installed, you may find that the same printer style appears twice in the list, but with slightly different descriptions.
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Warning Important Note: The Designer itself and Proof Print do not use processes that run as services and they may find local files with non-UNC paths which can lead to the false impression that the resources are correct. Using Capture after installing Workflow 8 If PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 is installed alongside PlanetPress Suite Workflow 7, Capture can no longer be used within Workflow 7. The plugins are now registered uniquely to Workflow 8 and the Messenger for Workflow 7 is taken offline.
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Merge/Weaver engines when printing The print operation in the Designer will automatically detect whether the Merge\Weaver engines are available and display a message for the user to retry or cancel if not. Once the Merge/Weaver engine becomes available and the user presses retry the print operation will proceed as normal. This message can also occur in the following circumstances: l If the server is offline and you are not using Proof Print. l On some occasions before the Print Wizard opens.
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VIPP Output Some templates set up with landscape orientation are being produced as portrait in VIPP. It can also sometimes be the case that text and images can be slightly displaced. These are known issues and will be addressed in a later release of Connect. Magic Number changes when installing Docker Installing Docker on a system where Connect has already been installed may impact Connect's licensing mechanism and require reactivation.
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Impacts upon other applications and services l l The Uninstall will terminate the installed Server / MySQL service(s). The following applications / services should be stopped in a controlled fashion, before running the PlanetPress Connect Uninstall: 1. PlanetPress Connect 2. Connect products on remote systems which refer to this MySQL database. 3. Any Connect Workflow using PlanetPress Connect plugins which connect to this server.
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uninstalling it, please see: Problems during a Connect installation or version upgrade in Connect's Knowledge Base (https://help.objectiflune.com/en/kbconnect/#KB/FAQ/OL%20Connect/KB2002.htm).
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General information Connect consists of visible and invisible parts. The invisible parts process the Connect job to provide the actual output. They are introduced to you in the topic: "Connect: a peek under the hood" below. For information about Connect logging, see "Log files" on page 132. For a list of all file types used in Connect, see: "Connect file types" on page 134.
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The Workflow server The Workflow server (also referred to as the 'Watch service') executes processes independently, after a Workflow configuration has been uploaded and the services have been started. The Workflow server can run only one configuration at a time. There are a number of services related to Workflow.
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tool. The Workflow Service Console lets you start and stop the different services, except the Connect server, and see their log files (see Workflow Service Console). Note that Workflow isn't limited to Connect functionality. It was originally developed as part of the PlanetPress Suite. Many of the plugins in the Workflow configuration tool are older than Connect. They were left in for compatibility reasons, even though they aren't all useful or usable within Connect.
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The Connect Server Configuration tool lets you change the settings for the Connect server, the engines and the service that cleans up the database and the file store. These settings can also be made in the preferences of the Designer. The Connect database The Connect database is the database back-end used by Connect itself when processing jobs. It can be either the MySQL instance provided by the Connect installer, or a pre-existing (external) instance (see "Database Considerations" on page 18).
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The engines DataMapper engines. A DataMapper engine extracts data from a data file. The number of DataMapper engines is configurable (Engines preferences). Merge engine/s. A merge engine merges data with a template using the scripts in the template, in order to create content items. The number of merge engines is configurable (see Engines preferences): it can be increased depending on the capacity of the machine that runs the solution (see "Performance considerations" on page 27). Weaver engines.
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Printing and emailing from the Designer To print or send email from within the Designer, the PlanetPress Connect service has to be running. The service is started automatically when the Designer starts, but it may not be running if the Connect Server and the Designer are installed on different computers. The PlanetPress Connect service can be found on the Services tab in the Task Manager. For a proof print the Connect server is not used. Proof printing is always done locally, by the Designer.
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Every time output is generated, the Designer and/or Connect Server and any engines involved in the operation produce their own log files. Each component writes its log files to a dedicated subfolder of the Log folder. Merge engines write to the logs/Mergeengine folder, Weaver engines to the logs/Weaverengine folder, DataMapper engines to the logs/Datamapperengine folder, Server to the logs/Server folder, and so forth. Note that actions of the Cleanup service are only logged in the Server's log file.
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l l The Designer's logging preferences are set via the Designer; see: "Logging preferences" on page 867. The Connect Server's settings are maintained by the Connect Server Configuration utility tool; see "Server Configuration Settings" on page 89. The logging level that is set applies to the Server as well as the engines. The Designer's log messages are also displayed in the Messages pane (see "Preflight Results and Messages" on page 1066).
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l l l l .OL-package: A transfer file used to package one or many of the above files (the data model being part of both the template and the data mapping configuration). Created by using the File > Package dialog. (See "Package dialog" on page 989.) .OL-script: One or more Designer scripts. Scripts personalize the output of a template. They are either added via wizards (see "Personalizing content" on page 789) or selfwritten (see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877).
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OL Connect projects An OL Connect project is an automated process, or combination of processes, in which the Connect Server and Database are used. (For an overview of the architecture of the OL Connect software, see "Connect: a peek under the hood" on page 127). Typically, an OL Connect project aims at automating (part of) a company's communication with its customers, suppliers, or other parties.
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Tip Project Wizards The OL Connect software comes with a number of Project Wizards that generate a Workflow configuration, and any Connect templates, data mapping configurations, and Print Presets required to make the project work. For more information, see "Project Wizards" on page 1002 in the online help or the Project Wizards overview video on the OL Learn website.
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Tip The Designer can send templates, data mapping configurations and print presets to a Connect Server; see "Sending files to Connect Server or to another server" on page 455. Project Wizards A Project Wizard generates a small Connect solution that is ready to be tested and deployed. The solution contains a specific Workflow configuration, as well as the Connect templates, data mapping configurations, and any Job Presets and Output Presets that are used in that configuration.
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o A single PDF for the entire job (in which the invoices are grouped per customer). o One PDF per customer. One PDF per invoice. (See: "Project Wizard: Print Transactional Jobs" on page 161.) The Workflow process implements the typical Print plugins (see "Print processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 186). o l l l l Basic web page. This project serves a simple web page, personalized via URL parameters. (See: "Project Wizard: Serving a Web Page" on page 174.) Submitting data with webforms.
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Note In order to use the project, OL Connect Server and OL Connect Workflow must be installed on the local machine. The wizard lets you select the folder in which you want the solution to be installed. In the selected folder, the Project Wizard will create two subfolders: Configurations and Workspace. The project's resource files are saved to the Configurations folder. The Workspace folder is used for debugging or running the solution.
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Running the project Having tested the project, you will be ready to send it to Workflow; see Saving and sending a Workflow Configuration in Workflow's Online Help. The project will run when you copy the Sample Data.xml file from the Configurations\Data folder to the Workspace\In folder. By default the project will still send all the emails to the sender's address. To change this: 1. Open the Create Email Content task and select the Email Info tab; then uncheck the Send emails to sender (test mode) option.
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l l The Return and Refund Policy PDF is stored in the template (in the Images folder). Rightclick the Email section and select Attachments to see how this is attached to the email. The delivery note is a dynamic attachment, based on a data field. It is attached to the email by the Attachment script. To learn how to create dynamic attachments, see "Dynamic attachments: creating file names based on data fields" on page 540. All scripts are listed on the Scripts pane. You can double-click to open them.
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l l l l The Folder Capture task reads the project's Workspace path from a global variable. The value of that variable is set by the project wizard when it installs the project. The Execute Data Mapping task extracts data from the sample data file and outputs them in the Metadata. The Create Email Content task creates the emails, using the Metadata as data source. Note that it sends the emails in test mode, which means it will send the emails to the sender.
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'.pdf'; The script uses a property: automation.variables.em_basic_workspace, which is defined in the Preprocessor step. (See also: "Properties and runtime parameters" on page 256.) In this case, the variable holds the project's path. The order number in the path is extracted from the sample data. Note In order to use the value of a Workflow variable - an 'Automation variable' - as a property in the Preprocessor step, the property and the Workflow variable must have the exact same name.
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To capture input data from a different source: 1. Replace the Folder Capture Input task by the appropriate Input task. See: Input tasks in Workflow's Online Help. 2. Add a Send to Folder task directly after the new Input task and set its output folder to the Workspace\Debug folder (%{global.pr_prom_workspace}\Debug). This task writes the job file to a file, which can then be used as sample data file when creating a data mapping configuration and debugging the Workflow process. 3.
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Tip The Designer can have one data mapping configuration and one template open at the same time. Use the tabs at the top of the workspace to switch between the two. Click the synchronize button on the Data Model pane to make sure that the Data Models are the same in both. Once the template is ready, send it to Workflow (see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454). Finally, in Workflow, adjust the process: double-click the Create Email Content task to open it, and select the new template.
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The Workspace folder is used for debugging or running the solution. It has an In folder that may be used to monitor incoming data and an Out folder to write output files to. The selected folder's path is saved to a global variable in the Workflow configuration (see "The Workflow configuration" on page 150). You also need to enter the host. This address will be used by the COTG app to download forms and submit data to the OL Connect Workflow service.
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Workflow's Online Help). 2. Send the Workflow configuration to the Workflow service; see Saving and sending a Workflow Configuration in Workflow's Online Help. 3. Open the Workflow configuration from the project's Resources\Workflow folder. 4. Select the cotg_ts_deploy_form process, open the Debug ribbon and click Run to execute the process. This deploys a number of forms to the COTG account entered in the Wizard.
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elements as well as COTG elements (see "Form Elements" on page 721 and "COTG Elements" on page 709). The template was started with the Time Sheet Wizard (see "Capture OnTheGo template wizards" on page 582), which also provides the necessary JavaScript files and style sheets. Most of the scripts are simple Text Scripts (see "Using the Text Script Wizard" on page 808). They put data in one of the form's fields, selecting the field by its ID.
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The data mapping configurations This project has two data mapping configurations, made with "The DataMapper" on page 196. To open one of them, select File > Open from the menu in the Designer and browse to the Configurations\Resources folder. COTG Timesheet Form The COTG Timesheet Form data mapping configuration is designed to extract data from the sample data file (Sample Data.xml).
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Subsequently, the Metadata Sequencer task creates a loop; the rest of the process is performed as many times as there are records in the Metadata, for one record at a time: l l l l The Set Job Infos and Variables task reads data from the (current record in the) Metadata and puts them into variables. The Create Web Content task merges the record with the COTG Timesheet Form template.
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Customizing the project A project is a great starting point for building an OL Connect solution. This part explains how to make changes to the project. Do you intend to expand the project into a solution where Workflow runs on a different machine that also has a different regional setting? Then indicate the desired encoding in the Designer preferences (see "Project Wizard deployment settings" on page 871) before installing the project.
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The Send to Folder step will now write the input data - the job file - to a file in the Workspace\Debug folder. When you select the file as sample file (on the Debug ribbon), it can be used to debug the process. Tip The saved file can be used to create a data mapping configuration. The report Using different data in the report requires changing the COTG Timesheet Report template (see "Personalizing content" on page 789).
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Workflow configuration To transform the project into a real solution, the Workflow configuration has to be adapted in two important respects. l l The timing and manner of the production of forms will need to change. The Input task of the cotg_ts_deploy_form process must be adapted to the actual input data. You will also need to create an appropriate data mapping configuration for that data, which probably means saving the input as sample data first (see "Saving input as sample data" on page 152).
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Installing the project Select File > New > Project Wizards > Print Promotional Jobs from the menu to start the Print Promotional Jobs Project Wizard. (See also: "Promotional Print Jobs - Project Wizard" on page 1006.) Note In order to use the project, OL Connect Server and OL Connect Workflow must be installed on the local machine. The wizard lets you select the folder in which you want the solution to be installed.
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In Debug mode, the first Input task is skipped and the process is executed using a sample data file. This project is pre-configured to use the file: Sample Data.xml. A successful test run results in a subfolder in the Workspace\Out folder, named after the current month and year. The Print output is written to that subfolder. It consists of one file that should have the proper file extension.
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l l l The year script changes the year in the conditional paragraph to the current year. This script only has to look for @year@ in an element that has the ID 'promo', instead of in the entire letter, which makes it run faster. The Dynamic Signature script switches the signature, with a file name based on a data field. (See: "Dynamic images" on page 823.) The sender's address is adjusted depending on where the customer lives. The two different sender's addresses are saved in snippets.
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Stationery - in the output. The other presets will not print the Media. Only the selected Output Creation Preset is put to use in the Workflow configuration. To see the exact settings, open an Output Creation Preset in the Designer: first select File > Output Creation Presets from the menu; then click the Import button and browse to the Configurations\Resources\Output presets folder to select the preset.
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Customizing the project A project is a great starting point for building an OL Connect solution. This part explains how to make changes to the project. Do you intend to expand the project into a solution where Workflow runs on a different machine that also has a different regional setting? Then indicate the desired encoding in the Designer preferences (see "Project Wizard deployment settings" on page 871) before installing the project.
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l Add text, images and other elements (see "Content elements" on page 633) l Change the layout (see "Styling and formatting" on page 745) l Change the "Media" on page 510 l Change the "Master Pages" on page 506 l Add sections (see "Print context" on page 483) In order to further personalize the letter, you need to open your data mapping configuration. (See: "Personalizing content" on page 789.) Tip The Designer can have one data mapping configuration and one template open at the same time.
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All of the presets provided by the wizard save the output to one file. You might want to save the output to a number of files, for instance, one per customer. The Transactional Print Jobs project shows you how to do that. Project Wizard: Print Transactional Jobs The Print Transactional Jobs Project Wizard creates an OL Connect project that produces transactional print output. It prints invoices to: o A single PDF for the entire job (in which the invoices are grouped per customer).
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That variable is used in the settings of the Capture Folder task. The path is also copied to the Output Creation Presets which are used in the Create Output tasks. Testing and running the project Once the Project Wizard has finished the installation, the project is ready to be tested. 1. Locate the Workflow configuration in the Configurations\Workflow folder and open it in OL Connect Workflow. 2. Select the pr_tran_generate_output process. 3. Open the Debug ribbon and click Run.
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The Media (virtual stationery) is included in the output - it is printed on the page's background , according to a setting in the Output Creation Presets. Styling is done via style sheets (see "Local formatting versus style sheets" on page 745). The style rules are in the context_print_styles.css file. Note how they combine the HTML tag, ID and class of elements to select them. (See also: "Selectors in Connect" on page 898.) Scripts Scripts personalize content.
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Dynamic Table The table in the invoice is a Dynamic Table. It is filled and expanded dynamically by the scripts in the Products folder. To learn how to insert and edit such a table, see "Dynamic Table" on page 825. Note that this table does not use one of the default table styles, and that the style sheet with the default table styles is not present in the template. To add that style sheet to the template, insert a table using the Dynamic Table wizard.
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The three Output Creation Presets all create PDF output, add the template's name to the PDF's meta data, and save the file in a certain directory. They all have the Print Virtual Stationery option enabled. So, what are the differences between these presets? Groups and separation The PR_TRAN PDF Full Job preset outputs only one file. The PR_TRAN PDF per Invoice preset outputs one file per invoice, separating the output by document.
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The Folder Capture task reads the project's Workspace path from a global variable. The value of that variable is set by the Project Wizard when it installs the project. Customizing the project A project is a great starting point for building an OL Connect solution. This part explains how to make changes to the project.
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Template There are countless ways to customize the template to meet your exact requirements. You could, for example: l Add text, images and other elements (see "Content elements" on page 633) l Change the layout (see "Styling and formatting" on page 745) l Change the "Media" on page 510 l Change the "Master Pages" on page 506 l Add sections (see "Print context" on page 483) In order to further personalize the invoice, you need to open your data mapping configuration.
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1. Select File > Output Creation Presets from the menu. 2. Click the Import button and browse to the Configurations\Resources\Output presets folder to select the preset. 3. Click Next and adjust the Printer and Output options. To separate the output differently, for example, by city in which the customers live, you need to change the Output Creation Preset as well as the Job Creation Preset. 1. Open the Job Creation Preset in the Designer: select File > Job Creation Presets from the menu. 2.
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Note In order to use the project, OL Connect Server and OL Connect Workflow must be installed on the local machine. The wizard lets you select the folder in which you want the solution to be installed. In the selected folder, the Project Wizard will create two subfolders: Configurations and Workspace. The project's resource files are saved to the Configurations folder. The Workspace folder is used for debugging or running the solution.
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2. Select the process. 3. Enable the Send to Folder step (step 2 in the process). 4. Send the Workflow configuration to PlanetPress Workflow service (see Saving and sending a Workflow Configuration) and run it again, with a custom name value. The Send to Folder step will now write the input data - the job file - to a file in the Workspace\Debug folder. When you select the file as sample file (on the Debug ribbon), it can be used to debug the process.
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l l l Most of the scripts in the Thank you folder directly insert data that were submitted via the Web form; see "Inserting variable data directly (drag-and-drop)" on page 806. The Snippets script (also in the Thank you folder) loads two snippets, depending on the values of two data fields (see "Loading a snippet via a script" on page 904). Note that it selects the table, in order to insert the snippet after the table (via results.after(); see "after()" on page 1371).
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In order to create the data mapping configuration, the input data needed to be saved to a file (see "Saving input as sample data" on page 169). The sample data file is located in the Configurations\Data folder, but you will also see it when you open the data mapping configuration itself. For more information about data mapping configurations see "The DataMapper" on page 196. Customizing the project A project is a great starting point for building an OL Connect solution.
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Tip The Designer can have one data mapping configuration and one template open at the same time. Use the tabs at the top of the workspace to switch between the two. Click the synchronize button on the Data Model pane to make sure that the Data Models are the same in both. 6. Send the Workflow configuration to the server. Web pages Apart from the form, there are lots of ways to modify the template.
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look at the task's properties. The xmlget() function, used in the Value fields, is a data selection function (see Data Selections). Data selection functions are available in many plugins, in any field that accepts variables. Try right-clicking a field and select Get Data Location from the contextual menu. (See also: Variable Task Properties.) For general information about processes in Workflow see About Processes and Subprocesses, in the Online Help of Workflow.
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Testing and running the project Once the Project Wizard has finished the installation, the project is ready to be tested. If the templates and data mapping configurations haven't been sent to Workflow yet, do that first (see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454). This requires that the Workflow service is running (see Starting the Workflow service in Workflow's Online Help). To test the project: 1.
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Tip The saved file can be used to create a data mapping configuration. Project details The web template The web page is designed in the WEB_HELLO Web Page template. It contains one Web section (see "Web pages" on page 549). Styling is done via style sheets (see "Local formatting versus style sheets" on page 745). The style rules are in the context_web_styles.css file. Note how they combine the HTML tag, ID and class of elements to select them. (See also: "Selectors in Connect" on page 898.
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The Workflow configuration The project's Workflow configuration, Serving a Web Page.OL-workflow, contains just one process. It is a simple OL Connect Web process (see "Web processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 188). The NodeJS Server Input task's HTTP action is set to hello. This means that this process will be invoked whenever someone tries to access the Workflow server with this URL: http:// {server's address}/hello.
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preferences (see "Project Wizard deployment settings" on page 871) before installing the project. Input data If you want to add other parameters to the URL and use those data in the template, here's how to do that: 1. Run the project, add more parameters to the URL and let the process save the input data to a file (see "Saving input as sample data" on page 175). 2. Use the file to create a new data mapping configuration that extracts the additional data.
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Tip The Designer can have one data mapping configuration and one template open at the same time. Use the tabs at the top of the workspace to switch between the two. Click the synchronize button on the Data Model pane to make sure that the Data Models are the same in both. Once the template is ready, send it to Workflow (see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454). Finally, in Workflow, adjust the process: double-click the Create Web Content task to open it, and select the new template.
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made up of tasks (also referred to as plugins). In the Workflow configuration tool they are divided into groups. For example: l l l l l l Input tasks look for certain input data on a certain channel and start a process when they find it. The data that enter the process are handed from one plugin to the next in the form of a file: the 'job file'. Process logic tasks help you to control the process, for example by branching it, creating a loop, or referring to another process or a subprocess.
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l l Web process. A web process serves one or more web pages. The output can vary from a plain and simple web page to an extensive web form. See: "Web processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 188. COTG processes. The process that creates a form for the Capture OnTheGo app is in essence a web process, but a COTG solution consists of more than one process. The typical COTG processes are described here: "Capture OnTheGo Workflow processes" on page 183.
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Output creation Merging the records with a template is the job of one of the following tasks. Email The Create Email Content task creates email content items and sends them to the recipient. See "Email processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 184. Web The Create Web Content task can handle only one record at a time and returns a web page. See "Web processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 188.
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l l The Set Properties task adds properties as tags to items/sets in the OL Connect database. The Retrieve Items task retrieves items (records, or content items, etc.) or sets of items from the OL Connect database, by ID or by property. Note Combined, the Set Properties and Retrieve Items tasks make it possible to batch and commingle Print content items.
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l l One process that authenticates and replies to document requests from COTG users. This process returns the actual document directly to the app. It starts with a Server Input task (the NodeJS Server Input task or the older HTTP Server Input task), which returns the final output of the process to the caller. One process that receives and handles the data when a COTG user submits a form. This process starts with a Server Input task as well.
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enter an empty JSON string: {}. However, if the template should be merged with data, you will need to add one or more tasks to provide the required data. The Create Email Content task must receive either Metadata containing information regarding a valid Record Set, or JSON data. This can be the output of tasks like: l l An Execute Data Mapping task which retrieves data from the job file (such as the request XML).
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Print processes with OL Connect tasks Generating print output from a template via an automated process requires you to design a print process in the PlanetPress Workflow configuration tool. This topic explains which tasks and files are used in a print process. Tip An easy way to setup a print project in OL Connect, including the print process and the files that it needs, is to use a Project Wizard. There are two Project Wizards that create a sample print project. See "Project Wizards" on page 1002.
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Nevertheless, the separate plugins would be used in the following situations: l l l l The record set, created by the Execute Data Mapping task, is also needed to create another kind of output in the same process. The input is JSON data, which can be used directly. In this case there is no need to use the Execute Data Mapping task or Retrieve Items task. If the input data is paginated (e.g.
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When the necessary files have been created and sent to Workflow, the next step is to create a process in PlanetPress Workflow that generates Print output, using these files. For more information about how to create a process in Workflow, please refer to the Online Help of Workflow. Web processes with OL Connect tasks Serving a web page, made with a template, via an automated process requires you to design a web process in the PlanetPress Workflow configuration tool.
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Server Input task. The protocol could be HTTPS, depending on the settings of the Input task.) To trigger the process from a Web Form, set the Action of the Form to the HTTP Action of the Input task. (See "Forms" on page 716.) The Create Web Content task creates an HTML output file from the Web context in a template. Select the Web template in the task's properties.
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Templates and data mapping configurations need to be sent from the Designer to PlanetPress Workflow before they can be used in the Workflow process; see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454. The next step is to create a process in PlanetPress Workflow that generates Web output, using these files. For more information about how to create a process in Workflow, please refer to the Online Help of Workflow.
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l Phase 2: Print content items are retrieved from the Connect database using the Retrieve Items task. The Create Job and Create Output tasks transform these items or sets into one or more print jobs. In order to retrieve print content from the Connect database in the second phase, some preparatory work must be done in the first phase. What needs to be done exactly depends on what you want to retrieve, and how.
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Retrieving items/sets by ID New print content items are automatically saved in the Connect database when the Create Content task creates them. The task returns the IDs of those items, as well as the ID of the content set, to the Workflow process via Metadata (see About Metadata). In order to retrieve (sets of) items by ID later on, you will have to get the IDs from the Metadata and store them somewhere else.
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Note Data field values and properties of items in the Connect database are also used when sorting the output. Make sure to set properties that are necessary for sorting on the content item level. Commingling When documents in one print batch originate from different templates, that is called commingling. Commingling isn't very different from batching in how it's done.
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l Through a Post Pagination script in the template. (See "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929 and "contentitem" on page 1444.) Sorting by property is only possible if the property has been set explicitly on the respective content items (not content sets) in the Connect database. It is also important to note that in order to use a data field or property in a sorting rule, it should be present in all content items.
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l l Bundle content items into "documents" (mail pieces) and sort the items within each document. Put documents in "groups", and define how documents are sorted within a group. Note that this tab is only available when the Retrieve Items task is configured to retrieve content items - not content sets. Separating the output Print output in batches can be separated just like all other print output, using an Output Creation Preset in the Create Output task (see "Output Creation Presets" on page 1479).
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The DataMapper The DataMapper is the tool to create a data mapping configuration. Data mapping configurations are used to extract data and transpose that data into a format that can be shared amongst different layouts and outputs created with the OL Connect Designer and Workflow. The original data, located in a file or database outside of OL Connect, is called a data source.
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3. Build the data mapping workflow. A data mapping workflow always starts with the Preprocessor step and ends with the Postprocessor step. You can add as many steps as you like and edit the Data Model of the extracted data as required. See "Data mapping workflow" on page 221 and "The Data Model" on page 267. What's next? Use the data mapping configuration in the Designer module to create templates for personalized customer communications. To learn more, see "The Designer" on page 447.
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Creating a new data mapping configuration A new data mapping configuration can be made with or without a wizard. When you open a data file with a DataMapper wizard, the wizard automatically detects a number of settings. You can adjust these settings. Next, the wizard automatically extracts as many data fields (or metadata, in case of a PDF/VT or AFP file) as it can, in one extraction step. Without a wizard you have to make the settings yourself, and configure the extraction workflow manually.
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l From the File menu 1. Click the File menu and select New. 2. Click the Data mapping Configuration drop-down and select Files and then the file type: l Comma Separated Values or Excel (CSV/XLSX/XLS), l Microsoft Access l PDF, PS, PCL or AFP l Text l XML l JSON 3. Click Next. 4. Click the Browse button and open the file you want to work with. 5. Click Finish.
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process) the conversion to PDF may influence the processing speed, depending on the available processing power. l l l Some advanced PCL to PDF options are available by calling LincPDF (PlanetPress Connect's PCL to PDF converter) command line module; see "Advanced PCL to PDF options" on page 214. Extracting data from a PDF that comes from a Windows printer queue (a PDF converted to PostScript, converted back to PDF by an Input task in Workflow) might not work.
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l From the Welcome screen 1. Open the PlanetPress Connect Welcome page by clicking the or select the Help menu and then Welcome. icon at the top right 2. Click New DataMapper Configuration. 3. From the Using a wizard pane, select the appropriate file type. l From the File menu 1. In the menu, click File > New. 2. Click the Data mapping Wizards drop-down and select the appropriate file type. The steps to take with the wizard depend on the file type.
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2. Click New DataMapper Configuration. 3. From the Using a wizard pane, select Generate counters. l From the File menu 1. In the menu, click File > New. 2. Click the Data mapping Wizards drop-down and select Generate counters. You can set the following parameters: l l l l l l l Starting Value: The starting number for the counter. Defaults to 1. Increment Value: The value by which to increment the counter for each record.
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To save a data mapping configuration: l l In the "Menus" on page 304, click on File > Save, or click on Save As to save a copy of a data mapping configuration under a different name. In the "Toolbar" on page 381, click the Save button. If the data mapping configuration has not been saved before, you have to browse to the location where the data mapping configuration should be saved and type a name, then click Save.
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Using the wizard for CSV and Excel files The DataMapper wizard for CSV and Excel files helps you create a data mapping configuration for such files. The wizard automatically detects delimiters and extracts all data in one extraction step. The wizard interprets each line in the file as a record. If your data file contains transactional data, you will probably want more lines to go in one record and put the transactional data in detail tables. The wizard cannot create detail tables.
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After selecting the file, take a look at the preview to ensure that the file is the right one and the encoding correctly reads the data. Click Next. For an Excel file you can make the following settings: l l l First row contains field names: Uses the first row of the Excel sheet as headers, which automatically names all extracted fields. Sheet: Select the sheet from which the data should be extracted.
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Finally click Finish. All data fields are automatically extracted in one extraction step. Using the wizard for databases The DataMapper wizard for database files helps you create a data mapping configuration for a database file. The wizard extracts the data in one extraction step. The wizard cannot create detail tables. If the file contains transactional data, the data mapping configuration is best created without a wizard (see "Creating a new data mapping configuration" on page 198).
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Note After creating the initial data mapping configuration you may use a custom SQL query via the Input Data Settings; see "Settings for a database" on page 225. Tip The Sort on option, combined with the Stop data mapping option of the "Action step" on page 264, allows to process only a group of items without having to examine all records. (See also: "Action step properties" on page 353.) MySQL, SQL Server or Oracle l Server: Enter the server address for the database.
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l Encoding: Choose the correct encoding to read the file. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Note that sorting is always textual. Even if the selected column has numbers, it will be sorted as a text. ODBC Data Source l l ODBC Source: Use the drop-down to select an ODBC System Data Source.
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l l l l l Database name: Enter the exact name of the database from where the data should be extracted. User name: Enter a user name that has access to the server and specified database. The user only requires Read access to the database. Password: Enter the password that matches the user name above. Advanced mode: Check to enable the Connection String field to manually enter the database connection string. Connection string: Type or copy in your connection string.
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After selecting a JSON file, specify if and how the JSON file must be split into multiple records. This is done by selecting an object or array as parent element. Its direct child elements objects and arrays, not key-value pairs - can be seen as individual source records. If the root is selected, there will be only one source record. Whether source records are output as individual records depends on the trigger.
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Tip How to extract information from the metadata in the extraction workflow itself is explained in: "Extracting metadata" on page 234. If the data file doesn't contain any metadata, each page is a new record - in other words, a boundary is set at the start of a new page -, which is exactly what happens when you open the file without a wizard. You can open a PDF/VT or AFP file with a wizard using the Welcome screen or the File menu. l From the Welcome screen 1.
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Note NOP (No Operation) records in AFP files cannot be extracted. Click Finish to close the dialog and open the actual Data Mapping configuration. On the Settings pane, you will see that the boundary trigger is set to On metadata. The selected metadata fields are added to the Data Model. Note Extracting data from a PDF that comes from a Windows printer queue (a PDF converted to PostScript, converted back to PDF by an Input task in Workflow) might not work (see the Connect Knowledge Base.
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element is called an 'item'. Note that in addition to being valid, the JSON should follow naming rules for XML elements. For example, "adress_line_1:" is a valid key name in JSON, but it cannot be converted to a valid element name in XML because the colon is reserved for namespaces. For XML naming rules and best naming practices, see: XML elements on W3Schools. The wizard cannot create detail tables.
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Note The DataMapper only extracts elements for which at least one value is defined in the file. Attribute values are not taken into account. Attribute values (prefixed with an @ sign in the Data Viewer) are not extracted automatically. Click Finish to close the dialog and open the data mapping configuration. Advanced PCL to PDF options The Connect DataMapper uses LincPDF to convert PCL files to PDF files. By default, the only options it passes to LincPDF are the input and output file names.
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have a PCL Input license. Calling LincPDFC via an external program To set advanced conversion parameters, the PCL input file has to pass through an additional Workflow process before entering the process in which the data mapping takes place. The extra Workflow process should call the LincPDF command line module LincPDFC via the External Program plugin with the desired advanced conversion parameters. To create such a Workflow process: 1. Add a local variable to your process and name it lincPDFOptions. 2.
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Key Name Argument Value Type Description EdgeToEdgePrinting -z 0 or 1 Set the flag of “Allows edge-to-edge printing”(default: FALSE). Constant Alpha -n:num 0-1 Specify constant alpha value defined in PDF 1.4 (default: 0.5). 0 or 1 When enabled, Lincoln’s PCL interpreter will output vector graphics in a simpler mode (default: FALSE). 0 or 1 When set (1), LincPDF will convert CMYK as RGB colorspace before writing (default: FALSE).
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the Workflow log. 7. Save the output of LincPDFC using the –o folder specifier in the parameter (% {workingDir}\Temp, in this case.) In another Workflow process, import the created PDF with the Folder Capture input plugin, specifying the output folder of the previous process (%{workingDir}\Temp in the example) as input folder, and %O.pdf as the file mask.
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Once you have the PDF as job file, you may pass it to the Execute Data Mapping plugin for further processing. LincPDFC Options To view the available options that can be set in LincPDF, run the executable (LincPDFC.exe) in a command prompt window. It will display a help message with available options.
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/*Open Windows Command Prompt Change directory cd C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\LPDFConv\Bin C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\LPDFConv\Bin\LincPDFC.exe LincPDF for Command-Line, Version 2.6.6.14 Copyright (c) 2001-2007 Lincoln & Co., a division of Biscom, Inc. Usage: LincPDF -iInput.PCL [-oOutput.
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-dTitle:$s : PDF Title -dSubject:$s : PDF Subject -dAuthor:$s : PDF Author -dKeywords:$s : PDF Keywords -dVersion:num : PDF Version (multiply by 10) Page Setup: -pWidth:num : Page Width (required only if Page Type is Custom) -pHeight:num : Page Height (required only if Page Type is Custom) -pXOff:num : Page X Offset (see also Measurement) -pYOff:num : Page Y Offset (see also Measurement) -pMeasure:num : Page Measurement (0-inch, 1-mm, 2-point) -pOrient:num : Page Orientation (0-Portrait, 1-Landscape) -pTyp
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-yCopyContents : Enable Copying Text and Graphics from Document -yUse128Bit : Use 128-bit Encryption -yAssembleDocument : Enable Assemble Document (128-bit encryption only) -yExtractText : Enable Text and Graphics Extraction (128-bit encryption only) -yLowResolutionPrint : Enable Lower-level Resolution Printing (128-bit encryption only) Tips ---------------------------------------------------. using quotation mark for complicated string, for example, -dKeywords:"key1, key2" .
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after the Data Mapping workflow has completed ("Postprocessor step" on page 265). When you create a new data mapping configuration, these steps are added automatically, but they don't actually do anything until you configure them. In between the Preprocessor and Postprocessor step, the workflow can contain as many steps as needed to extract the required data.
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Editing steps The properties of each step in the extraction workflow become visible in the Step properties pane when you select that step in the Steps pane. The name of each step is shown in the Steps pane. You can change it under Description in the Step properties pane. The other properties are different per step type; see "Steps" on page 255. Rearranging steps To rearrange steps, simply drag & drop them somewhere else on the colored line in the Steps pane.
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If any errors are encountered in one or more records, an error message will be displayed. Errors encountered while performing the extraction workflow on the current record will also be visible on the Messages tab. Note How many records are displayed in the Data Viewer (200, by default) is specified in the Record limit on the Settings pane. Data source settings After opening a data file you have to make a number of settings to make sure that the source data is interpreted and grouped the way you want.
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fields, even if the field delimiter is the semicolon. For an explanation of all the options, see: "CSV file Input Data settings" on page 323. Settings for an Excel File For an Excel file you have to specify which sheet to use. You can also set how many lines should be skipped, if the first row contains field names or not, and how the data should be sorted. See: "Excel file Input Data settings" on page 324. Excel has its own way to display dates.
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width if you are still working with old line printer data; etc. It is important that pages be defined properly. This can be done either by using a set number of lines or using a string of text (for example, the character “P”), to detect on the page. Be aware that this is not a Boundary setting; it detects each new page, not each new record. For an explanation of all the options, see: "Text file Input Data settings" on page 326.
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Record boundaries Boundaries are the division between records: they define where one record ends and the next record begins. Using boundaries, you can organize the data the way you want. You could use the exact same data source with different boundaries in order to extract different information. If, for instance, a PDF file contains multiple invoices, each invoice could be a record, or all invoices for one customer could go into a single record.
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Data format settings defined for a data source apply to any new extraction made in the current data mapping configuration. These settings are made on the Settings pane; see "Settings pane" on page 323. Settings for a field that contains extracted data are made via the properties of the Extract step that the field belongs to (see "Setting the data type" on page 276). Any format settings specified per field are always used, regardless of the user preferences or data source settings.
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You can also define custom runtime parameters. With those, you could, for example: l l Pass a JSON structure, containing boundary information as well as the name and location of fields to be extracted dynamically from a data stream. This way, a generic data mapping configuration could be used to process several kinds of different files. Define default values that are different from one data mapping instance to the next, even when using the same data mapping configuration.
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Note Runtime parameters are always added to the file currently visible in the workspace. To add a parameter: 1. Click the Add button. The Add Parameter dialog opens. 2. Give the runtime parameter a name. The name is needed to access the parameter in a script and to set its source in the automation tool. 3. Optionally, set a debug value. Note that the debug value is never actually used outside of the DataMapper. Its only purpose is to make it easier to design and test the data mapping configuration.
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step" on page 264). Note that the property's value will be reset at the beginning of each source record. l l The data object has a properties array that lets you access custom properties of the data as a whole, i.e. the scope of the property is set to Entire data. (See: "data" on page 402.) These are read-only. To access a runtime parameter inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use automation.parameters.runtimeparametername. (See: "Objects" on page 395.
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Preprocessor step The Preprocessor step allows the application to perform actions on the data file itself before it is handed over to the Data Mapping workflow. In addition, properties can be defined in this step. These properties may be used throughout the extraction workflow. For more information, see "Preprocessor step" on page 255. Adding an extraction In an extraction workflow, Extract steps are the pieces that take care of the actual data extractions. To add an Extract step: 1.
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field name stays the same. Drop data on empty fields or on the record itself to add new fields. Special conditions The Extract step may need to be combined with another type of step to get the desired result. l l l Data can be extracted conditionally with a Condition step or Multiple Conditions step; see "Condition step" on page 260 or "Multiple Conditions step" on page 263. Normally the same extraction workflow is automatically applied to all records in the source data.
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1. Select the field in the Data Model that contains the extracted lines. 2. On the Step properties pane, under Field Definition, click the drop-down next to Split and select Split lines. Adding fields to an existing Extract step For optimization purposes, it is better to add fields to an existing Extract step than to have a succession of extraction steps. To add fields to an existing Extract step: 1. In the Data Viewer pane, select the data that needs to be extracted. (See "Selecting data" on page 236.) 2.
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4. Select the Level of the metadata on which the information can be found. 5. Select the Property to extract. Alternatively you could create a JavaScript extraction (see "Using scripts in the DataMapper" on page 387 and "extractMeta()" on page 413). Note NOP (No Operation) records in AFP files cannot be extracted. Editing fields After extracting some data, you may want to: l Change the names of fields that are included in the extraction. l Change the order in which fields are extracted.
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If any errors are encountered in one or more records, an error message will be displayed. Errors encountered while performing the extraction workflow on the current record will also be visible on the Messages tab. Note How many records are displayed in the Data Viewer (200, by default) is specified in the Record limit on the Settings pane. Selecting data In order to extract the data, it is necessary to first define the data to be extracted, by selecting it.
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Note In a Text or PDF file, when you move the selection rectangle directly after extracting data, you can use it to select data for the next extraction. However, moving the selection rectangle that appears after clicking on a field in the Data Model actually changes which data is extracted into that field. CSV/XLS/XLSX file or database recordset Tabular data is displayed in the Data Viewer in a table where multiple fields appear for each line and row in the original data.
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In this tree view you can select elements just like files in the Windows Explorer. Keep the Ctrl key pressed down while clicking on key-value pairs or brackets to select multiple elements, or keep the Shift key pressed down to select consecutive elements. You can select multiple key-value pairs, arrays and objects even if those are in different elements. To get a better overview you can collapse any JSON level.
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fields that contain promotional data is the same in each record. These data are stored on the root level of the extracted record. Transactional data , on the other hand, are used in communications about transactions between a company and their customers or suppliers: invoices, statements, and purchase orders, for example. Naturally these data differ per customer. They are stored in detail tables in the extracted record. The number of detail lines in a detail table can vary from record to record.
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Extracting data with a script. The topic: "Extracting data of variable length" on page 250 explains a few ways to extract data from a variable number of lines into one data field. From a CSV file or a Database The transactional data (also called line items) appear in multiple rows. 1. Select a field in the column that contains the first line item information. 2. Right-click this data selection and select Add Repeat. This adds a Repeat step with a GoTo step inside it.
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The extraction step is placed inside the Repeat step, just before the GoTo step. From an XML file The transactional data appears in repeated elements.
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1. Right-click one of the repeating elements and select Add Repeat. This adds a Repeat step to the data mapping configuration. By default, the Repeat type of this step is set to For Each, so that each of the repeated elements is iterated over. You can see this on the Step properties pane, as long as the Repeat step is selected on the Steps pane. In the Collection field, you will find the corresponding node path.
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3. Select the Repeat step on the Steps pane. 4. Extract the data: inside a repeating element, select the data that you want to extract. Then right-click the selected nodes and select Add Extraction, or drag & drop them in the Data Model. When you drag & drop data on the name of a detail table in the Data Model pane, the data are added to that detail table.
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2. Right-click the opening bracket of the first of the repeating elements and select Add Repeat. This adds a Repeat step to the data mapping configuration. By default, the Repeat type of this step is set to For Each. With this setting the Extract step goes through the defined collection of elements, without the need for a Goto step within the loop. (With the other Repeat type settings the loop must contain a Goto step.
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Tip The full JsonPath to an element is displayed at the bottom left of the window when you select it. To copy the path, right-click it and select Copy. Note If a key in a JSON file has a name that looks like a function (e.g. "TLIST(A1)"), then the Extract step has to use a JsonPath with bracket notation instead of the default dot notation. For information about the bracket notation see https://goessner.net/articles/JsonPath/.
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2. Add a Repeat step where the loop must stop. 1. In the line under the last line item, look for a text that can be used as a condition to stop the loop, for example "Subtotals", Total" or "Amount". 2. Select that text, right-click on it and select Add Repeat. The Repeat step loops over all lines until the selected text is found. 3. Include/exclude lines. Lines between the start and end of the loop that don't contain a line item must be excluded from the extraction.
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Selecting data - especially something as small as a dot - can be difficult in a PDF file. To make sure that a Condition step checks for certain data:Set the Right operand to Value (in the Step properties pane).Make a selection in the Data Viewer and click the Use selected text button in the Right Operand section. You will now be able to see whether or not the proper text is extracted by the current selection. Repeat this until you are satisfied that the proper data is being extracted.
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4. (Optional.) Add an empty detail table to the Data Model: right-click the Data Model and select Add a table. Give the detail table a name. 5. Extract the data (see "Adding an extraction" on page 232). When you drag & drop data on the name of a detail table in the Data Model pane, the data are added to that detail table.
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Note In a PDF or Text file, pieces of data often have a variable size: a product description, for example, may be short and fit on one line, or be long and cover two lines.
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facing page. 6. Extract the sum or totals. If the record contains sums or totals at the end of the line items list, the end of the Repeat step is a good place to add an Extract step for these data. After the loop step, the cursor position is at the end of line items. 1. Select the amount or amounts. 2. Click on the end of the Repeat step ( ) in the Steps panel. 3. Right-click on the selected data and select Add Extraction.
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certain region on the page. However, the data can be spread over multiple lines and multiple pages: l l Line items may continue on the next page, separated from the line items on the first page by a page break, a number of empty lines and a letterhead. Data may vary in length: a product description for example may or may not fit on one line. How to exclude lines from an extraction is explained in another topic: "Extracting transactional data" on page 238 (see From a PDF or Text file).
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be added to extract the data from a particular region. The Extract steps could write their data to the same field. Data cannot be extracted more than once in any record, unless the Extract steps are mutually exclusive. This is the case when they are located in different branches of a Condition step or Multiple Conditions step. Inside a Detail table, multiple Extract steps may extract the same data but each of them will create a new child record in the Detail table.
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Using a script A script could also provide a solution when data needs to be extracted from a variable region. This requires using a Javascript-based field. 1. Add a field to an Extract step, preferably by extracting data from one of the possible regions; see "Extracting data" on page 231. To add a field without extracting data, see "Expression-based field" on page 273. 2. On the Step properties pane, under Field Definition, select the field and change its Mode to Javascript.
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Note that this script replicates exactly what can be done in a Condition step. In cases like this, it is recommended to use a Condition step. Only use a script when no steps are sufficient to give the expected result, or when the extraction can be better optimized in a script. Steps In the DataMapper, steps are part of an extraction workflow (see "Data mapping workflow" on page 221). They contain a specific instruction for the DataMapper, for example to extract data, create a loop, or apply a condition.
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also lets you define properties and runtime parameters that can be used throughout the data mapping workflow. For a complete overview of the settings for a Preprocessor step, see: "Preprocessor step properties" on page 341. Properties and runtime parameters A data mapping configuration's properties hold data that can be used throughout the data mapping workflow to compare against in conditions or to complement the existing data.
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Extract step The Extract step is essential in each and every data mapping configuration. It extracts data from the data source, based on their location (a row and column in CSV or tabular data, an XPath in XML, a JsonPath in JSON, or a region of the page in PDF and Text) or on JavaScript code. The data is stored in the record set that is the result of the extraction workflow. Fields always belong to an Extract step, but they don't necessarily all contain extracted data.
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see: "Extracting data" on page 231. l Alternatively, right-click the Steps pane and select Add a Step > Add Extraction. Make the required settings on the Step properties pane. If an Extract step is added within a Repeat step, the extracted data are added to a detail table by default; see "Extracting transactional data" on page 238 and "Detail tables" on page 312.
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1. On the Steps pane, select the step after which to insert the Condition step. 2. Make sure that the cursor is located where the extraction loop must start. By default the cursor is located at the top of the page or record, but previous steps in the extraction workflow may have moved it down. If necessary, add a Goto step (see "Goto step" below). Generally this step can be skipped when the data source is an XML file or JSON file. 3.
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The DataMapper moves through JSON files using JsonPath, a path-like syntax to identify and navigate elements in a JSON document. For an overview of the JsonPath syntax, see https://github.com/json-path/jsonpath. In the DataMapper the JsonPath can be absolute (start with $ which is the root) or relative to the current position (start with . which is the current element). However, going up to a parent element is not possible with a relative JsonPath.
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Adding a Condition step To add a Condition step: l On the Steps pane, select the step after which to insert the Condition step; then, in the Data Viewer, select some data, right-click that data and choose Add Conditional. In the Step properties pane, you will see that the newly added Condition step checks if the selected position (the left operand) contains the selected value (the right operand). Both operands and the operator can be adjusted.
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selected text button in the Right Operand section. You will now be able to see whether or not the proper text is extracted by the current selection. Repeat this until you are satisfied that the proper data is being extracted.Click on the Use selection button in the Left Operand section to fill out the coordinates.The point of origin of each character is at the bottom left of each of them and extends up and to the right. l Alternatively, right-click the Steps pane and select Add a Step > Add Conditional.
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Renaming a rule To rename a rule, double-click its name in the Rule Tree and type a new name. Multiple Conditions step The Multiple Conditions step is useful to avoid the use of nested Condition steps: Condition steps inside other Condition steps. In a Multiple Conditions step, conditions or rather Cases are positioned side by side. Each Case condition can lead to an extraction. Cases are executed from left to right.
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Adding a Multiple Conditions step To add a Multiple Conditions step, right-click the Steps pane and select Add a Step > Add Multiple Conditions. To add a case, click the Add case button to the right of the Condition field in the Step properties pane. Configuring a Multiple Conditions step For information about how to configure the Multiple Conditions step, see "Multiple Conditions step properties" on page 372.
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l l l Set the value for a record property. Record properties are defined in the Preprocessor step; see "Preprocessor step" on page 255. Stop the processing of the current record and move on to the next one. Normally an extraction workflow is automatically executed on all records in the source data. By stopping the processing of the current record, you can filter out some records or skip records partially.
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l Select the Postprocessor step on the Steps pane. l On the Step properties pane, under Postprocessor, click the Add button l . Under Postprocessor definition, add the script. Postprocessor tasks must be written in JavaScript (see "Using scripts in the DataMapper" on page 387 and "DataMapper Scripts API" on page 384). Configuring the Postprocessor step For an explanation of the settings for post-processors, see "Postprocessor step properties" on page 379.
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mapping workflow. In order to test post-processors you must execute them manually by clicking the Apply button in the Post-processor step properties (see "Postprocessor step properties" on page 379). Note that in the DataMapper and Designer, only one data record is active at any given time. Therefore, the changes made by the post-processes are only visible on the current data record (i.e. the one currently displayed).
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About records A record is a block of information that may be merged with a template to generate a single document (invoice, email, web page...) for a single recipient. It is part of the record set that is generated by a data mapping configuration. In each record, data from the data source can be combined with data coming from other sources. Records can be duplicated by setting the number of copies in a script (see "record" on page 421). Duplicates are not shown in the Data Model.
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Note l l Imported Data Model fields always overwrite existing field properties when the field name is the same (although they will still be part of the same Extract step). Nonexistent fields are created automatically with the appropriate field settings. The import is case-insensitive. All imported data model fields are marked as required in the Data Model (indicated with an asterisk (*) next to their names).
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directly through the record object (see the "Designer Script API" on page 1281 and "DataMapper Scripts API" on page 384). To change the order in which data are extracted, see "Renaming and reordering fields in an extraction step" on page 275. Moving fields To move a field, a group of fields or a detail table, you can simply drag and drop it to some other place in the Data Model.
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be populated with data from different sources and formats, without the need to modify the template (see "Importing/exporting a Data Model" on page 268). In Workflow, when a data mapping configuration is used to extract data from a data source (see "Data mapping configurations" on page 197), the extracted data is stored in a record set in the OL Connect database. Adding fields and data via Workflow The Data Model is not extensible outside of the DataMapper.
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l Use the Update Data Records plugin. l Add an Output task and check the option Update records with Metadata. l Select Metadata as the data source in the Create Preview PDF plugin. Note Many of these actions can also be performed using REST calls. Please refer to PlanetPress Connect Workflow documentation for more information about the plugins involved. Fields Extracted data are stored in fields in the Data Model (see "The Data Model" on page 267).
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Expression-based field Expression-based fields are filled with the result of a (JavaScript) expression: the script provides a value. Note that the last value attribution to a variable is the one used as the result of the expression. There is a number of ways to add an expression-based field. Via the Steps pane 1. Make sure there is no data selection in the Data Viewer. 2. Right-click on an Extract step on the Steps pane and select Add a Step > Add Extract Field.
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Tip The default extraction method for fields in a CSV or XLS(X) file is data.extract (columnName, rowOffset). Changing the expression to use the data.extractByIndex(index, rowOffset) method will allow the data mapping configuration to extract data from files that have the same structure, but different column names. Property-based field A property-based field is filled with the value of a property (see "Properties and runtime parameters" on page 228).
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l l Drag & drop data into it. The field will be converted into a location-based field and is then accessible via the Step properties pane. Fill the field with an Action step (see Extracting data with a script). Fields that are filled this way are not accessible via the Step properties pane. Adding fields dynamically Outside of the DataMapper the Data Model cannot be changed. It isn't possible to add fields to it when using the data mapping configuration in an automated process.
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Note About field names: l l Fields cannot have the same name, unless they are located on a different level in the record (e.g. root level, detail table). It is recommended that you do not use spaces in field names. When a data field is dragged into a template, the data field name is used in the selector of the script that is created, but any spaces will be removed. Also, data fields may be used as Metadata in a Workflow process, and spaces are not permitted in Metadata field names.
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The default format for dates, numbers and currencies can be set in the user preferences ("DataMapper preferences" on page 852), in the data source settings ("Data source settings" on page 224) and per data field (in the Extract step properties, see "Data Format" on page 351). Setting a default value You may want to set a default value for a field, in case no extraction can be made. Make sure to set the data type of the field via the step properties (see above).
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Note The last value attribution to a variable is the one used as the result of the expression. Deleting a field The list of fields that are included in an extraction is one of the properties of an Extract step. To delete a field: 1. Select the field: click on the field in the Data Model, or select the Extract step that contains the field that you want to delete, and in the Step properties pane, under Field Definition, select the field from the Field List. 2.
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1. On the Data Model pane, click one of the fields in the detail table. 2. On the Step Properties pane, under Extraction Definition, in the Data Table field, you can find the name of the detail table: record.detail by default. Change the detail part in that name into something else. Note A detail table’s name should always begin with ‘record.’. 3. Click somewhere else on the Step Properties pane to update the Data Model. You will see the new name appear.
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To create more than one detail table, simply extract transactional data in different Repeat steps (see "Extracting transactional data" on page 238). The best way to do this is to add an empty detail table (right-click the Data Model, select Add a table and give the detail table a name) and drop the data on the name of that detail table.
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Nested detail tables Nested detail tables are used to extract transactional data that are relative to other data. They are created just like multiple detail tables, with two differences: l l For the tables to be actually nested, the Repeat step and its Extract step that extract the nested transactional data must be located within the Repeat step that extracts data to a detail table. In their name, the dot notation (record.services) must contain one extra level (record.services.charges).
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a number of "details" such as movie rentals or long distance calls.
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The services can be extracted to a detail table called record.services. The "charges" and "details" can be extracted to two nested detail tables.
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The nested tables can be called record.services.charges and record.services.details.
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Now one "charges" table and one "details" table are created for each row in the "services" table. Data types By default the data type of extracted data is a String, but each field in the Data Model can be set to contain another data type. To do this: 1. In the Data Model, select a field. 2. On the Step properties pane, under Field Definition choose a data type from the Type drop-down. Changing the type does not only set the data type inside the record.
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l "HTMLString" on page 293 l "Integer" on page 293 l "Float" on page 292 l "Currency" on the facing page l "Date" on page 289 l "Object" on page 294 Note The Object data type is only available in the DataMapper module. It can be used for properties in the Preprocessor step, but not for fields in the Data Model. Boolean Booleans are a simple true/false data type often used in conditions and comparisons.
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Boolean expressions Boolean values can be set using an expression of which the result is true or false. This is done using operators and comparisons. Example: record.fields["isCanadian"] = (extract("Country") == "CA"); For more information on JavaScript comparison and logical operators, please see w3schools.com or developer.mozilla.org. Currency The Currency data type is a signed, numeric, fixed-point 64-bit number with 4 decimals. Values range from -922 337 203 685 477.5808 to 922 337 203 685 477.5808.
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Building Currency values Currency values can be the result of direct attribution or mathematical operations just like Integer values (see "Integer" on page 293). Date Dates are values that represent a specific point in time, precise up to the second. They can also be referred to as datetime values. While dates are displayed as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) or using the system's regional settings (see "Default Format" on page 852), in reality they are stored unformatted.
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4. For the letters and patterns that you can use in a date format, see "Defining a date/time format" below. Data format settings tell the DataMapper how to read and parse data from the data source. They don't determine how these data are formatted in the Data Model or in a template. In the Data Model, data are converted to the native data type. Dates, for example, are converted to a DateTime object. How they are displayed in the Data Model depends on the preferences (see "Default Format" on page 852)..
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date/time separators (i.e. / - :) . If one of those characters happens to be one of the reserved characters listed above, it must be escaped using the \ symbol. Note The markers that can be used when extracting dates are different from those that are used to display dates in a template (see the Designer's "Date and time patterns" on page 1296). Examples of masks Value in raw data Mask to use June 25, 2013 MM dd, YYYY 06/25/13 mm/dd/yy 2013.06.25 yyyy.mm.
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The use of the JavaScript Date() object is necessary when creating dates through a JavaScript expression. For more information, see w3schools - JavaScript Dates and w3schools - Date Object. Example The following script creates a date that is the current date + 30 days: function addDays(date, days) { var result = new Date(date); result.setDate(result.getDate() + days); return result; } addDays(new Date(), 30); Float Floats are signed, numeric, floating-point numbers whose value has 15-16 significant digits.
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Building Float values Float values can be the result of direct attribution or mathematical operations just like Integer values (see "Integer" below). HTMLString HTMLStrings contain textual data that includes HTML markup. They are essentially the same as String values except in cases where the HTML markup can be interpreted. Example: Assume that a field has the value He said WOW!.
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l l Direct attribution: Assign an integer value directly, such as 42, 99593463712, record.fields.Total; or data.extract("TotalOrdered");. Mathematical operations: Assign the result of any mathematical operation. For example: 22+51, 3*6, 10/5, record.fields["InvTotal"], or sourceRecord.property.SubTotal. For more information on mathematics in JavaScript , see w3Schools - Mathematical Operators. For more advanced mathematical functions, see w3schools - Math Object.
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l Extraction: l In the Data Model, select a field. l On the Step properties pane, under Field Definition set the Type to String. The field value will be extracted and treated as a string. l JavaScript Expression: Set the desired value to any string between quotes. Example: record.fields["countryOfOrigin"] = "Canada"; Building String values String values can be made up of more than just a series of characters between quotes.
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xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.objectiflune.com/connectschemas/Data ModelConfig http://www.objectiflune.com/connectschemas/DataModelConfig/1_0_0_ 3.xsd" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.
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Example: transactional details, in a simple invoice format PAGE 298
Example: nested tables (one table into another) PAGE 299
Keyboard shortcuts This topic gives an overview of keyboard shortcuts that can be used in the DataMapper. Keyboard shortcuts available in the Designer for menu items, script editors and the data model pane can also be used in the DataMapper; see "Keyboard shortcuts" on page 1041. Although some of the keyboard shortcuts are the same, this isn't a complete list of Windows keyboard shortcuts. Please refer to Windows documentation for a complete list of Windows keyboard shortcuts.
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Key combination Function displays the corresponding menu.) The menu can then be browsed using the Enter key, arrow up and arrow down buttons.
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Key combination Function or Ctrl + Shift + F4 Ctrl + F5 Revert Ctrl + F7 Next view Ctrl + Shift + F7 Previous view Ctrl + F8 Next perspective Ctrl + Shift + F8 Previous perspective Ctrl + F10 Save as Ctrl + F12 Send to Workflow / Package files F4 Ignore step/Reactivate step F6 Add an Extract step F7 Add a Goto step F8 Add a Condition step F9 Add a Repeat step F10 Add an Extract field F11 Add an Action step F12 Add a Multiple Conditions step Alt + F12 Add a Case step (under a
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Key combination Function Home Go to the first step in the workflow End Go to the last step in the workflow Alt + V Validate records Shift + F10 or Ctrl + Shift + F10 Open context menu Viewer pane The following key combinations activate a function in the Viewer. Key combination Function Alt + - Open system menu Ctrl + - Zoom out Tip You can also use the mouse's scroll wheel in combination with the Ctrl button to gradually zoom in or out.
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Data Model pane Key combination Function PageUp Go to previous record PageDown Go to next record Alt + CR Property page Alt + PageDown Scroll down to the last field Alt + PageUp Scroll up to the first field Steps tab Key combination Function Ctrl + - Zoom out Ctrl + + Zoom in Edit Script and Expression windows The following key combinations have a special function in the Expression and in the Edit Script windows (expanded view).
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Key combination Function Ctrl + J Line break Ctrl + L Go to line; a prompt opens to enter a line number. Ctrl + Shift + D Delete line Shift + Tab Shift selected lines left Tab Shift selected lines right Ctrl + / Comment out / uncomment a line in code Ctrl + Shift + / Comment out / uncomment a code block Menus The following menu items are shown in the DataMapper Module's menu: File Menu l l l l l New...
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l l l l l l Save: Saves the current data mapping configuration or Template to its current location on disk. If the file is a data mapping configuration and has never been saved, the Save As dialog appears instead. Save As...: Saves the current data mapping configuration or Template to a new location on disk. In the case of Templates, it is saved to a location that can be different than the local repository. Save All: Saves all open files.
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l Delete Step: Deletes the currently selected step. If the step is a Repeat or Condition, all steps under it are also deleted. l Cut: Click to remove the currently selected step, or steps, and place them in the clipboard. l Copy: Click to place a copy of the currently selected step, or steps, in the clipboard. l Paste: Click to place any step, or steps, from the clipboard before the currently selected step in the "Steps pane" on page 339.
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l l l Add Extract Field: Adds the data selection to the selected Extract step, if an extract step is currently selected. If multiple lines, nodes or fields are selected, multiple extract fields are added simultaneously. Add Multiple Conditions: Adds a condition that splits into multiple case conditions. Add Action Step: Adds a step to run one or more specific actions such as running a JavaScript expression or setting the value of a Source Record Property.
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Panes The DataMapper screen contains the following panes. l "Settings pane" on page 323. The Settings pane contains settings for the data source. l "Steps pane" on page 339. The entire extraction workflow is visible in the Steps pane. l "The Data Viewer" on page 320. The Data Viewer shows one record in the data source. l "Step properties pane" on page 341. The Step properties pane contains all settings for the step that is currently selected on the Steps pane. l "Data Model pane" below.
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l : Export Data Model: Click to browse to a location to save the Data Model file. The available file types are: l l l A Data Model file (*.OL-datamodel). A JSON file (*.json): A JSON object or an array of JSON objects representing records. A 'typed' JSON file (*.json). Note Typed JSON follows the structure of a JSON Record Data List (see the REST API Cookbook). Data field types are determined by the schema object in the JSON.
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Note Moving and grouping fields in the Data Model has no impact on the order in which data are extracted, or on the final records in the OL Connect database. They only help you organize the Data Model visually. To learn how to change the order in which data are extracted, see "Renaming and reordering fields in an extraction step" on page 275. l l l Add Field: Click to add a new field at the current level (record or detail table).
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l l Default Value: Click to set the default value for a field. This value is used if no extraction is present, or if an extraction attached to this field returns no value. Move: Click to move the selected field within the current level or group in the Data Model. (See: "Ordering and grouping fields in the Data Model" on page 269.) l Top: Move the field to the first place. l Up: Move the field one step up. l Down: Move the field one step down. l Bottom: Move the field to the last place.
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Record navigation Records can be navigated via the Data Model pane. The default record level navigates between records both in the Data Model pane and the Data Viewer, while each detail table has a similar navigation that influences that table and each detail table under it. l l l l l l l l Expand/Contract: Click to hide or show any fields or tables under the current table level or in the current group (see "Grouping fields" on page 270).
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Detail tables can be included in a template via a Dynamic Table ; see "Dynamic Table" on page 825. Renaming a detail table Renaming detail tables is especially useful when there are more detail tables in one record, or when a detail table contains another detail table. For this detail table, ‘products’ would be a better name. 1. On the Data Model pane, click one of the fields in the detail table. 2.
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To create more than one detail table, simply extract transactional data in different Repeat steps (see "Extracting transactional data" on page 238). The best way to do this is to add an empty detail table (right-click the Data Model, select Add a table and give the detail table a name) and drop the data on the name of that detail table.
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Nested detail tables Nested detail tables are used to extract transactional data that are relative to other data. They are created just like multiple detail tables, with two differences: l l For the tables to be actually nested, the Repeat step and its Extract step that extract the nested transactional data must be located within the Repeat step that extracts data to a detail table. In their name, the dot notation (record.services) must contain one extra level (record.services.charges).
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a number of "details" such as movie rentals or long distance calls.
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The services can be extracted to a detail table called record.services. The "charges" and "details" can be extracted to two nested detail tables.
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The nested tables can be called record.services.charges and record.services.details.
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Now one "charges" table and one "details" table are created for each row in the "services" table. The Data Viewer The Data Viewer is located in the middle on the upper half of the DataMapper screen. It displays the data source that is currently loaded in the DataMapper, specifically one record in that data. Where one record ends and the next starts is determined in the Data Source settings (see "Record boundaries" on page 227).
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l l l Hide/Show datamap : Click to show or hide the icons to the left of the Data Viewer which displays how the steps affect the line. Hide/Show extracted data : Click to show or hide the extraction selections indicating that data is extracted. This simplifies making data selections in the same areas and is useful to display the original data. Lock/Unlock extracted data : Click to lock existing extraction selections so they cannot be moved or resized.
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workflow. Messages pane The Messages pane is shared between the DataMapper and Designer modules and displays any warnings and errors from the data mapping configuration or template. At the top of the Message pane are control buttons: l Export Log: Click to open a Save As dialog where the log file (.log) can be saved on disk. l Clear Log Viewer: Click to remove all entries in the log viewer. l Filters: Displays the Log filter (see "Log filter" below).
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Settings pane Settings for the data source and a list of Data Samples and JavaScript files used in the current data mapping configuration, can be found on the Settings tab at the left. The available options depend on the type of data sample that is loaded. The Input Data settings (especially Delimiters) and Boundaries are essential to obtain the data and eventually, the output that you need. For more explanation, see "Data source settings" on page 224.
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l l Skip empty lines: Ignore any line that has no content. Note that spaces are considered content. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Note that sorting is always textual. Even if the selected column has numbers, it will be sorted as a text. Excel file Input Data settings There are no settings for field separation in an Excel file, only settings with regards to the file as a whole.
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average character in the font. l l l l l l Line spacing: Determines the spacing between lines of text. The default value is 1, meaning the space between lines must be equal to at least the average character height. Paragraph spacing: Determines the spacing between paragraphs. The default value is 1.5, meaning the space between paragraphs must be equal to at least 1.5 times the average character height to start a new paragraph. Magic number: Determines the tolerance factor for all of the above values.
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l l l l l Table: Displays the tables and stored procedures available in the database. The selected table is the one the data is extracted from. Clicking on any of the tables shows the first line of the data in that table. Custom SQLbutton : Click to open the SQL Query Designer (see"SQL Query Designer" on page 337) and type in a custom SQL query.
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The maximum value for this option is 65,535 characters. The default value is 80 characters. l Page delimiter type: Defines the delimiter between each page of data. Multiples of such pages can be part of a record, as defined by the Boundaries. l On lines: Triggers a new page in the Data Sample after a number of lines. l l l Cut on number of lines: Triggers a new page after the given number of lines.
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this element is encountered. Note that higher-level nodes above the selected element are shown, but those below the selected element are not displayed unless the Show all elements option is checked. l Use XPath: Enter an XPath to create a delimiter based on the node name of elements. For example:./*[starts-with(name(),'inv')]sets a delimiter after every element of which the name starts with 'inv'. Note thatstarts-with()is an XPath function. For an overview of XPath functions, see Mozilla: XPath Functions.
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Note The information contained in all of the selected parent nodes will be copied for each instance of that node. For example, if a client node contains multiple invoice nodes, the information for the client node can be duplicated for each invoice. The DataMapper only extracts elements for which at least one value or attribute value is defined in the file.
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limit, use the value 0 (zero). l l Line limit: Defines the limit of detail lines in any detail table. This is useful for files with a high number of detail lines, which in the DataMapper interface can slow down things. This does not affect output production; when generating output, this option is ignored. To disable the limit, use the value 0 (zero). Trigger: Defines the type of rule that controls when a boundary is set, creating a new record.
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l On page: Defines a boundary on a static number of pages. l l Number of pages: Defines how many pages go in each record. On text: Defines a boundary on a specific text comparison. l l l l l Start coordinates (x,y): Defines the left and top coordinates of the data selection to compare with the text value. Stop coordinates (x,y): Defines the right and bottom coordinates.
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l On delimiter:Defines a boundary on a static number of pages. l l Occurrences: The number of times that the delimiter is encountered before fixing the boundary. For example, if you know that your documents always have four pages delimited by the FF character, you can set the boundaries after every four delimiters. On text: Defines a boundary on a specific text comparison.
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l l l Use selected text button: copies the text in the current selection as the one to compare to it. Match case: Makes the text comparison case sensitive. On script: Defines the boundaries using a custom JavaScript. For more information see "Setting boundaries using JavaScript" on page 390. XML file boundaries The delimiter for an XML file is a node. The Boundaries determine how many of those nodes go in one record.
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Note Only arrays and objects can be seen as a record. It is not possible to split the JSON between key-value pairs. l l Record limit: Defines how many records are displayed in the Data Viewer. This does not affect output production; when generating output, this option is ignored. To disable the limit, use the value 0 (zero). The default value is 200. Trigger: Defines the type of rule that controls when a boundary is set, creating a new record.
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Tip Data samples can be copied and pasted to and from the Settings pane using Windows File Explorer. l Add : Add a new Data Sample from an external data source. The new Data Sample will need to be of the same data type as the current one. For example, you can only add PDF files to a PDF data mapping configuration. Multiple files can be added simultaneously. l Delete l Move up l Move down l l l Replace source. : Remove the current Data Sample from the data mapping configuration.
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l l Current Locale Settings: Shows dates and times as formatted by Windows using the current Locale of the system on which Connect runs. All values are shown as a date including a time. ISO 8601 (UTC): Uses the ISO 8601 (UTC) format to display dates and times. All values are shown as a date including a time, taking the time zone into account. Note that when no time was specified with a date in the original file, the default time (12.00 AM) is used and converted; this may influence the displayed date.
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l Negative Sign Before: Any value in a numeric field that has a "-" sign is interpreted as a negative value. l Decimal Separator: Set the decimal separator for a numerical value. l Thousand Separator: Set the thousand separator for a numerical value. l Currency Sign: Set the currency sign for a currency value. l Date Format: Set the date format for a date value. l l l l l l Automatic: Select this option to parse dates automatically, without specifying a format.
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l l l l Tables: Lists all tables and stored queries in the database. Custom Query: Displays the query that retrieves information from a database. You may use variables and properties in the query, to make the selection dynamic. See "Using variables and properties in an SQL query" below. Each database type has their own version of the SQL query language. To learn how to build your own query, please refer to your database's user manual.
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Example = SELECT {automation.variables.FieldList} FROM {automation.jobInfo.JobInfo9} If the Workflow variable defined as FieldList contains the value "id,name" and Job Info 9 contains the value "MyTable", then this custom query, once parsed, yields the following SQL statement: SELECT id,name FROM MyTable which is then executed. Steps pane The Steps tab displays the data mapping workflow: the process that prepares and extracts data.
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You can also click on the Preprocessor step to select all the steps in the workflow to show a complete map of all the extracted data. Window controls The following controls appear at the top of the Steps pane: l Zoom In (CTRL +) l Zoom Out (CTRL -) : Click to zoom in by increments of 10% : Click to zoom out by increments of 10% Contextual menu You can access the contextual menu using a right-click anywhere inside the Steps pane. l Add a Step: Adds a step to the process.
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Step properties pane The Step Properties pane is used to adjust the properties of each Step in the process (see "Steps" on page 255). The pane is divided in a few subsections depending on the Step and the data type. It always contains a subsection to name and document the selected Step. Other subsections allow you to edit or delete fields that belong to the Step (see "Fields" on page 272) or change the expected data format (see "Data Format" on page 351), for example.
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Name: The name of the step. This name will be displayed on top of the step's icon in the Steps pane. Comments: The text entered here will be displayed in the tooltip that appears when hovering over the step in the Steps pane. Fixed automation properties The Fixed automation properties subsection lists all the fixed runtime parameters available from PlanetPress Workflow. These properties are equivalent to data within the PlanetPress Workflow process in which the data mapping configuration is applied.
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access this property inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use automation.properties.ProcessName. l TaskIndex: This property contains the index (position) of the task inside the process that is currently executing the data mapping configuration but it has no equivalent in PlanetPress Workflow. To access this property inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use automation.properties.ProcessName.
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l l l Each Record: These properties are evaluated and set at the beginning of each source record. Once they have been set, these properties can be modified via an Action step (see "Action step" on page 264), but they are always reset at the beginning of each source record. Type: The data type of the property. For more information see "Data types" on page 286. Debug Value: The initial value of the property. This is a JavaScript expression. See "DataMapper Scripts API" on page 384.
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The Export button exports the current data file in its current state. Preprocessing may cost a lot of time when the data file is very large. You could use the exported file instead of the original file to avoid preprocessing while developing the workflow configuration. Preprocessor definition l Expression: Enter the JavaScript code to be performed on the data file. See "DataMapper Scripts API" on page 384.
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l Field List: The Field List displays each of the single fields that belong to the selected step in a drop-down. Fields can be re-ordered and re-named within the Order and rename fields dialog (see "Order and rename fields dialog" on page 352). Select one of the fields to make further settings for that field. Tip To change the name of a field quickly, right-click it in the Data Model and select Rename.
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Note If the selection contains multiple lines, only the first line is selected. l Properties: The value of the property selected below will be the value of the selected field. l l l Property: This drop-down lists all the currently defined properties (including system properties). Custom properties can be defined in the Preprocessor step; see "Preprocessor step" on page 255. For an explanation of the objects to which the properties belong, see "DataMapper Scripts API" on page 384.
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l Post Function: Enter a JavaScript expression to be run after the extraction. A Post function script operates directly on the extracted data, and its results replace the extracted data. For example, the Post function script replace("-", ""); would replace the first dash character that occurs inside the extracted string. l l l l Use JavaScript Editor: Click to display the "boundaries" on page 397 dialog. Trim: Select to trim empty characters at the beginning or the end of the field.
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l l Type: The data type of the selected data; see "Data types" on page 286. If the selected data is split (see below), this setting is applied to the first extracted field. Make sure that the data format that the DataMapper expects matches the actual format of the data in the data source; see "Data Format" on page 351. Split: l l l Split lines: Separate a multi-line selection into individual fields . Join lines: Join the lines in the selection with the Concatenation string defined below.
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l XPath: The path to the XML field that is extracted. l Use selection: Click to use the value of the current data selection for the extraction. Note If the selection contains multiple lines, only the first line is selected. l Post Function: Enter a JavaScript expression to be run after the extraction. For examplereplace("-","")would replace a single dash character inside the extracted string. l l Use JavaScript Editor: Click to display the "boundaries" on page 397 dialog.
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Note If a key in a JSON file has a name that looks like a function (e.g. "TLIST(A1)"), then the Extract step has to use a JsonPath with bracket notation instead of the default dot notation. For information about the bracket notation see https://goessner.net/articles/JsonPath/. l Post Function: Enter a JavaScript expression to be run after the extraction. For examplereplace("-","")would replace a single dash character inside the extracted string.
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l Date Format: Set the date format for a date value. l l l l l l Automatic: Select this option to parse dates automatically, without specifying a format. This is the default setting for new Date fields. ISO8601: This setting allows for dates with different timestamp formats, or belonging to different time zones, to be parsed inside a single job. Dates that do not include a specific time are automatically considered to use the current locale's time zone.
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Note If you intend to use the field names as Metadata in a PlanetPress Workflow process, do not add spaces to field names, as they are not permitted in Metadata field names. l Value: Displays the value of the extract field in the current Record. l Remove button : Click to remove the currently selected field. l Move Up button : Click to move the selected field up one position. l Move Down button : Click to move the selected field down one position.
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Actions This subsection lists all actions executed by the step, and their types. l Name: A name by which to refer to the action. This name has no impact on functionality. l Type: l l l l l Set property: Sets the value of a record property which was created in the Preprocessor step (see "Preprocessor step" on page 255). Run JavaScript : Runs a JavaScript expression, giving much more flexibility over the extraction process.
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l Based on: Determines the origin of the data. l Location: The contents of the data selection set below will be the value of the extracted field. The data selection settings are different depending on the data sample type. l Left: Defines the start of the data selection to extract l Right: Defines the end of the data selection to extract l l l Top offset: The vertical offset from the current pointer location in the Data Sample (Viewer). Height: The height of the selection box.
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Note If the selection contains multiple lines, only the first line is selected. l Data Format: Data format settings tell the DataMapper how certain types of data are formatted in the data source. Make sure that this format matches the actual format of the data in the data source. l Negative Sign Before: Any value in a numeric field that has a "-" sign is interpreted as a negative value. l Decimal Separator: Set the decimal separator for a numerical value.
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l Based on: Determines the origin of the data. l Location: The contents of the data selection set below will be the value of the extracted field. The data selection settings are different depending on the data sample type. l l l Column: Drop-down listing all fields in the Data Sample, of which the value will be used. Top offset: The vertical offset from the current pointer location in the Data Sample (Viewer). Use selection: Click to use the value of the current data selection for the extraction.
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l Data Format: Data format settings tell the DataMapper how certain types of data are formatted in the data source. Make sure that this format matches the actual format of the data in the data source. l Negative Sign Before: Any value in a numeric field that has a "-" sign is interpreted as a negative value. l Decimal Separator: Set the decimal separator for a numerical value. l Thousand Separator: Set the thousand separator for a numerical value.
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For an overview of the JsonPath syntax, see https://github.com/jsonpath/jsonpath. l Use selection: Click to use the value of the current data selection for the extraction. Note If the selection contains multiple lines, only the first line is selected. l l Trim: Select to trim empty characters at the beginning or the end of the field JavaScript : The result of the JavaScript Expression written below the drop-down will be the value of the extracted field.
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l Data Format: Data format settings tell the DataMapper how certain types of data are formatted in the data source. Make sure that this format matches the actual format of the data in the data source. l Negative Sign Before: Any value in a numeric field that has a "-" sign is interpreted as a negative value. l Decimal Separator: Set the decimal separator for a numerical value. l Thousand Separator: Set the thousand separator for a numerical value.
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l Use selection: Click to use the value of the current data selection. Note If the selection contains multiple lines, only the first line is selected. Repeat step properties The Repeat step adds a loop to the extraction workflow; see "Steps" on page 255 and "Extracting transactional data" on page 238. The properties described below become visible in the Step properties pane when the Repeat step is selected in the Steps pane.
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on selected nodes, you need to edit the Xpath/JsonPath in the Collection field (see below). If the path defines a rule that is true for more then one node/element, a collection of nodes/elements is returned and the For Each loop will go through all of them. Note When using a For Each loop in XML or JSON, it is not necessary to skip to the repeating node/element or to have a Goto step to jump to each sibling, as this loop takes care of it automatically.
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Rule Tree The Rule tree subsection displays the full combination of rules (defined below under Condition) as a tree, which gives an overview of how the conditions work together as well as the result for each of these conditions for the current record or iteration. Condition First, the Condition List displays the conditions in list form, instead of the tree form above. Three buttons are available next to the list: l Add condition: Click to create a new condition in the list.
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l l l l l l l l l l l Trim: Select to trim empty characters at the beginning or the end of the field. Value: The text value to use in the comparison. Use selected text: Uses the text in the current data selection as the Value. If multiple lines or elements are selected, only the first one is used. Field: The Extracted Record field to use in the comparison. JavaScript : The result of a JavaScript Expression.
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l Operators: l l l l l l is equal to: The two specified value are identical for the condition to be True. contains: The first specified value contains the second one for the condition to be True. is less than: The first specified value is smaller, numerically, than the second value for the condition to be True. is greater than: The first specified value is larger, numerically, than the second value for the condition to be True. is empty: The first specified value is empty.
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l l l l l Data Property: The value of a data-level property set in the Preprocessor step. Record Property: One of the local variables that you can create and that are reset for each document as opposed to data variables that are global because they are initialized only once at the beginning of each job. Automation Property: The current value of a Document-level property set in the Preprocessor step.
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l Value: A specified static text value. l l l l l l l l Expression: The JavaScript line that is evaluated. Note that the last value attribution to a variable is the one used as a result of the expression. Use JavaScript Editor: Click to display the "boundaries" on page 397 dialog. Use selected text: Inserts the text in the current data selection in the JavaScript Expression. If multiple lines or elements are selected, only the first one is used.
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l Invert condition: Inverts the result of the condition. For instance, is empty becomes is not empty. JSON files l Based On: l Position: The data in the specified position for the comparison. l l l l l l l l l Value: The text value to use in the comparison. Use selected text: Uses the text in the current data selection as the Value. If multiple lines or elements are selected, only the first one is used. Field: The Extracted Record field to use in the comparison.
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l Extractor Property: The value of an internal extractor variable: l l l Counter: The value of the current counter iteration in a Repeat step. Vertical Position: The current vertical position on the page, either in Measure (PDF) or Line (Text and CSV). Operators: l l l l l l is equal to: The two specified values are identical for the condition to be True. contains: The first specified value contains the second one for the condition to be True.
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Rule tree The Rule tree subsection displays the full combination of rules (defined below under Condition) as a tree, which gives an overview of how the conditions work together as well as the result for each of these conditions for the current record or iteration. l l To rename a rule, double click on its name from the Rule tree subsection. To change the way rules are combined, right-click "AND". Select OR or XOR instead. XOR means one or the other, but not both. (See XOR on Wikipedia.
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l l l l l l l l l l l Value: The text value to use in the comparison. Use selected text: Uses the text in the current data selection as the Value. If multiple lines or elements are selected, only the first one is used. Field: The Extracted Record field to use in the comparison. Expression: The JavaScript line that is evaluated. Note that the last value attribution to a variable is the one used as a result of the expression.
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l l l l l l is equal to: The two specified values are identical for the condition to be True. contains: The first specified value contains the second one for the condition to be True. is less than: The first specified value is smaller, numerically, than the second value for the condition to be True. is greater than: The first specified value is larger, numerically, than the second value for the condition to be True. is empty: The first specified value is empty.
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Condition Left operand, Right operand The Left and right operand can be Based on: l Position: The data in the specified position for the comparison. l l Right (Txt and PDF only): The end position for the data selection. l Height (Txt and PDF only): The height of the selection box. l l l l l Top offset: The vertical offset from the current pointer location in the Data Sample (Viewer). XPath (XML only): The path to the XML field that is extracted.
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l l l l l Use selected text: Inserts the text in the current data selection in the JavaScript Expression. If multiple lines or elements are selected, only the first one is used. Data Property: The value of a data-level property set in the Preprocessor step (see "Steps" on page 255). Record Property: One of the local variables that you can create and that are reset for each document as opposed to data variables that are global because they are initialized only once at the beginning of each job.
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l l is empty: The first specified value is empty. With this operator, there is no second value. Invert condition: Inverts the result of the condition. For instance, is empty becomes is not empty. Goto step properties The Goto step moves the pointer within the source data to a position that is relative to the top of the record or to the current position. See also: "Steps" on page 255.
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l l l From: Defines where the jump begins: l Current Position: The Goto begins at the current cursor position. l Top of record: The Goto begins at line 1 of the source record. Move by: Enter the number of lines or pages to jump. Next line with content: Jumps to the next line that has contents, either anywhere on the line or in specific columns. l Inspect entire page width: When checked, the Next line with content and Next occurrence of options will look anywhere on the line.
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For more information on using Regular Expressions (regex), see the Regular-Expressions.info Tutorial. PDF file l Target Type: Defines the type of jump . l Physical distance: l l l l Current Position: The Goto begins at the current cursor position. l Top of record: The Goto begins at line 1 of the source record. Move by: Enter distance to jump. Page: Jumps between pages or to a specific page.
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l Left: The starting column, inclusively. l Right: The end column, inclusively. l l l l Use selection: Click while a selection is made in the Data Viewer to automatically set the left and right values to the left and right edges of the selection. Expression: Enter the text or Regex expression to look for on the page. Use selection: Click while a selection is made in the Data Viewer to copy the contents of the first line of the selection into the Expression box.
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child). The number of levels to change is defined in the Move by option. Use a negative value to jump to a parent element, a positive value to go to a child element. JSON file l Destination: Defines what type of jump to make: l l l l Sibling element: Jumps the number of siblings (elements at the same level) defined in the Move by option. Use a negative value to jump to the previous sibling, or a positive value to go to the next sibling.
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Comments: The text entered here will be displayed in the tooltip that appears when hovering over the step in the Steps pane. Postprocessor The Postprocessor subsection defines what postprocessors run on the Data Sample at the end of the data mapping workflow. Each Postprocessor runs in turn, using the result of the previous one as an input. l Name: The name to identify the Postprocessor. l Type: The type of Postprocessor. Currently there is a single type available.
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Postprocessor definition JavaScript l l l Expression: The JavaScript expression that will run on the Data Sample. See "DataMapper Scripts API" on page 384. Use JavaScript Editor: Click to display the Script Editor dialog. Use selected text: Uses the text in the current data selection as the Value. If multiple lines or elements are selected, only the first one is used. Toolbar In the DataMapper module, the following buttons are available in the top toolbar.
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l l l l l l l l l l Add Condition Step: Adds a condition based on the current data selection. The "True" branch gets run when the text is found on the page. Other conditions are available in the step properties once it has been added. Add Repeat Step: Adds a loop that is based on the current data selection, and depending on the type of data. XML data will loop on the currently selected node, CSV loops for all rows in the record.
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l l Add Data Sample: Displays a dialog to open a new Data Source to add it as a Data Sample in the data mapping configuration. Data Samples are visible in the "Settings pane" on page 323. Send to Workflow: Opens the "Send to Workflow dialog" on page 1023 to send files to a local Workflow software installation. Welcome Screen The Welcome Screen appears when first starting up PlanetPress Connect. It offers some useful shortcuts to resources and to recent documents and data mapping configurations.
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l More options l l Get Printer Configurations (PDC): Lists printer definition files available for download. The selected files will be downloaded to the current user's Connect\workspace\configurations\ folder and can be imported via the Print Wizard; see "Adding print output Models to the Print Wizard" on page 1483. Get Finishing Configurations (HCF): Lists HCF Files available for download. High Capacity Feeders (HCF) are also commonly referred to as Inserters or FolderInserters.
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Name Description Available in scripts of type "boundaries" on page 397 An object encapsulating properties and methods allowing to define the boundaries of each document in the job. Boundaries "data" on page 402 A data object encapsulating properties and methods pertaining to the original data stream. Boundaries, all steps except Goto "db" on page 419 An object that allows to connect to a database.
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Name Description Available in scripts of type current data mapping configuration. Repeat and Multiple Conditions steps Functions These functions are available in Boundaries and Steps scripts. Name Description "Functions" on page 435 Copies a file to the target file path, replacing it if it already exists. "createGUID()" on page 435 Returns a unique 36-character string consisting of 32 alphanumeric, lower case characters and four hyphens (format: 8-4-4-4-12).
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Name Description page 440 "newDoubleArray()" on page 440 Returns a double array. "newFloatArray()" on page 440 Returns a float array. "newIntArray()" on page 441 Returns an integer array. "newLongArray()" on page 441 Returns a long array. "newStringArray()" on page 441 Returns a string array. "openBinaryReader()" on page 441 Opens a file as a binary file for reading purposes. "openBinaryWriter()" on page 442 Opens a file as a binary file for writing purposes.
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Scripts can also be used in different steps in the extraction workflow. You can: l l l l Modify the incoming data prior to executing the rest of the extraction workflow, via a Preprocessor (see "Preprocessor step" on page 255). Edit extracted data in a field of the Data Model using a Post function script (entered on the Step properties pane, under Field Definition; see "Modifying extracted data" on page 277 and "Extract step properties" on page 345).
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Syntax rules In the DataMapper, all scripts must be written in JavaScript, following JavaScript syntax rules. For example, each statement should end with ; and the keywords that can be used, such as var to declare a variable, are JavaScript keywords. There are countless tutorials available on the Internet to familiarize yourself with the JavaScript syntax. For a simple script all that you need to know can be found on the following web pages: W3Schools website - JavaScript Syntax and https://www.w3schools.
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Setting boundaries using JavaScript As soon as you select the On Script option as the trigger for establishing record boundaries (see "Record boundaries" on page 227), you are instructing the DataMapper to read the source file sequentially and to trigger an event each and every time it hits a delimiter. (What a delimiter is, depends on the source data and the settings for that data; see "Input data settings (Delimiters)" on page 224).
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l Compare the contents of one region with another. l Etc. To access this data in the script, use the get() function of the boundaries object. This function expects different parameters depending on the type of source file; see "get()" on page 399. Getting access to other data Data that is not passed with the event, but that is necessary to define the record boundaries, can be stored in the boundaries object using the setVariable function (see "boundaries" on page 397 and "setVariable()" on page 401).
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Note The first line is just the header with the names of the CSV columns. The data is already sorted per year, per artist, and per album. Your goal is to examine two values in each CSV record and to act when either changes. The DataMapper GUI allows you to specify a On Change trigger, but you can only specify a single field. So for instance, if you were to set the record boundary when the "Released" field changes, you'd get the first four lines together inside a single record.
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expects is simply the column name. The region is passed as a parameter to the get() method, which reads its contents and converts it into an array of strings (because any region, even a CSV field, may contain several lines). l l l To "remember" the values that were processed the last time the event was triggered, we use variables that remain available in between events. Note that these variables are specific to the Boundary context and not available in any other scripting context in the DataMapper.
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The purpose of the script, again, is to set the record boundary when EITHER the year OR the artist changes. The script would look like this: /* Read the values of both columns we want to check */ var zeBand = boundaries.get(region.createRegion(1,1,30,1)); var zeYear = boundaries.get(region.createRegion(61,1,65,1)); /* Check that at least one of our variables holding previous values have been initialized already, before attempting to compare the values */ if (boundaries.
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Note The PDF context also expects physical coordinates, just like the Text context does, but since PDF pages do not have a grid concept of lines and columns, the above parameters would instead be specified in millimeters relative to the upper left corner of each page. So for instance, to create a region for the Year, the code might look like this: region.createRegion(190,20,210,25) which would create a region located near the upper right corner of the page.
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Property Description jobInfo Returns a ScriptableAutomation object containing Job Info 1 to 9 values from PlanetPress Workflow (see "Fixed automation properties" on page 342, and Job Info variables in the Workflow Online Help). properties Returns a ScriptableAutomation object containing additional information (ProcessName, OriginalFilename and TaskIndex) from PlanetPress Workflow (see "Fixed automation properties" on page 342).
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boundaries Returns a boundaries object encapsulating properties and methods allowing to define the boundaries of each document in the job. This object is available when triggering document boundaries On script. Properties The following table lists the properties of the boundaries object. Property Description currentDelim A read-only 1-based index (number) of the current delimiter in the file. In other words, the Beginning Of File (BOF) delimiter equals 1.
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Method Description Script type "Record boundaries" on page 227.) "setVariable()" on page 401 Sets a boundaries variable to the specified value, automatically creating the variable if it doesn't exist yet. Boundaries find() Method of the boundaries object that finds a string in a region of the data source file. The method returns the region in which the string was searched (PDF file) or the exact region in which the string was encountered (Text file). To check if the call to boundaries.
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When used to search through a Text file, the find() method returns a different region object (see "region" on page 422) whose range property is adjusted to point to the exact physical location where the match was found. This will always be a subset of the in_Region.range property. It can be used to determine the exact location where the match occurred. Use boundaries.get() to retrieve the actual text from the resulting region; see "get()" below.
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Note Boundary variables are carried over from one iteration of the Boundaries script to the next, while native JavaScript variables are not. getVariable(varName) varName String name of the variable from which the value is to be retrieved. If the variable does not exist, the value null is returned. It is considered good practice (almost mandatory, even) to always check whether a variable is defined before attempting to access its value. set() Sets a new DataMapper record boundary.
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Example This script sets a boundary when the text TOTAL is found on the current page in a PDF file. The number of delimiters is set to 1, so the boundary is set on the next delimiter, which is the start of the next page. if (boundaries.find("TOTAL", region.createRegion (10,10,215,279)).found) { boundaries.
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Note Boundary variables are carried over from one iteration of the Boundaries script to the next, while native JavaScript variables are not. setVariable(varName, varValue) Sets variable varName to value varValue. varName String name of the variable of which the value is to be set. varValue Object; value to which the variable has to be set. Example This script examines a specific region and stores its contents in a variable in the boundaries. var addressRegion = region.
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Property Description step that have their Scope set to "Entire data". These properties are statically set at the start of the job. (See "Properties and runtime parameters" on page 228 for details.) Methods The following table lists the methods of the data object. Method Description Script type File type "extract()" on the facing page Extracts the text value from a rectangular region.
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Method Description Script type File type "find()" on page 415 Finds the first occurrence of a string starting from the current position. Boundaries All Finds the first match for a regular expression pattern starting from the current position.
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given position until the end of the record. Specifying an extraction height that is longer than the number of remaining lines results in a "step out of bound" error message. separator String inserted between all lines returned from the region. If you don't want anything to be inserted between the lines, specify an empty string (""). Tip l l "
" is a very handy string to use as a separator.
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Example 2: The script command data.extract(1,22,9,6,"
"); means that the left position of the extracted information is located at 1, the right position at 22, the offset position is 9 (since the first line number is 10) and the regionHeight is 6 (6 lines are selected). Finally, the "
" string is used for concatenation.
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extract(xPath) Extracts the text value of the specified node in an XML file. xPath String that can be relative to the current location or absolute from the start of the record. Example The script command data.extract('./CUSTOMER/FirstName'); means that the extraction is made on the FirstName node under Customer.
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extract(columnName, rowOffset) Extracts the text value from the specified column and row in a CSV/XLS/XLSX file. The column is specified by name. To extract data from a column specified by index, use "extractByIndex(index, rowOffset)" on page 412. columnName String that represents the column name. rowOffset Number that represents the row index (zero-based), relative to the current position. To extract the current row, specify 0 as the rowOffset.
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Example The script command data.extract('ID',0); means that the extraction is made on the ID column in the first row. extract(left, right, verticalOffset, lineHeight, separator) Extracts the text value from a rectangular region in a PDF file. All coordinates are expressed in millimeters. left Double that represents the distance from the left edge of the page to the left edge of the rectangular region.
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Double that represents the distance from the left edge of the page to the right edge of the rectangular region. verticalOffset Double that represents the distance from the current vertical position. lineHeight Double that represents the total height of the region. separator String inserted between all lines returned from the region. If you don't want anything to be inserted between the lines, specify an empty string (""). Tip "
" is a very handy string to use as a separator.
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extract(jPath) Extracts the text value of the specified element in a JSON file. jPath JsonPath expression (String) that can be relative to the current location or absolute from the start of the record. See also: "JsonPath" on page 238. Example The script command data.extract('$[0].FirstName'); means that the extraction is made on the FirstName element found in the first element in the array at the root.
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Note that in order to access an extracted object or array in script, the extracted value has to be parsed, for example: var myData = JSON.parse(data.extract('$[0]')); extractByIndex(index, rowOffset) Extracts the value from the specified column and row. This function can be used to extract data from CSV or XLS(X) files that have an identical structure but don't have the same column names. index Number that represents a column in a CSV or XLS(X) file (1-based).
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rowOffset Optional. Number that represents the row index (zero-based), relative to the current position. To extract the current row, specify 0 as the rowOffset. Use moveTo() to move the pointer in the source data file (see "moveTo()" on page 428). When omitted, the current row will be extracted. Examples The script command data.extractByIndex(1,0); means that the extraction is made on the first column in the first row, relative to the current position.
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fieldExists(levelName, propertyName) This method returns true if the given metadata field exists at the given level in a PDF/VT or AFP file. levelName String, specifying a level in the PDF/VT or AFP file. propertyName String, specifying the metadata field. fieldExists(fieldName) This method returns true if a column with the specified name exists in the current record in a CSV, XLS or XLSX file. To verify whether a column specified by index exists in a CSV, XLS or XLSX file, use "Example" on the next page.
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index Number that represents a column in a CSV or XLS(X) file (1-based). Example The following script accesses all columns in a CSV file: var allFields=[]; var i=1; while (data.fieldExistsByIndex(i)) { allFields.push(data.extractByIndex(i++)); } See also: "extractByIndex(index, rowOffset)" on page 412. find() Method of the data object that finds the first occurrence of a string starting from the current position.
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Note Calling this method does not move the current position to the location where the string was found. This allows you to use the method as a look-ahead function without disrupting the rest of the data mapping workflow. stringToFind String to find. leftConstraint Number indicating the left limit from which the search is performed. This is expressed in characters for a text file, or in millimetres for a PDF file. rightConstraint Number indicating the right limit to which the search is performed.
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findRegExp() Finds the first occurrence of a string that matches the given regular expression pattern, starting from the current position. findRegExp(regexpToFind, flags, leftConstraint, rightConstraint): rectValueText) Finds the first match for a given regular expression pattern starting from the current position. Regular expression flags (i,s,L,m,u,U,d) are specified in the flags parameter.
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i: Enables case-insensitive matching. By default, case-insensitive matching assumes that only characters in the US-ASCII charset are being matched. Unicode-aware case-insensitive matching can be enabled by specifying the UNICODE_CASE flag (u) in conjunction with this flag. s: Enables dotall mode. In dotall mode, the expression . matches any character, including a line terminator. By default this expression does not match line terminators. L: Enables literal parsing of the pattern.
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Examples data.findRegExp(/\d{3}-[A-Z]{3}/,"gi",50,100); or data.findRegExp("\\d{3}-[A-Z]{3}","gi",50,100);}} Both expressions would match the following strings: 001-ABC, 678-xYz. Note how in the second version, where the regular expression is specified as a string, some characters have to be escaped with an additional backslash, which is standard in JavaScript. db Object that allows to connect to a database. Methods The following table describes the methods of the db object.
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java.lang.String-java.lang.String-java.lang.String-. In the returned Connection object normally any public method should be available. The returned Connection object is described here: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/sql/Connection.html. Note Make sure to close any Connection object created by connect() and any other closable resources created from the Connection instance (ResultSet, etc.). url String that represents a database url of the form jdbc:subprotocol:subname, e.g.
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else 'nothing'; values.close(); statement.close(); con.close(); logger Global object that allows logging messages such as error, warning or informational messages. Methods The following table describes the methods of the logger object. Method Parameters Description error() message: String Logs an error message info() message: String Logs an informational message warn() message: String Logs a warning message record The current record in the main data set.
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Property Description tables The detail tables that belong to this record. You can access a specific table using a numeric index or the table name; see "table" on page 432. Example See this How-to for an example of how the current record index and/or the total number of records in the record set can be displayed in a document: How to get the record index and count. Methods Method Description set(record) Sets field values in the current record.
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Property/method Description Return Type Since the find() method always returns a region, regardless of search results, it is necessary to examine the value of found to determine the actual result of the operation. "range" on page 425 Read-only object containing the physical coordinates of the region. Physical location of the region: x1 (left), y1 (top), x2 (right), y2 (bottom), expressed in characters for a text file or in millimeters for a PDF file.
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Double that represents the left edge of the region. y1 Double that represents the top edge of the region. x2 Double that represents the right edge of the region. y2 Double that represents the bottom edge of the region. Example The following script attempts to match ((n,m)) or ((n)) against any of the strings in the specified region and if it does, a document boundary is set. var myRegion = region.createRegion(170,25,210,35); var regionStrings=boundaries.
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var recordValue = boundaries.get(region.createRegion('ID'))[0]; if(!(recordValue==boundaries.getVariable('lastValue'))){ boundaries.setVariable('lastValue',recordValue); boundaries.set(0); } range Read-only object containing the physical coordinates of the region (see "region" on page 422). l l l For a text file, the range() method contains the physical coordinates of the region: x1 (left), y1 (top), x2 (right), y2 (bottom), expressed in characters.
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Methods and properties The following table lists the methods and properties of the steps object. These are available in Extract, Condition, Repeat, and Action steps, depending on the file type. Method Description File type currentPosition Returns the current position of the pointer in the data. Depending on the type of data being processed, the return value may be a string (e.g. XPath value in XML), an integer (e.g. line numbers in text ot tabular data), or a measure in millimeters(e.g. PDF data).
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Method Description File type PDF, tabular (CSV), or XML. totalPages An integer value representing the total number of pages inside the current record. Text, PDF Example if(steps.currentPage > curPage) { steps.moveTo(0, steps.currentPosition+14); /* Moves the current position to 14 lines below the current position of the pointer in the data */ curPage++; } else if(curLine.
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moveTo() Moves the position of the pointer in the source data file. This is a method of the steps object (see "steps" on page 425). moveTo(scope, verticalPosition) Moves the current position in a text file to verticalPosition where the meaning of verticalPosition changes according to the value specified for scope. scope Number that may be set to: 0 or steps.MOVELINES1 or steps.MOVEDELIMITERS2: next line with content verticalPosition Number. What it represents depends on the value specified for scope.
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moveTo(scope, verticalOffset) Moves the current position in a PDF file to verticalOffset where the meaning of verticalOffset changes according to the value specified for scope. scope Number that may be set to: l 0 orsteps.MOVEMEASURE l 1 orsteps.MOVEPAGE verticalOffset Double. What it represents depends on the value specified for scope. With the scope set to 0 or steps.
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Number that represents the index of the row, relative to the top of the record. moveTo(jPath) Moves the current position in a JSON file to the first instance of the given element, relative to the top of the record if the jPath is absolute (starts with $ which is the root) or relative to the current position if the jPath is relative (starts with . which is the current element). jPath JsonPath expression (String) that defines the path to an element in the JSON file. See also: "JsonPath" on page 238.
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Example The following line of code moves the current position to the next line that contains any text. steps.moveToNext(2); XML scope Number that may be set to: l l 0 or steps.MOVENODE: The current position is set to the next node in the XML, regardless of its level in the hierarchy; the next node may be a child element, a sibling node, or a node that is higher in the XML hierarchy than the current node. 1 or steps.MOVESIBLING: the current position is set to the next sibling node in the XML hierarchy.

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Double that represents the right edge (in millimeters) of the text to find. moveToNext() Moves the current position in a CSV file to the next row, relative to the current position. table The table object holds a detail table that exists in a record. The detail table is retrieved by name, using record.tables.

. For example: record.tables.myDetailTable. Properties Property Description length Returns the count of rows in the detail table.

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doesn't exist in the Data Model, or if a value cannot be converted to the data type that is expected in a field. About data types Where possible, values are automatically converted into the data type of the respective data field. Note Dates must be passed as a Date object to allow them to be extracted into a Date field. See Date in the Mozilla help files. Passing an improper data type triggers an error.

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If the index is invalid, the call fails. record The mandatory record parameter is a JavaScript object that contains one or more fields specified in the data model for the detail table. The record parameter may contain a subset of the fields in the Data Model. Only the fields included in the record parameter are updated in the database, while the contents of all other fields remain unchanged.

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record.tables.details[3].set({customerName : "John Doe", customerAddress : "123 test road"}); The following script adds an empty row to the table and then extracts some data into the Description field of the new row. row = record.tables.myDescriptions.addRow(); record.tables.myDescriptions[row].set( {Description : data.extract ((52+i*12),(66+i*12),0,1,"
")} ); Functions copyFile() Function that copies a file to the target file path, replacing it if it already exists.

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createHTTPRequest() Function that creates a new ScriptableHTTPRequest object, in order to issue REST/AJAX calls to external servers. This feature allows the data mapping process to complement its extraction process with external data, including data that could be provided by an HTTP process in Workflow, for instance a process that retrieves certain values from Workflow’s Data Repository.

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l l open(String method, String url, String user, String password) open(String verb, String url, String userName, String password, String[] headers, String[] headervalues, String requestBody) l send() l send(String requestBody) Opens a HTTP request. Note If you don't use a user name and password, pass empty strings: request.open ("GET",url,"",""); Sends an HTTP request and returns the HTTP status code. Blocked call. getResponseHeader(String header) Gets the ResponseHeader by name.

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getTimeout() Gets the time to wait for the server's response setTimeout(int timeout) Sets the time (in ms.) to wait for the server's response. getUsername() gets the username for basic HTTP authentication. setUsername(String userName) sets the username for basic HTTP authentication abort() Aborts the request. createTmpFile() Function that creates a file with a unique name in the temporary work folder and returns a file object. This file stores data temporarily in memory or in a buffer.

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writer.newLine(); } } finally{ // Close the writer of the temporary file writer.close(); } } finally{ // Close the reader reader.close(); } deleteFile(data.filename); tmpFile.move(data.filename); deleteFile() Function that is used to delete a file. deleteFile(filename) filename String that specifies the path and file name of the file to be deleted. Examples 1. Deleting a file in a local folder: deleteFile("c:\Content\test.txt"); 2. Deleting the sample data file used in the DataMapper: deleteFile(data.

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newByteArray() Function that returns a new byte array. newByteArray(size) Returns a new byte array of of the specified number of elements. size Integer that represents the number of elements in the new array. newCharArray() Function that returns a new Char array. newCharArray(size) Returns a new Char array of the specified number of elements. size Integer that represents the number of elements in the new array. newDoubleArray() Function that returns a new double array.

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Integer that represents the number of elements in the new array. newIntArray() Function that returns a new array of Integers. newIntArray(size) Returns a new Integer array of the specified number of elements. size Integer that represents the number of elements in the new array. newLongArray() Function that returns a new long array. newLongArray(size) Returns a new Long array of the specified number of elements. size Integer that represents the number of elements in the new array.

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openBinaryReader(filename) filename String that represents the name of the file to open. openBinaryWriter() Function that opens a file as a binary file for writing purposes. The function returns a DataOutputStream(see DataOutputStream). openBinaryWriter(filename, append) filename String that represents the name of the file to open.

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while((line = fileIn.readLine())!=null){ fileOut.write(line.replace((subject),"")); fileOut.newLine(); } fileIn.close(); fileOut.close(); deleteFile(data.filename); tmp.move(data.filename); TextReader The TextReader object, returned by the openTextReader() function, allows to open, parse, read and close a text file. (See: "openTextReader()" on the previous page.) Methods The following table describes the methods of the TextReader object.

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Method Description read() Reads and returns the next character, or -1 if the end of the stream has been reached. readLine() Reads and returns the next line, or null if the end of the stream has been reached. skip(offset) Skips the specified number of characters. Parameters: l offset: the number of characters to skip openTextWriter() This function opens a file as a text file for writing purposes. The function returns a "TextWriter" on the next page object. This must be closed at the end.

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while ((line = fileIn.readLine())!=null){ fileOut.write(line.replace((subject),"")); fileOut.newLine(); } fileIn.close(); fileOut.close(); deleteFile(data.filename); tmp.move(data.filename); tmp.close(); TextWriter The TextWriter object, returned by the openTextWriter() function, allows to open a text file, write to it and close it. Methods The following table describes the methods of the TextWriter object. Method Description close() Close the stream. newLine() Creates a new line in the file.

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Method Description write(c) Writes a character in the file write(value) Writes a string in the file.

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The Designer The Designer is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that lets you create templates for various output channels: Print, Email and Web. A template may contain designs for multiple output channels: a letter intended for print and an e-mail variant of the same message, for example. Content, like the body of the message or letter, can be shared across these contexts. Templates are personalized using scripts and variable data.

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page 449. 2. Fill the template Add text, images and other elements to the template and style them. See "Content elements" on page 633 and "Styling and formatting" on page 745. 3. Personalize the content Personalize the content using variable data. See "Personalizing content" on page 789. 4. Generate output Adjust the settings, test the template and generate output: letters, emails, and/or web pages. See "Generating output" on page 1468.

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l "Print" on page 475. This topic helps you design and fill sections in the Print context. l "Email" on page 517. This topics helps you design an email template. l "Web" on page 543. This topic helps you design a web page. "Sections" on page 470. Sections in one context are designed for the same output channel. "Content elements" on page 633. Elements make up the biggest part of the content of each design. "Snippets" on page 741.

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There are Wizards for each output channel, or contexts as they are called in the Designer: Print, Email and Web. See: l "Creating an Email template with a Wizard" on page 521 l "Creating a Print template with a Wizard" on page 477 l "Creating a Web template with a Wizard" on page 544 Tip The quickest way to create a Print template based on a PDF file is to right-click the PDF file in the Windows Explorer and select Enhance with Connect.

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Warning A template created in an older version of the software can be opened in a newer version. However, opening and saving it in a newer version of the software will convert the template to the newest file format. The converted template can't be opened in older versions of the software. Opening a package file Templates can also be stored in a package file (see "Creating package files" on page 454). To open a package file, switch the file type to Package files (*.OL-package) in the Open File dialog.

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Saving older templates Saving a template in a newer version of the software will convert the template to the newest file format. This makes it unreadable to older versions of the software. The warning message that is displayed in this case can be disabled. To re-enable this message (and all other warning dialogs), go to Window > Preferences > General, and click the Reset All Warning Dialogs button at the bottom.

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3. Type the number of revisions to keep. 4. Select the directory in which the backups should be stored. Backup files have the same name as the original template with two underscores and a progressive number (without leading zeros) at the end: originalname__1.OL-template, originalname__2.OL-template, etc. Note The Auto Save function does not cause backup files to be created. File properties On the menu, select File > Properties to view and complement the file properties.

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Creating package files A package file (*.OL-package) contains one or more templates, data mapping configurations and Print Presets. A data mapping configuration file contains the information needed to extract data from a certain type of data file. For more information see "Data mapping configurations" on page 197.

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more information see "Data mapping configurations" on page 197. Print Presets make it possible to do such things as filtering and sorting records, grouping documents and splitting the print jobs into smaller print jobs, as well as the more standard selection of printing options, such as binding, OMR markings and the like. See "Job Creation Presets Wizard" on page 1170 and "Output Creation Presets Wizard" on page 1186 for more details. To open the dialog, select File > Send to Workflow.

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To create a custom template report, you need two files: A template design with the desired layout and variable data. This .OL-template file has to be made in the Designer. A data mapping configuration provides the variable data. You could use the data mapping configuration made for the standard template report, or create another one in the DataMapper module, using the standard XML template report as data sample.The DataMapper is included only in PlanetPress Connect and PReS Connect.

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1. l l In the Welcome screen that appears after startup, choose Browse Template Wizards. Scroll down until you see the Foundation Web Page Starter Template Wizards. Alternatively, on the File menu, click New, expand the Template folder, and then expand the Foundation Web Page Starter folder. 2. Select a template.

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l Primary: links on the page. l Secondary: secondary links on the page. l Text: text on the page contained in paragraphs (

). l Headings: all headings (

through

) including the heading section's subhead. 4. Click Finish to create the template. The Wizard creates: l l l l A Web context with one web page template (also called a section) in it.

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Use the Styles pane next to the Attributes pane to see which styles are applied to the currently selected element. Tip Click the Edges button on the toolbar t emporarily adds a frame to certain elements on the Design tab. These will not .Print or output. Web Template Wizards Foundation With the exception of the most basic one, all Web Template Wizards in the Designer make use of the Zurb Foundation front-end framework. A front-end framework is a collection of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to build upon.

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Blank web page The Blank Web Page template is a very simple Foundation template that contains a top bar menu and some basic contents to get you started. Capture OnTheGo template wizards With the Designer you can create Capture OnTheGo (COTG) templates. COTG templates are used to generate forms for the Capture OnTheGo mobile application. For more information about this application, see the website: Capture OnTheGo.

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don't miss the chance to make it as user-friendly as possible. See "Designing a COTG Template" on page 578. Creating a COTG template using a wizard To create a COTG template with a template wizard: 1. l l In the Welcome screen that appears after startup and when you click the Home icon at the top right, choose Browse Template Wizards. Scroll down until you see the Capture OnTheGo Starter Template Wizards.

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3. Click Next and make adjustments to the settings. The wizard remembers the settings that were last used for a COTG template. l l l l Create Off-Canvas navigation menu: an Off-Canvas menu is a Foundation component that lets you navigate between level 4 headings (

) in the form. Check this option to add the menu automatically. Submit URL: enter the URL where the form data should be sent. The URL should be a server-side script that can accept COTG Form data.

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http://127.0.0.1:8080/action (8080 is Workflow's default port number; 'action' should be replaced by the HTTP action of that particular HTTP Server Input task). The method of a Capture OnTheGo form should be POST to ensure that it doesn't hit a data limit when submitting the form. The GET method adds the data to the URL, and the length of a URL is limited to 2048 characters. Especially forms containing one or more Camera inputs may produce a voluminous data stream that doesn't fit in the URL.

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Tip Use the Outline pane at the left to see which elements are present in the template and to select an element. Use the Attributes pane at the right to see the current element's ID, class and some other properties. Use the Styles pane next to the Attributes pane to see which styles are applied to the currently selected element. Tip Click the Edges button on the toolbar t emporarily adds a frame to certain elements on the Design tab. These will not .Print or output.

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Alternatively you could import resources and scripts from another template; click File > Import Resources... in the menu and select a template to import resources from (see ). Once added or imported, internal resources are accessed using a relative path, depending where they're called from. Resources can be located in the following folders: l images/ contains the files in the Images folder. l fonts/ contains the files in the Fonts folder. l css/ contains the files in the Stylesheets folder.

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Some limitations l l Style sheets cannot refer to external resources. The Connect Server user needs access to whichever network path is used. If the network path is on a domain, the Connect Server must be identified with domain credentials that have access to the domain resources. For more information on network paths, please see this Wikipedia entry: file URI scheme. Web resources Web resources are simply accessed using a full URL.

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Note The variable that contains the value of a runtime parameter must be selected in PlanetPress Workflow, in the Runtime Parameters section of the OL Connect task that uses the template: the All In One, Create Print Content, Create Email Content, Create Web Content, or Create Preview PDF task. For more information see "OL Connect tasks" on page 181. To add a parameter, start by opening the template to which the parameter should be added.

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Parameter names appear as keys; default values appear as values. 2. Either browse to the location of a JSON file and select it, or paste/write/edit the JSON directly in the box below the File field. Note that JSON arrays are not supported. 3. Click OK. The keys of the JSON object appear in the Name column, the values in the Value column. 4. For new parameters an attempt is made to derive the data type from the value, but this is only possible to a limited extent.

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l l l The Print context outputs documents to either a physical printer or a PDF file; see "Print context" on page 483. The Email context outputs HTML email, composed of HTML code with embedded CSS. See "Email context" on page 525. The Web context outputs an HTML web page. See "Web Context" on page 548. When a new template is made, the Context appropriate to that new template is automatically created, including one section.

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Only one context of each type can be present in a template. Each context, however, can hold more than one section; see "Sections" below. Importing a context To import a context, click File > Import Resources... in the menu. See: "Import Resources dialog" on page 971. Deleting a context To delete a context, right-click the context on the Resources pane and click Delete.

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Tip When you add an Email context to an existing template you get a 'basic action email'. This is one of the 4 types of email that you can choose from when you start a template with an Email Template Wizard; see "Creating an Email template with a Wizard" on page 521. Importing a section To import a section from another template, click File > Import Resources... in the menu. See: "Import Resources dialog" on page 971. Remember to copy the related source files, such as images, to the other template as well.

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1. Open the section that you want to copy and go to the Source tab in the workspace. 2. Copy the contents of the Source tab (press Ctrl+A to select everything and then Ctrl+C to copy the selection). 3. Add a new section (see "Adding a section" on page 470, above). 4. Go to the Source tab and paste the contents of the other section here (press Ctrl+V). 5. When copying a section to another template, add the related source files, such as images, to the other template as well.

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Section properties Which properties apply to a section, depends on the context it is part of. See also: "Print sections" on page 487, "Email templates" on page 527, and "Web pages" on page 549. To change the properties for a section: 1. On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder. 2. Expand the folder of the respective context. 3. Right-click the name of the section, and then click one of the options.

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Note Style sheets are applied in the order in which they are included in a section. The styles in each following style sheet add up to the styles found in previously read style sheets. When style sheets have a conflicting rule for the same element, class or ID, the last style sheet ‘wins’ and overrides the rule found in the previous style sheet. Note Style sheets that are linked to (i.e. included in) a section show a chain icon in the Resources pane (see "Resources pane" on page 1069).

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"Email templates" on page 527. The 'default' section is always executed when the template is run using the Create Email Content task in Workflow (see Workflow Help: Create Email Content). It is, however, possible to include or exclude Print sections when the output is generated, depending on a value in the data. A Control Script can do this; see "Control Scripts" on page 913. See "Generating output" on page 1468 to learn how to generate Print documents, Web pages or Email.

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Only one Print section is created at the start, but you can add as many Print sections as you need; see "Print sections" on page 487. Pages Unlike emails and web pages, Print sections can contain multiple pages. Pages are naturally limited by their size and margins. If the content of a section doesn't fit on one page, the overflow goes to the next page. This happens automatically, based on the section's page size and margins; see "Page settings: size, margins and bleed" on page 499.

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When both Media and a Master Page are used on a certain page, they will both be displayed on the Preview tab of the workspace, the Master Page being 'in front' of the Media and the Print section on top. To open the Preview tab, click it at the bottom of the Workspace or select View > Preview View on the menu. The Media will not be printed, unless this is specifically requested through the printer settings in the Print Wizard; see "Generating Print output" on page 1470.

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Another way to start a PDF-based Print template is this: l Right-click the PDF file in the Windows Explorer and select Enhance with Connect. The various template types and their options are described below. See "Print context" on page 483 and "Print sections" on page 487 for more information about Print templates. Tip Use the Outline pane at the left to see which elements are present in the template and to select an element.

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postcard by the value of a field called "first_name" when you open a data set that has a field with that name. See "Variable Data" on page 805. l l A script called Dynamic Front Image Sample. This script shows how to toggle the image on the front page dynamically. See also "Writing your own scripts" on page 877. One empty Media. Media, also called Virtual Stationery, can be applied to all pages in the Print section. See "Media" on page 510.

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l l l l A Print context with one section in it; see "Print context" on page 483 and "Print sections" on page 487. One empty Master Page. Master Pages are used for headers and footers, for images and other elements that have to appear on more than one page, and for special elements like tear-offs. See "Master Pages" on page 506. One Media. You can see this on the Resources pane: expand the Media folder. Media 1 is the Virtual Stationery that you have selected in the Wizard.

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elements, like a reseller address, voucher codes and so on, can be added in front of it (see "Personalizing content" on page 789 and "Variable Data" on page 805). By default, the PDF itself is added to the Image folder located in the Resources pane. Uncheck the option Save with template if the PDF should not be imported in the template. If it isn't saved with the template, the image remains external.

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l l The bleed is the printable space around a page. It can be used on some printers to ensure that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document. Printers that can’t print a bleed, will misinterpret this setting. Set the bleed to zero to avoid this. The number of sections is the number of parts in the Print context. Although this Template wizard can add multiple Print sections to the Print context, it will only add content to the first section.

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The Wizard opens the Print section. You can add text and other elements; see "Content elements" on page 633. See "Styling and formatting" on page 745 to learn how to style elements.. Print context The Print context is the folder in the Designer that can contain one or more Print templates. Print templates (also called Print sections), are part of the Print context.

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example, or one section that is meant to be attached to an email as a PDF file and another one that is going to be printed out on paper. Only one Print section is added to it at the beginning, but you can add as many print sections as you need; see "Adding a Print section" on page 489. See "Print sections" on page 487 to learn how to fill a Print section. l One Master Page is added to the template, as can be seen on the Resources pane, in the Master Page folder.

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Arranging and selecting sections The Print context can contain one or more Print sections. When generating output from the Print context, each of the Print sections is added to the output document, one after the other in sequence, for each record. The sections are added to the output in the order in which they appear on the Resources pane. This order can be changed; see "Print sections" on page 487.

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Overriding binding styles in a job creation preset A Job Creation Preset can override the binding styles set for the Print sections and for the Print context as a whole. To bind output in another way than defined in the template’s settings: 1. Create a Job Creation Preset that overrides the settings of one or more sections: select File > Presets and see "Job Creation Presets Wizard" on page 1170 for more details. 2.

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Note Black overprint only works with CMYK black. Converting RGB black to CMYK black In Print output, black is by default output as a CMYK color. RGB black is converted into CMYK black. If that is not desirable for any reason, it is possible to prevent it: 1. Right-click the Print context in the Resources pane and select Color Output. 2. Enable the Keep RGB black in output option. In Connect versions prior to 2018.2, RGB black was not automatically converted to CMYK black.

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Although generally the same content elements can be used in all three contexts (see "Content elements" on page 633), the specific characteristics of pages make it possible to use special elements, such as page numbers; see "Page numbers " on page 501. See "Pages" on page 498 for an overview of settings and elements that are specific for pages.

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Note: The Media will not be printed, unless this is specifically requested through the printer settings; see "Generating Print output" on page 1470. Copy Fit Copy Fit is a feature to automatically adjust the font size of text to make it fit the available space. It could be used for the name of a person on a greeting card, for instance, or for the name of a product on a shelf talker. This feature is only available with Box and Div elements in Print sections.

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Tip Editing PDF files in the Designer is not possible, but when they're used as a section's background, you can add text and other elements, such as a barcode, to them. The quickest way to create a Print template based on a PDF file is to right-click the PDF file in the Windows Explorer and select Enhance with Connect. Alternatively, start creating a new Print template with a Wizard, using the PDF-based Print template (see "Creating a Print template with a Wizard" on page 477).

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l On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the Print context, rightclick the name of the section, and then click Delete. Warning If you don't have a backup of the template, the only way to recover a deleted section, is to click Undo on the Edit menu, until the deleted section is restored. After closing and reopening the template it is no longer possible to restore the deleted context this way.

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1. Click and hold the mouse button on the style sheet on the Resources pane. 2. Move the mouse cursor within the Resources pane to the section to which the style sheet should be applied. 3. Release the mouse button. Using the Includes dialog 1. On the Resources pane, right-click the section, then click Includes. 2. From the File types dropdown, select Stylesheets. 3. Choose which CSS files should be applied to this section. The available files are listed at the left.

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With this feature it is possible to create a Print template from an arbitrary PDF fileor from a PDF file provided by the DataMapper. Of course, the PDF file itself can't be edited in a Designer template, but when it is used as a section's background, text and other elements, such as a barcode, can be added to it. Encrypted PDF files are not supported in PDF pass-through mode. To use a PDF file as background image: 1.

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Note If a URL doesn't have a file extension, and the option Save with template is not selected, the Select Image dialog automatically adds the filetype parameter with the file extension as its value (for example: ?filetype=pdf (if it is the first parameter) or &filetype=pdf). The filetype, page and nopreview parameters are not sent to the host; they are used internally. Therefore, URLs that rely on one of these parameters cannot be used.

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Note The number of pages in the Print section is automatically adjusted to the number of pages in the PDF file that are being used as the section's background image. 9. Finally, click OK. Tip An alternative to using a PDF as background inside the template is to layer the template (i.e. the PDF output of a Print section) over the background PDF via a Script task in a Workflow process. This is called 'stamping'.

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2. Click Finishing. 3. Choose a Binding style and, if applicable, the number of holes. Overriding binding styles in a job creation preset A Job Creation Preset can override the binding styles set for the Print sections and for the Print context as a whole. To bind output in another way than defined in the template’s settings: 1. Create a Job Creation Preset that overrides the settings of one or more sections: select File > Presets and see "Job Creation Presets Wizard" on page 1170 for more details. 2.

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Note Use a print format that supports Duplex/Simplex switching to get a proper Mixplex job. PDF is not suitable as it has no device control. Print sections always start on a front page. To avoid empty pages between sections, consider combining them into one section, and use page breaks to push content to the next page (see "Page breaks" on page 504). l l Check Tumble to duplex pages as in a calendar.

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the Duplex printing settings. This resets a page to Simplex if it has an empty back side. The resulting print job can then be "mixed plex"; in that contains both simplex and duplex pages. The omitted back side isn't sent to the printer, so it doesn't count as a print click. If a page is empty, but not omitted (the Omit empty back side option is not checked) it will still be sent to the printer and may count as a print click.

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l l l Page numbers can only be used in a Print context. See "Page numbers " on page 501 to learn how to add and change them. Conditional content and dynamic tables, when used in a Print section, may or may not leave an empty space at the bottom of the last page. To fill that space, if there is any, an image or advert can be used as a whitespace element; see "Whitespace elements: using optional space at the end of the last page" on the facing page.

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Tip By default, measurements settings are in inches (in). You could also type measures in centimeters (add 'cm' to the measurement, for example: 20cm) or in millimeters (for example: 150mm). To change the default unit for measurement settings to centimeters or millimeters: on the menu, select Window > Preferences > Print > Measurements.

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the variable content. The extra paragraph would be considered content and could end up on a separate page, together with the whitespace element. Page numbers Inserting page numbers Page numbers can be added to a Print section, but they are usually added to a Master Page, because headers and footers are designed on Master Pages; see also: "Master Pages" on page 506.

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Tip Instead of page numbers, you might want to display the current record index and/or the total number of records in the record set, in the document. There is a How-to that explains how to do that: How to get the record index and count. Creating a table of contents A table of contents can only be created in a script. If you are looking to create a short, simple table of contents in one section, you could add a Standard Script that uses the pageRef() function. For an example, see "pageRef()" on page 1392.

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3. Use the Format drop-down to select uppercase or lowercase letters or Roman numerals instead of Arabic numerals. 4. In Leading Zeros, type zeros to indicate how many digits the page numbers should have. Any page number that has fewer digits will be preceded by leading zeros. 5. Type the Number prefix. Optionally, check Add Prefix to Page Counts, to add the prefix to the total number of pages, too. 6. Close the dialog.

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1. Open the style sheet for the Print context: on the Resources pane, expand the Styles folder and double-click context_print_styles.css. 2. Add a CSS rule, like the following: p { widows: 4; orphans: 3 } Per paragraph To change the widow or orphan setting for one paragraph only: 1. Open the Formatting dialog. To do this, you can: l l Select the paragraph using the breadcrumbs or the Outline pane (next to the Resources pane) and then select Format > Paragraph in the menu.

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Note Improved page breaking in Connect 2019.1 might impact upon templates made with earlier versions. See "Known Issues" on page 111. Inserting a page break To insert a page break before or after a certain element, set the page-break-before property or the page-break-after property of that element (a paragraph for example; see also "Styling text and paragraphs" on page 759): 1. Select the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638). 2.

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l Select the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638). l On the Format menu, select the respective element to open the Formatting dialog. l In the Breaks group, set the inside property to avoid, to prevent a page break inside the element. For an explanation of all available options of the page-break-inside property in CSS, see CSS page-break-inside property.

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l Tips and tricks for Media and Master Pages. Adding a Master Page When a Print template is created, one master page is added to it automatically. Adding more Master Pages can be done as follows: l On the Resources pane, right-click the Master pages folder and click New Master Page. l Type a name for the master page. l l Optionally, set the margin for the header and footer. See "Adding a header and footer" on the facing page. Click OK.

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Note Editing the Master Page is optional. One Master Page must always exist in a Print template, but if you don't need it, you can leave it empty. Adding a header and footer Headers and footers are not designed as part of the contents of a Print section, but as part of a Master Page, which is then applied to a page in a print section. To create a header and footer: 1.

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1. On the Resources pane, expand the Print context; right-click the Print section, and click Sheet configuration. 2. Optionally, check Duplex to enable content to be printed on the back of each sheet. Your printer must support duplex for this option to work. If Duplex is enabled, you can also check Tumble to duplex pages as in a calendar, and Facing pages to have the margins of the section switch alternately, so that pages are printed as if in a magazine or book. 3.

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Note that one Master Page as well as one Media must always exist in a Print template. Just leave it empty if you don't need it. Media When the output of a Print context is meant to be printed on paper that already has graphical and text elements on it (called stationery, or preprinted sheets), you can add a copy of this media, in the form of a PDF file, to the Media folder. Media can be applied to pages in a Print section, to make them appear as a background to those pages.

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option Save with template if you want to insert the image into the Images folder on the Resources pane. (For PDF files selected by URL this option is always checked.) Alternatively you could first import the PDF file to the Images folder on the Resources pane (using drag & drop) and drag it from there on one of the Media in the Media folder. Either way, you cannot set any options.

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path (e.g. C:\Images\Test.jpg) or use the "file" protocol. The complete syntax of a fully qualified URL with the "file" protocol is: file:///. Note: if the host is "localhost", it can be omitted, resulting in file:///, for example: file:///c:/resources/images/image.jpg. l Url lists image files from a specific web address. Select the protocol (http or https), and then enter a web address (for example, http://www.mysite.com/images/image.jpg).

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5. Click Finish. 6. For each of the PDF files, select a position: l Fit to page stretches the PDF to fit the page size. l Centered centers the PDF on the page, vertically and horizontally. l Absolute places the PDF at a specific location on the page. Use the Top field to specify the distance between the top side of the page and the top side of the PDF, and the Left field to specify the distance between the left side of the page and the left side of the PDF. 7. Finally, click OK.

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l l On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the Media folder, rightclick the Media and click Rename. Type the new name and click OK. Alternatively, on the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the Media folder, right-click the Media and click Properties. Type the new name in the Name field and click OK.

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"Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405). This is especially useful when you need identical sections with different settings. Dynamically switching the Media In addition to applying Media to sheets via the settings, it is possible to change Media dynamically, based on a value in a data field, in a script. The script has already been made; you only have to change the name of the Media and the section in the script, and write the condition on which the Media has to be replaced. 1.

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Rotating the Media in a Print section The actual orientation of the Media and that of a section to which the Media is applied may not match. The Media (to be more accurate: the Virtual Stationery images specified for this Media) can therefore be rotated per Print section: l l On the Resources pane, expand the Print context; right-click the Print section, and click Sheet configuration. Click one of the options next to Media rotation. The Media will be rotated accordingly in the entire section.

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Email With the Designer you can create one or more Email templates and merge the template with a data set to generate personalized emails. The Email context is the folder in the Designer that can contain one or more Email templates, also called Email sections. The HTML generated by this context is meant to be compatible with as many clients and as many devices as possible.

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l The contents of the Print context, in the form of a single PDF attachment. (Compression options for PDF attachments can be specified in the Email context's properties; see "Compressing PDF attachments" on page 527.) l The output of the Web context, as a self-contained HTML file. l Other files, an image or a PDF leaflet for example. Attaching the Print context and/or the Web context is one of the options in the "Send (Test) Email" on page 1021 dialog.

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Designing HTML email in PlanetPress Designer The problem of HTML email is that preprocessing and rendering engines break the HTML email's layout. HTML tables, however, are mostly left untroubled. As they are supported by every major email client, they are pretty much the only way to design HTML emails that are universally supported. That's why Tables are heavily used to position text and images in HTML email.

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In the Source tab of the Workspace, you could for example type div.row. This is the abbreviation for a

element with the class row.

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embedded images appear instantly when viewing the message in your email client. There is, however, a downside to this method: embedded images can't be used to track email open rates. Email services like mandrillapp.com embed a tiny tracer image at the bottom of your message. Each time a recipient opens the email the tracer image (aka beacon image) is downloaded and yet another 'open' is registered. On mobile devices this happens when the user clicks the Display Images button.

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With an Email Template Wizard you can easily create an Email template that outputs emails that look good on virtually any email client, device and screen size. After creating an Email template, the other contexts can be added to it, as well as other sections (see "Contexts" on page 468 and "Email templates" on page 527). To create an Email template with a Template Wizard: 1. In the Welcome screen that appears after startup: l l Choose Browse Template Wizards.

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The Invoice email template also contains a Dynamic Table; see "Dynamic Table" on page 825. Note that this table does not use one of the default table styles, and that the style sheet with the default table styles is not present in the template. To add that style sheet to the template, insert a table using the Dynamic Table wizard. l l One script, named "To". Double-click that script on the Scripts pane to open it.

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Email Template Wizards There are Wizards for three kinds of Email templates: for Basic Email, for Banded Email, and Slate templates for responsive email designed by Litmus. Slate: Responsive Email Templates by Litmus Scroll past the Web Template Wizards to see the Slate: Responsive Email templates, created by Litmus (see https://litmus.com/resources/free-responsive-email-templates). More than 50% of emails are opened on mobile.

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l l l l The subject. You can change and personalize the subject later, see "Email header settings" on page 531. The text for the header. The header is the colored part at the top. The text can be edited later. The color of the header and the color of the button. Click the small colored square, right next to the field that holds the default color value, to open the Color dialog and pick a color (see "Color Picker" on page 960). The color can be changed later; see "Colors" on page 779.

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pane. These style sheets are meant to be used for styles that are only applied to elements in the Email context. The Wizard opens the Email section, so that you can fill it with text and other elements; see "Content elements" on page 633 and "Email templates" on the next page. Sending email When the template is ready, you can generate Email output; See "Generating Email output" on page 1499. To test a template, you can send a test email first. This allows you to override the recipient address.

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Compressing PDF attachments For PDF attachments, generated from the Print context, you can set the Print Context Image Compression to determine the quality of the files, and with that, the size of the files. To set the Print Context Image Compression: 1. On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder; then right-click the Email context and select PDF Attachments. Alternatively, select Context > PDF Attachments on the main menu. This option is only available when editing an Email section in the Workspace.

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Email templates are personalized just like any other template; see "Variable Data" on page 805. The subject, recipients (To, CC and BCC), sender and reply-to address are specified with Email Script Wizards; see "Email header settings" on page 531. An Email context can contain multiple templates. When generating output from the Email context, however, only one of the Email templates can be merged with each record.

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Importing an Email template To import an Email section from another template, click File > Import Resources... in the menu. See: "Import Resources dialog" on page 971. Remember also to add or import any related source files, such as images. Note that when the imported Email section replaces an Email section in your template, the PDF attachments settings are imported as well. (See: "Compressing PDF attachments" on page 527.

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Tip Before you can style an element, you have to select it. In an Email context it can be difficult to select an element by clicking on it. Use the breadcrumbs at the top and the Outline pane at the left, to select an element. See "Selecting an element" on page 638. In order for a style sheet to be applied to a specific section, it needs to be included in that section. There are two ways to do this. Drag & drop a style sheet 1. Click and hold the mouse button on the style sheet on the Resources pane. 2.

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Note Style sheets that are linked to (i.e. included in) a section show a chain icon in the Resources pane (see "Resources pane" on page 1069). Setting a default Email template for output An Email context can contain multiple templates. When generating output from the Email context, however, only one of the Email templates can be merged with each record.

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Email Fields The subject, the recipients (To, Cc and Bcc), the sender and the Reply to address can be entered in the Email Fields at the top of the workspace. If the fields are not visible, click the words 'Email Fields' (or the small plus before them) to expand the Email Fields area. To use a variable email address in any of the fields, simply drag and drop a data field into the email field. The specified subject and addresses will be visible when viewing the email in the workspace in Preview mode.

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Other header fields At some point you may need to define a header field that isn't available in the Preferences or in the Email Fields. This can be done in a Control Script. For a few examples of such scripts, see "Adding custom ESP handling instructions" on page 1505. To get started with Control Scripts, refer to "Control Scripts" on page 913. Email SMTP settings Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the standard protocol for sending emails across the Internet.

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l l Use authentication: Check this option and fill in the user name if a user name and password are needed to send emails through the host. (The password has to be specified in the Send Email or Send Test Email dialog.) Send STARTTLS: This option is enabled if authentication is checked. With STARTTLS the client negotiates with the mail server to use some form of encryption, usually a version of Transport Layer Security (TLS).

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You can add as many data fields to the subject as you like. When you do add more than one data field, the existing Subject script will be modified to include all data fields that are added to the subject. The result of the script will be visible in the Subject field in Preview mode: click the Preview tab at the bottom of the workspace. Note By default, the Subject script targets one email section specifically. You can see this when you double-click the script on the Scripts pane.

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Note that you can add only one data field to the email field this way. When you drag another data field into the email field the existing script will be replaced.. Email addresses can be added to the Cc and Bcc fields in the same manner, but it is also possible to type an email address directly in the Cc or Bcc field (as long as no script is present for that field). Multiple email addresses should be separated by a semicolon.

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Note When sending emails with a variable From address through PlanetPress Workflow, check the option Precedence to template address in the Create Email Content task properties to make sure that the dynamic address gets precedence over the email address specified in the task properties (see Create Email Content task). Reply To address The Reply To address is used by mail clients, when the recipient clicks the Reply To (or Reply All) button.

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Email PDF password The Email PDF Password Script Wizard defines a password with which to protect the PDF generated when using the Print context as PDF Attachment option in the Send Email or Send Test Email dialogs (see "Generating Email output" on page 1499). The result of the script will be the password necessary to open the PDF when it is received by email. To define a password to protect the generated PDF attachment: 1.

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Attaching files Selecting and adding files as attachments If you want all recipients to get the same attachments with their email, you can add the attachments to the Email section(s). The easiest way is to drag and drop the desired file on the Email section. If the file is an image, you will be presented with the option to import it into the template's Resources folder. Any other file will be added to the list of attachments directly. The Attachments dialog also lets you select files and delete attachments.

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3. Choose an Email section from the Section drop-down list. 4. Fill in the different parts of which the file name is composed: l l l Prefix. The first prefix contains the base path (or at least the first, static part of the path). For example:C:\Attachments\, C:/Attachments/, or file:///C:/Attachments/. Data field/s. The selected data field/s will be evaluated. If a data field is empty, the entire row is skipped. Otherwise the prefix, data field value and suffix are added to the path/file name. Suffix.

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Note that even a space character is invalid in a URL. Spaces in a URL are supported for backward compatibility, but it is recommended to percent-encode a space character as %20. 5. The attachment's name in the email will be the part of the path that comes after the last '/'. When there are no forward slashes in the path, the full path is used. You may want to use a custom attachment name. To learn how to do that, see "Renaming attachments" below. 6. Click OK or Apply to save your changes.

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Note For attachment names, it is recommended to use only US-ASCII characters. Other characters may not be supported by all email servers and clients. Web With the Designer you can create one or more Web templates and merge the template with a data set to generate personal web pages. The Web context is the Web output channel and the folder in the Designer that can contain one or more Web templates.

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When a Web template is created, either with a Wizard or by adding the Web context to an existing template (see "Adding a context" on page 469), the Web context folder is created along with other files that are specific to a Web context; see "Web Context" on page 548. Many of the content elements that are available for all three contexts are particularly suitable for web pages; see "Content elements" on page 633. Web templates are personalized just like any other template; see "Variable Data" on page 805.

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l Primary: links on the page. l Secondary: secondary links on the page. l Text: text on the page contained in paragraphs (

). l Headings: all headings (

through

) including the heading section's subhead. 4. Click Finish to create the template. The Wizard creates: l l l l A Web context with one web page template (also called a section) in it.

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Blank web page The Blank Web Page template is a very simple Foundation template that contains a top bar menu and some basic contents to get you started. Web Context In the Designer the Web context is the folder that contains Web page templates. Creating the Web context You can start creating a Web template with a Wizard (see "Creating a Web template with a Wizard" on page 544), or add the Web context to an existing template (see "Adding a context" on page 469).

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l Output the Web context in an automated Workflow using the Create Web Content task (see Workflow Help: Create Web Content). See "Generating Web output" on page 1509. Includes The Web context outputs one HTML web page. In addition to the HTML text it contains either the resources or references to the resources necessary to display it. JavaScript files are added to the in the generated HTML file.

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section (see "Setting a default Web page for output" on page 553) before generating Web output; also see "Generating Web output" on page 1509. Creating a Web page When creating a Web page, it is advisable to follow design guidelines for web pages, so that they are likely to look good in different browsers and on different devices and screen sizes.

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Importing a Web page To import a Web page from another template, click File > Import Resources... in the menu. See: "Import Resources dialog" on page 971. The Web page's Includes settings get imported automatically (see "Includes" on page 549). Remember to add or import any related source files, such as style sheets and images. Deleting a Web page To delete a Web section: l On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the Web context, rightclick the name of the section, and then click Delete.

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Using Variable Data in Form elements Variable data may be used in form elements, such as a drop-down list (a Select element). How to do that, is described in this how-to: Dynamically add options to a dropdown. Passing Variable Data to client-side JavaScript When serving Web pages using Workflow, the HTML is first personalized and then served to the web browser by a Workflow process. At that stage custom JavaScripts do not have access to the information stored in the Data Model.

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4. You can also change the order in which the CSS files are read: click one of the included CSS files and use the Up and Down buttons. Note that moving a style sheet up in the list gives it less weight. In case of conflicting rules, style sheets read later will override previous ones. Note Style sheets are applied in the order in which they are included in a section. The styles in each following style sheet add up to the styles found in previously read style sheets.

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Tip Use a Control Script to dynamically select a Web section for output depending on the value of a data field. See "Control Scripts" on page 913. Including JavaScript files Which JavaScript files are included in the a Web section, depends on a setting for that section. To change this: 1. On the Resources pane, right-click a section in the Web context and click Includes. 2. From the File types dropdown, select JavaScripts. 3. Choose which JavaScript files should be included in this section.

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Tip If a valid favicon image is dragged to the Web section, it will automatically be set as a shortcut icon. 4. The Meta Information Group lists all tags that will be added to the header of the HTML file generated in the output. Click the Add button to add a new tag to the list. Then you can select the type of tag, which is either name or http-equiv, and enter the value (for a name-type meta tag) or the content. For more information on tags, see W3Schools - HTML meta tag.

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Forms Web templates can contain Forms. Capture OnTheGo templates always contain a Form. Tip To create a Capture OnTheGo template, preferably use a Template Wizard (see "Capture OnTheGo template wizards" on page 582). The Wizard doesn't just add the form, it also adds the necessary Capture OnTheGo form elements (see "COTG Elements" on page 709), style sheets and JavaScript files, and extra pre-made elements. Adding a Form This procedure describes how to add a Form element to an existing Web context. 1.

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5. Using the the Method drop-down, select whether the form should be sent using the GET or POST method. 6. Using the next drop-down, select the form's Encryption Type (enctype): l l l application/x-www-form-urlencoded: Default. All characters are encoded before they are sent. Spaces are converted to "+" symbols, and special characters are converted to ASCII HEX values. multipart/form-data: No characters are encoded. This value is required when you are using forms that have a file upload control.

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l l l l l l At cursor position inserts it where the cursor is located in the template. Before element inserts it before the HTML element in which the cursor is currently located. For example if the cursor is within a paragraph, the insertion point will be before the

tag.* After start tag inserts it within the current HTML element, at the beginning, just after the start tag.* Before end tag inserts it within the current HTML element, at the end, just before the end tag.

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with CSS files" on page 747). l l l An Action: the URL where the form data should be sent. The URL should be a server-side script that can accept form data (a Workflow process that starts with a Server Input task, for example). A Method: this defines whether the form should be sent using the GET or POST method. An Encryption Type (enctype): l l l application/x-www-form-urlencoded: Default. All characters are encoded before they are sent.

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l l Maximum length: Enter a numerical value for the minimum character length accepted for this field. Equal to: Use the drop-down to select another field that is already added to the same Form. The contents of both fields must match for the data to be validated. This is useful for confirmation fields such as for passwords, email addresses etc.

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elements to a Form and how to prepare them so that when the Form is submitted, they provide valid data that can be handled easily. For a list of Form elements, see "Form Elements" on page 721. For a list of the extra elements that can be used in a Capture OnTheGo form, see "COTG Elements" on page 709. Adding elements to a Form To add an element to a Form or Fieldset, click inside the Form or Fieldset, select Insert > Form elements, and choose the respective element on the menu.

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l No style omits the label altogether. Note The first two label styles ensure that when the user clicks the label, the input element gets the focus. 4. The following options are only available for specific elements: l l l For a Text Area you can specify a number of rows. For a Radio Button, the submit name indicates to which Radio Button Group the Radio Button belongs. For a Button, Checkbox, Hidden Field, and Radio Button you can set the value.

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settings (see "Changing a Form's validation method" on page 720). It isn't always useful to make a field required; after all, if it has a default value it will never be empty. l l Minimum and maximum length: Enter a numerical value for the minimum and maximum character length required for this field. Equal to: Use the drop-down to select another field that is already added to the same Form. The contents of both fields must match for the data to be validated.

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To insert a placeholder in a field, type a label and choose Use label as placeholder as its style when adding the element to the form; see "Adding elements to a Form" on page 561. Making elements required To change the validation of a COTG or Form element, right-click the element and choose Validation settings. Now you can change the Form's validation method and set the requirements per field; see "Changing a Form's validation method" on page 720.

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With the Use PHP arrays option enabled in Workflow, the above HTML results in the following XML: pparker@eu.objectiflune.

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This option makes it easier to select all elements on the same level in a data mapping configuration, and to convert the XML to a JSON object. You can try out this feature with the COTG Time Sheet template, as explained in this how-to: Using The PHP Array Option. The COTG Fields Table element (see "Fields Table" on page 712) in that template has an Add button to add rows to a table, and groups data following this approach.

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Some JavaScript files are added automatically: When you create a template with a COTG Template Wizard (see "Capture OnTheGo template wizards" on page 582), the Designer automatically adds the jQuery library v. 3.5 and the COTG library: cotg-2.1.0.js. This also happens when you add a Capture OnTheGo (COTG) element to a template that you didn't start with a COTG template wizard. For more information about this plugin, see "Using the COTG plugin" on page 608.

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Now the JavaScript file is ready to be used in your Web templates; see "Including a JavaScript file in a Web context" on the next page. Adding a remote JavaScript file A Remote JavaScript Resource is a file that is not located within your template but is hosted on an external web server , generally called a CDN.

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(while the page continues the parsing). When neither option is checked, the script is fetched and executed immediately, while the parsing of the page is paused. 5. Optionally, for a Capture OnTheGo Form, you can check Use cached Capture OnTheGo resource, to prevent downloading a remote JavaScript file again if it has been downloaded before.

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4. The available JavaScript files are listed at the left. Use the arrow buttons or double-click to move the JavaScript files that should be included to the right-hand list. Using the Up and Down buttons or drag-and-drop you can change the order of the files, too. 5. Click OK. Note JavaScript files that are linked to (i.e. included in) a section show a chain icon in the Resources pane (see "Resources pane" on page 1069).

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JavaScript resources included in a Print section are executed on the Preview tab. (The editor for a Print section does not have a Live tab.) Note The internal browser engine which is used as of version 2018.2, Gecko 38, is compliant with the ECMAScript 5 language specification. This means that scripts using features described in ECMAScript 2015 (aka ES6) - such as the keyword let - will fail in the Preview and Live tab of the Designer.

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l It may be reusable. This depends on a setting in the Output to Capture OnTheGo plug-in (found on the Connectors tab) in Workflow (see the Workflow Help: Output to CaptureOnTheGo). A reusable COTG Form is not deleted from the app's form library when it is submitted, so it can be used again. Creating a COTG Form A Capture OnTheGo Form is actually just a Web Form, so you could add a Form element to a Web page in the Web context without the use of a Template Wizard.

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data. The action will look similiar to this: http://192.168.175.1:8080/actionname (where actionname is the HTTP action of the HTTP Server Input task). For information about specifying an action for a Form, see "Adding a Form" on page 717 or "Changing a Form's properties" on page 719. Note For testing purposes, it is possible to use another URL for the Form's action or not to specify an action at all; see "Testing a Capture OnTheGo Template" on page 602.

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Testing the template A Capture OnTheGo (COTG) template will be used to create a form that can be downloaded, filled out and submitted using the COTG app. Before starting to actually use the template, you will want to make sure that it produces a form that looks good and functions as expected. How to preview the form, how to submit data and how to preview the submitted data is described in another topic: "Testing a Capture OnTheGo Template" on page 602.

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mapping configuration. Using COTG data in a template When a user submits a COTG Form, a Workflow configuration may store the information in a database and/or push it into other Workflow processes, for example to send a letter or an email receipt. To be able to use the submitted data in a template for that letter or email receipt, follow these steps: 1.

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2. Create a data mapping configuration Use the resulting XML file to create a data mapping configuration (see "Data mapping configurations" on page 197). 1. Choose File > New > Data mapping Wizards > From XML file. 2. Select the XML data file as its source and click Next. 3. Set the XML Elements option to /request/values. This will automatically add an extraction step for the submitted form fields. 4. Click Finish.

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1. Click the Insert Inline Box icon on the toolbar. The Insert Inline Box dialog appears. 2. Enter an ID for the box (anything will do, as long as it helps you identify the box) and click OK. The box is added to the text flow and can be resized if needed. 3. Switch to the Source tab and replace the content of the box:

Div content goes here

by this text: 4. Switch back to the Design tab. You will see a small, empty rectangle inside at the top of the inline box.

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front prevents discussions, reduces rework and therefore saves time. 2. Listing the input fields that are needed, their type, and possible input constraints. Think of how the information should be visually grouped. To get an overview of all the elements and features that can be used in a Capture OnTheGo form, check out the following pages: l l l l "COTG Elements" on page 709, about elements that were specially designed for COTG.

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Tip If the COTG Form replaces a paper form, it can be tempting to stick to the original layout for the sake of recognizability. Don't fall into that trap. In the end, the users - customers and employees - will be happier with a user-friendly form that adapts to different screen sizes and looks like it was designed for the web. Most design guidelines for web forms apply to COTG forms as well. Two key concepts are responsive design and usability.

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Usability Usability defines the ease of use of a form. Is the layout intuitive? Are the form elements easy to tap on a mobile device? A visually consistent design allows the user to follow the flow while filling out the form. Below are some key usability aspects to keep in mind when designing forms. Provide clear labels. Many modern web sites show labels inside the actual form inputs while they are empty. This saves space on the form, but once the user has entered data the label is no longer visible.

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Forms for offline use Capture OnTheGo forms can be used offline. This is the case even when the form relies on remotely stored source files like JavaScript files and style sheets, provided that the option Use cached Capture OnTheGo resource is checked when adding them to the form. Capture OnTheGo template wizards With the Designer you can create Capture OnTheGo (COTG) templates. COTG templates are used to generate forms for the Capture OnTheGo mobile application.

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PAGE 584

) in the form. Check this option to add the menu automatically. Submit URL: enter the URL where the form data should be sent. The URL should be a server-side script that can accept COTG Form data.

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Capture OnTheGo and Jumbotron template wizards automatically add the Foundation files v. 5.5.1 to the resources of the template. In a future version of PlanetPress Connect, Foundation 6 will be included. If you'd rather start using the newest Foundation files right away, you have two options: l l Download the Foundation files (from http://foundation.zurb.com/sites/download.html/) and add them to the template manually. Use remote Foundation files from a CDN, such as https://cdnjs.

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These classes can be combined, so that depending on the screen size, a Div can take more or less space in a row. Separate the class names with a space. Tip Start with the class for small screens. For example:

. Larger devices will inherit those styles (thanks to the mobile-first approach of Foundation's style sheet). Customize for larger screens as necessary.

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To add Grid rows and columns quickly, you could also use the Grid snippets or Row snippets, found in the Snippets folder on the Resources pane after using a wizard to create a Foundation web page or a Capture OnTheGo template. For more information about Snippets, see "Snippets" on page 741. For more information about template wizards, see "Creating a Web template with a Wizard" on page 544 and "Capture OnTheGo template wizards" on page 582.

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OnTheGo form elements. For more information about the application refer to these websites: Capture OnTheGo and Capture OnTheGo in the Resource Center. Capture OnTheGo (COTG) elements can only be added within a Form element in a Web context; see "COTG Forms" on page 571. For information about how to add and use COTG Elements, see "Using COTG Elements" on page 596.

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l l l Take now: Opens the device's default Camera application to take a picture using the device's camera. Capture OnTheGo has no impact on the device's applications, so the features available (quality, orientation, filters) are dependent on the device itself. You can, however, set the format, quality and scaling for images that are submitted by the Camera element, as explained below.

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l Format: The image format can be PNG or JPG. l Quality: Set the compression in a percentage. l Scale Image: Check this option to enable image scaling. Then set the maximum width and height of images before they are sent to the server. Note that only the smallest of these is applied and the size ratio is always maintained. Time stamp A time stamp can be added to each picture taken. Right-click the Camera element after adding it to the form, select Camera properties, and then check Add Time Stamp.

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Date and Formatted Date The Date element and the Formatted Date element display the current date on the device when the form is first opened. When the element is touched, a date selector appears so the user can modify this date. The Formatted Date element displays dates in a format that depends on the locale of the device on which the user is viewing the form. A Date Element displays dates in the ISO 8601 format: YYYY-MM-DD. When the form is submitted, the date data is sent as plain text.

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2021.1. They follow the same naming pattern, for example: level1[row_0][level2][row_1] [name]. Geolocation The Geolocation Element adds a button to read the device's current GPS coordinates and save them in a form field. When the button is pressed, the GPS coordinates are requested and saved. When the form is submitted, the Geolocation data is sent in plain text. High accuracy By default, devices attempt to retrieve a position using network-based methods.

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plain text format and is available when processing the form data. The format is defined by the device. Repository ID The Repository ID element retrieves the repository ID (read only) from the app based on the currently logged on COTG user. You could put the Repository ID in a hidden input, so that when the form is submitted, the Repository ID is submitted as well. This information can be used on the server side to take specific actions, such as sending properly branded emails.

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User Account The User Account Element adds a read only field that contains the Capture OnTheGo user account (an email address) that was used to submit the form to the server. This is useful if a form is available to many different users, to detect who submitted it. If desired the field can be hidden; it will still be submitted. Using COTG Elements Capture OnTheGo (COTG) elements are Web Form elements that are specially designed to be used in a Capture OnTheGo Form (see "Capture OnTheGo" on page 571).

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l l l l Wrap input with label places the input element inside the Label element. Attach label to input ties the label to the input element using the for attribute of the Label element. Use label as placeholder inserts the given label text in the placeholder attribute of the field. No style omits the label altogether. Note The first two label styles ensure that when the user clicks the label, the input element gets the focus.

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Attributes Some attributes (which aren't the same as the settings mentioned above) of a COTG element can be seen on the Attributes pane, after selecting the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638). All COTG elements have a role attribute. This attribute is not supposed to be edited: without the correct role attribute, the element won't function. As noted, the name attribute is what identifies the element after submitting the form.

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HTML, as you can see on the Source tab in the Designer after making a setting. All options, including options that cannot be set via the user interface, can be set via this dataparams attribute. To define a timeout of 6 seconds for a Geolocation element, for example, you could switch to the Source tab and change its HTML to:

. Settings in the HTML override the default settings for that element.

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name="company" value="Objectif Lune"> name="pinElm1[pin_0][left]" value="122"> name="pinElm1[pin_0][top]" value="253"> name="pinElm1[pin_0][type]" value="dent"> name="pinElm1[pin_1][left]" value="361"> name="pinElm1[pin_1][top]" value="341"> name="pinElm1[pin_1][type]" value="dent"> With the Use PHP arrays option enabled

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253 dent 361 341 dent This option makes it easier to select all elements on the same level in a data mapping configuration, and to convert the XML to a JSON object. You can try out this feature with the COTG Time Sheet template, as explained in this how-to: Using The PHP Array Option.

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Testing a Capture OnTheGo Template A Capture OnTheGo (COTG) template will be used to create a form, that can be downloaded, filled out and submitted using the COTG app. Before starting to actually use the template, you will want to make sure that it produces a form that looks good and functions as expected. This topic explains how to preview the form, and how to submit data and preview the submitted data. Previewing the form On a PC A Capture OnTheGo template can be previewed on a PC in two different ways.

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In order to test or use any Capture OnTheGo features you need to have a Repository account (also called a COTG Server account or the Repository ID). You can get a trial account for this purpose; please see this page for more details: http://www.captureonthego.com/en/promotion/. Once you have your Repository ID and Password, you also need to create a user account: 1. Go to the Capture OnTheGo Repository Login: https://config-us.captureonthego.com/. 2. Login with your Repository ID and Password. 3.

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Note The Form's validation should ensure that the submitted data is valid. Set the Form's validation method to jQuery and set the requirements and a message per field (see "Changing a Form's validation method" on page 720 and "How to make COTG elements required" on page 598). Get Job Data File on Submit It is possible to test a COTG Form in the Designer and get access to an XML file that contains the submitted data, without having a Workflow configuration to handle the data.

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3. Hit the Submit button. Now the data file will be sent directly to the Designer. Once the Job Data File is received by the Connect server, a dialog appears asking where to store it. 4. Save the XML file to disk. You can view it, create or update a data mapping configuration for it (see "Data mapping configurations" on page 197), and insert the data in a template, using the data mapping configuration (see "Personalizing content" on page 789).

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Capture On The Go input dummy data values Input Dummy Value Signatur e Receives SVG signature data and the onscreen presentation of that data. Camera A dummy foto is added, and a (SVG) annotation if that option is set for the widget. Note that the script doesn't look at the PNG/JPG or resolution options, the only option it considers is the annotation option.

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Input Dummy Value Locale widget en-US * Note that the formatted date and time can be different from the values that the COTG app provides. In the COTG app the formatted date comes from the COTG API, and the formatted date and time normally depend on the locale/region settings on the mobile device. The ISO date and time should be the same as when using the COTG app. Get submitted data via email Getting submitted data via email requires the Form's action to be set to a test URL that contains an API Key.

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Get submitted data via Workflow Eventually, when a user submits a Capture OnTheGo Form, the data are received by the Workflow HTTP Server Input task (see Workflow Help: HTTP Server Input) that has the same HTTP action as the one specified in the Form's action (see "COTG Forms" on page 571). The Workflow configuration should then handle the submitted data.

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It is assumed that you have a basic understanding of HTML forms, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery. Examples on this page use jQuery. About jQuery This version of the COTG library is entirely based on jQuery. jQuery is a JavaScript library that makes it very easy to select elements in a web page using HTML and CSS selectors, and to manipulate those elements. You will need to use jQuery to dynamically add widgets to a COTG Form. If you are new to it, spend a few minutes on learning it - it's that easy.

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page 567) and specify the desired default settings in that file like this: $.fn.widget.defaults.setting = value; Make sure to include your JavaScript file in the Web context or in the Web section that contains the COTG Form (see "Including a JavaScript file in a Web context" on page 569). All available settings are listed in the Capture OnTheGo API: "Capture OnTheGo API" on page 622. Example The following code sets the default timeout and accuracy for Geolocation objects.

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geolocation }); }); The following example invokes the Date dialog when the user clicks a button. $(document).ready(function() { $('#my-datepicker-button').on('click', function() { $('#date1').trigger("show-date-picker.cotg", new Date("2018 01")); }); }); Dynamically adding COTG widgets Capture OnTheGo (COTG) widgets can be added to a Form dynamically, via jQuery. For example: a new Camera element could be added when the user clicks an Add button. This topic explains how to implement this.

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Adding an event handler First of all you need to write an event handler that responds to the event that is meant to trigger the creation of the widget (e.g. the onClick event of a button or link), by calling the function that creates the widget. The event handler has to be added on the $(document).ready() function, which is fired when the Form is loaded in the browser/app. $(document).ready(function() { $('#add-element').

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Initializing the widget A widget has to be initialized to allow it to be actually used. Widgets that are already present in a Form at startup are initialized as soon as the Form is loaded in the app. A widget that has been added to a Form dynamically has to be initialized directly after adding it to the Form; otherwise the new widget won't respond to actions of the user, even though it is visible in the app.

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Example: adding Camera widgets dynamically The following code inserts a Camera widget when the user clicks on a link or button with the ID add-camera. The addCameraWidget() function creates and adds the widget. Each new widget gets the class camera-dyn. The number of input elements that have this class is used to construct a unique ID for each new Camera widget. The HTML structure of the widget was copied from the Source tab after inserting a Camera widget to a Form in the user interface of the Designer.

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$('#' + cameraID).cotgPhotoWidget(); // init COTG widget } Saving and restoring custom data and widgets The Capture OnTheGo (COTG) app stores the values of the input fields to the local repository of the app upon closing the Form. On reopening the Form the original input fields and their values are restored. However, dynamically added widgets (see "Dynamically adding COTG widgets" on page 611) don't get restored. This needs to be handled in code. This topic explains how to do that.

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The following code combines the previously saved string with the restored URL of a (static) COTG Camera element: window.addEventListener("olcotgrestorestate", function(event) { var value = event.detail.state["myString"]; value = value + $("#camera1 img").attr("src"); $("form p").html(value); }; Note You should not register for these events after the document has loaded (e.g. on the $(document).ready() event), because these events might get triggered before the document is ready.

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The following code retrieves the value that was stored with the myString key and displays it in a paragraph (a

element) at the top of the form. window.addEventListener("olcotgrestorestate", function(event) { var value = event.detail.state["myString"]; $("form p").html(value); }; Note When you've used jQuery to register for the events - $(window).on() - you must use event.originalEvent in the event handler functions, for example: $(window).on("olcotgsavestate", function(event) { event.originalEvent.

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Example Saving and restoring Camera widgets This example demonstrates a way to save and restore dynamically added Camera widgets. How to add Camera widgets is explained in another topic: "Dynamically adding COTG widgets" on page 611. When a user takes or selects a picture with a Camera widget, the COTG app stores the path to the image that was taken or selected in a hidden input. This is the path to the image on the device that runs the COTG app.

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}); function addCameraWidget(cameraID, value) { if(typeof value == 'undefined') { value = ''; } var html = 'Camera' + '

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l Using a Workflow configuration. When a user submits a Capture OnTheGo Form, the data are received by a Server Input task (see Workflow Help: HTTP Server Input or NodeJS Server Input) that receives and handles the submitted data. Add a Send To Folder plugin to the same process. Workflow will then output the XML file that contains the submitted data in the location specified for the Send To Folder plugin. No other tasks are needed in the process, or in the Workflow configuration.

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Strings and base64-encoded strings show up as strings. In order for a base64-encoded string to be interpreted as an image, it must be added to the URL of an image. Adding Camera data to the template The Camera widget submits a base64-encoded string, which can be put in a data field using the DataMapper. When this data field is dragged into a template, the string will show up in the content, instead of the image. To make the image appear in a template, the data has to be used as the URL of an image.

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Capture OnTheGo API As of Connect 1.8, cotg-2.0.0.js has replaced the cotg-1.x.js versions of the Capture OnTheGo (COTG) plugin, introducing events and options for COTG widgets. This topic lists all available options and custom events for widgets, as well as their initialization function. With OL Connect 2021.1 the COTG library has been updated to version 2.1.0 to support nested fields tables in COTG Fields Table elements.

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Camera cotgPhotoWidget([options]) options Optional. An array containing the desired settings, e.g. {quality: 50, height: 1024, width: 1024}. For any unspecified options the default settings will be used. Initialize the new Camera element with any settings that you want to be different from the defaults. Example: $('#myCamera').cotgPhotoWidget({quality: 50, height: 1024}); How to change the default settings is explained in another topic: "Changing default settings for widgets" on page 609.

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Option Description Type Default quality Quality of the saved image, expressed as a range of 0-100, where 100 is full resolution with no loss from file compression. Number 80 allowannotations Adds an Image & Annotation widget to edit the picture. Boolean false allowdeskew Allows the user to perform a perspective cropping after taking or selecting a picture. Boolean false addtimestamp Adds a time stamp Boolean false stampFormat The date format.

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Event Description clear.cotg Removes the picture. savestate.cotg Saves the path of the current picture to the local storage of the COTG app. restorestate.cotg Restores the state of the widget when the form is reopened in the COTG app, after the app has restored previously entered values of static input fields. The Camera broadcasts the following events. Event Description clear.cotg Fired after the user has clicked the Clear button. set.cotg Fired after the user has taken or selected a picture.

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Event Description example: $("#date").trigger("set.cotg", new Date()); // set current date show-datepicker.cotg Opens the Date picker. Optionally, you can provide a date (as a Date object) for the Date picker to be opened with, for example: $('#date1').trigger("show-date-picker.cotg", new Date("2018-01-01")); Device Info cotgDeviceInfo() Initializing a Device Info element puts information about the device (phone or tablet) that displays the form, in the hidden input of the element.

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Events The Document ID element listens for the following event. Event Description clear.cotg Removes the Document ID. The Document ID element broadcasts the following event. Event Description set.cotg This event is fired during initialization of the element, after setting its value to the current Document ID. Fields Table The Fields Table element itself is just a table, so it doesn't have to be initialized.

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Call cotgGeolocation([options]) on the new Geolocation element with any settings that you want to be different from the defaults. Example: $('#myGeolocation').cotgGeolocation({timeout: 6000}); How to change the default settings is explained in another topic: "Changing default settings for widgets" on page 609. Option Description Type Default enableHighAccuracy By default, the device attempts to retrieve a position using networkbased methods.

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Event Description update.cotg Sets the element to the current geolocation. Image & Annotation cotgNoteOnImage() Initializing a new Image & Annotation element prepares it for user interaction. Example: $('#myNoteOnImage').cotgNoteOnImage(); Note To use this element with a Camera widget instead of a static image, you only have to initialize the Camera widget with the allowannotations option set to true. The Camera widget will automatically initialize the Image & Annotation widget.

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Event Description set.cotg Fired after an annotation has been made. Locale cotgLocale() Initializing a new Locale element sets it to the device's locale. Example: $('#myLocale').cotgLocale(); Events The Locale element listens for the following event. Event Description clear.cotg Removes the Locale data. The Locale element broadcasts the following event. Event Description set.cotg This event is fired during initialization of the element, after setting its value to the current locale.

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Event Description clear.cotg Removes the Repositiory ID data. The Repository ID element broadcasts the following event. Event Description set.cotg This event is fired during initialization of the element, after setting its value to the current Repository ID. Signature cotgSignature() Initializing a new Signature element prepares it for user interaction. Example: $('#mySignature').cotgSignature(); Events The Signature element listens for the following custom events. Field Description clear.

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Field Description $(“#signature”).trigger(“set.cotg”, “”); The Signature element broadcasts the following events. Field Description set.cotg This event is fired after a user has entered a signature and clicked the Done button of the Signature window on the device. clear.cotg Fired after a user has clicked the Done button of the Signature window without entering a signature. draw.cotg Fired each time the signature is drawn on the form (by the app, not by the user; e.g. after a set.

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Event Description show-timepicker.cotg Opens the Time Picker. If no time is provided (specified in a Date object), the current time will be shown. User Account cotgUserAccount() Initializing a new User Account element puts the account of the current user in the hidden input of this element. Example: $('#myUser').cotgUserAccount(); Events The User Account element listens for the following custom event. Event Description clear.cotg Removes the User Account data.

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"Selecting an element" on page 638, "Attributes" on page 636 and "Styling and formatting an element" on page 639. ID's and classes are particularly useful with regard to variable data (see "Personalizing content" on page 789) and styling (see "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747). When you add elements, such as text, images or a table, to the content of a template, you are actually constructing an HTML file.

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l l Article, Section, Header, Footer, Nav and Aside are HTML5 semantic elements; see https://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_semantic_elements.asp Other HTML elements: Heading (H1 - H6), Address and Pre To quickly change a paragraph into a Heading, place the cursor inside of it, or select the paragraph (see: "Selecting an element" on page 638). Then select the appropriate element, either on the Format menu, or from the 'Element type' drop-down on the toolbar.

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Many video courses and hands-on courses about HTML (and CSS) are offered on the Internet as well, some for free. Go, for example, to www.codeschool.com or www.codeacademy.com and look for HTML (and CSS) courses. Attributes ID and class Every element in the content of a template can have an ID and a class. ID's and classes are particularly useful with regard to variable data (see "Personalizing content" on page 789) and styling (see "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747).

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Changing attributes via script Many attributes can be changed via the user interface. Another way to change attributes is by using a script. Any of the Script Wizards can produce a script that changes an attribute of an HTML element. Set the Options in the Script Wizard to Attribute, to output the script's results to the value of a specific attribute. See "Using the Text Script Wizard" on page 808.

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l l After element inserts it after the element in which the cursor is currently located. For example if the cursor is within a paragraph, the insertion point will be after the end tag of the paragraph (

).* Replace inserts it in place of the currently selected element. (This option is not available when inserting content in a Master Page.) * If the current element is located inside another element, use the Elements drop-down to select which element is used for the insertion location.

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Breadcrumbs show the HTML tag of the clicked element, as well as the HTML tags of 'parent elements': elements inside of which the clicked element is located. The clicked element is at the end of the line. Elements with classes or IDs show these details next to them, for instance div #contents > ol.salesitems > li ~contents. Click any of the elements in the Breadcrumbs to select that element. If an element is selected in the Breadcrumbs and the Backspace key is pressed, that element is deleted.

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Format elements via Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) It is highly recommended to use style sheets in templates right from the start. Even more so if the communications are going to be output to different output channels, or if they consist of different sections (for example, a covering letter followed by a policy). Using CSS with templates allows a consistent look and feel to be applied.

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4. Check the option Absolute to insert the barcode in an absolute-positioned box inside the of the HTML, but outside other elements. (This option is not available in Email sections.) Alternatively, use the Location drop-down to select where to insert the Barcode. l l l l l l At cursor position inserts it where the cursor is located in the template. Before element inserts it before the HTML element in which the cursor is currently located.

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Note For barcodes that require a Checksum, the Designer can calculate a Checksum if that isn't provided by your data. In that case the field should contain the required value minus the Checksum. To include a calculated Checksum in the barcode value, edit the barcode properties after adding the barcode to the template; see below. 6. Click OK to close the dialog. In the template the barcode shows up as a gray box. The associated barcode script is added to the Scripts pane.

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To change the barcode type or the barcode's properties such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select Barcode on the shortcut menu. The barcode properties set via the properties dialog are written to the data-params attribute on the barcode element in JSON format. (To see this, select the barcode and open the document in the Source view.) Click the barcode type below for information about its properties.

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l "MSI" on page 677 l "PDF417" on page 679 l "POSTNET" on page 681 l "QR Code" on page 683 l "Royal Mail 2D Mailmark" on page 685 l "Royal Mail 4-State (CBC)" on page 687 l Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark C, Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark L, see "Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark C, Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark L" on page 690 l UPC-A, UPC-E, see "UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8, EAN-13" on page 692 l USPS IMb, see "Australia Post, Japan Post, KIX, USPS IMb" on page 694 l "USPS IMpb" on page 695 Australia Post, Ja

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l Bar height: The height of the (shorter) bars. l Extended bar height: The total height of the extended bars. l Bar width: The width of the bars. l Spacing: The distance between the bars. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. Proportional: The barcode is stretched up to where it fits either the width or height of the parent box, whichever requires the less stretching.

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Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode... option in the context menu. Barcode properties This topic lists the properties of the Aztec Code barcode type. For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642. Module size Enter the size of the square modules in pixels.

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Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. Proportional: The barcode is stretched up to where it fits either the width or height of the parent box, whichever requires the less stretching. Tilde processing Check this option to process tilde characters in the data as special characters. (See the Java4less Barcodes Guide to learn what the tilde character can be used for.

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Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode... option in the context menu. Note that this type of barcode processes tilde characters (~) in the data as special characters. See the Java4less Barcodes Guide to learn what the tilde character can be used for.

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Color The Color group allows you to choose a different Barcode color (instead of black) and Background color (instead of white), by typing a hexadecimal color value (see for example w3school's color picker). When black is a composite of CMYK or RGB values, it may incur a color click charge on some printers. Check the Output in Grayscale option to make sure that pure black is used. Output format Defines how the barcode is output on the page. There are two possible formats: l l SVG: Vector format.

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l Interleaved 2 of 5 l Matrix 2 of 5 For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642. Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width.

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l l SVG: Vector format. This is usually of higher quality, but may take longer to generate and is not compatible with Email output. PNG: Binary rasterized format. This has a slightly lower quality than SVG but is usually generated faster and will display properly in Email output. Code 39 Code 39 is one of the barcode types that can be added to a template. The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640.

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Add Checksum When checked, PlanetPress Connect will calculate a Checksum character and add that to the result of the Barcode script. If the value to be encoded is longer than 10 digits, a second check character will be calculated. Human Readable Message When this option is checked, PlanetPress Connect shows a human readable text below or above the barcode, as defined using the Text Position, using the specified font and font size. The font size is given in points (pt).

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Barcode properties This topic lists the properties of the Code 39 extended barcode type. For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642. Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None. Inter Character Gap Two adjacent characters are separated by an inter-character gap.

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Human Readable Message When this option is checked, PlanetPress Connect shows a human readable text below or above the barcode, as defined using the Text Position, using the specified font and font size. The font size is given in points (pt). Color The Color group allows you to choose a different Barcode color (instead of black) and Background color (instead of white), by typing a hexadecimal color value (see for example w3school's color picker).

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Barcode properties This topic lists the properties of the following barcode types : l Code 11 l Code 93 l Industrial 2 of 5 l Interleaved 2 of 5 l Matrix 2 of 5 For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642. Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None.

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w3school's color picker). When black is a composite of CMYK or RGB values, it may incur a color click charge on some printers. Check the Output in Grayscale option to make sure that pure black is used. Output format Defines how the barcode is output on the page. There are two possible formats: l l SVG: Vector format. This is usually of higher quality, but may take longer to generate and is not compatible with Email output. PNG: Binary rasterized format.

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l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. l Fit to box: The barcode is stretched to fit the parent box in both width and height. Add Checksum When checked, PlanetPress Connect will calculate a Checksum character and add that to the result of the Barcode script. If the value to be encoded is longer than 10 digits, a second check character will be calculated. Tilde processing Check this option to process tilde characters in the data as special characters.

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Code 128 Code 128 is one of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see "Barcode" on page 640. The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode...

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l ~d199 to switch to subset C l ~d200 to switch to subset B l ~d201 to switch to subset A For example, if a barcode in the format AA123456789 must start as subset B, and then switch to subset C after 1, set the barcode to be: AA1~d19923456789. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. l Fit to box: The barcode is stretched to fit the parent box in both width and height.

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l l SVG: Vector format. This is usually of higher quality, but may take longer to generate and is not compatible with Email output. PNG: Binary rasterized format. This has a slightly lower quality than SVG but is usually generated faster and will display properly in Email output. Data Matrix Data Matrix is one of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see "Barcode" on page 640.

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interpreted as hexadecimal input and decoded to ASCII before passing the string to the Barcode library. Dots Per Pixels Type the number of dots per pixel. To optimize barcode quality a Data Matrix symbol should not be printed with dots smaller than 4 pixels. Encoding The data represented in the symbol can be compressed using of the following algorithms.

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Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None. Show guardbars Checking this option adds guardbars to the barcode. Guardbars are bars at the start, in the middle and at the end that help the barcode scanner to scan the barcode correctly. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width.

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l l l The barcode data must start with a leading FNC1 character. Either ~1 or ~d232. The GS1 Application Identifiers (AI) must be used for all data. The function code ~1 must be used as field separator for variable length AI elements. Only ASCII characters should be used. Barcode properties This topic lists the properties of the barcode type GS1 DataMatrix. For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642.

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Note The following tilde codes are supported in GS1 DataMatrix barcodes: l ~1 = FNC1 character (for GS1 DataMatrix barcodes) l ~2 = Structure Append l ~3 = Reader programming l ~5 = Macro5 l ~6 = Macro6 l ~7 = ECI expressions Human Readable Message When this option is checked, PlanetPress Connect shows a human readable text below or above the barcode, as defined using the Text Position, using the specified font and font size. The font size is given in points (pt).

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GS1-128 GS1-128 is one of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see "Barcode" on page 640. The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode...

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Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. l Fit to box: The barcode is stretched to fit the parent box in both width and height.

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Australia Post, Japan Post, KIX, USPS IMb Australia Post, Japan Post, KIX and USPS IMb are some of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see "Barcode" on page 640. In PlanetPress Connect versions prior to 2019.2 the USPS IMb barcode was called "OneCode". The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties.

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Height, width and spacing The height, width and spacing of the barcode are all measured in pixels (38 dpi). l Bar height: The height of the (shorter) bars. l Extended bar height: The total height of the extended bars. l Bar width: The width of the bars. l Spacing: The distance between the bars. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width.

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The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode... option in the context menu.

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Resolution Select the printer output definition for the barcode (200, 300, 400, 500 or 600 dpi). Mode PlanetPress Connect supports several modes; for an explanation of these modes see the MaxiCode page on Wikipedia. Tilde processing Check this option to process tilde characters in the data as special characters. (See the Java4less Barcodes Guide to learn what the tilde character can be used for.

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Barcode properties This topic lists the properties of the barcode type MSI. For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642. Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width.

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When black is a composite of CMYK or RGB values, it may incur a color click charge on some printers. Check the Output in Grayscale option to make sure that pure black is used. Output format Defines how the barcode is output on the page. There are two possible formats: l l SVG: Vector format. This is usually of higher quality, but may take longer to generate and is not compatible with Email output. PNG: Binary rasterized format.

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Error Correction Level Use the drop-down to select the built-in error correction method based on Reed-Solomon algorithms. The error correction level is adjustable between level 0 (just error detection) and level 8 (maximum error correction). Recommended error correction levels are between level 2 and 5, but the optimal value depends on the amount of data, printing quality of the PDF417 symbol and decoding capabilities of the scanner. Nr. of Columns The number of data columns can vary from 3 to 30. Nr.

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Module width Specifies the width of the narrow bars in centimeters. Changing this value to a higher value will make the barcode bigger when Scale is set to None. Bar height You can set the height (in cm) of the short bars and the tall bars in the Postnet barcode. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. l Fit to box: The barcode is stretched to fit the parent box in both width and height.

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l PNG: Binary rasterized format. This has a slightly lower quality than SVG but is usually generated faster and will display properly in Email output. QR Code A QR Code is one of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see "Barcode" on page 640. The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties.

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l l Numeric: 10 bits per 3 digits, with a maximum of 7089 numerical characters. Alphanumeric: 11 bits per 2 characters, with a maximum of 4296 alphanumerical characters. l Byte: 8 bits per character, with a maximum of 2953 characters. l Kanji: 13 bits per character, with a maximum of 1817 characters. Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) This setting enables data using character sets other than the default set.

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Note that with this option checked, any tilde that needs to be included in the output must be escaped by adding another tilde: ~~. Color The Color group allows you to choose a different Barcode color (instead of black) and Background color (instead of white), by typing a hexadecimal color value (see for example w3school's color picker). When black is a composite of CMYK or RGB values, it may incur a color click charge on some printers.

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Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode... option in the context menu. Barcode properties This topic lists the properties of the barcode type Royal Mail 2D Mailmark. For the properties of other barcode types, see "Barcode type and properties" on page 642.

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l Bar width: the width of the bars. l Spacing: the distance between the bars. Scale Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element: l l None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width. Proportional: The barcode is stretched up to where it fits either the width or height of the parent box, whichever requires the less stretching.

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Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark C, Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark L Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark C and Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark L are some of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see "Barcode" on page 640. The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties.

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UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8, EAN-13 UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8 and EAN-13 are a few of the barcode types that can be added to a template. The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see "Adding a Barcode" on page 640. Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties.

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l Type: The supplement type can be 2-digit (originally used to indicate the edition of a magazine or periodical) or 5-digit (used to indicate the suggested retail price for books). In case this option is set to None, and the data includes digits for the 2 or 5 supplement, the supplement data will be skipped and the additional barcode will not be rendered. Note When the chosen supplement type doesn't match the data, the supplement data will be skipped and the additional barcode will not be rendered.

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Positioned Box A Positioned Box is one that can be freely moved around the page and does not depend on the position of other elements. A positioned box is actually a

element that has an absolute position; in other words, it has its CSS property position set to absolute (see also: "Using the CSS position property" on page 765). Positioned Boxes are suitable for use in Print templates only. Adding a Positioned Box To insert a Positioned Box, use the icon on the toolbar.

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The measurements are in pixels (e.g. 96px = 1in). Note that you do not need to set the units. Note Do not set the top or left property of a Positioned Box in a style sheet. The position of a Positioned Box in a Print context is handled via its attributes to take the page (or Master Page) and page margins into account. Attributes cannot be overwritten from within a style sheet: style sheets specify style properties, not values of attributes.

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l l The Float rightbutton aligns the Inline Box to the right, with the text wrapped around it to the left. The No float button positions the Inline Box where it occurs in the text. It is not possible to move an Inline Box using drag and drop. To move the Inline Box to another position in the text, you have to edit the HTML on the Source tab in the Workspace, moving the

element using cut and paste. To open the Source tab, click it (at the bottom of the Workspace) or select View > Source View.

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In HTML, boxes are

elements. Spans are elements. To learn how to change the attributes of elements, see "Attributes" on page 636. Business graphics Business graphics are a great way to visualize data in your documents. Connect Designer lets you create three types of grapics: Bar Charts, Line Charts and Pie Charts. The charts are generated by the integrated amCharts library (https://www.amcharts.com/javascript-charts/).

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1. Place the cursor where the graphic should be added. Also make sure that you have loaded data or a data mapping configuration (see "Loading data" on page 792). 2. Click the toolbar button of the type of chart you want to add, or select Insert > Business graphic and choose the chart type. The wizard opens with a page on which you can specify the attributes and insertion point of the graph. 3. An ID is required. You can change the given ID and, optionally, add a class. 4.

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6. For a Bar Chart or Line Chart, you can click Next and set some basic parameters of the chart: l l l Stack Series: Check to stack the values in one bar, instead of having one bar per value. This is only useful with a chart that is based on a data table. Rotate: Check to flip the x and y axes, so that the bars are horizontal starting from the left. Show Legend: Check to show the labels of the selected data in a legend. This is only useful with a chart that is based on a data table.

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Note A business graphic in an Email section is rasterized by default and output as PNG image, because email clients usually don't support SVG images. SVG images in an Email section give an error in the Preflight window (see "Doing a Preflight" on page 889). Selecting data for a Business Graphic A Business Graphic script determines which data, colors and labels are used in the chart. Double-click the script on the Scripts pane to open it.

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3. Next to Values, select data fields with a numerical value. Tip The Toggle non-numeric fields button filters non-numeric fields from the list. The list will then display only Integer, Float and Currency data fields. 4. Adjust the label of each of the selected data fields as needed: click on the label and type the new one. In Bar and Line Charts with Data Fields as input data, these labels appear under the xaxis of the chart. Note Labels are used in the legend.

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table. The difference between the Bar charts is caused by the number of selected data fields (one, or two). The values of the data field 'Year' are used as Category (on the x-axis). When creating a data mapping configuration (see "Data mapping workflow" on page 221), it is recommended to arrange data in a detail table in such a way that it matches this 'one series per record, one bar/point per data field' approach.

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Note How to create a Pie Chart that has one slice per detail record is explained in a How-to: Put one slice per detail record in a Pie Chart. In Connect versions up to 1.8, transposing data was possible via the Rows are series option in the Chart script wizard. As of version 2018.1, this option is no longer available. For a list of backward compatibility issues concerning charts, please see: "Business Graphics: Backward Compatibility Issues introduced in 2018.1" on page 117.

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"innerRadius": "30" } (The innerRadius option, found on the Pie tab in the Pie Chart properties, gives this Pie Chart the shape of a donut.) Note that only properties that were modified via one of the tab menus are included in the JSON on the Source tab. To change the chart, you can simply edit the JSON. For example, adding "handDrawn": "true" (at the same level as the "type" property) will distort the lines of a Bar chart or Line chart, producing a hand-drawn effect.

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Note l l l Properties defined on the Source tab override those made in the Script Wizard or on other tabs of the Properties dialog. The only exception is the dataProvider property: this will be overwritten by the chart's script. In Connect, the implementation was tested with Pie Charts (amPieChart) and with Bar Charts and Line Charts (amSerialChart). Other variants may or may not work. Animations will not work in the output, even if the output is a web page.

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COTG Elements With the Designer you can create Capture OnTheGo templates. COTG templates are used to generate forms for the Capture OnTheGo mobile application. This topic is about Capture OnTheGo form elements. For more information about the application refer to these websites: Capture OnTheGo and Capture OnTheGo in the Resource Center. Capture OnTheGo (COTG) elements can only be added within a Form element in a Web context; see "COTG Forms" on page 571.

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All options, including options that cannot be set via the Design view, can be set via the Source view or in code; see "Changing default settings for widgets" on page 609. Buttons By default, the Camera element adds three buttons to the form: l l l Take now: Opens the device's default Camera application to take a picture using the device's camera. Capture OnTheGo has no impact on the device's applications, so the features available (quality, orientation, filters) are dependent on the device itself.

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device. On an Android device for example, the user may be able only to crop the image, while the user of an iOS device may select part of the image and rotate that selection. Image format You can set the format, quality and scaling for images that are submitted by the Camera element. Right-click the Camera element after adding it to the form, select Camera properties and edit the Image properties: l Format: The image format can be PNG or JPG. l Quality: Set the compression in a percentage.

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4. Under Field select the field that contains the base64-encoded string. The script puts the given string in the source (src) attribute of the image (). Instead of using the Text Script Wizard, you could also write a script yourself; see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877. Date and Formatted Date The Date element and the Formatted Date element display the current date on the device when the form is first opened. When the element is touched, a date selector appears so the user can modify this date.

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new row will contain the same elements as the first row. The names of all elements in the first row will be extended with __0, while the names of the elements in the second row will be extended with __1, etc. (This means that the submitted data can be grouped; see "Grouping data using arrays" on page 599.) Nested tables - i.e. Fields Tables used within a Fields Table - are supported as of version 2021.1. They follow the same naming pattern, for example: level1[row_0][level2][row_1] [name].

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Locale The Locale Element does not have a UI element in the form. Inserting it adds a hidden input field that will contain the device's set locale when the form is submitted. This data is sent in plain text format and is available when processing the form data. The format is defined by the device. Repository ID The Repository ID element retrieves the repository ID (read only) from the app based on the currently logged on COTG user.

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When the form is submitted, the time data is sent as plain text. A Formatted Time element submits the time in both the ISO format mentioned above and in the format that depends on the device's regional and language settings. A Time element sends the time in the ISO format only. User Account The User Account Element adds a read only field that contains the Capture OnTheGo user account (an email address) that was used to submit the form to the server.

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Changing the date Once inserted, a date can be modified directly in the template (if it does not update automatically) or through the date script (if it does update automatically). To modify the date in the script: 1. Double-click the date script in the Scripts pane. 2. Between the round brackets after Date, enter the desired date in the following order: year, month, day, and optionally hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds (see https://www.w3schools.com/js/js_dates.asp and https://developer.mozilla.

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Tip To create a Capture OnTheGo template, preferably use a Template Wizard (see "Capture OnTheGo template wizards" on page 582). The Wizard doesn't just add the form, it also adds the necessary Capture OnTheGo form elements (see "COTG Elements" on page 709), style sheets and JavaScript files, and extra pre-made elements. Adding a Form This procedure describes how to add a Form element to an existing Web context. 1. On the Resources pane, expand the Web context and double-click a Web page to open it. 2.

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l l l application/x-www-form-urlencoded: Default. All characters are encoded before they are sent. Spaces are converted to "+" symbols, and special characters are converted to ASCII HEX values. multipart/form-data: No characters are encoded. This value is required when you are using forms that have a file upload control. text/plain: Spaces are converted to "+" symbols, but no special characters are encoded. 7.

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l l l l l Before element inserts it before the HTML element in which the cursor is currently located. For example if the cursor is within a paragraph, the insertion point will be before the

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l l l An Action: the URL where the form data should be sent. The URL should be a server-side script that can accept form data (a Workflow process that starts with a Server Input task, for example). A Method: this defines whether the form should be sent using the GET or POST method. An Encryption Type (enctype): l l l application/x-www-form-urlencoded: Default. All characters are encoded before they are sent. Spaces are converted to "+" symbols, and special characters are converted to ASCII HEX values.

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validation. For more information about Forms and Form elements in the Designer, see "Forms" on page 716 and "Using Form elements" on page 560. For more information about elements in Forms, see https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_ forms.asp. Fieldset A fieldset is a group of related elements in a form. The elements don't have to be of the same type.

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Text area The Text area element is a text field accepting multiple paragraphs. You can set a number of rows when adding the Text Area to the Form, and change it on the Attributes pane. Hidden field A hidden field can contain specific data used by the server-side script. It is not visible to the user. When adding a Hidden Field you can set the value that will be sent on submit. Label A Label element is a text displaying informative text within the form. Labels are non-interactive.

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You could also create a Radio Button Group by specifying the same submit name for a number of Radio Buttons when adding them to a Form. Radio Button A radio button sends information to the server whether it is selected (true) or not (false). When adding a Radio Button you can set its initial state and its value. The contents of the value property do not appear in the user interface. If a Radio Button is in selected state when the form is submitted, the name of the Radio Button is sent along with its value.

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A button of the type button doesn't have a standard function. This is mostly used with a JavaScript to activate a script. The button's type can also be changed on the Attributes pane. l There may be multiple submit buttons on a Form. If this is the case, specify a different name and/or value for each of the buttons. Note: When adding a Button to a Form, you can specify a value, but no name. The Button's ID will be copied to the element's name attribute.

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Adding a hyperlink or mailto link 1. Select text or an image. Note Although it is possible, it is not advisable to add a Hyperlink to other elements, such as a Paragraph or Div. HTML 4 specifies that hyperlinks and mailto-links may only contain inline elements. Block elements, such as a Div, may not appear inside a link. HTML 5 states that the link "may be wrapped around entire paragraphs, lists, tables, and so forth, even entire sections, so long as there is no interactive content within (e.g.

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l l l Email: enter a valid email address that appears by default in the To: field of the email client. Subject: type a default subject that appears in the Subject: field of the email client. Message: type a message that appears by default in the Message field of the email client. Note that all these can be changed within the email client once the link is clicked. Tip To quickly change the text of a hyperlink, position the cursor on the link and click ~contents in the Breadcrumbs.

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l PDF l PNG l SVG l TIF/TIFF Base64 encoded images are supported; however, they are added differently: set the src attribute of an element to the base64 code (see below, "Images" on the previous page). For Email and Web output, PNG is the preferred image format. EPS, PDF, SVG and TIFF images in an Email or Web section are automatically converted to PNG to ensure that they can be seen in the browser or email client. 32-bit BMP files are not supported.

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faster. However, if a job requires more than 100MBs of image files, then the Connect image cache size can be increased to cater for such. Please contact OL Support for instructions on how to modify the image memory cache value, if needed. (See also: "Limit of 100MB of image files within a single job" on page 118.) Note An image with an unknown file extension is represented by a red cross in the output, but no error is logged unless the image refers to a local file that does not exist on disk.

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Via drag-and-drop The drag-and-drop method is a quick way to import one or more images into a template. 1. Look up the image file or image files on your computer using the Windows Explorer. 2. Select the image (or images, using Shift+click or Ctrl+click) and drag the image file from the Explorer to the Images folder on the Resources pane at the top left. 3. To place an image in the content, drag it from the Images folder on the Resources pane to the content and drop it.

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Using one file that contains a collection of images (a 'sprite') When a template that contains lots of images is merged with a large record set, the many file requests may slow down the process of output generation. One solution is to combine the images into a single image file (an 'image sprite') and display the part that holds the image. This reduces the number of file requests and can improve the output speed significantly.

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Just like many other elements, images can be given borders and rounded corners, they can have inner and outer margins and they can be rotated. How to do this is described in general formatting topics, such as "Border" on page 777 and "Spacing" on page 788. All general formatting topics are listed under "Styling and formatting" on page 745. Note It is recommended to resize images outside of the Designer, with image editing software.

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Note When CSS repeating gradients are displayed in a PDF reader, artifacts, like very thin lines may occur. When this happens, try setting the gradient's position a little bit different. Table Tables serve two different purposes: they are a way to display data in a tabular format, and they are also a way to position elements on a page. In HTML email, Tables are the most reliable way to position text and images; see "Designing an Email template" on page 518.

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Inserting a Table 1. On the toolbar, click the Insert Table button, or on the menu select Insert > Table > Standard. 2. Enter the Table's desired attributes: l l ID: a unique identifier for the Table. IDs are used to access the Table from scripts and as CSS selectors for style rules. Class: A class identifier for the Table. Classes can be shared between elements and are used to access the Table from scripts and as CSS selectors for style rules.

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Note l l Tables with an absolute position are only useful in Print sections. Tables on a Master Page have to have an absolute position, unless they are located inside another element with an absolute position. 4. Click Next and select the desired table style. The top left actually applies no styling to the table. The style can be easily changed afterwards; see "Styling a Table" on the facing page. 5. Uncheck the box Allow resizing if the columns should not be resizable in the workspace (in Design mode).

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Alternatively, right-click the Table and on the shortcut menu, select Row > Insert Above or Insert Below, or select Column > Insert Before or Insert After. Deleting a row or column To delete a row or column, simply right-click the row or column and select Row > Delete or Column > Delete on the shortcut menu. If the deleted row was targeted by a script, you will be asked if you want to delete the script as well. Styling a Table The Insert Table wizard lets you select a style for the table.

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l Click in the Table and drag the handles to resize it. Press the Shift key while dragging to scale the Table proportionally. This option only works in a Print section, with a Table that has an absolute position and for which resizing is allowed. l l If the position of the Table isn't absolute, right-click the Table and on the shortcut menu, select Convert to absolute.

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Adding text To add text, simply type in the workspace in the middle. l Press Enter to insert a new paragraph. l Press Shift+Enter to insert a line break. Alternatively, use the Insert Lorem Ipsum toolbar button to insert dummy text, or copy-paste text into the template. Select Paste as Plain Text from the Edit menu or the contextual menu to insert the text without any HTML styles or formatting.

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HTML element: p, h, li and others When adding elements, such as text, images or a table, to the content of a template, you are actually constructing an HTML file, which you can see and edit on the Source tab (see also: "Editing HTML" on page 635). In HTML, text can be contained in many different elements: paragraphs, span elements, line items and table cells, for example. The HTML tag of a paragraph is

. The paragraph should be followed by a closing tag:

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Tip It is possible to open and edit any HTML or JSON file in the Designer: select File > Open, select All files (*.*) as the file type and then select a HTML or JSON file. About JSON Snippets JSON Snippets are snippets that contain pieces of JSON data instead of HTML. Just like HTML snippets, JSON snippets are stored in the Snippets folder on the Resources pane, but their file name should end in '.json'.

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Remote snippets A remote snippet is an HTML or JSON file that is not located within your template file but is hosted on a Content Management System or other external location. To add a remote snippet: 1. Right-click the Snippets folder on the Resources pane, and click New Snippet > Remote HTML file or Remote JSON file. 2. Enter a name for the file as it appears in the Snippets folder. This name is shown in the Snippets folder with the .rhtml file extension for HTML, or .rjson for a JSON file. 3.

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Via a script In addition to the drag-and-drop method, it is possible, and often useful, to insert a snippet or part of it, using a script; for remote snippets this is normal practice. See "Loading a snippet via a script" on page 904. Tip To export a snippet from your template, drag or copy/paste it out of the Snippets folder to a folder on the local hard drive. Creating a snippet To turn a part of a letter, email or web page into a snippet for reuse in the content of a template: 1.

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Note Remote snippets inserted as shared content cannot be changed from within the Designer. Of course, their source file can be edited outside of the Designer. When that happens, the changes will become visible in remote snippets that are inserted as shared content. Renaming a snippet To rename a snippet, right-click it on the Resources pane in the Snippets folder and select Rename.

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l l Using local formatting. Local formatting means styling an element directly, using a toolbar button or one of the formatting dialogs. Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Style sheets can determine the appearance of individual elements, as well as the appearance of elements that have the same class or HTML tag. Whether applied through style sheets or through local formatting, behind the scenes all layout properties in the Designer are CSS properties.

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Spacing (padding and margin) helps to position elements relative to other elements in the template; see "Spacing" on page 788. The best way to position elements depends on the output channel for which the template is intended; see "How to position elements" on page 763. The locale setting influences how dates, numbers and amounts of money are displayed; see "Locale" on page 787.

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breadcrumbs show the HTML tag of the clicked element, as well as the HTML tags of other elements to which the clicked element belongs. The clicked element is at the end of the line. To edit the HTML text directly: l In the workspace, toggle to the Source tab. On this tab you can view and edit the content of the template in the form of plain text with HTML tags (note the angle brackets: <>). You may add and edit the text and the HTML tags, classes, ID’s and other attributes.

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Note Do not change the default.css style sheet. Use the global style sheet or the style sheet for the relevant context to define your own styles for tables. Adding CSS files To add a CSS file of your own, open an Explorer window, drag the file to the Resources pane and drop it on the Stylesheets folder. In case the CSS file has references to specific images, you can drag/drop or copy/paste those images into the Stylesheets folder as well.

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on an external server are referenced in the web page's header and are served by the remote server, not by the PlanetPress Connect Server module. To add a remote style sheet: 1. Right-click the Stylesheet folder on the Resources pane, and click New Remote Stylesheet. 2. Enter a name for the file as it appears in the Stylesheet resources. For better management, it's best to use the same filename as the remote resource. 3. Enter the URL for the remote resource.

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l Using a popular CDN takes advantage of caching - a client having visited another website using that same CDN will have the file in cache and not re-download it making for faster load times for the client. Tip To refresh the remote resources in a Designer view, use the Refresh option in the menu (View > Refresh) or the Refresh button at the top of the Workspace.

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Step 1: edit CSS Editing CSS using a property sheet 1. Select Edit > Stylesheets. 2. Click the downward pointing arrow next to Global and select the context that you want to edit styles for, or select the Global CSS file to edit CSS rules that apply to all contexts. 3. Click New, or click one of the selectors that are already listed and click Edit. 4. Type a CSS selector. This can be: l l A class: .class. Class rules apply to all HTML elements with that class.

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l Etcetera. See https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_selectors.asp for more CSS selectors and combinations of CSS selectors. 5. Select the layout options that should apply to selected elements; see "Styling and formatting" on page 745. Note: where a width can be set as a percentage, it is a percentage of the space between the left and right margin. 6. Click the Apply button to see how a setting affects any elements that are subject to the selector.

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Step 2: apply CSS to the content After editing the CSS file(s), make sure that the CSS rules actually apply to one or more elements in the template. l l CSS rules for HTML elements, such as paragraphs, are automatically applied to all elements with the corresponding HTML tag. To make a CSS rule for a certain class or ID work for an element in your document, you have to add the class or ID to that HTML element (as described below).

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Applying a style sheet to a section In order for a style sheet to be applied to a specific section, it needs to be included in that section. There are two ways to do this. Drag & drop a style sheet 1. Click and hold the mouse button on the style sheet on the Resources pane. 2. Move the mouse cursor within the Resources pane to the section to which the style sheet should be applied. 3. Release the mouse button. Using the Includes dialog 1. On the Resources pane, right-click the section, then click Includes.

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Note Which style sheets are included can also be set for the Web context as a whole: in step 1, right-click the Web context, instead of a section. How to determine which styles are applied To see which styles are applied to an element, select the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638) and take a look at the Styles pane that sits next to the Attributes pane. Tip Content added by a script isn't visible in Design mode, but is visible and can be inspected in Preview mode.

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Note Although the background color property seems to be inherited, it isn't. Most elements are transparent; therefore the background color of the parent element shines through. To replace inherited style properties, you need to add a more specific CSS rule for that (type of) element. In case of a conflict between a general rule and a more specific rule, the more specific rule will be applied. The following diagram shows the order of specificity. Rules for HTML elements (p, table, li etc.

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Each of these rules is more specific than the previous rules. All of these rules are more specific than the rule that applies to the table as a whole. Note When !important is added to a style rule (e.g. color: red !important;), this rule overrides any other style rules, even inline style rules. Using a Sass file A CSS preprocessor is a CSS extension language that allows you to enhance CSS with code (variables, for example) and then compile it into plain CSS. CSS Preprocessor Sass is integrated in Connect.

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Note l Re-compiling a .scss file overwrites any manual changes made to the .css file. l Partial .scss files cannot be compiled. l Single line comments (//...) are not added to the compiled .css file, whereas multiline comments (/* ... */) are maintained. Multi-line comments should be added within the brackets of the definition they apply to, to make sure they appear in the correct place in the compiled css. Styling text and paragraphs There are numerous ways to format text in a template.

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Formatting text To open the Text Formatting dialog, select some text and then select Format > Text. In the Text Formatting dialog you can set: l The font, font size, color and background color: l l l l l Font size. Enter the size in a measure, named size or percentage. This is equivalent to setting the font-size property in CSS.

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l Underline: Sets the text-decoration to underline. l Strikethrough: Sets the text-decoration to line-through. l Subscript: Sets the vertical-align to super. l Superscript: Sets the vertical-align to sub. l Capitalize: Sets the text-transform to capitalize. l Uppercase: Sets thetext-transform to uppercase. l Lowercase: Sets thetext-transform to lowercase. l Small-caps: Sets the font-variant to small-caps. Note All settings in the Text Formatting dialog are in fact CSS style rules.

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To remove local formatting: l l Select the formatted text and click the toolbar button Remove Formatting. Doing this removes inline style tags from the selection. Alternatively, click the Source tab at the bottom of the workspace (or select View > Source View) to manually remove style tags. Tip When you select an element in the template, the Styles pane will show which styles are applied to that element.

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l The maximum font size is 1048pt. By default this is 48pt. When the maximum font size is left blank, the font size in Design view becomes the maximum font size, so that the text can only be made smaller than its initial size. 5. When the option Fit to width only is checked, no line breaks will be added to the text. 6. Optionally, you can specify a child (an element inside the Box or Div) by giving its ID, for example: #product, or class, for example: .product - note the dot.

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Where to use Tables and Boxes Tables, Positioned Boxes and Inline Boxes can help position elements in relation to other elements. It depends on the context which element is best to use. In the Email context, Tables are the most reliable way to position text and images; see "Designing an Email template" on page 518 and "Table" on page 735. In the Web context, Inline Boxes are the preferred way to position elements; see "Boxes" on page 696.

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1. Press the Ctrl key and hold it down while clicking on the objects that you want to align. The last selected object is the reference object; this object will not be moved. 2. On the menu, select Format > Align Objects, or use the respective Toolbar buttons to align the objects. Guides Guides are horizontal and vertical lines used to help in designing templates, for example when positioning absolute positions boxes over a PDF background. They can only be used in Print sections.

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Tip You can quickly change the position property of an element in a Print or Web section by right-clicking it and selecting Convert to Absolute or Convert to Inline. For an explanation of all values that the position property can possibly have, see https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_positioning.asp. Where to use it In Print sections, setting the position property to absolute can be very useful. It takes the element out of the text flow, so that the element stays where it is on the page.

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elements, by setting the value of this property to none(display: none;). (See "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747 and "Writing your own scripts" on page 877.) For an online tutorial about this property, see w3schools website. Rotating elements In any type of template, boxes, images, tables, text and other elements can be rotated. The toolbar buttons Rotate Clockwise and Rotate Counter Clockwise rotate the element in which the cursor is located 90 degrees at a time.

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Styling a table Just as other elements, tables can be styled in two ways: l l With local formatting. This means styling the table directly, using the Formatting dialog. Via Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). In a style sheet, style rules are declared for elements with different HTML tags, ID's and classes. These two methods are described below. See "Styling and formatting" on page 745 for background information about these two methods.

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between the edge of the cell and its content, see "Spacing" on page 788), and the background color or image of the table and its cells ("Background color and/or image" on page 775). To open the Formatting dialog for one cell or for the table as a whole: l Click in a cell and choose Format > Table or Format > Table Cell. l Right-click it and choose Cell... or Table... from the shortcut menu. Note that in this case Table styles the table as a whole.

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A style sheet contains a bunch of style rules for different elements, that are identified via a CSS selector. This can be the element's HTML tag (without angle brackets), an attribute, its ID, or a class. When used as a CSS selector, the HTML tag for a table is table. For a row, it is tr and for a cell, td. A style rule that uses one of these, however, would apply to all tables, rows, or cells.

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Tip In a Dynamic Table, data are in the body of the table (selector: tbody) and subtotals are in the footer (selector: tfoot). Selecting a specific row, odd or even rows, or every nth row The pseudo-class :nth-child() lets you select a specific row, all odd or even rows, or every nth row. Between the round brackets in :nth-child() you can fill in a number, odd or even, or a formula: an+b. In the formula, a represents a cycle size (every...

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The Designer Scripts API provides several functions to style elements, for example css(), hasClass() and addClass() (see "Standard Script API" on page 1283). For information regarding scripts for Dynamic Tables, see "Using scripts in Dynamic Tables" on page 909. Styling an image Just like many other elements, images can be given borders and rounded corners, and they can be rotated.

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target this image specifically, or a set of images with the same class. A style rule with the selector img (the HTML image tag) would apply to all images. Next, create the style rule; see "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747. Note that when a property isn't present in the style rule editor, it can still be used: click the Advanced button in the style rule editor; enter the property under Property, and its value under Value.

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l l The Float right button aligns the image to the right, with the text wrapped around it to the left. The No float button positions the image where it occurs in the text, as if it were a character. Text is not wrapped around it. To position an image using the menu, select the image and then select one of the options in Format > Float.

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When the position property of an element is set to absolute, the top or bottom and left or right properties can be used to position the element inside its parent with exact values (pixels (px), centimeters (cm), etc). Negative values are allowed. Note In Web sections, the position property may sometimes be useful for images inside a Div element, but generally elements should not be positioned absolutely.

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1. Click the Select Image button. 2. Click Resources, Disk or Url, depending on where the image is located. l l l Resources lists the images that are present in the Images folder on the Resources pane. Disk lists image files that reside in a folder on a hard drive that is accessible from your computer. Click the Browse button to select a folder (or an image in a folder). As an alternative it is possible to enter the path manually. The complete syntax is: file:///.

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Border In any type of template, boxes, tables and table cells, paragraphs, images and other elements can have a border. Elements have a rectangular shape, so their border has four sides. Each side of the border can have a different layout. Adding a border 1. Right-click the element and click the respective element on the shortcut menu. Alternatively, select the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638) and on the Format menu click the respective element. 2. Click the Border tab. 3.

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Rounding corners Any element in a template can have rounded corners. For boxes and images, this option is available in the Formatting dialog. For other elements, you have to create a CSS rule to set the border-radius of the element (or class of elements). Boxes, images and tables To round the corners of a box, image or table: 1. Select a Box, Image or Table element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638) and on the Format menu click the respective element.

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https://www.w3schools.com/css/css3_borders.asp. This is, for example, how you could round the corners of a paragraph: 1. Select the paragraph (see "Selecting an element" on page 638) and then select Format > Paragraph on the menu, or right-click the paragraph and select Paragraph on the shortcut menu. 2. Click the Advanced button at the bottom of the Formatting dialog. 3. Under Property, type border-radius. 4. Under Value, type the value of the corner radius in a measure (10mm, 5px, 0.

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Defining colors To define colors: 1. Select Edit > Colors on the menu. 2. Add a color. There are two ways to do this: l l Click the New button (the green plus). Select an existing color from the list and copy it using the Duplicate button . (The Filter drop-down limits the list to colors of a certain type.) Select the new color and click the Edit button . 3. In the Edit color dialog, type a name for the color (or let the Designer create a name based on the values that you select).

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If your printer can use spot colors and you want a spot color to be used in a Print context, define the color as described above, making sure to: l Match the color’s name to that of the spot color used in the printer. l Check the option Spot color. l If applicable, check the Overprint option for this spot color. Overprinting refers to the process of printing one color on top of other colors.

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Using colors in style sheets It is highly recommended to use style sheets in templates right from the start. Even more so if the communications are going to be output to different output channels, or if they consist of different sections (for example, a covering letter followed by a policy). Using CSS with templates allows a consistent look and feel to be applied.

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3. Select one of the colors in the list, or click Other to set all aspects of the text style, including text color and/or background color. Coloring backgrounds and borders Instead of using a style sheet (see above), you can color a background or border locally. This is how: 1. Select an HTML element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638). 2. On the Format menu, click the element. For a div element, click Box. The Formatting dialog opens up. 3. Click the Border or Background tab. 4.

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the output will be exactly as shown in the Designer. It is strongly advised to make sure that all used fonts are available and to always test the output before running production jobs. Note Hosting non-standard fonts on the operating system in a server environment (as opposed to importing them into the template) is not recommended. If output is produced on the server whilst running under a different account, that account might not have access to the font.

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Importing a font To import a font into a template: l Drag the appropriate font files into the Fonts folder on the Resources pane. Note Font software may have specific restrictions for copying and redistribution. Please consult the license agreement for each font vendor before using it in a template. It is your responsibility to comply with the requirements of third-party agreements. Note Vertically-oriented fonts (fonts whose typeface name begin with the at (@) character) are not supported in Connect.

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Style simulation When it can't use a separate font file for a particular font effect, Connect will mimic the bold and italic versions of that font. This is called style simulation. There are some major drawbacks to style simulation. Firstly, it is not reliable: it does not work for all fonts. Secondly, style simulation is costly in terms of performance (output is created slower) and results in bigger files.

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Remote fonts can be applied to content in a Master page, section, or Snippet. They may be used in a style sheet and they are automatically added to the Fonts drop-down on the toolbar. Note that the list of font names is based on the style sheets that are included in the active section (see "Applying a style sheet to a section" on page 755) or, when editing a Snippet, in the section that was active when the Snippet was opened.

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output is generated on a different operating system, that operating system's locale will be used. l l l Select Explicit Locale to specify a static locale which will remain static for this template, whichever server the template is used on. Use the Locale drop-down to select a specific locale. The locales comprise a language code followed by a 2letter country code (de-DE, zh-CN, fr-CA, fr-FR, etc), as defined by the international standards ISO-639-1 and ISO 3166.

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Tip Use a negative left margin to create a hanging paragraph or image. To set the spacing: 1. Right-click the element and click the respective element on the shortcut menu. Alternatively, select the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 638) and on the Format menu click the respective element. 2. Click the Spacing tab. Note All settings in the Formatting dialog are in fact CSS style rules. Click the Advanced button to manually add CSS properties (at the left) and values (at the right).

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variable data you can personalize your company's communications (including but not limited to printed matter). Before you can start personalizing the content of a template, you must open a data mapping configuration, Data Model, data file or database; see: "Loading data" on page 792. Alternatively, you could create a Data Model, without extracting data, within the Designer; see "Changing the Data Model" on page 1065. The most common ways to personalize templates are listed below.

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Conditional Print sections Entire Print sections can be included in or omitted from the output on the basis of one or more values in variable data. See "Conditional Print sections" on page 820. Dynamic images and Print section backgrounds Dynamic Images are dynamic in the sense that they are replaced by another image when a data field contains a certain value. Think of a signature image being swapped based on the sender's name, for example.

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Control Scripts When output is generated from a template, Control Scripts run before all other scripts, when a record is merged with a context. They determine how different sections of the context are handled. They can, for example, make the page numbering continue over all Print sections, split Email attachments, or omit Print sections from the output. Some knowledge of JavaScript is needed to edit Control Scripts, just as for any other self-made scripts; see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877.

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mapping configuration will try to retrieve data from the file or database, using its own Data Model and extraction logic. After opening a data mapping configuration, data file or database, the Data Model pane at the right hand bottom shows the data fields that occur in the data. The Value column displays data from the first record in the data file. Use the First, Previous, Next and Last buttons to browse through the records, or use the Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys.

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Note Generally, the best way to access data is by creating a data mapping configuration. With a data mapping configuration you can, among other things: l l l l l Use Workflow to automate the extraction of data from this kind of data file. Load transactional or structured data. If there are detail lines, transactions, or any variable number of items to put into the template, you need a data mapping configuration to extract them.

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5. Click the button Synchronize model at the top of the Data Model pane to reload the data model. Note The ExtraData field that appears as the first field in each record and in each detail table is automatically added to the Data Model by the DataMapper. It offers the possibility to add extra data to existing data records in a Workflow process. The ExtraData field can be used in a template just like any other data field (see "Variable Data" on page 805).

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2. Review the options presented, to ensure that the data will be interpreted correctly. The options available depend on the type of data file (see below). Excel (XLS/XLSX) file options l l First row contains field names: Check this option to use the first line of the Excel file as headers. This option automatically names all extracted fields. Sheet: Only one sheet can be selected as the data source. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order.

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l l Table name: Use the drop-down to select the appropriate table or stored query to retrieve the appropriate data set. Encoding: Use the drop-down to select the encoding with which to read the data in the table. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Note that sorting is always textual. Even if the selected column has numbers, it will be sorted as a text.

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The Trigger is what triggers the creation of a new record. It can be set to: l l On element: This defines a new record when a new element occurs on the selected XML level. On change: This defines a new record when a specific field under the chosen XML level has a new value. After selecting this option, you have to select the field that triggers the creation of a new record. PDF/VT file options After selecting a file, use the drop-down to select what level in the PDF/VT file defines a record in your data.

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between. (Unlike in PDF/VT files, the names of levels in AFP files can not be chosen freely.) In other words, an AFP file always consists of one document, that can contain page groups, of which each can be divided in page groups, and so on; the page groups at the lowest level contain pages. Metadata can be attached to each level in the structure. Adding data from a database 1. Click File, select Add Data and then click From database data source. Browse to the location of the file and select it.

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l Encoding: Use the drop-down to select the encoding with which to read the data in the table. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Note that sorting is always textual. Even if the selected column has numbers, it will be sorted as a text. 3. Click Finish to open the database. Microsoft Access 1. Enter the appropriate information to connect to the database: l File name: Browse to your Microsoft Access database file (.

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2. Click Next and enter the information for the source table. l l l Connection string: Displays the full path to the database. Table: Use the drop-down to select the appropriate table or stored query to retrieve the appropriate data set. Encoding: Use the drop-down to select the encoding with which to read the data in the table. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Note that sorting is always textual.

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l l l l l Database name: Enter the exact name of the database from where the data should be extracted. User name: Enter a username that has access to the server and specified database. The user only requires Read access to the database. Password: Enter the password that matches the username above. Advanced mode: check to enable the Connection String to manually enter the database connection string. Connection string: Type or copy in your connection string. 2.

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l Encoding: Use the drop-down to select the encoding with which to read the data in the table. l Sort on: Select a field on which to sort the data, in ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z-A) order. Note that sorting is always textual. Even if the selected column has numbers, it will be sorted as a text. 3. Click Finish to open the database. After adding data from a database, the Data Model pane at the right hand bottom shows the data fields that occur in the data.

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click the field, select Copy to copy the JSON data to the clipboard; then open the JSON Sample Data dialog and paste the data there. You can add the following types of JSON data: l A JSON object or an array of JSON objects representing records. The data type is derived from the data: l Any value surrounded with quotes is converted to a field of type String. l Any numeric value containing a period is converted to a field of type Float.

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The Generate Counter Wizard creates a record set with a Counter field and in that field, the current counter value for each record. The Counter starts and stops at set values and is incremented by a set value as well. 1. To open the Generate Counter Wizard, select File > Add data > Generate counters. 2. Adjust the settings: l l l l l l l Starting value: The starting number for the counter. Defaults to 1. Increment value: The value by which to increment the counter for each record.

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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 1062), a data mapping configuration, ordata from a data file or database (see "Loading data" on page 792), you can add variable data fields to the contents of your template.

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o A placeholder for the value of the data field shows up in the text. It looks as follows: @FIELDNAME@. o A script appears in the Scripts pane at the bottom left. The script replaces the placeholders in the content with the value of a data field in the current record. Switch to the Preview tab at the bottom of the workspace to see the script in operation.

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the background image of a section (see "Using a PDF file or other image as background" on page 492). Tip Drag the data field directly to the Scripts pane to create a script with a class selector, without adding a placeholder to the template. Hold the Alt key while dragging to create a script with a text selector. Note Connect versions older than 2020.2 used the placeholder text as the script's selector.

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The Text Script Wizard appears. 2. Change the name of the script to make clear what it does. Note Scripts can only have the same name when they are not in the same folder. 3. The selector states the text to be found in the template. The results can be replaced by the script. Tip Hover over the name of a script in the Scripts pane to highlight parts of the template that are affected by the script. l Text, for example: @lastname@, or {sender}.

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all paragraphs with the class 'green' or .green for all kinds of HTML elements that have the class 'green'. See "Styling and formatting" on page 745 for an explanation about CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). n An HTML element with a specific ID. In the Script Wizard, click Selector and type the ID, including the preceding #, for example: #intro. Note Each ID should be unique. An ID can be used once in each section. n l Etcetera. See https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_selectors.

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bold. This is the default setting. l l As text. This inserts the results as-is, meaning HTML tags and elements are displayed as text in the output. In this scenario, "
" shows up in the text and does not insert a line break. As the value of an attribute of an HTML element. The selector of the script should be an HTML element. Which attributes are available depends on the selected HTML element.

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Tip l l An example of how to create an address block using the Text Script Wizard is described in a how-to; see How to create an Address Block. To use only part of a data field, or to split the data, you will have to write a script. For an example, see this How-to: How to split a string into elements.

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Date Dates in variable data can be displayed as long, medium and short dates with different time displays. There are quite a few presets, but you can also enter a custom format mask. 1. Open the Text Script Wizard: double-click to open an existing script in the Scripts pane or create a new Text Script using the Text Script Wizard; see "Using the Text Script Wizard" on page 808. 2. Click a data field that contains text, or add such a data field to the script with the Add field button on the right. 3.

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l l l Short Date/Time displays the date as a short date and the time as a short time, for example 01.04.16 00:00. Medium Date/Time displays the date as a medium date and the time as a medium time, for example 01.04.2016 00:00:00 (This is also the value of the Default Date/Time.) Long Date/Time displays the date as a medium date and the time as a medium time, for example 1. April 2016 00:00:00 EDT. 4. Close the Script Wizard. For a new script, don’t forget to add the selector to the template.

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3. Under Format choose one of the following settings: l l l l l l l Custom Pattern: allows you to enter a custom format mask. For example, the pattern 000000 means that the number should count six digits; leading zeros are added to numbers shorter than six digits. For an overview of pattern symbols see "Number patterns" on page 1317 and http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/text/DecimalFormat.html. In the data mapping configuration, set the field type to Integer, Float or Currency.

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l l Select one or more elements, right-click and choose Make Conditional. Alternatively, click the black triangle on the New button on the Scripts pane at the bottom left of the window, and click Conditional Content Script. In the wizard, first make the following settings. 1. Rename the script so that it reflects what the script does. Note Scripts can only have the same name when they are not in the same folder. (See "Managing scripts" on page 884.) 2. Type a Selector.

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Note Creating a parameter rule is only possible if the template contains runtime parameters; see "Runtime parameters" on page 466. The rule(s) apply at a Group level. There may be one rule or many rules at the same level, and there may be groups within groups, providing the ability to create quite complex nested logical structures. Group A group consists of one or more rules with a logic operator. Four logic choices are available at the Group level. These are: l l l l All of the following.

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2. Select the operator. The downward pointing arrow expands the list of operators with which the data can be evaluated. The options available will depend upon the Data Field or Parameter type (they are "type aware"), but most have at least "is equal to" and "is not equal to" as an option. For the complete list of options per data type see "Conditional Content script dialog" on page 1014. 3. Enter the Value that should be used for the conditional check.

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using the Conditional Content Script wizard" on page 815, a CSS class will be applied automatically. If you have created the script yourself, or if you want a script to apply to more elements later on, you have to do this manually. 1. Double-click the conditional script in the Scripts pane to reopen it. 2. Make sure that the selector is a CSS class (for example, .male) or an HTML element with a certain CSS class (for example, p.male).

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Conditional Print sections You can include or exclude entire Print sections from the output, depending on a field’s value. This can be done using the Conditional Print Section Script Wizard, described below. Alternatively you could write a Control Script (see "Control Scripts" on page 913). Including or excluding Print sections using the Conditional Print Section Script wizard To open the Conditional Print Section Script wizard: l l Right-click the section and click Make Conditional.

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Dynamic images Dynamic images are called dynamic because they are switched, depending on the value of a data field. This way, a template can be adjusted to different customers. This page describes how to insert dynamic images using the Dynamic Image Script Wizard. Otherwise, adding dynamic images requires a self-made script (see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877, "template" on page 1436 and "ImageResource" on page 1441).

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is "localhost", it can be omitted, resulting in file:///, for example: file:///c:/resources/images/. l Online requires you to give a specific web address (for example, http://www.mysite.com/images/). 4. The Dynamic Image Script Wizard composes the file names (including the path) based on the selected location, the prefix, the value of a data field, and the suffix. The variable part of the file names is the value of the data field(s) in the Field column.

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Editing a Dynamic Image To edit dynamic images added to the template earlier, right-click the image, or the space reserved for the dynamic images. Then click Dynamic Image to open the Dynamic Image Script Wizard again. Alternatively you may double-click the respective script on the Scripts pane. Dynamic Table A Dynamic Table (previously also called a detail table) is an essential element in invoice templates. A Dynamic Table is different from a standard table in that it has a variable number of rows.

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l Detail Table: Use the drop-down to select which detail table will supply the data to display within the Dynamic Table. l Width: Enter the width of the table (e.g. 100% ). l Use the Insertion Point drop-down to select where to insert the table. l l l l l l At cursor position inserts it where the cursor is located in the template. Before element inserts it before the HTML element in which the cursor is currently located.

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l To add a field, select a data field from the drop-down next to the row's Add Field button. Or click the Add Field button itself to add an empty field. Tip Empty fields are useful for positioning cells underneath each other to make them look like columns. l l l l The Synchronize fields button refills a row with all the data fields of the detail table to which the row is associated. Drag a field up or down to change the order of the cells in the table row.

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Note Multiple rows may be associated with the same detail table. Consecutive rows linked to the same detail table are treated as a group and repeated as such. l l You can drag rows up or down to change the order in which they appear in the table. By default, a row is repeated once for each record in the detail table, but in tables with several levels and long nested tables you may want an extra repetition of a row if its sub-table runs over multiple pages.

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The header row is not visible in the Wizard, but is inserted in the body of the table (the

element) when the Wizard is closed. In the output it will be repeated as many times as the current row. It has the same data-repeat attribute (see "A Dynamic Table's data- attributes" on page 838). Note that this button is only available if the row is followed by a nested table. Note The data field names of the row with the most fields will appear in the header (the element) of the Dyamic Table.

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Table" on page 836. 6. Check the option Allow Resizing to make it possible to change the width of columns in Design mode via drag-and-drop. 7. Check the option Hide when empty to make the table invisible when there are no data to display in it. 8. Click Finish to add the table to the section. Tip Once a table has been added to a template, it isn't possible to open it in the Wizard again. However, when you add a new Dynamic Table, the Wizard will open with the last used settings.

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Sometimes you may want to add more rows to the header or footer of a Dynamic Table, for example, to add taxes and/or the total of an invoice, or to add a custom message. A header or footer row can be added to a Dynamic Table as follows. 1. In the workspace, open the Design tab. 2. If the table already has a header/footer: a. Right-click the header of the table if you want to add a header row, or the footer of the table if you want to add a footer row. b.

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Dynamic Table. Subtotals are added by using the data-sum and data-show-row attributes, normally in the header and/or footer of the table. Note that this requires the table to have the data-expander="2019" attribute. Tables created with the Dynamic Table Wizard that was introduced in version 2020.1 will get this attribute automatically. For information about a Dynamic Table's attributes see "A Dynamic Table's data- attributes" on page 838. To add subtotals to the header and/or footer: 1.

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l l On the "Attributes pane" on page 1059, from the Sum drop-down, select the data field on which the subtotal must be based. The drop-down will offer all eligible fields, including those in nested detail tables. Alternatively, e.g. to select a data field in a nested detail table, switch to Source view and manually add the data-sum attribute to the table cell (the

element). Its value should consist of the path to the data field. For example:

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Mixing text and data in one cell By default, each Dynamic Table cell that is based on a data field shows a placeholder. For example: @CompanyName@ refers to a data field named CompanyName. However, unlike other placeholders, these placeholders are not used as selector. Instead, if a cell has the data-field or data-sum attribute, the software will replace the entire contents of that cell with a value: the current value of the data field, or a running total, respectively.

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Selecting a format The format of each value can be chosen when creating a table. In an existing table you can change the formatting in two ways: l l Select the element that contains the value (i.e. a cell or a Span element) and then use the Format drop-down on the "Attributes pane" on page 1059. Open the "Source tab" on page 1082 and manually add the desired format to the cell using the data-format attribute (see "A Dynamic Table's data- attributes" on page 838).

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Styling a Dynamic Table The Insert Dynamic Table wizard lets you select a style for the table. Tables are styled via CSS: when the wizard adds a Table, the chosen theme's class is added to the

element, and, if it doesn't exist yet, the default_table_styles.css file is added to the resources of the template. This CSS file contains the CSS rules for all table themes. (See: "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747.

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Utility classes for text in a Dynamic Table In order to style text in a Dynamic Table, you could use some classes for which there are style rules in the default style sheet for Dynamic Tables (default_table_styles.css). The classes are: l .u-text-left l .u-text-center l .u-text-right l .u-text-bold l .u-text-normal l .u-text-italic These classes will be applied when you choose Use CSS utility classes as Text Alignment mode when creating a table.

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height in the respective field on the Attributes pane. All line item rows will have the same height. Adding leading and trailing space to a Dynamic Table The best way to add extra space at the top or bottom of a Dynamic Table is to set the Table's top or bottom margin, respectively (see "Styling a table" on page 768). Do not use empty lines (
) or paragraphs (

) to add trailing space to a table.

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selected (see "Selecting an element" on page 638), or directly in the template's HTML via the "Source tab" on page 1082. Tip Just like other attributes, data- attributes can be used as selector; see "Using scripts in Dynamic Tables" on page 909. The table below lists the availabe data- attributes. Tip A number of these attributes can be set in Design mode on the "Attributes pane" on page 1059 after selecting a table, row or cell (see "Selecting an element" on page 638).

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than 2020.1 don't have this attribute. Tables without this attribute are expanded using the previous expander, which doesn't support all of the attributes listed here. (See "Differences in Dynamic Tables made with previous Connect versions" on page 843). data-field data-format Table cells and other HTML elements within repeating rows:

, , etc. This attribute associates a data field with the element, e.g. data-field="InstrumentClass".

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l String: l uppercase l lowercase l propercase. Note that it is not possible to set a format on an HTMLString value. l Date: l date-short l date-medium l date-long l time-short l time-medium l time-long l datetime-short l datetime-medium l datetime-long l pattern('some pattern') (see "Date and time patterns" on page 1296). data-hidewhen-empty

Hide the table if it is empty. A table is considered empty if the detail record is empty.

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(

) Note that this attribute is not supported for rows in the header or footer of a table (, ). Example: data-repeat="products". The name of a nested detail table should include all its parent tables, starting at the root and separated with dots. Example: datarepeat="InstrumentClass.Sector.Holding". Note Empty records/data fields are skipped by default.

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This attribute can be set to the following values: l l l all: Show the row before and after a page break. after-break: Show the row after a page break. before-break: Show the row before a page break. On a row in the header (

) or footer () of the table, this attribute can also be set to the following value: l end-of-table: Only show this row on the last page. data-sum ") or query ("") to fail. (SHARED-74898) General Designer Improvements l l l l l The underline feature now creates wrappers with text-decoration:underline instead of wrappers. This prevents a preflight warning about the tag not being supported.

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Connect 2020.1 DataMapping Improvements XML data files DataMapper improvements A new option to show all nodes of XML data file has been added. It is now possible to extract information from nodes that are outside of the record and come after the last record. (SHARED73728) General DataMapper Improvements l l Improved rename option for PDF sub-fields. It is now possible to rename the field directly from DataModel view. (SHARED-73514) Boundaries "On Change" was not triggered with empty data selection.

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Connect 2020.1 Output Improvements PDF Digital Signature Improvements l l The digital signature now includes the signer, the location, the reason for signing and the time of signing (if configured to use a time stamp). (SHARED-73528) Connect used to create digital signatures twice. Once to determine the size of the entire signature (including the timestamp if enabled) in the output file, and once for including the actual signature in the output. As of 2020.

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Print Output Improvements l A retry option has been added for when the output file exists but cannot be deleted. (SHARED-74292) l Print Output presets now have all non-relevant entries set to default values. (SHARED74594) l l When a table was split across more than two pages, some table rows would be missing from the output. This issue has now been fixed.

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l PCL custom page sizes failed to select the correct size, when paper in Landscape mode. This has now been corrected. (SHARED-76634) Email Output Improvements l l l Added a new CSS inline mode for email. (SHARED-74350) Restored support for email attachment paths containing spaces (which was broken in 2019.2). (SHARED-75050) Fixed a problem with scripted email headers that was introduced in 2019.2, whereby the headers were not reset after each record.

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Workflow 2020.1 Improvements New DocuWare connectors We are continuing our focus on connectors to integrate with ECM systems, either in the cloud or on-premise. With Connect 2020.1, we are releasing a connector for uploading documents to DocuWare and another for downloading files from DocuWare.

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New Microsoft Office 365 connectors New Office 365 OneDrive and Office 365 Email input/output tasks are now available in Workflow. (SHARED-74333) OneDrive input/output processes allow retrieval from, and posting to, any OneDrive account in the organization’s Office 365 services. The Email input/output tasks allow processes to access any mailbox in the organization’s Office 365.

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New File Count option A new Input/Condition File Count task has been added. (SHARED-75389) This task checks if a folder contains a specified number of files before processing. This means a process can now be set to be executed only when all required files are available. Execute Data Mapping plugin improvements A new option to Generate error when validation cannot be performed allows Workflow to continue past a validation error when an invalid data format is detected.

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Installation of the Access Database Engine 2016 will be skipped if a later version of Access/Access Database Engine is already present on the machine. (SHARED-68863) Improved efficiency of Input tasks The following Input tasks now react to system events rather than polling for changes: l HTTP Server Input l LPD Input l NodeJS Server Input This reduces CPU usage levels, considerably. Especially in cases where the polling interval was set to 0, which means "check constantly".

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l Allow the use of JSON arrays notation when Retrieving Items by ID. For example use [189,1057,3002] to retrieve those three specific items. (SHARED-71621) l SFTP plugin can now create a folder on FTP server when outputting files. (SHARED-72503) l Legacy version 4 configuration files can now be opened in Workflow. (SHARED-73396) l l l l l SMTP Server ports were previously limited to 9999. This has been increased to allow a maximum port of 65,535. (SHARED-73458) NodeJS Server Input.

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OL Connect Send Improvements Authorization for printing The Send client can be configured with an API key for all communications with the server receiving print jobs. This enables the server to reject any print jobs that are not submitted by an authorized client. By having different API keys for each subscriber, service providers can also use these API keys as an additional identification. API keys are widely used for this purpose in industry.

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OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2019.2 License Update Required for Upgrade to Connect 2019.x From OL Connect 2019.1 onwards, only customers with a current OL Care subscription will be able to update Connect. Every Connect license will now contain an end date that represents the last day of OL Care coverage for each customer. Upgrades and updates of Connect will be freely available up until that end date, but will not be available thereafter, unless the OL Care period is extended.

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Backup before Upgrading It is recommended that you always backup your existing Connect preferences before upgrading to a new version. This will enable you to revert back to the previous version, in a worst case scenario in which the new version introduces issues with your existing production processes. Whilst the probability of such a worst case scenario is remote, it cannot hurt to take some simple precautions, just in case.

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GB of RAM and default to only using one internal Weaver and one internal merge engine on that system. The Server will also run using internal engines.

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OL Connect 2019.2 Enhancements Windows Server 2019 now officially supported As of PlanetPress Connect 2019.2, Connect is now officially supported under Windows Server 2019. (SHARED-69995) Performance Scheduling settings simplified and improved Not only have the Performance Scheduling options been greatly simplified in Connect 2019.2, but the installer now dynamically sets the values such that fresh installations should perform a whole lot better out of the box.

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We have also introduced Performance setting presets. Each preset caters for a different use case scenario. This vastly simplifies optimizing systems for the included scenarios. Out of the box, OL Connect dynamically matches the setup of the engines with the hardware it is running on, typically giving better performance after a fresh installation. Only users who have a mixed workload with parallel running tasks will need to go beyond choosing a preset.

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Saving Connect files for different versions You can now save Connect templates and Datamapper configuration files in previous Connect version formats. (SHARED-71187) Improved PDF Signing We have overhauled OL Connect’s functionality for digitally signing PDFs. Amongst other improvements, Connect now supports signing certificates on secure devices such as USB tokens, and HSM’s. This enables applying digital signatures for use cases where regulations require secure storage of the certificate.

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The PDF signing improvements include: l Support hardware security devices (USB tokens, smart cards, and Hardware Security Modules) for digitally signing a PDF. The settings for this can be found in the Preferences dialog. l Storing PDF signing passwords encrypted in output preset files. l More reliable handling of time stamp server requests and responses. l Can now add a timestamp to all types of digital signatures. l Support for invisible signatures.

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l Improved default performance, for most users, courtesy of simplified and improved performance settings, and better initial assignment of Engines by the Connect installer. Installer Improvements l l l Issues with license importations have been fixed. (SHARED-67735) The Microsoft Access Database Engine has been updated to version 2016 (ACE 16.0) as the previously used engine (2010) is scheduled for end-of-life in 2020.

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Barcode Improvements l Added support for the Royal Mail Mailmark 4-State C and Mailmark 4-State L barcodes. (SHARED-63467/69719) l Several barcode names have been changed to better match how they are referred to in industry.

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Connect 2019.2 Designer Improvements Import resources from other Connect jobs Introduced an option to import resources (such as scripts and snippets) and data models from other Connect template files. This makes sharing existing Connect resources much easier.

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Simplified use of dynamic background images A new scripting wizard has been introduced, simplifying creation of documents with dynamic background images. These images could be stored in the template, on a local folder on disk or remotely on a web server. (SHARED-67948/71096) Improved white-space behaviour Designer adds an empty paragraph to each HTML editor, to allow easy (keyboard) editing.

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Scripting Improvements l l l l l When a master page editor is active in the Designer, the Post Pagination folder in the Designer Scripts panel is now decorated with an icon and a tooltip to clarify that post pagination scripts are not active in a master page editor. (SHARED-68543) Scripts can now differentiate between master pages and sections through an attribute selector. (SHARED-69811) Matches from cross-section queries are now highlighted when the mouse is hovering over a post pagination script.

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l Pressing Ctrl+F in the script debugger now starts an "Incremental Find" operation. (SHARED-70147) l l Fixed an issue whereby custom expressions were not always refreshed when stepping through the code. (SHARED-71276) Some cosmetic improvements made in the scripts overview within script debugger. (SHARED-72034) General Designer Improvements l l l l l l To prevent issues it is no longer possible to replace absolute positioned direct child elements with inline elements in the body of Master Pages.

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l The Send to Workflow and Package dialogs will now only automatically add the latest job and output preset files when there is a template open with a print context. And only if those preset files where created or modified in the current session of the designer. (SHARED-71361) l l Saving a SASS partial file now auto compiles root level .scss files. (SHARED-72224) Modern, Roman and Script fonts are no longer available in the Designer Font ComboBox since these fonts are no longer supported.

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Connect 2019.2 DataMapping Improvements Added option to "Stop data mapping" New “Stop data mapping” option added to the Action Step to stop data processing at the specific record where the selected condition is met. As the data mapping operation then no longer needs to examine any further records, skipping those records can considerably improve performance. (SHARED-70320) General DataMapper Improvements l l Improved field selection for PDF split fields.

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l Added a toolbar button to send the currently opened DataMapper configuration to Workflow server. (SHARED-70561) l Improved Tab navigation in DataMapper workflow view. (SHARED-70738) l You can now rename DataMapper fields directly. (SHARED-70940) l Boundary Script changes now activate the 'Save' button in DataMapper. (SHARED-72471) Connect 2019.

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They can also be used as Meta Data fields, or in External Sorting. The fields can be alphanumeric, numeric, Boolean, or even dates. You will also be able to pass runtime parameters to the Connect Workflow Job Creation and All In One plugins.

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Add customized PostScript commands to Dynamic PPD PostScript output Added support for customized PostScript commands in Dynamic PPD PostScript printer output. The commands can include metadata values, so dynamic runtime information can be incorporated within the commands. (SHARED-72170) Added bin selection to PCL output Added support for bin selection in certain PCL printer definitions that support bins.

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Print Output Improvements l l When using a PDF file with a specific combination of page elements as background in the template ("use PDF from datamapper input as section background") and creating PostScript output, it was possible that some page elements could get positioned incorrectly. This has been fixed. (SHARED-68080) Fixed potential PDF/A or PDF/X compliance issue when outputting multiple channels or both variants simultaneously (as some custom OL Enhance workflows do).

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l PPML: Tray options now available for PPML print output. (SHARED-69314) l Reduced memory usage requirements for large impositioned jobs. (SHARED-71177) l l Modern, Roman and Script fonts have been removed from the additional content font combo boxes since these fonts are no longer supported. (SHARED-72464) Ensured that PDF pass through is not active when the output PDF type is not standard PDF.

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Email Output Improvements New Workflow Email plugins Several new email related Workflow plugins have been created to improve the email sending performance by simplifying the integration with Email Service Providers (ESP). See "New email plugins" on page 1610 section for further details. General Email improvements l l Improved the scripting API for email headers. Connect now supports multiple headers with the same key.

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General Output Improvements l Improved error handling when loading a template during output generation. (SHARED67730) l l TrueType "OS/2" tables in embedded fonts are now passed through as-is, and the output engine will no longer abort if it does not recognize them (for example, a newer version of the format). (SHARED-69378) Fixed a problem with simulating font style (generating styled fonts).

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Workflow 2019.2 Improvements New email plugins Several new email related Workflow plugins have been created to improve the email sending performance by simplifying integration with external Email Service Providers (ESP). The original Create Email Content renders email messages and sends these over SMTP in a single run. This limits use to the slower SMTP protocol, which becomes a bottleneck when larger batches are processed.

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With Connect 2019.2 we also introduce connectors for the Email Service Providers SendGrid and MailJet, to facilitate fast bulk processing. (SHARED-71120/71123) These new connector plugins can be used to send pre-rendered email content (created by the new Render Email Content plugin) to either SendGrid or MailJet for bulk processing. The plugins will be made available via http://help.objectiflune.com.

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These stand alone plugins will be available from http://help.objectiflune.com/en/#ppc-plugins. New PDF to Bitmap plugin A new PDF to Bitmap plugin provides functionality for converting page(s) of a PDF to either JPG or PNG image format.

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Workflow display improvements Process branches and conditions can now be collapsed and expanded to allow a better overall view. (SHARED-63520) CTRL-A now available The CTRL-A (i.e. Select All) keyboard shortcut has been implemented in all edit/memo controls in Workflow, making it easier to select the entire contents of a field.

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Passing runtime parameters to Connect plugins It is now possible to pass runtime parameters to the All In One plugin's Job Creation panel as well as to the Job Creation plugin itself.

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General Workflow Improvements l l Create Email Content now supports adding both the sender name and sender email address by expressing the email/name combination as "My Name " in the Sender Address field. (SHARED-69901) Improved error reporting, as the actual error information is now included as part of the Error process. Whenever an error occurs in a plugin in Debug mode, the error message now appears in the Debug Information panel of the UI under the error.errorlog variable.

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They can be found here. OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2019.1 License Update Required for Upgrade to Connect 2019.1 From OL Connect 2019.1 onwards, only customers with a current OL Care subscription will be able to update Connect. Every Connect license will now contain an end date that represents the last day of OL Care coverage for each customer.

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Overview This document provides an overview of the new features and enhancements in PlanetPress Connect 2019.1 and PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2, as well as some important installation information. Installing PlanetPress Connect 2021.2 and PlanetPress Workflow 2021.2 l l l PlanetPress Connect is released as a 64 Bit version only (with the exception of the Workflow, Fax, Search and Imaging modules).

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OL Connect 2019.1 Enhancements Script Debugger Connect 2019.1 introduces a new Script Debugger. This provides options to step through code (i.e. execute the code line by line) and to add breakpoints to pause execution at strategic points, as well as displaying the current state of variables, both local and global. (SHARED-66671) The Script Debugger simulates an output run for all sections in the current context, including section clones.

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These Project Wizards create building blocks to kick-start your projects as well as providing samples that explain Connect concepts and capabilities. A Project Wizard generates a pre-configured Workflow configuration and associated Connect Templates, Data Mapper configuration, Job Presets and Output Presets. The Project Wizard creates a folder containing all the resources along with a workspace folder that is ready to be modified, tested and deployed. Connect 2019.

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information can be stored in JSON, XML and PDF formats. The PDF is generated by merging the data with a Connect template. These new projects are also available from the Welcome screen.

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Improved Data Model view l Grouping/Ungrouping items PlanetPress Connect 2019.1 introduces the ability to add and modify logical Groups within the Data Model view. This enhancement doesn't impact on the database structure itself, but it does allow you to manipulate the way the data is presented within Connect . Groups are a purely logical construct and can be nested within other groups, and expanded or contracted as desired.

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l Filtering the view Data Model pane now allows filtering the displayed database items via a new Filter box. This narrows the list of displayed items to just those tables, groups or fields whose name contains the typed string.

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New Translation feature A multilingual Connect template can handle content and static text elements in more than one language. Traditionally this was done through creating a separate Template or Section for each of the language variants. A new Translation feature in Connect 2019.1 simplifies this process and introduces options to export translation strings in a standardized file format.

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Installer Improvements l l l You can now modify your installation choices, when upgrading Connect from an earlier version. (SHARED-67956) The Database Connection Check now displays a progress monitor, which is useful when attempting to connect to remote databases. (SHARED-23309) Now able to connect to a non-Connect-installed instance of MySQL with an encrypted connection using SSL for main Connect application database interactions.

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Connect 2019.1 Designer Updates Scripting Improvements l l l Regular JavaScript resources can now have Defer and Async properties set, as was already the case for remote JavaScript resources. (SHARED-67235) Scripts created by the Make Conditional option previously just used the ID and class of an element by default for the selector, but this can now be changed as desired from within the Edit Script dialog.

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Barcode Improvements l l Added support for the Japan Post barcode. (SHARED-59708 / 59711) Most barcodes except the 4 state barcodes (Australia Post, Japan Post, Kix and Royal Mail 4 State) and One Code now have an option to enable\disable Tilde Processing. (SHARED-68565) When this option is disabled, notations like "~d009" will no longer add a tab character to the barcode value. Rather the literal value "~d009" will be encoded.

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General Designer Improvements and Fixes l l l l Added ability to copy the location of snippets and images, so the locations can be pasted into scripts to simplify using those resources in scripts. (SHARED-33976) We've added filter options to the Package and Send To Worklow dialogs, to make it easier to locate the correct presets. (SHARED-68033) The Package and Send To Worklow dialogs now automatically add the last modified Output Creation and Job Creation configurations to the package.

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l l Added a Shared Content Editing option to the View menu with which you can disable/enable the editing of Shared Content in the template. (SHARED-60983) Default section clone names weren't always made unique when creating multiple clones. This could lead to lost clones, when naming conflicts arose. This issue has now been fixed.

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Connect 2019.1 DataMapping Updates Stepping Improvements In complex Data Mapping configurations, the Steps pane can contain hundreds of steps. This made the interface sluggish when the navigating from step to step. Accordingly, the interface has been modified to redraw much more quickly than it used to. Visually speaking, the dotted lines that used to connect each Step have been reworked to now use full lines that are drawn directly onto the display.

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The results are displayed next to the Find box, and one can click on the Next / Previous match buttons to immediately jump to the next/previous step within the list of matches. XML Performance Improvements The XML Viewer has been completely overhauled resulting in a much more responsive interface. It is now possible to scroll through extremely large records (i.e. thousands of elements) as easily as one would a text file. But the changes are not limited to the interface.

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result that XML data mapping operations should run significantly faster, especially for larger records. XML boundaries XML boundaries now can be split on variable element names. This solution adds the ability to specify an XPATH statement as the boundary, instead of a fixed element name. The XPATH statement supports dynamic values, allowing the boundaries to adjust dynamically to values passed by Workflow.

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Print Output Improvements l l Improved processing of Softmask graphics, to better prevent the flattening of files (which could lead to some images disappearing in printed output). (SHARED-61466) Enhanced print job summary in Server logs. A summary of print jobs will now be displayed in the Server logs when either printing to the Server from Designer, using an All-In-One plug-in from Workflow, or by submitting a request to the All-In-One Process. (SHARED-66793) l l l Improved page breaking.

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l PDF output l l Added support for e-Invoice PDF (PDF/A-3b) output. (SHARED-68209) Redesigned the Digital Signatures section of the PDF output options to use a tree display which better reflects the structure of digital signatures. (SHARED-68364) l Added support for internal hyperlinks within a PDF document. (SHARED-52674) l XMP data now output in Canonical format for PDF/VT output. (SHARED-68483) l It's now possible to control the metadata in PDF output.

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General Output Improvements l l l The PDF Preview function and PDF attachments created for Email messages now have the same producer name as standard Connect PDF output. (SHARED-56002) Improved memory footprint of the output engine. (SHARED-67225) Several improvements have been made to the output engine to ensure that output creation terminates even in exceptional circumstances. For example when handling faulty input files or in tight memory situations.

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Print Wizard and Preset Wizard Improvements Dynamic Print Control Improvements Improvements have been made to the creation of Dynamic Print Controls. l l l l When working with PPD files to dynamically drive PostScript printers, some printers have fragments called JobPatchFile in their PPD, which are required for the printer to function properly. These are now supported and automatically added to the output if the PPD includes such.

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Import multiple Presets You can now import more than one preset at a time in the Job Preset and Output Preset wizards, as well as in the Print dialog. (SHARED-66727) Improved Data Filtering Options The Data Filtering page in the Print Wizard has been totally revamped. It has been enhanced with extra features, and the user interface overhauled. The user interface is now much more consistent with other rule builders available within the Print Wizard.

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General Print Wizard Improvements l l l l The Additional Content dialog now uses the selected Designer language's decimal and thousand separators in entry boxes. (SHARED-60881) Sample size preferences for standard and booklet imposition setups are now saved to the output preset.

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Workflow 2019.1 Updates PDF/A-3 e-Invoices A number of national standards now rely on PDF/A-3 as a standard for e-Invoicing. Workflow can now add invoice information and set Conformance levels for both the German (ZUGFeRD) and French (Factur-X) PDF/A-3 outputs via the new PDF/A-3 plug-in. More e-Invoice standards will be added in future releases. (SHARED-69195) NodeJS NodeJS now accepts raw content types. It is possible to send a raw JSON, XML, HTML, CSV, CSS, JS, TXT and XHTML body.

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Capture/Send emails with SSL support You may now retrieve emails from and send emails through secure online mail servers like Office365 or GMail. Different encryption methods can be specified, with the default (TLS v1.2) working out of the box with Office365 and Gmail. The new Secure Email Input task allows capturing POP3 or IMAP emails with SSL The new Secure Email Output task support. This means Workflow can now process provides an option for sending emails with SSL support.

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General Workflow Improvements l You can now specify the color of the highlight for any task to allow color coding of tasks or sections to make them stand out better. (SHARED-61963) This enables you to define personalised color schemes. For instance Scripts could always be highlighted in red, or each Send To Folder task could have a different color, based upon its destination folder. l l Connect resources which have been used are now logged when a Connect plugin finishes.

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l l New Workflow specific configuration Preference option introduced to Connect Designer to cater for instances where the Workflow is running on a different machine with a different Windows codepage. (SHARED-69053) New option added to the Workflow preferences to determine whether the current Workflow Configuration should be automatically re-opened when the Workflow application is next started. (SHARED-65133) Known Issues As of PlanetPress Connect 2018.

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PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2018.2.1 Overview This document provides an overview of the new features and enhancements in PlanetPress Connect 2018.2.1 and PlanetPress Workflow 2018.2, as well as some important installation information. Installing PlanetPress Connect and PlanetPress Workflow l l l PlanetPress Connect is released as a 64 Bit version only, although the PlanetPress Workflow, Fax, Search and Imaging modules are 32 Bit..

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Upgrading from PlanetPress Connect 1.7 It is highly recommended that you update the Objectif Lune Update Client before upgrading PlanetPress Connect from version 1.7 to version 2018.2. If you do not update the Update Client, an unexpected error might occur whilst updating Connect. This error does not prevent the successful upgrade of Connect to 2018.2, even though it appears as if it might have.

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l l l l Backwards compatibility issues with Workflow/REST API processes that incorporate Connect DataMapper configurations connecting to databases. (SHARED-67683) External sort metadata fields were not being catered for properly in the metadata validation code in the Output Preset and Print Wizards. (SHARED-67687) Fixed a problem affecting scripted Section configurations containing different scripted values for different records. The merge engine would sometimes use previously applied scripted values.

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Connect 2018.2 Enhancements Sassy CSS PlanetPress Connect 2018.2 introduces Sass CSS preprocessor functionality to the Designer. (SHARED-64625) Sass (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets) is an extension of CSS that enables you to use things like variables, nested rules, inline imports and more. Maintenance of CSS styles for templates requiring many different style rules can become a tedious undertaking. Stylesheets files keep getting larger and more complex and thus harder to maintain.

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Commingling Commingling (creating a job from content sets that were created with different templates) has now been added to PlanetPress Connect as a standard feature, just as it is for PReS Connect. (SHARED-64963) New ERP Template Wizards ERP templates have been added to the Template Wizards. (SHARED-52963) The new wizard allows you to create seven different transactional print documents, all with a uniform style. They all include a datamodel with appropriate scripting embedded.

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In Connect 2018.2 new scripting commands have been added to dynamically set Sheet Configuration options from within a Control Script. This allows you to set the Duplex mode dynamically, or do things such as applying a different Master Pages based upon the data, or omitting empty sides from the last sheet, or single sheets. The following Control Script sample enables Duplex mode for "Section 1": let section = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections["Section 1"]; section.sheetConfig.

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REST API Improvements REST API calls that take resource IDs, whether on the URL or in a JSON payload, have been improved in two ways. 1. The existence of the resource represented by the ID is now verified. If it doesn't exist, a HTTP status code of either 403 or 404 is returned. Previously the result was undefined and varied depending upon the call made.

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One change is the introduction of an option to set the Overall Logging Level. By default the logging level is set at the midpoint of Info, but it can be set higher to include more logging (All, Trace, Debug) or lower to reduce the logging (Warning, Error). NOTE: Higher logging settings will have an impact upon Connect production speeds, as well as leading to substantially larger log files. We have also introduced Advanced Logging preferences.

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l Connect will now log a warning message in the event that there are insufficient engines currently available for a specific job, leading to the scheduler having to wait. (SHARED61642) l l The location of the logging configuration file has moved from the Users directory to ProgramData to restrict the configuration to a per-machine basis. (SHARED-64147) Should a fatal error occur in the Java Virtual Machine running Connect the logs generated are now controlled and will appear in "C:\ProgramData\Objectif

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Connect 2018.2 Designer Updates JSON support added to the Data Model Panel The Designer now allows you to add JSON sample data straight into the Data Model for debugging purposes. (SHARED-61655) This can be done via a new File menu option Or from the Data Model Panel itself, using the new JSON Sample Data button. Invoking this option launches a wizard which allows you to either select a JSON file or paste JSON data copied from a Workflow variable.

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Minimum Pages option added to Print Sections Connect 2018.2 introduces a new section property for controlling the minimum number of pages for a Print Section. This can be used to generate pages with only absolute positioned content, simplifying workflows where the number of pages are known up front and you want to draw boxes (absolute positioned divs) on specific pages. (SHARED-10236) The property can be set when the new Template is being created. Or through the Print Section properties.

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Color Output option added to Print Contexts For certain full color print jobs, it is important to be able to set black text on top of color areas to overprint. This is of particular importance for small text, because mis-registration problems are more visible with small text. To support this a new Color Output option has been added to the Print Context. (SHARED-62265) The default encoding for the color black has also changed from RGB to CMYK.

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Send To Workflow Improved The Send To Workflow option has been simplified and streamlined, and a new Package option has been added. (SHARED-60392) Paste as Plain Text option added Option added to paste content copied from an external editor as plain text. This ensures any unwanted formatting and invisible elements are removed.

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Scripting Improvements l An overview ruler has been added to the Script Editor. The ruler shows annotations concerning the entire script. These annotations are shown relative to their position in the script and do not move as the user scrolls the script source. Script errors are highlighted by a red icon, and warnings in yellow. The topmost icon will display red if any errors exist in the script at all.

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l l l Scripts in Print Context jobs can now attach arbitrary properties to content items generated by Content Creation. The properties are retained in the database, allowing the information to be utilized in Workflow for further processing along with the base record information when retrieved by the Retrieve Items action. (SHARED-65239) Introduced "width" and "height" script functions with the same behaviour as jQuery's "outerWidth" and "outerHeight".

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Business Graphics Improvements l l Color picker options added throughout the Chart Properties dialog. (SHARED-62564) The "Values (y)" table in both the Insert Graph Wizard and the Graph Script dialog can now be filtered to show only numeric fields. This will then limit the display to only Integer, Float and Currency fields in the Data Model.

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General Designer Improvements l l Download Remote Resources (CSS stylesheets, JavaScript files, JSON and HTML snippets) to your template through a new context menu in the Resources view. This allows you to keep a link to a centralized file but quickly download a copy to your template without having to separately copy and paste.(SHARED-58949) New Media now defaults to the same paper size as the current Print Section.

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l l Media Properties dialog behaviour improved. When any of the media in the Resources tree properties are changed, the "Page Setup" button gets activated and Designer prompts to save the media properties changes. (SHARED-62353) Disabled irrelevant menu items in the View menu when a Snippet editor is active.

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Connect 2018.2 DataMapping Updates Ignore Blank Lines Option added to the DataMapper Settings to ignore any blank lines in the data. (SHARED-57790) Dynamic SQL Queries Custom SQL queries now support the use of dynamic elements which can be built using JavaScript syntax. This allows an SQL query to use information passed on by Workflow to dynamically customize the query. (SHARED-34301) For instance, a custom query could contain the following code: =SELECT {automation.variables.FieldList} FROM {automation.

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Set Data Fields as Not Required Individual data model fields can now be set as required or not required. By default all data base fields are initially set to being required. This new option provides the ability to set individual fields as not required. Non-required fields are indicated in the Data Model panel by a green asterisk ('*') symbol after the field type. (SHARED-60067) Landscape PDF Input Rotated PDF pages are now fully supported in PDF input files.

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This would get converted dynamically to something like ./address[@state="California"] based on the value of JobInfo(9). General DataMapping Improvements: l Can now set default values to ExtraData fields, in the same way as other fields. (SHARED61348) l Improvements in the way engines communicate in a multithreaded environment which should see a reduction in the number of times an engine fails to register with the server.

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Connect 2018.2 Server Enhancements Engine Setup The settings for the number of Connect Server engines to launch has been removed from the "Scheduling" settings page, which controls how the engines are actually used. They have been moved into a new "Engine Setup" page that controls how many engines of each type are to be launched. This also simplifies the Scheduling preferences page. Automatic Engine Restarts To safeguard server availability restarting the Connect engines periodically is recommended.

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prevents the engines from being starved from connections to the Connect Server if the external connections are not closed fast enough. These settings are located on the new “Connections” page of the Connect Server Configuration. The “Security” preferences page for the Connect Server connection is now a sub page of this new page.

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Font handling l Additional Content Text improvements When adding text as Additional Content in Output Presets, TrueType Collections (TTC) font files were not supported. TTC fonts allow a single file to hold multiple fonts types. Since TTC fonts can be important for Asian language fonts, we have now added support for these. Previously, Additional Content text allowed selecting Bold and Italic for any font, even if the bold or italic version was not present.

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To accommodate such, we have provided an alternative font creation method which always creates CID fonts with identity encoding. This results in larger output files, but provides better compatibility with PDF viewers. When generating PDF for non-Western languages, this new option may be the recommended choice. l Asian language PDF output made smaller through improved glyph handling. (SHARED63549) l Further improvements made in handling simulated style fonts for OTF fonts.

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Email Output Improvements l l Meta information added to the Email Section Properties This allows viewpoint meta information to be added and configured in the email. This meta information will not be visible to the receiver, but can have an effect on how the email is represented in the email client. (SHARED-64761) Email Script dialog improvements The email Script dialogs have been streamlined and simplified.

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Print Output Improvements l l If a template containing linked annotations (either URL links or email links) was printed to PDF as PDF/A-1b, PDF/X4 or PDF/VT, the resulting output file was not compliant to the specified conformance level. This has been fixed. (SHARED-61714) In PDF/A-1b, PDF/X4 and PDF/VT output the document title in the PDF metadata is now derived from the template name, rather than the full path of the output file name.

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Print Wizard and Preset Wizard Improvements Size grouping The ability to group documents by their size has been extended. In addition to grouping documents, you can now also group document sets and job segments by the number of pages. And instead of just using the page count, it is also now possible to use the sheet count for the size of the documents, sets, or segments. This makes size grouping useful for jobs that might contain both simplex and duplex content.

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Tip In Output Creation, you could create an output file per job segment, and use ${segment.metadata.ItemSize} in the output file mask to automatically name these files appropriately.

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Impositioning We have made a number of improvements to Impositioning, both by improving usability and by adding new features. These changes led to a redesign of the layout of the imposition wizard page, with some options being moved and others renamed. The major improvements are as follows. Visual warning The page layout diagram now displays in red when the selected imposition options do not fit the selected sheet.

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have added a sample page setting that will be used for both the preview and the validation of the settings. This sample page now defaults to the size and orientation of the first section of a template, instead of its first media. Stack by Column Alongside the existing cut and stack impositioning order, we have introduced an imposition order that is more suited for continuous feed printing when the imposition has multiple rows.

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done properly, this causes the roll output by the printer to have the first page on the outside of the roll, allowing the roll to start with the first page. Our existing option to reverse the order of impositioning is reversing the order of the resulting imposition sheets by starting with the last side of the last sheet, and then going backwards. This effectively turns the stack up side down. It also means that, in case of duplex impositioning, all back sides become front sides and vice versa.

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Workflow 2018.2 Updates New HTTP Server Input - NodeJS An alternative HTTP server option now ships with PlanetPress Connect Workflow: NodeJS Sever Input. (SHARED-62247) The new implementation is backward-compatible with the existing HTTP Server Input (except for PlanetPress Capture requests), but also introduces several new capabilities. These include: l The ability to serve static resources from several folders. l Redirect requests to other servers using a Proxy list.

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Process Grouping Support has been added for nested Process grouping in the Workflow Configuration Components. (SHARED-65457) Groups can be added to existing groups, moved from one group to another or ungrouped within another group. In addition, multiple startup processes can now be defined. (SHARED-65454) This allows you to create startup processes that are specific to certain projects (or groups, or subgroups) and to specify the order in which the processes should run at launch time.

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l All-in-One can now accept a Job Preset configuration. The settings for this are contained in the new Job Creation tab. (SHARED-33510) Create Job Improvements l New option has been added to show only those Documents which are included in the job. (SHARED-53893) l All Content Set IDs are now stored in the metadata returned by the Create Job task.

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DataMapper Validation Option added to Execute Data Mapping to validate the records without actually extracting them. This provides an elegant option for determining potential data errors prior to actually running the job. (SHARED-57946) When running with this option, the Data Mapping task returns a summary of the data mapping job as well as a list of records that would generate an error, if any.

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l l Improved error handling when invalid JSON data is passed to a Create Content task in Workflow. (SHARED-63584) Retrieve items with Record ID list now trims white space from end of Record. (SHARED63603) l l When a Retrieve Items query returns multiple job sets, all the Job Set IDs are now stored in the Workflow Metadata at the Job level. (SHARED-64730) Improved Create Web Content task support for anchors.

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l Fixed potential security threats in HTTP Service static resources serving. (SHARED-61144) l Timeout in Connect Send Get Job Data plugin now works as expected. (SHARED-61308) l GetKeySets() command made backwards compatible. Command now retrieves all keys when parameter list is left empty or if the select all character ‘*’ is used. (SHARED-64160) Known Issues As of PlanetPress Connect 2018.1 the Known Issues have moved from the Release Notes to the Connect online Help. They can be found here.

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Print Only Version A Print Only license is available with version 2018.1 of PlanetPress Connect, which allows legacy PlanetPress Suite 7 customers on OL Care to upgrade to Connect for a minimal fee. The license allows regular printing via the Print Wizard but runs Email and Web output in demo mode. For more information, please contact your local OL Customer Care or Sales team.

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Upgrading from PlanetPress Connect 1.7 It is highly recommended that you update the Objectif Lune Update Client before upgrading PlanetPress Connect from version 1.7 to version 2018.1. If you do not update the Update Client, an unexpected error might occur whilst updating Connect. This error does not prevent the successful upgrade of Connect to 2018.1, even though it appears as if it might have.

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Connect 2018.1.6 Enhancements/Fixes Improved Weaver Engine memory usage Weaver Engine memory usage has been considerably improved. These changes have resulted in the Weaver Engines not only requiring fewer system resources but have also improved stability and reduced the need for periodic restarts. (SHARED-65330) Improved font handling l l Improved font style simulation, for when the full font family is not available.

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Connect 2018.1.4 Enhancements/Fixes PDF/A-1b compliance broken with Polish text An issue was discovered with Polish text in PDF/A-1b compliant output, whereby the output was missing "CIDSet" font descriptor entries for TrueType-based CID fonts. This error has now been fixed. (SHARED-64536/64816) Issues with text extraction from PDF output Problems were encountered in extracting non-latin and multilingual text from PDF output. These problems have now been addressed. (SHARED-64936) Connect 2018.1.

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OutOfMemory Errors in PostScript Output When creating PostScript output or using the REST API to run a custom Enhance configuration containing one or more PostScript output channels, "OutOfMemoryError: Metaspace" errors could be encountered. This was due to JavaScript source code in the PostScript printer definition being compiled too often. This issue has now been fixed. (SHARED-64350) Issue with background image URL paths Fixed issues with URL path encoding.

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on PDFs would return the exact region where the text was found, the same as for text files. However, it was subsequently found that this could cause issues with previously created templates using the function on PDF files. Consequently, this change was reverted in 2018.1.1. (SHARED-64201) Workflow - Updated GetKeySets() implementation now made backwards compatible The Workflow function to retrieve key values GetKeySets() was updated in Workflow 2018.

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This allows: l l The use of printer features that are not yet supported through the Connect user interface, such as: l switching between color and greyscale printing l selecting output bins Direct control of supported PostScript functionality, such as: l Duplex/Simplex l Print Media selection l Finishing options (e.g.

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NOTE: Case sensitivity/insensitivity has not been added as an option in this first cut of the Dynamic Print Control rules editor. This will be added in a subsequent version.

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Improved Business Graphics Business Graphics have been greatly enhanced and now display a preview of the data and graph as part of the Pie, Line and Bar chart wizards. The updated wizards simplify data selection and allows you to set and preview graph options dynamically, prior to inserting the graph object.

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Refer to the amChart documentation for more information on the numerous configuration options available. NOTE: As a consequence of changes in both the user interface and the underlying technology, Business Graphics made with a version prior to PlanetPress Connect 2018.1 may not display correctly when opened in version 2018.1. See the Business Graphics: Backwards Compatibility section on this page for full details.

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Windows Server 2016 now officially supported As of PlanetPress Connect 2018.1, Connect is now officially supported under Windows Server 2016. NOTE: The Objectif Lune Inc. Update Client application might be blocked by enhanced security settings in Windows Server 2016. To fix this, add http://updates.ca.objectiflune.com to the list of trusted web sites on that machine, or lower the internet access rules. Improved Previews The Preview now smooths text, images and line art when rasterizing a page.

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New Preferences options: l l Scheduling preferences for Merge and Weaver engines now include a preference for specifying the memory (RAM) to be used per engine. (SHARED-44547) Merge and Weaver engine scheduling preferences now include an option for scheduling an engine restart if the total amount of memory (RAM) used by the engine exceeds the specified entry. This is in addition to the time limit setting.

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l Log file settings can now be adjusted within the Designer and Server Configuration preference windows. The settings are global to all Connect applications. Settings include log file rollover options (time or size based), and the format of the log messages generated. (SHARED-60043) Installer Improvements: l l l Prerequisites now installed silently when installing Connect using silent installer. (SHARED-59286) Messaging improved for when the Connect installer cannot safely commence uninstallation.

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l l When using the REST API to execute a +PReS Enhance configuration that logged to a custom log file, the log file could not be deleted at the end of the execution. Repeating the execution of the +PReS Enhance configuration also caused unreadable NUL characters to appear in the log file and log messages were appended to it. This has been fixed and the custom log file now closes at the completion of the Enhance configuration execution. (SHARED-59656) Logging infrastructure has been updated.

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Connect 2018.1 Designer Enhancements/Fixes Updated internal browser component The browser component (Mozilla Gecko) used in the WYSIWYG editor of the Designer has been updated. This allows you to use new CSS properties like flexbox. Connect 2018.1 now uses Mozilla Gecko 38 as its HTML rendering engine. (SHARED-42286) NOTE: The update to the Mozilla Gecko engine could lead to increased output file sizes for some PCL jobs.

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You can also select whether the Print Context should be added as a PDF attachment or not, using the "Attach Print context as PDF" check-box. Rotate and Scale Background Images Section Background images can now be rotated or scaled, either via the Section Properties dialog or via a control script. (SHARED-60244/60855) Align multiple objects You can now select and align several absolute positioned objects at once with the new Align Objects context menu.

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Preflight improvements Double-clicking a script warning or error in the Preflight report will now open the offending script within a script editor. (SHARED-60273) Improved language support Disable certain CTRL + ALT + shortcuts in source editors, including source tab, HTML snippet editors and CSS editors.

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Scripting improvements: l l Option added to allow Case Sensitivity to be set on or off for any conditional string comparison scripts. (SHARED-56535) Improved support in Text Script Wizards for the custom formatting of Date, Currency, and Numeric fields. (SHARED-60261) The above example shows a custom pattern for a currency value, containing a subpattern for negative values. How the result would appear is shown in the Example field.

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l l l l Improved Email Context script selection. All the Email Context scripts are now bundled together in their own sub-menu. (SHARED-56602) Improvements made to the default data field selection logic when adding new Text Scripts. (SHARED-57286) Double clicking a script in the Script Panel with the script editor open will now prompt you to save your changes. (SHARED-47908) Any open Script Editor will now close when another template is opened.

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General Designer improvements: l l l Style rule changes can now be saved and applied instantly from within the Edit Rule dialog, via a new Apply button. (SHARED-58595) A new Send to Workflow icon has been added to Designer. It has been added as a new option in the icon toolbar and also to the File menu option. (SHARED-59322) You can now copy/paste or drag/drop images files from the file system or Images folder to the Stylesheets folder.

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l l l l l l l l l The New Email and New Print template wizards now open using the last used Template settings. Selections such as page size, page margins and the like will be retained. (SHARED-33982) Improved element insertion rules, to make context menus and dialogs more accurate. For example, the option to add Absolute elements in emails has been removed, as the email format does not support this functionality. (SHARED-60947/61117) Improved support for remote images (http-based URLs).

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Connect 2018.1 DataMapping Enhancements/Fixes Standalone DataMapper Engine The DataMapper Engine has been stripped into a separate stand-alone server. This is to make it more efficient and configurable as well as more adaptable in the future. The new DataMapper Engine options can be set via the Connect Server Configuration tool. (SHARED-59696) Improved date field support for Excel datafiles Formatting for date fields in Excel data files has been improved.

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Ignore CR/LF in Text records New option added to allow ignore end-of-line CR/LF characters in Text datafiles. This prevents empty trailing records being added to the dataset. (SHARED-62139) Create unique GUID in scripts New DataMapper Script function createGUID() added to the Boundaries and Steps scripts. This function returns a unique GUID. (SHARED-61246) New "No Data" warning A visual warning has been added to the DataMapper when an open table contains no data.

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l l It is now possible to add a CSV input file containing just a single column. (SHARED59814) Improved DataMapping performance for XML files containing large numbers of end-of-line CR/LF characters.

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Connect 2018.1 Output Enhancements/Fixes Redesigned Additional Content page in the Print Wizard The Additional Content page in the Print Wizard has been re-designed to present all the Additional Content entries in a single table, simplifying Additional Content management. (SHARED-56444) Improved Tray Mapping in Printer Wizard Media attributes can now be imported directly into the output config tray mapping from either the currently open template or from a saved template file.

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New Conditional option During Output Creation, it is now possible to determine the template section to which a sheet belongs to using the new sheet.sectionName property. This property has been made available as a conditional option in the Printer Wizard. (SHARED-61275) NOTE: The introduction of this property introduces a slight risk of compatibility issues, but only for cases where an existing custom printer definition or Enhance configuration already has a user-defined property with the exact same name.

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Print Output Improvements: l l l l Transparency support for PDF output. (SHARED-61492) Soft mask improvement in PDF. The soft mask is now set by the CTM ("Current Transformation Matrix") when the soft mask is created. (SHARED-58893) Improvements made to generic PCL output for some printers. (SHARED-60019) Booklet Impositioning for mix-plex jobs has been improved, reducing the likelihood of empty pages.

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Workflow 2018.1 Enhancements/Fixes Improved Performance The performance of the Execute Data Mapping and Retrieve Items tasks have been improved when setting the options to "Output Records to Metadata". (SHARED-56678) NOTE: The performance update to Retrieve Item is currently only implemented for Data Records. The other entity types will be added in a subsequent release. Retrieve Items by their IDs Option added to the Retrieve Items task to support retrieving items via their associated entity IDs.

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New option in Create Web Content task An option to "Do not alter HTML" was added to the Create Web Content task. When selected the task shall not add the BASE element to the HTML as it usually does, nor shall it modify the local anchors with JavaScript code. (SHARED-62521) New option in FTP Input task An option to "Search in subfolders" has been added to the FTP Input task.

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New Workflow Preferences: l l You can now set the default Workflow scripting language. This defaults to VB Script for backwards comparability. (SHARED-60000) Improved PHP like Array options are now available for the HTTP Service plug-in. (SHARED-50770) Number of email attachments now available The number of email attachments is now available to the Email Input task.

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GUID variable introduced A new %U system variable has been introduced to support full GUID values. This new variable is an addition to the pre-existing %u ( a unique 15-char string). The new %U system variable is available in the same locations that the %u system variable is, including in the context menus.

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l Options for setting the logging refresh speed have been added. (SHARED-60029) Workflow Data Repository Manager improvements: l Improved Data Repository Key Set editor. (SHARED-59137/60165) l Improved speed when writing to a Data Repository. (SHARED-51564) l l l Instead of throwing an error the lookup() function now returns NODATA when an invalid group and/or key is passed.

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l Fixed issue whereby Workflow would stop processing PostScript and PDF jobs on some Windows 10 Fall Creators Update machines. (SHARED-62516) Known Issues As of PlanetPress Connect 2018.1 the Known Issues have moved from the Release Notes to the Connect online Help. They can be found here. PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.8 Overview This document provides an overview of the new features and enhancements in PlanetPress Connect 1.8 and PlanetPress Workflow 8.

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Upgrading from PlanetPress Connect 1.1 In order to upgrade from Connect Version 1.1 to Version 1.8 via the Update Manager, it is necessary to install a newer version of the Objectif Lune Update Client. The next time you run your current Update Client it will show that there is an update available for itself. Simply click on the download button in the dialog to install the new version of the Update Client. Note that it is no problem in running the update while the Client itself is still open.

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Updating stand-alone Workflow Messenger installations If Workflow Messenger was installed stand alone with no other Workflow components installed, the Update Client will be unable to find the Messenger component and thus it will not automatically update to the Workflow 8.8 version. To get around this, download and run the Workflow 8.8 installer manually. Print Only Version A Print Only license is available with version 1.

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Connect 1.8 General Enhancements and Fixes Native support for Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files The Connect DataMapper can now handle Microsoft Excel files natively. The CSV data type has been enhanced to automatically recognize *.XLS and *.XLSX files and use them directly without any additional steps. Both the CSV Wizard and the Add Data options now allow you to pick these file types.

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Dynamically set Media Background Images Support has been added for dynamically setting the path of media backgrounds at run time (aka Virtual Stationery). This is achieved via the Control Script API. The path can be set to an image in the Images folder but also to a file on disk (the http:// and https:// protocols are not currently supported). This greatly simplifies template management in situations where a design is shared between different brands.

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Installer improvements l Improved error capture, handling and messaging. (SHARED-40209) l Significantly improved logging of Server Service installation. (SHARED-50796) Korean Language Support PlanetPress Connect 1.8 is now available in Korean, in addition to the other languages already supported. Korean is not yet available in PlanetPress Workflow, however. (SHARED-40161) Context Sensitive Help Context Sensitive Help has been added to PlanetPress Connect.

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Anchored positioned boxes losing style attributes Absolute positioned (Anchored) elements would lose some style attributes under certain circumstances. These issues would only occur when the absolute positioned element had multiple style attributes that ended with the text "top" or "left". Such as is the case with "padding-top" and "top". If both those attributes were set, then only one of the attributes would be retained. (SHARED-57361) l l Customers upgrading from 1.6.1 to 1.

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Note In the case that all engines are occupied, some changes will only take effect when the job finishes.

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Connect 1.8 Designer Enhancements and Fixes Automatically Fit Text to Container (Copy Fit) The Designer can now automatically scale text content to fit the boundaries of a box (inline or absolute positioned

). Scaling text to fit a container is a very popular feature when creating personalized post cards and the like. The option is found in the Content tab of the Box properties dialog and can be set to scale all text or a specific element in that box by entering a CSS selector.

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Toggle Comments On/Off via Shortcut Keys Toggle comments off or on in HTML, CSS and JavaScript editors via a keyboard combination. Use Ctrl + / to comment out a single line and Ctrl + Shift + / to comment out multiple lines. (SHARED-56440) Refresh View button added You can now refresh the contents of both Design and Preview views via the new Refresh button or new Refresh selection in the Menu.

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Specify Page Range for Preflight You can now optionally perform Preflights on a range of records. (SHARED-35076) Select and adjust multiple Box elements simultaneously Multiple Box elements can now be selected at the same time. Once selected you can either move or resize the selected boxes as a group. You can move them either via the mouse, or by nudging them around a single pixel at a time with the arrow keys. When nudging, the boxes will not snap to guides.

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Specify/change name of Email Attachments Ability added to overwrite the file name for email attachments through scripting. (SHARED57120) Set Template Locale Previously Connect always assigned the System Locale to new templates. A new option has been added to the preferences to allow the selection of a specific locale. This selection will then apply to all new templates thereafter. It applies to Date and Time fields plus numeric and currency data fields.

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General Designer improvements l l l l l l GS1 Datamatrix barcode now supported. (SHARED-55999) Section, Media, and Master resources can now be duplicated by copy-pasting. (SHARED-52261) Reopening a template will put the focus on the section that was active when the template was closed. (SHARED-53199) Keyboard shortcuts to increase (Ctrl + Shift + >) or decrease (Ctrl + Shift + <) text size now work as expected. (SHARED-11660) "Problem" view renamed more accurately as "Preflight Result".

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Connect 1.8 DataMapping Enhancements and Fixes Extracting Variables without using JavaScript Variables are frequently used in data mapping configurations as counters or as a way to concatenate values before extracting the final result to a data model field. Until Connect 1.8, the only way to extract those variables would be to create a Javascript-mode field and to use the appropriate API syntax (e.g. automation.jobinfo.jobinfo1, or sourceRecord.properties.MyVariable).

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"Extract all from here" feature added In TXT mode, we’ve often had the request to be able to extract everything after a specific location, regardless of the record length. This would be useful, for instance, when extracting the body of an email which is never fixed-length. Until PlanetPress Connect 1.8, the customary way of proceeding would be to use a Loop step that stores all lines in a variable and an Extract step after the loop to store that variable into a field.

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Improvements made for Transactional Style Datafiles. l l l The DataMapper and Output have both been enhanced to better cater for extremely large data records (where thousands of details might be associated with a single record). (SHARED-51691). The Designer has been updated to allow a limit to the maximum number of records to display in preview. Tooltip now displays a warning if detail table exceeds the preview limit.

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Connect 1.8 Output Enhancements and Fixes Dynamic Finishing Print Output Finishing has been improved considerably, and is now much more powerful and flexible. In Templates, you could already set finishing for documents and sections. Job Creation would allow you to specify a different kind of Finishing for your documents and Templates. This has been extended to allow Finishing settings on all levels of Job Creation: Document Sets, Job Segments and Jobs.

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The reason we call this feature dynamic finishing, is that it includes a brand new rules editor to allow you to choose when to apply a finishing setting: Page 1729

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PDF Pass-through Connect’s output creation (Weaver engine) tries to write content the best way possible, depending on the chosen output format and optimization settings. However, there are cases when this might not be desired, such as when the graphics have already been optimized for the device and you do not want the software to change them. It is now possible to instruct output creation to include PDF resources in the output file as-is.

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whether this will be an issue on your specific printer(s) or not. This issue will also be addressed in a later release. Overprint for Spot Colours Overprinting certain content on top of other content is sometimes required. (SHARED-56743) For example: l l To deal with special print applications, such as applying special (invisible) inks that are intended to go on top of coloured areas, for instance printing UV ink or applying varnish to a certain area.

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Print Output l l Mixplex support added An option has been introduced to omit empty back sides for the Single and Last sheet positions when Duplex is enabled, resulting in mixplex output. This helps in reducing costs in printing environments where page count or click-charging is applied. (SHARED46965\55459) Improved logging of output generation.

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Capture OnTheGo (COTG) Enhancements and Fixes New and improved COTG library A new jQuery plugin variant of the COTG.js library introduces events and options for COTG widgets. These concepts greatly simplify event based programming. For example: it allows your code to set a date for a date field and retrieve the geolocation automatically on the drawing of a signature. The COTG jQuery plugin is the successor of the cotg-1.x.js JavaScript library found in COTG forms based on the COTG Starter templates (v1.x).

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Workflow 8.8 Enhancements and Fixes Deleting documents from the COTG repository Many COTG customers create documents for which they don’t want to set an expiry date (or a lifespan). They therefore set an expiry date far into the future to make sure the document remains in the repository. However, once the document has been filled they would like to remove it from the repository as soon as possible so it doesn’t clutter the view of the repository.

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The Connect Server has its own File Store which it uses for transient files. This File Store is managed by the Cleanup service who takes care of removing obsolete files when those files are not marked as permanent. This greatly reduces the amount of administration required to manage the files. We figured that since there is already a File Store and REST API calls to connect to it, why not turn that into an accessible feature for customer implementations? With Connect 1.8, the Workflow 8.

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Generating all contents using JSON instead of data records A number of customer workflows involve generating new versions of documents based on the original one created by Connect. For instance, a Delivery Note might come back with adjusted quantities on certain line items. Or a web-based status page might need to get updated with additional data. However in many cases, the original data must still be left untouched (for reprints, for instance).

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Converting XML to JSON and JSON to XML XML is already one of the most popular data formats used with Connect. In many implementations, most notably web-based ones, XML is used to transfer or update information back and forth between Connect and Workflow. However, using XML means the DataMapper must be involved each time the data changes, which impacts performance, especially when all you want is to update a Status web page.

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Full Timestamp entries added to Data Repository Added full timestamps to the Repository to allow for more precise information on each key set. The DateC and DateM keys now both contain a full time stamp in the form of: YYYY-MMDDThh:mm:ss.sZ. Please consult the online Help for a full description of the Timestamp. (SHARED-52160) General Workflow fixes and enhancements l Additional Tooltips added to interface. (SHARED-54981) l Improved support for multiple IDs in Retrieve items task.

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Known Issues Issues with Microsoft Edge browser The Microsoft Edge browser fails to display web pages when the Workflow's CORS option (in the HTTP Server Input 2 section) is set to "*". This issue will be resolved in a future release.

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GoDaddy Certificates When installing Connect offline, dialogs allow installing the GoDaddy certificates. Most users should use the default settings and click Next. In some cases, however, this may not work correctly. For this reason those users should activate Place all certificates in the following store and then select the Trusted Root Certification Authorities as the target certificate store. MySQL Compatibility After installing Connect 1.8 a downgrade to a Connect version earlier than Connect 1.

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l Generic PS LEVEL2 (DSC compliant) l Generic PS LEVEL2 (DSC) External Resources in Connect There are certain limitations on how external resources can be used in Connect. For example if you want to link a file (e.g., CSS, image, JavaScript etc.) from a location on the network but you do not want to have a copy of the file saved with the template you need to do the following: 1. The resource must be located where it can be accessed by all Servers/Slaves run as users.

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The solution is to use PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 to capture spool files from printer queues. Colour Model in Stylesheets The colour model of colours defined in a stylesheet can sometimes change after editing the stylesheet. This is a known issue and will be addressed in a subsequent release.

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Print Content and Email Content in PlanetPress Workflow In PlanetPress Workflow’s Print Content and Email Content tasks, the option to Update Records from Metadata will only work for fields whose data type is set to String in the data model. Fields of other types will not be updated in the database and no error will be raised. This will be fixed in a later release.

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l Note that both PlanetPress and PlanetPress Connect Workflow come with 30 day trial licenses by default. Upgrading from PlanetPress Connect 1.1 In order to upgrade from Connect Version 1.1 to Version 1.7.1 via the Update Manager, it is necessary to install a new version of the Objectif Lune Update Client. The next time you run your current Update Client it will show that there is an update available for itself.

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Reduced Memory Version Note This is not recommended for production. It is now possible to install PlanetPress Connect on a machine with a minimum of 2 GB of RAM. The PlanetPress Connect Designer will automatically detect whether it has been installed on a machine with less than 4 GB of RAM and default to only using one internal Weaver and one internal merge engine on that system. The Server will also run using internal engines.

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Connect 1.7.1 General Enhancements and Fixes Template Reports added to Connect Generate a report in PDF format containing the most important information about your template. The report lists contexts, sections, master pages, scripts, the data model, graphic files, and any other resources used, along with their properties. This report can be added as part of your project documentation.

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Document Properties Document Properties can now be added to both Templates and DataMapper Configurations. This allows you to specify properties such as the document author, the customer name and other important references. You can also add custom key/value pairs. The respective properties can be retrieved in scripting and are thus available as content in your documents. The information is also included in the Template Report feature.

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"Enhance with Connect" option added for PDF files in Windows Explorer A Windows Explorer context menu entry "Enhance with Connect" has been added for PDF files. When a user selects this context menu entry, PlanetPress Connect Designer opens with a prefabricated template, that uses the selected PDF file as the background. (SHARED15350/47156) Support added for Remote HTML and JSON Snippets In PlanetPress Connect 1.7.1 we introduce the concept of remote snippet resources.

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Handling Nested Detail Data Simplifying the handling nested detail data has been on our agenda for some time. As part of our research into this we have looked at an approach that repeats table rows for nested detail data. This doesn’t create HTML tables in HTML tables but rather clones a base row specified for each level. Consider the following image: At this stage there is no user interface to configure this type of dynamic table but in a separate Technical article.

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Installer improvements l l The PlanetPress Connect 1.7.0 installation did not work on machines running Windows 10 build 1703 (i.e. the "Creators Update", released March 2017). This has been fixed for PlanetPress Connect 1.7.1. (SHARED-56800) The silent installation process has been enhanced, and now supports the following: l l l l l l Setting the repository. This can be configured via the "product.repository" entry in "install.properties".

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data fields. An eye icon has been added to the toolbar, and is used to toggle the visibility of the ExtraData field. In addition, you can select and group multiple fields in order to collapse them out of view (and expand them back, obviously), which is particularly useful when dealing with large data models that force you to constantly scroll up and down to bring a specific field into view. (SHARED-45370/54106) The Data Model panel has also been enhanced to allow alphabetical sorting of detail tables.

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Guideline behaviour improved Along with visible/invisible settings, Guidelines can now be locked in place or set to snap to objects, using the new Guides option in the View menu. (SHARED-47159). Warning now displayed when opening templates created in an older version When PlanetPress Connect opens an older template file it is automatically migrated to the template structure of the current version.

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These Warnings can be switched on again at any time thereafter, via the "Reset All Warning Dialogs" button in the General Preferences dialog. (SHARED-16962) Option to automatically Delete a dynamic table when the table is empty An option has been added to allow you to automatically delete a dynamic table when the data table is empty. To do so, select the entire table, and then tick the "Hide when empty" checkbox in the Attributes panel.

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Replace elements with data-insert-location when inserting HTML elements When inserting an element from an Insert dialog, Connect now checks the data-insertplaceholder attribute. The value of the attribute is then used to set the default value for the Insert Location option within the Insert dialog. If the attribute is not found, things behave as in previous versions. This ticket also introduces the Replace option for the Insert Location drop down.

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Scripting improvements l Context menu added to the Edit Script dialog. (SHARED-45381) . l l l l Find and Replace functionality has been added to Script editors. (SHARED-48424) New menu option to rename Scripts or Folders has been added to the Context Menu within the Script panel. (SHARED-48607) Support added for copy and paste of folders and scripts within the Scripts panel.

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General Designer improvements l l l l l l l Duplicate and Delete line(s) using shortcuts in the Stylesheet, JavaScript and HTML editors. Use Ctrl+D to duplicate and Ctrl+Shift+D to delete the currently selected lines. (SHARED-46928) Entering geometry values without stating a specific unit type will now automatically assign the default unit type to the entry. (SHARED-50656) When deleting an element (such as a Barcode or a Chart) on a page, a check will now be made for associated scripts.

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Capture OnTheGo (COTG) improvements l l l l l Two new form inputs have been introduced to facilitate the retrieval of the document ID and the store ID. (SHARED-53987/54054) Improvements made to updating the COTG library within existing templates. The user will now be prompted as to whether they wish to switch to the new version or not.

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Connect 1.7.1 DataMapping Enhancements and Fixes DataMapper can now fetch or update data from remote sources New in PlanetPress Connect 1.7.1 is the ability to create an XMLHTTPRequest object (aka XHR) in DataMapper scripts in order to issue REST/AJAX calls to external servers. This feature allows the datamapping process to complement the extraction process with external data, including data that could be provided by a HTTP process in Workflow.

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This yields two immediate and major benefits: l l Data Extraction is much faster since you are only extracting the records you actually want The database will not be cluttered with useless records (potentially numbering in the thousands) that you were not going to use anyway. As a consequence, the automated clean-up process will have much less work to perform when the time comes to delete obsolete entries from the database. This should result in a lighter workload and better overall performance.

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the record will still be stored in the database, with un-extracted fields being assigned whatever default value (if any) you defined for them. So if your goal is to completely prevent unwanted records from being stored in the database, you should make sure to implement your filtering conditions early in the data mapping process.

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General DataMapper Enhancements and Fixes l l l l l XML Wizard: option added to extract Attributes and to set boundaries on Attribute changes. (SHARED-42251) Improved support for UNC paths to image files. (SHARED-44316) The Extradata fields are now available in the DataMapper to more easily allow setting of field default values. The display of the Extradata fields can be toggled on or off directly from the Data Model panel. (SHARED-51426) New data.findRegExp() function added.

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This means that, apart from straightforward cases where we are grouping with or without sorting, it is also possible to create combinations where some fields do alter the sort order and others have no effect. Please note that grouping without sorting also means that any documents that have the same value for the same grouping field (i.e., customer number in the example above), but which are not consecutive in the input data, will not end up in the same group.

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Additionally, some settings on the Imposition Options page affect the way that booklets are created. These settings are now editable, so settings such as the gap between pages can now also be set for booklets.

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Additional Postal Services Barcodes added to Output Creation Barcodes for postal services are excellent candidates for adding during the Output Creation steps, rather than during Content Creation. Reasons for this include: l l l They often cannot be added during Content Creation because they depend on document size (or weight) and on a sort order that is determined during Job Creation. They need to go in a fixed position, dependent upon the envelope window, rather than document design.

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The new barcodes include: l Australia Post 4 State l KIX Code (Dutch postal service - Post.NL) l Royal Mail (UK) l Royal Mail 2D (UK) l USPS IMB (US) l USPS IMPB (US) Some of these barcodes have specific requirements in order for them to be usable. The respective postal services provide specifications and sometimes also the tools for generating the content of these barcodes. The checksums needed for Australia Post 4 State and IMPB are calculated automatically.

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Job Output Mask improvements, to simplify working with output file names We have improved the way that output file names can be specified. A new dialog box has been added to the Print Wizard, to simplify the creation of Job Output Masks. While it is still possible to directly type a file name with placeholders in the Output File Mask box, it is now also possible to use the dialog to pick the metadata fields and other variables that can be used to create dynamic file names.

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For the Output Preset to know what metadata is available, you can select a Job Preset when creating or modifying an Output Preset: In the Advanced mode of the Print Wizard this new dialog works a bit different, because the metadata can be directly edited in the same wizard instead of having to refer to a Job Preset. Tray Mapping for Multiple Templates For printing to a cutsheet printer, the Output Preset allows mapping of media defined in a template to trays and media known by the printer.

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such a way that no conflicting tray mappings can occur within a job, as Job Presets allow filtering by media type. Print Output l Improvements made to the Print Wizard These include: l Improved usability in Inserter dialog. (SHARED-38279) l Data Filtering dialog usability improved.

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Workflow 8.7 Enhancements and Fixes Custom Task descriptions The Comments section of each Workflow Task can now be used as the task's description in the Workflow Configuration tool, allowing users to better document the process without having to resort to numerous Comment Tasks. (SHARED-39120) Workflow processes can sometimes become rather complex and thus they require some documentation in order to allow subsequent users to know why they were implemented in one fashion or another.

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configuration from scratch. So make sure you only tick the box for true one-off jobs. (SHARED48956/56420) Retrieve Items task now has a JSON Output option The Retrieve Items task can now output the results of its query as a JSON string instead of storing them within the metadata. This allows easy handling of the results either through Workflow Scripting or directly in the Designer.

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General Workflow fixes and enhancements l l l l l l l l l l Improved datamapping speed when outputting records in metadata. (SHARED-38455) Improved performance when creating metadata after Content Creation. (SHARED47150) Processing a Secure PDF as passthrough through CreatePDF will retain the Security options. (SHARED-47951) The Create Email Content task now validates the format of the sender's address to prevent typos/mistakes from being saved to the configuration.

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MySQL Compatibility After installing Connect 1.7.1 a downgrade to a Connect version earlier than Connect 1.3 or to a MySQL version earlier than 5.6.25 is not seamlessly possible. This is because the database model used in Connect 1.3 and later (MySQL 5.6) is different to that used in earlier versions. If you need to switch to an older version of Connect / MySQL, it is first necessary to remove the Connect MySQL Database folder from "%ProgramData%\Connect\MySQL\data" before installing the older version.

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do not want to have a copy of the file saved with the template you need to do the following: 1. The resource must be located where it can be accessed by all Servers/Slaves run as users. Failure to do this will cause the image to appear as a Red X in the output for all documents which were merged by engines which could not access the file. The job will terminate normally and the error will be logged. 2. The file must be referenced via a UNC path e.g.

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Online Help Links Point to Introductory Page Context sensitivity for the online help is not yet enabled in Connect. All links and F1 calls point to the introductory page, where you can Search on keywords to bring up Help pages relating to the topic. Context sensitivity will be introduced in a subsequent release of Connect.

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Installing PlanetPress Connect 1.6.1 and PlanetPress Workflow 8.6 l l l PlanetPress Connect is released as a 64 Bit version only (with the exception of the Workflow, Fax, Search and Imaging modules). Full details on installing and licensing PlanetPress Connect and PlanetPress Workflow can be found in the online help in the installer. Note that both PlanetPress and PlanetPress Connect Workflow come with a 30 day trial licenses by default. Updating from PlanetPress Connect 1.

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Print Only Version A Print Only license is available with version 1.6.1 of PlanetPress Connect which allows legacy PlanetPress Suite 7 customers on OL Care to upgrade to Connect for a minimal fee. The license allows regular printing via the Print Wizard but runs Email and Web output in demo mode. For more information, please contact your local OL Customer Care or Sales team. Reduced Memory Version Note This is not recommended for production.

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OL Connect Send OL Connect Send is an application of two components. The first is a Windows printer driver and the second is a set of Workflow plug-ins. In its most basic form, OL Connect Send allows the transmission of print files over the Internet from any Windows Desktop application. OL Connect Send flavors OL Connect Send comes in three flavors. These are: l l l Free of charge: No license required; any user; any domain; no usage limits; no web interaction.

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For further information on Connect Send, please refer to the OL Connect Send website and standalone User Guide.

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Connect 1.6.1 General Enhancements and Fixes Performance improvements l Changes to the handling of transparency in PDF backgrounds has not only cured some job failures, but has also led to substantial improvements to both output speeds and filesizes. (49680) l Improved processing speed for multiple large detail table documents. (47252/48537) l Improvements made to the clean-up processes, improving overall production speed. l Some memory leaks plugged, improving overall production speed.

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Connect 1.6.1 Designer Enhancements and Fixes General Designer improvements l Interface improvements such as inclusion of icons for different types of files (js and CSS). l Provided option to configure the script timeout period. (48639) l Minor issues with non-English language translations fixed. l l l l l l Display issues that were sometimes encountered when changing section background images have been fixed.

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Connect 1.6.1 DataMapping Enhancements and Fixes l Support for Regular Expressions added to database searches. (51694) l Improved Datamapping process reliability. l Improved data record reliability when handling large jobs (those in excess of 50,000 records). l Improved PDF extraction avoids character duplication. l Improved marking of data fields in extraction steps. l l l l l New option added to support multibyte (variable length) encoded data such as Big5, GBK, UTF-8 and Shift-JIS.

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l l To improve privacy certain Meta tags that were embedded in the output email HTML have been removed. These include "email-reply-to", "email-from", "sender-name" and "sender-address". (49864) The Date field was not always included in the email header. This has been fixed and the Date field should now be present in all email headers. (48706) Print Output l l Improved processing speed for jobs involving separation that create multiple output files.

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Connect Workflow 8.6 Enhancements and Fixes General improvements l l l l l l l l A multitude of changes and enhancements made to support new OL Connect Send functionality within Workflow. Support for password protection added to "Create PDF" task. (48380) Generic Data Repository field length extended beyond previous limit of 32 characters. (47734) Added new "Create PDF Preview" task for lightning fast creation of single record PDF. (49497) Minor issues with some language translations fixed.

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l Fixed crashes encountered when large numbers of data selection calls were issued in highly threaded processes. (50569) HTTP and SMTP Server improvements l Support added for cross-origin HTTP (CORS HTTP) requests, to facilitate the development and testing of web templates. (47014) l Added option to specify SMTP port number in "Create Email Content" task. (49887) l Documentation on how to retrieve attachments from SMTP input improved. (49473) l Fixed corruption of large uploaded files.

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Known Issues Installing OL Connect Send on a machine with Connect installed. When OL Connect Send Plug-Ins are installed (either standalone or via a Workflow installation) on the same machine as Connect, an interference between OL Connect Send's internal Database and that of Connect may occur, which will block a browser popup on that same machine. This issue can be fixed by applying a startup wait to the Connect Server Service.

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1. Go to the .ini files for the Designer and Server Config: l l C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Connect Designer\Designer.ini C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Connect Server Configuration\ServerConfig.ini 2. Change the language parameter to the required one under Duser.language=en | es | de | fr | it | ja | pt | tw | zh Only one of the above language tags should be selected. Once saved, Connect will appear in the selected language at next start-up.

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To add additional printer models click on the settings entry box. button next to the Model selection Note that the descriptions of some of the printers were updated in version 1.2 meaning that if you had version 1.n installed, you may find that the same printer style appears twice in the list, but with slightly different descriptions.

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Using Capture After Installing Workflow 8 If PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 is installed alongside PlanetPress Suite Workflow 7, Capture can no longer be used within Workflow 7. The plugins are now registered uniquely to Workflow 8 and the messenger for Workflow 7 is taken offline. It is only possible to use Capture from PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 thereafter.

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Merge\Weaver Engines when Printing The print operation in the Designer will automatically detect whether the Merge\Weaver engines are available and display a message for the user to retry or cancel if not. Once the Merge\Weaver engine becomes available and the user presses retry the print operation will proceed as normal.

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l When printing via the Server from a remote Designer, the output file remains on the Server machine. This is remedied by selecting “Output Local” in the Output Creation configuration. PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 1.5 Overview This document provides an overview of the new features and enhancements in PlanetPress Connect 1.5 and PlanetPress Workflow 8.5. Installing PlanetPress Connect 1.5 and PlanetPress Workflow 8.

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Print Only Version A Print Only license is available with version 1.5 of PlanetPress Connect which allows legacy PlanetPress Suite 7 customers on OL Care to upgrade to Connect for a minimal fee. The license allows regular printing via the Print Wizard but runs Email and Web output in demo mode. For more information, please contact your local OL Customer Care or Sales team.

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Simplified creation of templates based on existing PDFs l l l Option added to allow the creation of a new print document based on an existing PDF. (SHARED-19220) Improved support for adding PDF files as Section backgrounds. Files can now be referenced from disk or imported into Template. (SHARED-42496) Added support for drag and dropping Data Fields directly onto the page as absolutely positioned textboxes.

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l l Barcode improvements made in Preview mode. Support added for resizing and dragging of absolute positioned barcode objects, as well as resizing of inline barcode objects. (SHARED-43641) Barcodes can now have transparent backgrounds. (SHARED-43659) Scripting improvements l l l l l New closest() command added to the Scripting API, to locate closest matching element above it in the Document Object Model (DOM) tree. (SHARED-41789) Script editing improved.

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l l l Colour picker support has been added to the COTG Starter Template wizards. (SHARED-33561) Improved speed/size of COTG Camera objects. Rather than embedding images in output PDFs, Connect now supports embedding data URLs in COTG templates. (SHARED38575) Documents from the Library now automatically deleted upon successful submission.

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Connect 1.5 DataMapping Enhancements and Fixes l l l l l Multiple Conditions step can now evaluate several conditions and branch out accordingly. (SHARED-14329/44435) Performance improvements made when extracting text from PDFs and spool files. (SHARED-43056) Improved default formatting when extracting Date, Float or Currency data fields. (SHARED-43415) An extra field is now appended to every Document record and to every Detail table inside that record.

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l l l l l l Use PostScript Media name values in the PostScript DSC comments, to improve subsequent searches. (SHARED-42826) Option added to allow storing of job resources on PostScript printer’s own storage medium. (SHARED-43467) OMR marks improved, with support added for Match Numbers (Match Code, MC). (SHARED-43589) A Proof preview function has been added to the Output Wizard, to display onscreen how the current print job would appear when printed. (SHARED-43885) Imposition improvement.

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Connect 1.5 General Enhancements and Fixes Installer improvements l l Improvements made to installation robustness. The installer now copes better when encountered permissions issues during installation. (SHARED-43732/43737) The Update Client has been updated to 1.1.9 and has been included in both the Connect 1.5 and Workflow 8.5 installations.

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Connect 8.5 Workflow Enhancements and Fixes l l l l l l l l l l Support for PHP-like arrays for COTG or web-based form submissions. (SHARED-41706) New Workflow system variable (%r) added to allow a process to determine which if it is currently running in service or debug mode. (SHARED-43411) Create Output and the Connect All In One tasks can now be added as Output tasks without waiting for the operation's result. (SHARED-43413) The Folder Capture task can now monitor multiple folders.

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Known Issues Installation Paths with Multi-Byte Characters When installing the Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) or Japanese versions of Connect, if the user specifies an alternative installation path containing multi-byte/wide-char characters it can break some of the links to the Connect-related shortcuts in the Start Menu and cause an error to appear at the end of the installer. The workaround for the moment is to use the default installation path. The problem will be addressed in a later release.

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model used in Connect 1.3 and later (MySQL 5.6) is different to that used in earlier versions. If you need to switch to an older version of Connect / MySQL, it is first necessary to remove the Connect MySQL Database folder from "%ProgramData%\Connect\MySQL\data" before installing the older version. PostScript Print Presets The print presets for PostScript were changed from Version 1.1 onwards meaning that some presets created in Version 1.0 or 1.0.1 may no longer work.

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1. The resource must be located where it can be accessed by all Servers/Slaves run as users. Failure to do this will cause the image to appear as a Red X in the output for all documents which were merged by engines which could not access the file. The job will terminate normally and the error will be logged. 2. The file must be referenced via a UNC path e.g., file:////w2k8r2envan/z%20images/Picture/Supported/JPG/AB004763.

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l Note that both PlanetPress and PlanetPress Connect Workflow come with 30 day trial licenses by default. Updating from PlanetPress Connect 1.1 In order to upgrade from Connect Version 1.1 to Version 1.4.n via the Update Manager it is necessary to install a new version of the Objectif Lune Update Client. The next time you run your current Update Client it will show that there is an update available for itself.

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Weaver and one internal merge engine on that system. The Server will also run using internal engines. Connect 1.4.2 Enhancements and Fixes Designer l l A blank page is no longer added to beginning of templates that use scripting to add pages from PDF files. This problem only appeared when saving to a new file from within Preview mode, or when generating output from Preview mode.

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The language can be selected during the installation of Connect or via the Language Setting options in the Preferences dialog (note that Connect needs to be restarted in order to apply the selected language). At present only the Connect user interface has been translated. Error messages and warnings will be translated for a later release.

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Welcome Screen Extended l l The Printer Definition Configs and HCF files available on the OL Connect website are now grouped by manufacturer, to simplify selection. Connect 1.4.1 also introduces Responsive Email Templates. Virtualisation l Connect is now supported on the Microsoft Hyper-V and Hyper-V/Azure environments as well as the VMWare Workstation, Server, Player and ESX infrastructure environments. Modifying Connect Installations l Connect 1.4.

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Email Context l Email context sections can be enabled or disabled based upon data value. (SHARED33656) l Email port number can now be specified as part of the host name. (SHARED-38008) l New template wizard for Slate templates by Litmus. (SHARED-36843) Print Context l l Ability added to mirror margins on back pages of Duplex jobs, via Facing Pages selection added in Sheet Configuration dialog. (SHARED-40505) Can now suppress Master Page on duplex back pages, if there are no contents.

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l l l Option to generate JSON string from data model fields to pass data record information to client side script. (SHARED-39337) CSS Class name completion suggests CSS classes based upon the current section. (SHARED-36870) CSS Style inspector allows full control over styles. (SHARED-22929) Connect 1.4.1 DataMapping Enhancements and Fixes l l l All fields can now be renamed through the Data Model view. (SHARED-40116) SQL Server data mapping can now use Windows Authentication credentials.

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Connect 8.4.1 Workflow Enhancements and Fixes l l l l l Major performance improvements when updating data records. (SHARED-38897) Stand-alone Update Data Record task allows data records to be updated in the database without having to create content. (SHARED-38867) Update Records operations performed in batches, allowing for unlimited number of records. (SHARED-38948) All-In-One task can now return the output file to the Workflow, to allow customising output destination(s).

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Only one of the above language tags should be selected. Once saved, Connect will appear in the selected language at next start-up. GoDaddy Certificates When installing Connect offline, dialogs allow installing the GoDaddy certificates. Most users should use the default settings and click Next. In some cases, however, this may not work correctly.

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For example the following printer types are actually identical: l Generic PS LEVEL2 (DSC compliant) l Generic PS LEVEL2 (DSC) External Resources in Connect There are certain limitations on how external resources can be used in Connect. For example if you want to link a file (e.g., CSS, image, JavaScript etc.) from a location on the network but you do not want to have a copy of the file saved with the template you need to do the following: 1.

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Capturing Spool Files After Installing Workflow 8 If PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 is installed alongside PlanetPress Suite Workflow 7, the PlanetPress Suite 7 option to capture spool files from printer queues will no longer function. The solution is to use PlanetPress Connect Workflow 8 to capture spool files from printer queues. Colour Model in Stylesheets The colour model of colours defined in a stylesheet can sometimes change after editing the stylesheet.

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l If the server is offline and you are not using Proof Print l On some occasions before the Print Wizard opens REST Calls for Remote Services The Server will now accept REST calls for all remote services and will make commands wait indefinitely until the required engines become available. The Server will log when it is waiting for an engine and when it becomes available. Note that there is no way to cancel any commands other than stopping the Server.

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Knowledge Base You can find extra information in Connect Knowledge Bases which complement the information contained in this manual.

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Legal Notices and Acknowledgements Warning: PlanetPress Connect is protected by copyright law and international treaties. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this program, via any means, in part or in whole, may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The license agreements for the associated open source third party components can be found in the following installation folder: C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Legal Notices This application uses the following third party components: l

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l Glassfish This application also uses the following Glassfish components which are distributed under the terms of the Eclipse Public License (EPL) v 2.

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l l l l l l l l l l l Java Advanced Imaging Image I/O Tools which is distributed under a BSD 2-clause License (BSD-2-Clause license) JavaSysMon Copyright © 2009 ThoughtWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. Java XmlHttpRequest which is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License Version (LGPL) 2.1. The source code for this can be obtained from the following location: https://github.

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l l l l l l l JBCrypt library which is distributed under the ISC License (ISC) Jersey which is distributed under the terms of the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) Version 1.1. Information on how to obtain the source code can be found at the following location: http://repo1.maven.org/maven2/org/glassfish/jersey/jersey-bom jersey-json-1.13 which is licensed under the terms of the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) Version 1.1.

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l l l l l l l Relique CSV Driver which is licensed under the terms of the Lesser General Public License (LGPL) Version 2.1. The source code can be obtained from the following location: https://sourceforge.net/p/csvjdbc/code/ci/csvjdbc-1.0.31/tree/ Rhino 1.7R4 and 1.7.7.1 which are licensed under the terms of the Mozilla Public License (MPL) Version 2.0. The source code for these can be obtained from the following location: https://developer.mozilla.

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l l zziplib which is licensed under the terms of the Mozilla Public License (MPL) Version 1.1. The source code for this can be obtained from the following location: http://sourceforge.net/projects/zziplib/files/zziplib13/ 7-Zip SFX which is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) Version 2.1. The source code for this can be obtained from the following location: https://github.

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l Apache Geronimo l Apache HttpClient l Apache HttpClient Mime l Apache HttpCore l Apache POI l Apache ServiceMix l Apache Xerces2 Java Parser l Apache XML Graphics l Apache XML Beans l ASN1bean l Barcode4j l Google Collections l Google GSON l Hibernate Validator l Jackson JSON processor l JCIP Annotations l JDBI l Jetty l Jetty Websocket API l JSON Path l JSON Sanitizer l JSON Small and Fast Parser l Liquibase l LMAX Disruptor l Minidev l Nimbus JOSE+JWT

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l PAC4J l Quartz Scheduler l Snakeyaml l SNMP4J l Spring Dynamic Modules l UCanAccess l Woodstox Eclipse Technology: This Software includes unmodified Eclipse redistributables, which are available at www.eclipse.org. The Eclipse redistributables are distributed under the terms of the Eclipse Public License - v 1.0 that can be found at https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html.

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Copyright Information Copyright © 1994-2022 Objectif Lune Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any other language or computer language in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, whether it be electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, without prior written consent of Objectif Lune Inc. Objectif Lune Inc.

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(a table cell) in the header or footer of a table Adds a running total (i.e.

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l l The data-field, data-format, data-keep-when-empty, data-script and data-sum attributes cannot be used. The data-showin attribute determines the visibility of a header row or footer row if the table gets split over multiple pages. Its possible values are header, footer and break; break may be combined with footer or header, for example: datashowin="footer, break", to make the row show up on every page.

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l On the Scripts pane, right-click Control and select New > Dynamic Background Script. 2. Select the desired section from the Section drop-down. You may also change the name of the script. 3. Select the location of the files: l l l Select Resources if the PDFs reside in the Images folder on the Resources pane. Folder on disk refers to a folder on a hard drive that is accessible from your computer. Click the Browse button to select a folder. As an alternative it is possible to enter the path manually.

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Personalized URL Personalized URLs (pURLs) are links that are tailor-made for a specific purpose, generally for individual clients. They can serve multiple purposes, for instance: l l l l Click Tracking: A unique ID in the link makes it possible to track the source of the click (for example, a link in an email campaign). User Tracking: A user-specific ID reveals who clicked the link and at what time. Landing Pages: Information in the link invokes a unique landing page with specific products or services.

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Workflow process you may use a Set Job Infos and Variables task to assign a value from that XML to a variable (see Data Selections, in Workflow's Online Help). Finally, you need another Workflow process to provide the pURL to the user, in an email, for example, or in a QR code. This process must add the necessary data to the pURL. That data should be available through the Data Model used in the template. Tip In Workflow, you may make use of the system variable %U to create unique strings.

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l l l A Workflow process is triggered by the HTTP action: MakePDF. The template that outputs the pURL is to be merged with a record that contains a data field invoice_UUID. This data field holds the information that the 'MakePDF' Workflow process needs in order to create personalized output. The template contains a span with the link text "Download Invoice": Download Invoice.

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l l Restore Defaults. This option restores the preferences to Defaults. This applies to the current Preferences page only, but not other Preferences. Apply: This option applies the settings made within the current Preferences page, but does not close the Preferences dialog. Clean-up Service preferences The Clean-up Service defines how the Connect database and the temporary files created during Connect production runs are cleaned up after the production run has finished.

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l l l Enable clean-up service: Check to enable the Clean-up services. When checked, either or both of the Database clean-up and File clean-up services can be set individually. If the box is not checked, then no Clean-up will occur. Run at application start up: Click to start the clean-up service when the Designer module is opened, or the Managing Service is started. Run according to the cron schedule: Enter the interval at which the Clean-up service runs.

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higher numbers of threads, whilst low end machines will perform better with a lower number of threads. l l Number of entities in each deletion batch: The number of entities to be deleted at a time. This is done to break the clean-up into smaller chunks. This improves PlanetPress Connect clean-up responsiveness, whilst the clean-up is occurring. The number selected here applies to all the following settings. i.e.

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the database before being set for deletion. l l Database Partition Settings: l Use Database Partitioning: Select to use Database Partitioning. l l l Minimum time to retain other entities: The minimum time any orphaned data (such as Finishing tables, Media tables, DataModels and Properties tables) are retained within the database before being set for deletion. Empty partition count: The number of empty partitions that are created each clean-up run. This defaults to 24.

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default format values for any newly created data mapping configuration. Format settings can also be defined at the data mapping configuration level ("Data mapping configurations" on page 197) and/or per field in the Data Model. Any format settings specified in an existing field are always used, regardless of the user preferences or data source settings. l Negative Sign Before: Any value in a numeric field that has a "-" sign is interpreted as a negative value.

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l l Restore Defaults. This option restores the preferences to Defaults. This applies to the current Preferences page only, but not other Preferences. Apply: This option applies the settings made within the current Preferences page, but does not close the Preferences dialog. Database Connection preferences Dialog used to change the PlanetPress Connect back-end Database. This dialog supports the swapping of the back-end database between various vendor databases.

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field could be used to try to connect to the database outside of PlanetPress Connect. This should help in determining and refining the acceptable connection options. l l Hostname: Enter the IP Address or alias of the server where database resides. Database Instance Name: Enter an existing Microsoft SQL Server's instance name. This option only applies to existing Microsoft SQL Server instances, and not for MySQL. l Port: Enter Port number. The defaults are those which the vendors use by default.

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Tip Leaving this value set to the default maximum should be the best option in most circumstances. We recommended this entry be left at the default value. l Custom database parameters table: These are extra parameters which are appended to the database connection URL. The default values are those which have been determined to be useful in connecting to specific vendor databases.

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l l l Test Connection: This will run a test on the current Database Connection settings. Restore Defaults. This option restores the preferences to Defaults. This applies to the current Preferences page only, but not other Preferences. Apply: This option applies the settings made within the current Preferences page, but does not close the Preferences dialog. Editing preferences These preferences define different editing options in the Designer module.

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CSS options A CSS preprocessor is a CSS extension language that allows you to enhance CSS with code (variables, for example) and then compile it into plain CSS. CSS Preprocessor Sass is integrated in Connect. For more information about Sass, see: https://sass-lang.com/. The CSS options relate to the way Sass (.scss) files are compiled in Connect. See also: "Using a Sass file" on page 758 in the Online Help: https://help.objectiflune.com/en/planetpressconnect-user-guide/2021.2/.

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Note l Re-compiling a .scss file overwrites any manual changes made to the .css file. l Partial .scss files cannot be compiled. l Single line comments (//...) are not added to the compiled .css file, whereas multiline comments (/* ... */) are maintained. Multi-line comments should be added within the brackets of the definition they apply to, to make sure they appear in the correct place in the compiled css. Color options Many of the colors in the user interface of Connect Designer can be adjusted.

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l Master pages: These edges are only visible on Master pages; see "Master Pages" on page 506. l l l Header and Footer Margin: This color highlights the header and footer margin set for the Master page; see "Adding a header and footer" on page 508. Objects: This color highlights all elements on the Master page. Script Result Highlighter: l Results: Hovering over a script in the Scripts pane highlights content that will be affected by the script; see "Personalizing content" on page 789.

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Email (SMTP) preferences SMTP server presets can be selected when sending emails using either the Send Email or Send Test Email dialog. (See "Send (Test) Email" on page 1021 and "Email header settings" on page 531 in the Online Help: https://help.objectiflune.com/en/planetpress-connect-userguide/2021.2/). For all presets, the password is not saved and must be re-entered when sending emails. l l The Add, Edit and Delete buttons let you create and manage the presets.

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This option is ignored when port 465 is used. l l l User: Enter the user name used to connect to the SMTP server. Restore Defaults: There are three default presets, each for working with a different Email Service Provider (ESP): Mandrilapp.com, Sendgrid and Mailgun (see "Using an ESP with PlanetPress Connect" on page 1504). Apply: Apply the new settings without closing the Preferences dialog. The Email preferences also provides you with buttons to : l l Restore Defaults.

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l l Upgrade web editors: This Emmet option doesn't affect how Emmet works in Connect Designer. Extensions Path: Choose a folder where to put json and js files to extend Emmet. This includes custom snippets, preferences and syntax profiles. For more information see http://docs.emmet.io/customization/. Emmet Abbreviation preferences This Preferences tab lets you add and manage custom abbreviations. All standard abbreviations can be found in Emmet's documentation: http://docs.emmet.io/abbreviations/syntax/.

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Emmet Output preferences The Output Preferences dialog is used to control how the expanded (output) code behaves when expanding abbreviations and snippets. There are 6 different dialogs to control output and, while they all have identical options, they control different output types: CSS, HAML, HTML, XML, XSL and the "Default" one controlling the rest of the types. These options are equivalent to Emmet's syntaxProfiles.json feature (http://docs.emmet.io/customization/syntax-profiles/).

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In the example above, ${lang} is used to refer lang variable defined in variables below. If your primary language is, for example, Russian, you can simply override lang variable with ru value and keep the original snippets. Also, you can override variable values with inline abbreviation attributes: html:5[lang=ru]. l Name: The name of the variable. This should be a single alphanumeric string with no spaces or special characters. For example, the myVar name is referred to as ${myVar}.

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This so the administrator can control what DLLs are loaded instead of allowing user created configurations triggering third party DLLs at runtime. This preferences page caters for both needs. The PKCS#11 Modules and Tokens table contains a list of Hardware devices that can be used by Connect. Hardware devices can be added, modified or deleted from the table using the following buttons: l l l Add: Add a new hardware device to the list. This launches the Add PKCS#11 Module dialog.

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locale from the drop-down Explicit Locale list. The Locale can be changed on a per template basis. See "Locale" on page 787. The Language Settings and Default Locale preferences also provides you with buttons to : l l Restore Defaults. This option restores the preferences to Defaults. This applies to the current Preferences page only, but not other Preferences. Apply: This option applies the settings made within the current Preferences page, but does not close the Preferences dialog.

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logging in conjunction with advice from OL support. l Rollover policy selection: Chose whether to retain Connect log files for a certain number of days (Daily logs) or based upon some predetermined hard disk usage limitations (Size-based logs). The selection are as follows: l Daily Logs: Use this setting to determine how many days Connect Logs are to be kept, before they are deleted. l l Size-based logs: Use this setting to restrict log file size, and to keep only a specified number of them.

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l Log message preview display: This displays a real time example of the format and content of individual log file entries, based upon the Logging pattern setting. Note The language of the log files is determined by the Language preferences. Advanced settings The Advanced settings over-ride the Overall logging settings, and provide a greater level of logging granularity.

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Print preferences Available Printers preferences The Available Printers preferences control which printer definitions are available when generating print output or creating Output Presets. Any printer that is unchecked in this dialog will not be visible in the "Model" drop-down of the Print Options dialog; see "Print options" on page 1190 and "Adding print output Models to the Print Wizard" on page 1483.

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l l l Enable: activate the Auto Backup function. Revisions to keep: Enter the maximum number of backup files. When the maximum is reached, Auto Backup will overwrite the oldest file. Destination: Select the directory in which the backups should be stored. l Original: the directory in which the original file is stored. l Other directory: use the Browse button to select another directory.

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l Number of iterations: Enter the number of times to run scripts when running the Profile Scripts dialog. The default is 1000. Accepted values are 1 to 1000000000. Yes, that's 1 billion - which would take a long time to run! The Scripting preferences also provides you with buttons to : l l Restore Defaults. This option restores the preferences to Defaults. This applies to the current Preferences page only, but not other Preferences.

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The first Connect Server instance is the default instance. This instance is used when generating print output from the Designer and when opening a PS/PCL/AFP file in the DataMapper. The default instance cannot be removed but it can be edited (except for its name). The Server module can be located on the same computer (hostname: localhost) or on a different machine.

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All required information is summarized in the table, which has buttons to the right which allow one to Add ( ), Edit ( ) or Delete ( ) individual entries. Double clicking on any entry in the table also launches the Edit dialog. The options available in the Add/Edit dialogs are as follows: l Name: Enter a unique name (case-sensitive). l URL: Enter a valid URL (including the protocol, e.g. http://, and port). l Authentication: Check to enable or disable the authentication options.

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name"> l l l No label: The label value is ignored. Insertion Point: Defines how new elements are inserted, by default: l l l l l l Use label as placeholder: The label is removed and the text is put as a placeholder, such as: At cursor position: The element is inserted where the cursor is located in the template. Before element: The element is inserted before the current element where the cursor is located.

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Writing your own scripts Personalization can be taken a lot further than just inserting names and addresses, and hiding or showing text or images. Every bit of information in your communications can be made entirely personal, using scripts. A script is a small set of instructions to the program, written in JavaScript. When Connect generates the actual output – letters, web pages or emails -, it opens a record set and merges it with the template.

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Some knowledge of JavaScript is needed to edit Control Scripts, just as for any other self-made scripts; see "Writing your own scripts" on the previous page. Some functionality is provided as a Scripting Wizard, for example Conditional Print Sections. Control Scripts don't touch the content of the sections themselves, but they change the way a template is outputted. For more information about Control Scripts and their use, see "Control Scripts" on page 913.

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Post Pagination Scripts Post Pagination Scripts are run in a Print context after the content has been paginated. Because they can search through the output of all Print sections, and modify Print sections (one at a time), they may be used to create a Table Of Contents (TOC), as explained in the topic: "Creating a Table Of Contents" on page 931. For more information see "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929. Creating a new Standard Script Writing a Standard Script starts with this procedure. 1.

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l n HTML elements with a specific CSS class (eg. green). In the Script Wizard, click Selector and type the class name in the Selector field, preceded by a dot: .green. n An HTML element with a specific ID (eg. intro). In the Script Wizard, click Selector and type the ID in the Selector field, preceded by #: #intro. In an HTML file, each ID should be unique. This means that a particular ID can be used only once in each section. n Etcetera. See https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_selectors.

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Warning When you change an expanded text script and save it, it becomes impossible to edit the script using the Script Wizard again. 2. Write the script. Click Apply from time to time to see if the script works as expected. This will be visible on the Preview tab in the main workspace. Syntax rules Every script in the Designer must follow JavaScript syntax rules. For example, each statement should end with ; and the keywords that can be used, such as var to declare a variable, are JavaScript keywords.

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The following script (with the selector p) changes the text color of all paragraphs to red with a single line of code: results.css('color', 'red') It does this for each and every customer, because it does not depend on a value from the record that is being merged to the template. Using values from the record in a script To access the record that is being merged to the template when the script runs, use the object record. Suppose you want to display negative amounts in red and positive amounts in green.

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Designer API Features like results and record do not exist in the native JavaScript library. These are additional JavaScript features, designed for use in Connect scripts only. All features designed for use in the Designer are listed in the Designer's API, with a lot of examples; see "Standard Script API" on page 1283. Tip Do you find yourself copy-pasting the same function into every new script? You can avoid this by defining your function in a Control Script.

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Managing scripts Changing the order of execution When a record set is merged with a template to generate output, all scripts are executed once for every record in the record set, in the order in which they appear in the Scripts pane at the bottom left. The order in which scripts are executed is particularly important when one script produces content that contains a selector for another script. If the other script has already been executed, it will not run again automatically.

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1. In the Scripts pane, click the black triangle on the New button. 2. Click Folder. The folder will appear in the list of scripts. 3. Change the name of the new folder: right-click the folder and click Rename. 4. Drag scripts to the folder. Tip It may be helpful to put scripts that have an effect on the same context or section in one folder, because you can set the execution scope of scripts per folder (see: "Execution scope" below).

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Note Control scripts are always executed first, regardless of where they are in the Scripts pane. They can not be excluded from execution for a specific context or section, using the execution scope of a folder; see "Execution scope" on the previous page. What you can do is disable the script or the containing folder; see "Enable/disable scripts" below. Tip For more ways to optimize scripts, see "Optimizing scripts" on page 892.

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1. On the Scripts pane, click on a script, and then click the Export button, or right-click a script and select Export. 2. Give the script a name and click OK. To import a script: l On the Scripts pane, click the Import button. Find the script and click OK Files that a script may refer to, such as images, snippets and fonts, are not exported or imported together with a script.

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Tip Hover over the name of a script in the Scripts pane to highlight parts of the template that are affected by the script. Icons on the name of scripts in the Scripts pane can show that there is a warning, information or error. If one of these icons appears, you can hover over it to see more details. l l l The information icon (i) shows that the selector of the script does not produce a result in the current section.

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Doing a Preflight In addition to the icons and messages in the Scripts pane, a preflight can show if your scripts function as expected before generating output: 1. On the menu, select Context > Preflight. 2. Select All, or enter a selection of records. You can specify individual records separated by semi-colons (;) or ranges using dashes. For example: 2,4,6-10 would print pages 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. 3. Click OK. Preflight executes the template without actually producing output.

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There are two ways to start the Script Debugger: l l Click the Debug Scripts button in the toolbar of the Scripts pane. The Script Debugger will pause and accept input as soon as it processes the first script. Right-click an enabled script in the Scripts panel and choose Debug from the contextual menu. The Script Debugger will pause and accept input as soon as it processes the selected script. If the selected script is never processed, a message will pop up.

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Query: the time it takes to find the selector in the template. Tip Looking for text is a rather lengthy operation. Use an ID or class (possibly in combination with a text) instead of a text selector to make the query faster. For more tips, see "Optimizing scripts" on the facing page. Execution: the time it takes to execute the script. If you are an experienced JavaScript coder you may be able to optimize the code to speed up the execution of the script.

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Script timeout When testing scripts, either by toggling to Preview mode or by using the Script Profiler, a script timeout is active in the Designer, so that scripts that need a very long time to run are stopped after a set time. You can adapt this timeout to your needs, as follows: 1. On the menu, select Window > Preferences. 2. Click Scripting. 3. Set a timeout in seconds (for example: 2s) and click OK. The minimum timeout is 1 second. Note The script timeout is not active when generating output.

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Targeting text Text in itself cannot have an ID or class, but the element that contains it can. The smallest possible container of text is a Span. To learn how to put text inside a Span, see "Span" on page 699. Give the Span an ID or class and use that as the script's selector. To target text in a bigger container (a paragraph, for example), change the Find method of the script to Selector and Text, use the ID or class of the container element as Selector and type the text in the Text field.

PAGE 894

What's wrong with this code is that it inserts the personalized information within the loop. The after() command runs as many times as there are records in the detail table 'products'. The script below is much more efficient: it adds the personalized content to a string called labelStr and only calls after() after the for loop. var labelElm = loadhtml('snippets/label.html'); var labelStr = ""; for( var i = 0; i < record.tables.products.length); i++) { var label = labelElm.clone(); label.

PAGE 895

var label = labelSnippet; label = label.replace('#', i); label = label.replace('@product@', record.tables.detail[i].fields ['product']); label = label.replace('@notes@', record.tables.detail[i].fields ['notes']); label = label.replace('@netweight@', record.tables.detail [i].fields['netweight']); labelStr += label; } results.after(labelStr); Tip The replace() method as used in the above example replaces only the first occurrence of the search string.

PAGE 896

This is similar to working with snippets, but in this case the element is extracted from the actual template. Example The following script replaces all of the placeholders on a postcard. It takes advantage of the JavaScript replace() command. Assuming that the ID of the block that requires personalization is promoblock, the script has to have its selector set to #promoblock. var block = results.html(); var data = record.fields; block = block.replace('@name@',data.first + ' ' + data.last); block = block.

PAGE 897

The script flow: when scripts run When Connect generates the actual output – letters, web pages or emails -, it opens a record set and merges it with the template. It takes each record, one by one, and runs all scripts for it, in a specific order, as explained below. First all Control Scripts are executed, in the order in which they appear in the Scripts pane.

PAGE 898

Selectors in Connect Selectors are patterns used to select one or more HTML elements. They were originally developed to be able to define the layout of web pages without touching their content, through Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

PAGE 899

Connect-specific classes usually are invisible in the Designer. By opening the currently selected section in your default web browser (click the Preview HTML toolbar button) and using the browser's code or source inspector you can see most of the dynamically added classes. Warning Avoid using classes with the __ol prefix in your selectors. These dynamically added class names may change in future releases of the software.

PAGE 900

l l Selector: body Script: results.html('

Hello World

'); In versions prior to 2019.2 the section selector would work on sections as well as Master Pages. As of version 2019.2 this is no longer the case. The section selector now only selects sections. Master Page selector The Designer writes the name of each Master Page to the masterpage attribute of the element. This attribute can be used in selectors.

PAGE 901

l .frontside l .backside (does not apply to simplex documents) l .contentpage l .nocontentpage The MediaBox contains the Master Page objects and section backgrounds. This means that these classes can only be used to format a Master Page and section background. They do not let you change the formatting of elements residing in the main text flow (e.g. a

element on page 3).

PAGE 902

In the MediaBox, a Print section background is an element with the ol_pdf_datamapper_ input class. Its src attribute references the PDF file that contains the image and the page parameter is used to select a specific page in that PDF (as a PDF can contain more than one page). For example: . You can use the ol_pdf_datamapper_input class as a selector to target the section background in a style rule or script.

PAGE 903

l .DESIGN l .PREVIEW l .OUTPUT .OUTPUT is used when viewing the current section on the Live tab or in an external browser, and when generating output. View selectors allow you to apply formatting to elements in a certain view, for example to highlight or show elements. The Designer itself does this, for example, to highlight all boxes in the Design view, when the Show Edges icon is clicked.

PAGE 904

Note The pattern image was created on www.patternify.com and is added as a data URI (see Data URIs). Showing hidden Foundation elements In Capture OnTheGo templates based on the Foundation framework the .DESIGN selector can be used to show elements that would otherwise be hidden in the Design view. For example, to expand accordion elements and show validation errors in Design view, you could add the following style rules to your template: .DESIGN .accordion .accordion-navigation > .

PAGE 905

l l Drag a snippet into the script window. The function that loads the script loadhtml() or loadjson(), depending on the file type - will automatically be added, including the file name. Right-click a snippet and select Copy Resource Location to copy the relative path of the snippet to the clipboard. It may then be pasted into a script. Remote snippets are retrieved in the same way, except that the file extension should be .rhtml instead of .html. If it is a remote JSON snippet, the file extension is .

PAGE 906

Loading part of a snippet, based on the value of a data field When a snippet contains a part that can be identified by a selector, that selector can be used to load that part of the snippet into a template. It is possible to do this, based on the value of the data field. This is easiest when the selector matches the value of a data field. Example The following script reads the value of the LANGUAGE field in the record and uses that value as the selector in the function loadhtml().

PAGE 907

Loading content using a server's API Content in a template is usually static (apart from being personalized) and part of the main text flow. It can also be located in a snippet (see "Snippets" on page 741). It is also possible to include content that is served by another server. Many servers provide an API to fetch publicly available content from their site. That content may even be dynamic: the most recent blog posts on a Wordpress website, for example, or the current weather forecast for a certain city.

PAGE 908

Note that interactive content, such as an interactive map, can only be used in Web templates, and cannot be output on Print or Email contexts (even though they will show up in Preview mode!). Step 3: Writing a script The final step is to write a script that retrieves the content and inserts it into the template (see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877). Use the element or the ID of the element that you added in Step 2 as the script's selector.

PAGE 909

Inserting content in the template To insert the content after the selected element, use results.after(). To replace the element with the new content, use results.html() or results.replaceWith(). Example: recent posts The following script loads five posts from Mozilla's blog and inserts their titles as links in a template. Mozilla's blog is a WordPress website.

PAGE 910

However, if the contents or style of cells or rows in a Dynamic Table need to be personalized based on the value of a field, you will need a script. This topic gives some information that will help you to write a script for (an element in) a Dynamic Table. It is assumed that you are familiar with the scripting basics; see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877.

PAGE 911

Tip To get access to the row in which the cell is located, you can use this.parent(). Note If you bind the element to a data field again (by selecting it and then selecting a field from the Field drop-down on the Attributes pane), the data-script attribute will be removed. Writing scripts for a Dynamic Table If you're going to create your own scripts for Dynamic Tables, there are a few things you need to know.

PAGE 912

If a script runs once, accessing the detail data and dynamically added rows tends to be bit complicated, especially when they are nested, since it involves looping over the results and record objects (see "results" on page 1448 and "record" on page 1321). If a script targets (something in) a row that is bound to a detail table, and runs once for each matched element, the current element is accessible via the this object (see "this" on page 1364) and the current detail record is accessible via this.record.

PAGE 913

Selector: #table_1 tbody Scope: Result set for(var i = 0; i < record.tables.detail.length; i++){ if(record.tables.detail[i].fields['Shipped'] == 1) query("tr:nth-child(" + (i+1) + ")", results).css ('color','green'); } Control Scripts When output is generated from a template, Control Scripts run before all other scripts, when a record is merged with a context. They determine how different sections of the context are handled.

PAGE 914

Scripts always go first. l Control Scripts do not touch the content - meaning, the text flow - of the sections. They don't have a selector, like the other scripts do. A selector selects parts of the content of a section and stores them in the results object, so that they can be modified in the script. As Control Scripts don't have a selector, the results object can't be used there. Similarly, the query() function, which is used to select content from within a script, is unavailable in a Control Script.

PAGE 915

In a Control Script, section usually is the most important object. To get a quick overview and lots of examples, see "section" on page 1454. For help on specific tasks, see the table below. Task See topic Field/function of section object Change the page numbering of Print sections "Control Script: Page numbering" on page 917 restartPageNumbering Set the background image of a Print section "Control Script: Setting a Print section's background" on page 922 background.source, background.

PAGE 916

Task See topic Field/function of section object Copy and add sections dynamically "Dynamically adding sections (cloning)" on page 924. clone() Add a header to an email "section" on page 1454, example: "Adding custom ESP handling instructions" on page 1505.

PAGE 917

Task See topic Field/function of section object linked Media; this is not done automatically. While the output may still look good, a size mismatch can cause an issue if a script or another component assumes that the media size matches the section size. In case of a size mismatch a preflight will show a warning (see "Doing a Preflight" on page 889). Control Script: Page numbering This topic explains how to write a Control Script that changes the page numbering in Print sections.

PAGE 918

By default, each section has restartPageNumber = false when the first control script runs. Tip If you are looking to create a short, simple table of contents in one section, you could add a Standard Script that uses the pageRef() function. For an example, see "pageRef ()" on page 1392. For a multi-page, cross-section table of contents you must use a Post Pagination Script; see "Creating a Table Of Contents" on page 931.

PAGE 919

Disabled section When a section is disabled, it will not be outputted, but its restartPageNumber flag will still be taken into account for composing the page number sequences. So, if the restartPageNumber flags are set as follows: 1. Section A (1 page) restartPageNumber = true 2. Section B (2 pages) restartPageNumber = false 3. Section C (3 pages) restartPageNumber = true, enabled = false 4. Section D (4 pages) restartPageNumber = false In code: if (merge.context.type == ContextType.PRINT) { merge.context.

PAGE 920

Defining parts Defining parts is done by setting the part field on a section, for example: merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 2'].part = "PDF_Attachment2";. (Also see "section" on page 1454 and "Control Script API" on page 1405.) l l If a part name is given, then that delimits the start of a new part (even if the part name is the same as the previous one). Following sections that don't define a part name, will be added to the previous part.

PAGE 921

Note For Web sections, a part always consists of only the given section. Web pages cannot be appended to form a single part. It is however possible to attach multiple Web pages to one email; see the following example. Controlling multiple Email attachments The following script attaches the following sections to an email: l Print section 3 + 4 as attachment with continued page numbers l Print section 6 as separate attachment l Web sections A and B as separate attachments if (channel == Channel.

PAGE 922

Control Script: Setting a Print section's background In the Print context, an image file can be used as a Print section's background; see "Using a PDF file or other image as background" on page 492. If you want the section background to be switched automatically, depending on the value of a data field, you need a Control Script. There is a Script Wizard that can generate that script for you, provided that certain conditions are met; see: "Dynamic Print section backgrounds" on page 844.

PAGE 923

Note An image with an unknown file extension is represented by a red cross in the output, but no error is logged unless the image refers to a local file that does not exist on disk. Image file extensions that the software recognizes are: AFP, BMP, EPS, GIF, JPG/JPEG, PCL, PDF, PNG, PS, SVG, and TIF/TIFF. Positioning, scaling and rotating the background After a background has been selected, it can be positioned, scaled and rotated, using properties of the background object; see "background" on page 1426.

PAGE 924

Tip You could use the resource() function to check the number of pages or for example the page height and width before setting it as a background (see "resource()" on page 1415). Example This scripts sets a background on a Print section using absolute positioning. var activeSection = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 1']; activeSection.background.source = BackgroundResource.RESOURCE_PDF; activeSection.background.url = "images/somepage.pdf"; activeSection.background.position = MediaPosition.

PAGE 925

Cloning a section To clone a section, first use the clone() function and then add the clone to the Print context before or after a specific section, using addAfter() or addBefore(): var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; var clone = printSections["Section 1"].clone(); printSections["Section 1"].

PAGE 926

page 805 and "Writing your own scripts" on page 877). The selector to use is: [section="name of the clone"]. The following CSS style rules target the

element in a number of clones and assign the respective text a different color: [section="my_section_clone_0"] h1 { color: red; } [section="my_section_clone_1"] h1 { color: green; } [section="my_section_clone_2"] h1 { color: blue; } The same selector could be used in personalization scripts: Selector: [section="my_section_clone_0"] h1 Script: results.

PAGE 927

Cloning a section based on data and assigning a background PDF This script clones a section based on data fields. It disables the source section first and then calls the addPolicy function. addPolicy clones the section, renames it and sets a PDF from the resources as its background. It explicitly enables the clone and then adds it to the Print context. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections["Policy"].enabled = false; if(record.fields.

PAGE 928

Next, the script can split the attachments, if needed (see "Parts: splitting and renaming email attachments" on page 919), and it can set a password on each section. For example: l merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 2'].password = 'secret'; l merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 2'].ownerPassword = 'secret'; When producing a single attachment, the password(s) should be set on the first Print section.

PAGE 929

var printSections; if (channel == Channel.EMAIL) { // only when generating Email output if (merge.context.type == ContextType.PRINT) { printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; printSections['Section 1'].part = 'PDFAttach1'; printSections['Section 2'].part = 'PDFAttach2' printSections['Section 2'].password = 'secret'; } } Post Pagination Scripts Post Pagination Scripts are run in a Print context after the content has been paginated.

PAGE 930

Just like Standard Scripts, Post Pagination Scripts have a selector (see: "Selectors in Connect" on page 898). A selector selects parts of the content of a section and stores them in the results object, so that they can be modified in the script (see "results" on page 1448). The second most important object in a Post Pagination Script, just like in a Control Script, is a section (see "section" on page 1454).

PAGE 931

3. Change the name of the script so that it reflects what the script does. Note Scripts can only have the same name when they are not in the same folder. 4. Write the script. If you are not familiar with scripting, see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877. Note Post Pagination Scripts run only when a Print section is previewed or outputted. To verify the results of Post Pagination Scripts on a certain Master Page, preview the Print section to which that Master Page is applied.

PAGE 932

Step 2: Creating a placeholder for the TOC Create one extra Print section to put the Table Of Contents in. Inside the extra section, insert an Article element (see "Inserting an element" on page 637). Give the element an ID, for example: toc-content. This element is the placeholder for the TOC. Step 3: Inserting the Post Pagination script Insert a Post Pagination script (see "Adding a Post Pagination Script" on page 930). Double-click on the new script to open it.

PAGE 933

What the script does First the script creates a variable to hold the table of contents: toc. Then it collects all

and

elements - in other words, level 1 and 2 headings. The merge.context.query(selector) function searches across all Print sections (see "query (selector)" on page 1446). The query returns a result set. Each of the elements in the result set goes through the callback function defined in each() (see "each()" on page 1285).

PAGE 934

Note Whether page numbering restarts in each section, depends on the settings for page numbering; see "Configuring page numbers" on page 502. By default, page numbering starts with page 1 for each section. If the pagination process has changed the page numbers, the TOC needs to be updated as well. To do that, the script first has to collect the page numbers from the table of contents. This is where the number class comes in handy: var $numbers = query('.number');.

PAGE 935

1. Add the following variable: var linknumber = 1;. This variable is used to generate unique IDs for elements that don't have an ID. 2. Before the first line that starts with 'toc ', add the following: var anchorId = ''; if (this.attr("id")) { anchorId = this.attr("id"); } else { anchorId = 'generatedID-' + linknumber; linknumber++; this.attr("id", anchorId); } This code takes the element's ID. If an element doesn't have an ID, the script generates a new, unique ID for it. 3.

PAGE 936

p.toc-entry .dots { flex-shrink: 1; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: clip; } p.toc-entry .dots::after { font-weight: normal; content: ". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "; } p.toc-entry .number { flex-shrink: 1; text-align: right; font-weight: bold; } These styles make use of the CSS Flexbox Layout Module.

PAGE 937

l l The .pot file is exported from the "Translations pane" on page 1079 in the Designer. The file contains a list of texts in the base language. In OL Connect this is the language in which the template was originally written. (A template's language can be set via the "Locale Settings" on page 984 dialog.) A .po file holds translated texts for one language. Each .po file has an entry by which OL Connect recognizes the target language. (See: "Exporting and importing translation files" on page 943.

PAGE 938

6. Set the template's Locale, or select the field that contains a Locale value, in order to get output in the correct language. See "Changing the locale" on page 787. Translating snippets "Snippets" on page 741 get translated when they are inserted in the output, if the text is tagged for translation (see "Tagging text in snippets" on page 940). Translating content that is inserted by a script Personalization scripts may add content to the output.

PAGE 939

If there was no translation entry with the same text already, the text of the tagged element is copied to a new translation entry on the Translations pane. One translation entry works for all HTML elements that are tagged for translation and have exactly the same text. Note Remember, only text in HTML elements that are tagged for translation get translated in the output. Changing the text in a tagged element will break the relationship with the translation entry.

PAGE 940

The description is added to the attribute of the HTML element in which the source text is located, as its value, for example: . Note that a translation will only be applied if the value of the attribute of the respective HTML element is exactly the same as the given Context (case-sensitive). Tagging text in snippets If the text that you want to tag for translation is located in a snippet, do not tag it in the section where the snippet is used.

PAGE 941

To add a comment, simply double-click the entry in the Translations pane and enter your comment in the Comments field. Comments will be added to the POT file and are visible to translators in their translation tools. HTML tags in translation entries A translation entry may contain HTML tags, for example when part of the text is styled or when there is a hyperlink in the text. HTML tags must not be translated or removed. Normally, translators will recognize a simple bold or italic tag (... or ...

PAGE 942

Adding plurals Entering plurals, or text with plurals, is a natural part of the translation process of a template. This process starts by creating translation entries as described in the following topic: "Translating templates" on page 936. Note that it isn't required to translate the template effectively. You may also create a translation file for the original language of a template and use it just for pluralization by entering plurals only. To enable pluralization on a translation entry: 1.

PAGE 943

Exporting and importing translation files In the process of the translation of a template, two types of translation files are involved: Portable Object (.po) files and a Portable Object Template (.pot) file. These are standardized file types following the gettext format. This topic explains how to export the .pot file and how to import a .po file. Tip Translation tools are capable of combining .pot files. Combining .pot files may also result in .

PAGE 944

Alternatively, right-click the Translations folder in the Resources pane and select New Translation > PO files... Editing an imported .po file When you double-click a .po file in the Translations folder it will be opened in the text editor of the Designer, where you can read and edit it. If you are working with a translator or translating agency, remember to send them a copy of the modified .po file to keep the .po files in sync. Updating an imported .po file OL Connect Designer monitors the .

PAGE 945

l "Menus" on page 1047 l "Toolbars" on page 1083 l "Resources pane" on page 1069 l "Outline pane" on page 1068 l "Attributes pane" on page 1059 l "Styles pane" on page 1079 l "Translations pane" on page 1079 l Parameters pane (see "Runtime parameters" on page 466) l "Workspace" on page 1080 (Source, Design and Preview tabs) l "Data Model pane" on page 1062 l "Scripts pane" on page 1075 l "Preflight Results and Messages" on page 1066 Page 945

PAGE 946

Dialogs Dialogs can allow you to perform a command or make settings. They can also ask you a question or provide you with information or progress feedback. Here is a list of all dialogs: Attachments dialog The Attachments dialog lets you add and remove static Email attachments. For more information about email attachments, see: "Email attachments" on page 538. l l l Add: Click this button to open the Select File dialog (see below). Delete: Deletes the file from the list of attachments.

PAGE 947

Note Certain characters are invalid in a URL (for example, '$', '%', and '&') and must be percent-encoded. The same applies to a file path, since that actually is a URL that starts with the file protocol. Note that even a space character is invalid in a URL. Spaces in a URL are supported for backward compatibility, but it is recommended to percent-encode a space character as %20. The option Save with template is available when choosing an image from disk or by URL.

PAGE 948

l General Group: l l l l Rotate: Check to rotate the chart 90 degrees so that the bars are horizontal starting from the left. (Equivalent to the rotate property; see: rotate.) Stack Series: Check to stack the values in one bar, instead of having one bar per value. (Equivalent to the stackType property of the ValueAxis ; see: stackType.) Text Group: Determines how text is displayed in labels and legends.

PAGE 949

Value Axis tab Settings on the Value Axis tab are equivalent to properties of the ValueAxis class in the amCharts library; see: ValueAxis. l Title group: l l l l l Label: Enter a label for the value axis (the Y axis, or the X axis if the graph is rotated). (Equivalent to the title property; see: title.) Bold: Check this option if the title should be bold. (Equivalent to the titleBold property; see: titleBold.) Color: The default label color is black.

PAGE 950

property; see: tickLength.) l Axis group: l l l l Color: Select a color for the value axis: click the colored square to open the Color Picker dialog ("Color Picker" on page 960), or enter a valid hexademical color (HTML Hex Color) or a predefined CSS color (CSS color names). (Equivalent to the axisColor property; see: axisColor.) Opacity: Enter the opacity in percentage for the axis. 100 is fully opaque, 0 is transparent. Set opacity to 0 to hide the axis.

PAGE 951

property; see: title.) l l l l Bold: Check if you want the title to be bold. (Equivalent to the titleBold property; see: titleBold.) Color: Select a custom color for the label (default is black): click the colored square to open the Color Picker dialog ("Color Picker" on page 960), or enter a valid hexademical color (HTML Hex Color) or a predefined CSS color (CSS color names). (Equivalent to the titleColor property; see: titleColor.) Font Size: Enter a font size for the title.

PAGE 952

Tip The position of the ticks (which is Middle by default) does not move with the grid. To change the tick position, add the following to the categoryAxis section on the Source tab: "tickPosition": "start" . l Tick Length: Length of the tick marks. (Equivalent to the tickLength property; see: tickLength.) Tip By default, one label per grid line will appear on the Category axis.

PAGE 953

property; see: axisThickness.) l Auto Wrap: Specifies if axis labels (when horizontal) should be wrapped if they don't fit in the allocated space. (Equivalent to the autoWrap property; see: autoWrap.) Graphs tab Most settings on the Graphs tab correspond to properties of the AmGraph class in the amCharts library; see: AmGraph. l Labels: l l l l l l Text: Text of the data labels. You can use tags like [[value]], [[description]], [[percents]], or[[category]].

PAGE 954

l l Width: Specify a bar width between 0 and 1. (This is a relative width, not pixel width). (Equivalent to the columnWidth property; see: columnWidth.) Spacing: The gap in pixels between two columns of the same category. (Equivalent to the columnSpacing property of the AmSerialChart class; see: columnSpacing.) Legend tab Settings on the Legend tab correspond to properties of the AmLegend class in the amCharts library; see: AmLegend. l Show Legend: Specifies if legend is enabled or not.

PAGE 955

property; see: verticalGap.) l l Labels Group: Defines if and how labels are shown in the Legend. l l Max Columns: Enter a numerical value to define the maximum number of columns in the legend. If the Legend's position is set to "right" or "left", this is automatically set to 1. (Equivalent to the maxColumns property; see: maxColumns.) Text: Enter the text used to display the labels; [[title]] is a variable that will be replaced with the title of the graph.

PAGE 956

l Border Opacity: Enter a numerical value between 0 and 100 to define the opacity (in percentage) of the border. (Equivalent to the markerBorderAlpha property; see: markerBorderAlpha. When specified on the Source tab, the value should be between 0 and 1, e.g. 0.8.) Source tab The JSON on the Source tab reflects the choices made in the other tabs and, more importantly, provides the possibility to add in any amCharts configuration option that is unavailable via the other tab menus.

PAGE 957

Box tab l General group: l l l l l l l Height: Set the height of the box in measure or percentage. When no unit is entered, the default unit will be added to the value (see "Print preferences" on page 870). Equivalent to the CSS height property. Angle: Set the rotation angle of the box in clockwise degrees. Equivalent to the CSS transform:rotate property. Corner radius: Set the radius of rounded border corners in measure or percentage. Equivalent to the CSS border-radius property.

PAGE 958

l l l l X-offset (Print Context): Sets the vertical offset between this box and the current page's left edge. This only works for Positioned boxes. Bottom: Set the vertical offset between this box and its parent's bottom position. Note that you can't set the Height and Top (or Y-offset) and Bottom of a Box. Remove the Height before setting the Bottom property. Equivalent to the CSS bottom property. Right: Set the horizontal offset between this box and its parent's left position.

PAGE 959

l Padding group: Defines padding (spacing inside the element) in measure or percentage: l l l All sides: Check to set all padding to use the Top value. Equivalent to the CSS padding property. Top, Left, Bottom, Right: Set padding for each side. Equivalent to the CSS padding-left, padding-top, padding-right and padding-bottom properties. Margin group: Defines margins (spacing outside the element) in measure or percentage: l l All sides: Check to set all margins to use the Top value.

PAGE 960

l l l l Minimum font size: Specify the minimum font size using a valid font measurement unit (pt, px, in, cm or mm). Do not put a space between the number and the unit. The smallest possible size is 1pt. The default is 4pt. When left blank, the font size in Design view becomes the minimum font size. Text can only be made bigger than its initial size. Maximum font size: Specify the maximum font size using a valid font measurement unit (pt, px, in, cm or mm).

PAGE 961

l CMYK group (suitable for Print output only): Enter the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black color values from 0 to 100 percent. Note Whenever one value within this dialog is changed, all the other values are adjusted to its equivalent. Colors Properties The Colors Properties defines and sets named colors used in the template; see "Colors" on page 779. Named colors can be used throughout the templates, in all contexts.

PAGE 962

l Color: l l l l l l Model: This can be either CMYK or RGB. Spot Color: Check to set the color as Spot Color. When Spot Colors are used, the Name must match that of the spot color used in the printer. Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black (CMYK): Each slider sets a percentage for the color. Set the values using the sliders, or type in the percentage directly in the input boxes. Red/Green/Blue (RGB): Each slider sets the values of 0-255 for the color.

PAGE 963

l l l l RGB: Use the drop-down to select a color profile for RGB colors. The list displays ICC profiles located in "%USERPROFILE%\Connect\color-profiles\rgb". CMYK: Use the drop-down to select a color profile for CMYK colors. The list displays ICC profiles located in "%USERPROFILE%\Connect\color-profiles\cmyk" Gray: Use the drop-down to select a color profile for Grayscale. The list displays ICC profiles located in "%USERPROFILE%\Connect\color-profiles\gray" Options Group: l Rendering intent: Use the

PAGE 964

Color Output tab For an explanation of the options on the Color Output tab see "Overprint and black overprint" on page 486. Web context properties For information about the Web context, see "Web Context" on page 548. Includes Tab The Includes tab defines which style sheets and JavaScript files should be included in the Web context when generating output, and in which order; see "Includes dialog" on page 972. For more information about stylesheets, see "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747.

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l l Sections (first page): Save the first page of each section as a thumbnail image. l Image resources: Save all image resources as thumbnail images. PDF Options: l l Standard: The standard PDF report contains a summary of the template with an overview of all the settings and resources that are used in the template: media, master pages, contexts, sections, images, scripts, runtime parameters, etc. The file properties are included as well (see "File Properties dialog" below).

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l Application (read-only): the name and version of the application in which the template was last modified. The Connect version history of a template will be saved in the template file and exposed in a template report (see "Exporting a template report" on page 455). Custom tab On this tab custom properties can be defined. Click the first empty line, or click the Add icon, and enter a name for the property and a value. Use the arrow icons to reorder the list of custom properties.

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l Options l l l l l Case sensitive: Use a case sensitive search, which differentiates TEXT from text or TexT. Wrap search: Loop back from the end of the template or selection to its beginning, when the Search is at the end of the template or the selection. Whole word: Searches for the source string as a whole word. Incremental: With this option selected, each letter you type in the Find field causes the editor focus to move to the first complete occurrence of the text you are typing.

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l New: Click to open the Edit Font dialog to add a new font. l Edit: Click to open the Edit Font dialog to edit the currently selected font. l Remove: Click to delete the currently selected font entry. l Duplicate: Click to create a copy of the currently selected font entry. Edit Font The Edit Font dialog appears when clicking New or Edit from the Fonts Dialog. l l l Name: Enter the name that should be used to refer to the font.

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formatting" on page 745 and "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747. For information about specific properties and their options, see W3Schools CSS Reference. For more information about the use of images, see "Images" on page 727 and "Styling an image" on page 772. Image Tab l General group: l l l l l l l l l Height: Set the height of the image in measure or percentage. Equivalent to the CSS height property. Angle: Set the rotation angle of the image in clockwise degrees.

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property" on page 765). l l l l l Top: Set the vertical offset between this image and its parent's top position. Equivalent to the CSS top property. Left: Set the horizontal offset between this image and its parent's left position. Equivalent to the CSS left property. Bottom: Set the vertical offset between this image and its parent's bottom position. Equivalent to the CSS bottom property. Right: Set the horizontal offset between this image and its parent's right position.

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l Color: Specify the color of the border: select a named color (defined in the "Colors Properties" on page 961) from the drop-down, or click the colored square to open the Color Picker dialog ("Color Picker" on page 960). Alternatively you could type a name or value in the Color field directly. It must be a predefined CSS color name (CSS color names), a hexadecimal color code (HTML Hex Color), an RGB color value, for example rgb(216,255,170) or a CMYK color value, for example cmyk(15%, 0%, 33%, 0%).

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are transferred to the imported section. l l Overwrite: Replace the existing resource. If the imported resource is a section, the properties of its context are copied to the target Context. For a Print context this can include settings for Color Output and Finishing. When replacing a resource that is opened in a separate editor (not the main editor), that editor will be closed and any unsaved changes will be lost. Skip: Don't import the resource.

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1. From the File types dropdown, select Stylesheets, JavaScripts or all. 2. The list at the left displays the style sheets and/or JavaScript files that are present in the template's resources. The list at the right shows the style sheets and or JavaScript files that will be included in the output of the current section (or in all Web sections, if you are making settings for the Web context). Use the Include and Exclude buttons to move files from one list to the other. 3.

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JSON sample data dialog The JSON sample data dialog lets you load JSON data into the Data Model (see "Loading data" on page 792). By default, the JSON data is mapped to corresponding fields in the existing Data Model. Data that does not correspond to any field is discarded. You may use the Replace Data Model option to let the JSON data replace the existing Data Model. The dialog is opened via the menu: File > Add data > JSON sample data, or via the JSON Sample Data toolbar button on the Data Model pane.

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Note The JSON Sample Data is not stored with the template. In order to reuse the data you should create a JSON file on disk and load it via the File option in this dialog. Types of JSON data You can add the following types of JSON data: l A JSON object or an array of JSON objects representing records. The data type is derived from the data: l Any value surrounded with quotes is converted to a field of type String. l Any numeric value containing a period is converted to a field of type Float.

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A single record with a detail table { "name":"Peter Parker", "email":"parkerp@localhostcom", "detail": [{"id":"inv123","ExtraData":"hello"}, {"id":"456","ExtraData":"world"}] } A JSON Record Data List A JSON Record Data List describes a list of data fields (as name/value pairs), a data table schema and nested data records (if any) for one or more data records. This example holds a single, simple record, and two runtime parameters.

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Line Chart Properties dialog The Line Chart dialog appears when a Line Chart is right-clicked and the Chart... option is clicked. It determines how the chart is displayed when generating output and in Preview mode (see "Business graphics" on page 700). General tab Most settings on the General tab correspond to properties of the AmSerialChart class in the amCharts library; see: AmSerialChart.

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l 3D Group: Creates a 3D effect if both settings in this group are higher than 0. l Depth: The depth of the 3D part of the plot area. (Equivalent to the depth3D property; see: depth3D.) l Angle: The angle of the 3D part of the plot area. (Equivalent to the angle property; see: angle.) Value Axis tab Settings on the Value Axis tab are equivalent to properties of the ValueAxis class in the amCharts library; see: ValueAxis.

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l l l Thickness: Enter a thickness for the grid lines. Default is 1. (Equivalent to the gridThickness property; see: gridThickness.) l Tick Length: Length of the tick marks. (Equivalent to the tickLength property; see: tickLength.) Axis group: l l l l Opacity: Enter the opacity percentage of the grid. Default is 15%. 100 is fully opaque, 0 is transparent. (Equivalent to the gridAlpha property; see: gridAlpha.

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; see: labelFrequency.) Category Axis tab Settings on the Category Axis tab correspond to properties of the CategoryAxis class in the amCharts library; see: CategoryAxis. l Title group: l l l l l Label: Enter a label for the category axis (the X axis, or the Y axis if the graph is rotated).(Equivalent to the title property; see: title.) Bold: Check if you want the title to be bold. (Equivalent to the titleBold property; see: titleBold.

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l Position: Specifies if a grid line is placed on the centre of a cell or on the beginning of a cell. (Equivalent to the gridPosition property; see: gridPosition.) Tip The position of the ticks (which is Middle by default) does not move with the grid. To change the tick position, add the following to the categoryAxis section on the Source tab: "tickPosition": "start" . l Tick Length: Length of the tick marks. (Equivalent to the tickLength property; see: tickLength.

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l l l Opacity: Enter the opacity in percentage for the axis. 100 is fully opaque, 0 is transparent. Set opacity to 0 to hide the axis. (Equivalent to the axisAlpha property; see: axisAlpha.) Thickness: Enter the thickness of the axis. (Equivalent to the axisThickness property; see: axisThickness.) Auto Wrap: Specifies if axis labels (when horizontal) should be wrapped if they don't fit in the allocated space. (Equivalent to the autoWrap property; see: autoWrap.

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l l l l l l Align: Use the drop-down to select how to align the text in the labels: Left, Middle or Right. (Equivalent to the align property; see: align.) Horizontal Space: Horizontal space between legend items, in pixels. (Equivalent to the spacing property; see: spacing.) Vertical Space: Enter a numerical value (in pixels) to define the vertical space between legend items, and also between the legend border and the first and last legend item.

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l l l l Label Gap: Enter the distance (in pixels) between the legend marker and legend text. (Equivalent to the markerLabelGap property; see: markerLabelGap.) Border Width: Use the drop-down to define the thickness of the border added to the Markers. The default value (0) means the line will be a "hairline" (1 px). In case the Marker type is line, this style will be used for the line thickness. (Equivalent to the markerBorderThickness property; see: markerBorderThickness.

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l l l l l l Explicit Locale: Select this option to specify a static locale which will remain static for this template, whichever server the template is used on. Data Field: Select this to use a data field from the record. The locale will be recordspecific in this case. Runtime Parameter: Select this to use the value of a runtime parameter. Runtime parameters are defined in the template, but their value is set at runtime; see "Runtime parameters" on page 466.

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The Page Setup button closes the Media Properties dialog and opens the Print Section Properties dialog (see "Print section properties" on page 1018). Properties Tab l l Name: The name of the Media, displayed in all drop-downs where the Media is shown as well as in the Resources Pane. Size: This group is read-only and only used to display the size selected in the linked Print section's properties (see "Print section properties" on page 1018). l Page Size: The named page size.

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Characteristics tab The characteristics define the type of paper on which the Print context is meant to be printed. l Media Type: The type of paper, such as Continuous, Envelope, Labels, Stationery, etc. l Weight: The weight of the media in grammage (g/m2). l Front Coating: The pre-process coating applied to the front surface of the media, such as Glossy, High Gloss, Matte, Satin, etc. l Back Coating: The pre-process coating applied to the front surface of the media.

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l l Project wizards: Lists all "Project Wizards" on page 1002. A Project Wizard generates a Connect solution consisting of a Workflow configuration as well as any templates, data mapping configurations, and Print Presets that are used in that configuration. Templates: Lists all types of templates that you can create with a wizard. See "Templates" on page 449.

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Package dialog The Package dialog saves templates, data mapping configurations and Print Presets as a package file. Package files can be sent to other Connect Designer users. l Configurations: Initially this list contains the Connect files that are currently open. l l Browse: This button opens the Select Files dialog that lets you add one or more templates (*.OL-template) data mapping configurations (*.OL-datamapper) and Print Presets (*.OL-jobpreset, *.OL-outputpreset) to the list.

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The Apply button lets you preview the template with the new settings. For information about text and how to style it see "Text and special characters" on page 739 and "Styling text and paragraphs" on page 759. Formats tab l General group: l l l l l l Line-height: Specify the height of each line in the element's text, in measure or percentage. Note that this is not spacing between lines, but rather the complete height of the line itself including the text.

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l Orphans: Specifies how to handle orphans within the paragraph (lines appearing alone at the end of a page if the paragraph does not fit on the current one). Equivalent to the orphans property. Note For more information on page breaks, widows and orphans, see the W3 Paged Media reference. Spacing tab l Padding group: Defines padding (spacing inside the element) in measure or percentage: l l l All sides: Check to set all padding to use the Top value. Equivalent to the CSS padding property.

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the Color Picker dialog ("Color Picker" on page 960). Alternatively you could type a name or value in the Color field directly. It must be a predefined CSS color name (CSS color names), a hexadecimal color code (HTML Hex Color), an RGB color value, for example rgb(216,255,170) or a CMYK color value, for example cmyk(15%, 0%, 33%, 0%). Equivalent to the border-color property.

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l Text Group: Determines how text is displayed in labels and legends. l l l l Font: Type in the font-face to use to display text. The font must be installed on the system and defaults to Verdana if the font is not found. (Equivalent to the fontFamily property; see: fontFamily.) Size: Type in the size of the font. Defaults to 11. (Equivalent to the fontSize property; see: fontSize.

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square to open the Color Picker dialog ("Color Picker" on page 960). (Equivalent to the outlineColor property; see: outlineColor.) l Opacity: Enter the opacity of the outline. 100 is fully opaque, 0 is transparent. (Equivalent to the outlineAlpha property; see: outlineAlpha.) Pie tab Settings on the Pie tab correspond to properties of the AmPieChart class in the amCharts library; see: AmPieChart. l Pie Group: Defines how the pie chart is displayed in the template.

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l [[title]] : Refers to the field label. l [[percents]] : Contains the percentage of the Pie chart the value represents. l [[value]] : Contains the numerical value of the field. Any text: Adding text (such as a dollar sign or column, etc) will make it appear in each label. (Equivalent to the labelText property; see: labelText.) l l l Tick Group: Defines how ticks (line between the Pie chart and its labels) is shown. l l l Radius: The distance between the label and the slice, in pixels.

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l Legend Group: Defines how the legends are shown. l l l l l l l Position: Use the drop-down to select where the legend is shown: at the Right, Left, Top or Bottom. (Equivalent to the position property; see: position.) Align: Use the drop-down to select how to align the text in the labels: Left, Middle or Right. (Equivalent to the align property; see: align.) Horizontal Space: Horizontal space between legend items, in pixels. (Equivalent to the spacing property; see: spacing.

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property; see: markerType.) l l l l l Size: Enter the size (in pixels) for the Markers to be displayed. (Equivalent to the markerSize property; see: markerSize.) Label Gap: Enter the distance (in pixels) between the legend marker and legend text. (Equivalent to the markerLabelGap property; see: markerLabelGap.) Border Width: Use the drop-down to define the thickness of the border added to the Markers. The default value (0) means the line will be a "hairline" (1 px).

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When the dialog opens, the script profiler runs automatically, on 1000 instances of all the scripts by default (this can be changed through the "Scripting preferences" on page 872). Note The script profiler can take a while, so please be patient.

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Note A business graphic in an Email section is rasterized by default and output as PNG image, because email clients usually don't support SVG images. SVG images in an Email section give an error in the Preflight window (see "Doing a Preflight" on page 889). See also: l "Before generating Email output" on page 1500 l "Before generating Web output" on page 1510 Script Debugger The Script Debugger allows you to test personalization scripts by setting breakpoints and stepping through the scripts.

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If an error is thrown, the rest of the current script is skipped and execution continues with the next script. In the call stack, frames are ordered from new to old, top to bottom. The current stack frame has an arrow indicator. You will only see multiple stack frames if execution is suspended inside a function. You can click a frame to make it the current frame. The Variables panel always reflects the state of the current frame. Note that this does not move the instruction pointer.

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Variables At the bottom right the Script Debugger shows a hierarchical overview of all variables in the scope chain and their state. This information is always relative to the current stack frame, which is the one that's selected on the left. The overview includes the special entry "(this)", which represents the JavaScript "this" object. If the current script is not a Control Script, the overview also includes the special entry " (resource)".

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l l l l l l Into (F5): Step into the function on the current line, if possible. A common use case for this is to step into a results.each() call. Note that you can only step into functions that are defined in user scripts. For other statements this behaves like (Step) Over. Over (F6): Step over the current line. Return: Step out of the current function. This only works if execution is suspended inside a function defined in one of the user scripts. Otherwise it behaves like (Step) Over.

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Connect tasks" on page 186). l Print transactional jobs. This project creates print content items - invoices - and uses multiple Create Output tasks to generate various print output variants: o A single PDF for the entire job (in which the invoices are grouped per customer). o One PDF per customer. One PDF per invoice. (See: "Project Wizard: Print Transactional Jobs" on page 161.) The Workflow process implements the typical Print plugins (see "Print processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 186).

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l Send Templates and resources to Workflow: Check this option to send the necessary resource files to the active Workflow instance on the local machine. Without these files the Workflow configuration can be inspected, but it cannot be tested; in order to test the configuration, you'll have to send the resources manually (see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454). Note In order for this option to work, Workflow and the Designer must be installed on the same machine.

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l Workflow l l Project folder: Select a folder. In this folder, the Project Wizard will create two folders: Configurations and Workspace. The project's resource files are saved to the Configurations folder. The Workspace folder is meant to be used when debugging the solution (see "Testing and running the project" on page 162). Host: Enter the address of the host running the Workflow server. This address will be used by the COTG app to download forms and submit data to the OL Connect Workflow service.

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l Send Templates and resources to Workflow: Check this option to send the necessary resource files to the active Workflow instance on the local machine. Without these files the Workflow configuration can be inspected, but it cannot be tested; in order to test the configuration, you'll have to send the resources manually (see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454). Note Workflow has to be installed on the host in order to use this option. In addition, the PPMessenger service must be running.

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l Workflow l l Project folder: Select a folder. In this folder, the Project Wizard will create two folders: Configurations and Workspace. The project's resource files are saved to the Configurations folder. The Workspace folder is meant to be used when debugging the solution (see "Promotional Print Jobs - Project Wizard" on the previous page). Send Templates and resources to Workflow: Check this option to send the necessary resource files to the active Workflow instance on the local machine.

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l Workflow l l Project folder: Select a folder. In this folder, the Project Wizard will create two folders: Configurations and Workspace. The project's resource files are saved to the Configurations folder. The Workspace folder is meant to be used when debugging the solution (see "Transactional Print Jobs - Project Wizard" on the previous page). Send Templates and resources to Workflow: Check this option to send the necessary resource files to the active Workflow instance on the local machine.

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tested; in order to test the configuration, you'll have to send the resources manually (see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454). Note In order for this option to work, Workflow and the Designer must be installed on the same machine. In addition, the PPMessenger service must be running. By default, this service is always started automatically from the moment Workflow has been installed.

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Workflow has been installed. Script wizards Wizard types Script wizards are simplified interfaces for common scripts in templates. These are the available Script wizard types. l l l l l l l Text Script: This is the default script that is created when a data field is dragged from the Data Model onto the page. See "Variable Data" on page 805. Dynamic Image Script: Provided that its selector refers to an image, this script dynamically changes the image for each record. See "Dynamic images" on page 823.

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l Name: The name of the script, making it easier to identify it. l Selector/Find text: The Selector or Text to apply the result of the script to. l l l Selector: Uses CSS selectors to find the element to which the script applies Text: Uses text as a trigger for the script. The script applies to all instances of the text found in the template. Selector and Text: Uses text as a trigger for the script but only applies to text within the specified Selector.

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l l Refresh Types: Updates field types to match the types in the active data model. Options (only available in the Text Script wizard and the Dynamic Image wizard): specifies where and how the script inserts its results: l l l l l l l l As HTML. HTML elements in the results are processed and displayed as HTML elements. For instance, this is bold will be displayed as this is bold. This is the default setting. As text.

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Chart Script dialog The Chart Script dialog specifies which variable data will be displayed in a chart and shows a preview of both the chart (on the right hand side) and the data (at the bottom). This dialog is one of the parts of the Insert Chart wizards. It can be reopened by double-clicking the relevant script in the Scripts pane. For more information about charts, see: "Business graphics" on page 700.

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l l l l l l The Toggle non-numeric fields button filters non-numeric fields from the list. The list will then display only Integer, Float and Currency data fields. The Move Up and Move Down buttons change the order of the fields, which is reflected in the chart. OK: Click to save any changes made to the script, apply the changes in the template, and close the dialog. Cancel: Click to close the dialog without saving changes. Expand: Click to convert the script generator to a regular script.

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l Name: The name of the script, making it easier to identify it. l Selector: The Selector or Text to apply the result of the script to. l l l Selector: Uses CSS selectors to find the element to which the script applies. Text: Uses text as a trigger for the script. The script applies to all instances of the text found in the template. Selector and Text: Uses the specified selector as a trigger for the script. The script applies to all instances of the text found within the specified Selector.

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l l l Data Field / Parameter: Use the drop-down to select which data field in the record, or which runtime parameter in the template, the condition will be based upon. (See "Variable Data" on page 805 and "Runtime parameters" on page 466.) Operator: Select which kind of comparison is applied. The options available will depend upon the Data Field or Parameter type (they are "type aware"), but most have at least "is equal to" and "is not equal to" as an option.

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l l Name: Enter the name of the Section in the Email Context. This has no effect on output. CSS mode: In the Designer, CSS files can be used to style email templates (see "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747) but eventually, the formatting must be applied in a different way since email clients do not read CSS files. This property determines if and how the styles in linked CSS files are applied to the output.

PAGE 1018

Attachments tab The Attachments tab lets you select files and delete attachments. For more information, see: "Email attachments" on page 538. Print section properties For information about Print sections, see: "Print sections" on page 487. Properties l Section group: l l Name: The name of the section. Minimum number of pages: The default minimum number of pages is 1. If content is too long to fit on one page, overflow will automatically appear on the next page.

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page 506). For an explanation of all settings on this tab, see "Sheet Configuration dialog" on page 1025. Background tab This tab defines the background of the current Print section; see "Using a PDF file or other image as background" on page 492. Numbering tab The Numbering tab defines how page numbers are configured in the current Print section; see "Configuring page numbers" on page 502.

PAGE 1020

l Name: Displays the name of each section within the context. l Move Up: Click to move the currently selected section up one position. l Move Down: Click to move the currently selected section down one position. Send COTG Test The Send COTG Test dialog is used to send a document to the Capture OnTheGo app without the need to go through the Output to Capture OnTheGo task in PlanetPress Workflow (see Workflow Help: Output to Capture OnTheGo).

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l l l l Recipient(s): The user name(s) that should receive the document. One or more emails and/or user groups, separated by a semicolon. Category: The category under which the document appears. You can enter multiple values, separated by a semicolon. If a category does not exist, it will be created on the server. Send as Blank Form: Check this option to send the template as a reusable form. The form will not be deleted from the app's Library when it is submitted.

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format as above. Note that every email here will receive all the emails for the recordrange below. l l Records group: l l Select All, or click Selection and enter the range of records that should be sent. Removing the range disables the selection and sends emails to all records in the record set.

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Note If the mail server supports it, the connection will be encrypted without the need to send the server a STARTTLS instruction when port 465 is used. Tip Gmail only allows Connect to be used as an SMTP client when "Access for less secure apps" is enabled in the Google account settings. l l Use authentication: Check if a user name and password are needed to send emails through the host. Send STARTTLS: Enabled if authentication is checked.

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Tip Actually, the path may not begin with 'C:\Users', as this is languagedependent. On a French system, for example, it would be 'C:\Utilisateurs'. Type %userprofile% in a Windows File Explorer and press Enter to open the actual current user's home directory. There are two ways to make it easier to find the file that you need: l The Show drop-down list lets you select the type of preset that you want to open.

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l Click Resources, Disk or Url, depending on where the image is located. l l l Resources lists the images that are present in the Images folder on the Resources pane. Disk lists image files that reside in a folder on a hard drive that is accessible from your computer. Click the Browse button to select a folder (or an image in a folder). As an alternative it is possible to enter the path manually. You can give a local path (e.g. C:\Images\Test.jpg) or use the "file" protocol.

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Note Master Pages, Media and Duplex printing options can also be set in a Control Script (see "Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405). This is especially useful when you need identical sections with different settings. General options The first option defines Duplex printing, which also enables or disables the settings for the Back side of each sheet.

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page 501). l Media: Defines the media that is used. If the Media has Virtual Stationery defined, the selected image is shown as a background to each page that corresponds to the media's sheet position. l l l Edit Script: Click this button to create a script that defines which Media is used. Master Page Front: Defines the Master Page used for the front of the selected sheet's position. (Disabled if Back only is selected under Allow content on).

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l Show: Use the drop-down to select whether to show all CSS rules or limit to certain types: Class, ID or Element rules. l Rule List: Displays the list of rules in the currently selected style sheet. l Rule Display: Displays the contents of the currently selected rule in the Rule List. l l l l l l New: Click to create a new rule with the Edit Rule dialog. See "New/Edit Rule dialog" below. Edit: Click to edit the currently selected rule in the Rule List using the Edit Rule dialog.

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l l l l Color: This is the color of the text. Select a named font color as defined in the Edit Colors dialog (see "Colors" on page 779) or click the colored square to create a new color or to enter a color manually. The color value must be a valid HTML color name or hexadecimal color code. This is equivalent to the CSS color property. Background Color: This is the background color of the text.

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Formats Tab l General group: l l l l l Line-height: Specify the height of each line in the element's text, in measure or percentage. Note that this is not spacing between lines, but rather the complete height of the line itself including the text. Equivalent to the line-height property. Align: Select how text should be aligned, such as left, center, right or justify. Equivalent to the align property. First Indent: Specify the indentation of the first line of each paragraph in the element.

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l l Top, Left, Bottom, Right: Set padding for each side. Equivalent to the borderleft, border-top, border-right and border-bottom properties. Margin group: Defines margins (spacing outside the element) in measure or percentage: l l All sides: Check to set all margins to use the Top value. Equivalent to the margin property. Top, Left, Bottom, Right: Set the margin for each side. Equivalent to the marginleft, margin-top, margin-right and margin-bottom properties.

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l l Move Up: Move the currently selected property in the Property List up one position in the list. Move Down: Move the currently selected property in the Property List down one position in the list. Sync Summary dialog The Sync Summary dialog reports any discrepancies between the elements in the template that are tagged for translation (see "Tagging elements for translation" on page 938) and the translation entries on the "Translations pane" on page 1079.

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Tip The pluralization option and the option to write instructions for the translator are only available in the Translation String Options dialog. After closing the Sync Summary dialog, double-click on a translation entry in the Translations pane to open it. Table Formatting dialog The Table Formatting dialog defines how a table looks. Note that the settings are applied to the table as a whole. For example, when you change the border of the table, the borders of cells inside the table will not be changed.

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l l l l Float: Use the drop-down or type in the value for how to float the table, if the table is not in an absolute position. Equivalent to the CSS float property. Clear: Use the drop-down or type in the value for clearing pre-existing alignments. Equivalent to the CSS clear property. Positioning: l l l l l l l Overflow: Use the drop-down or type in the value for how to handle overflow (text that does not fit in the current size of the box). Equivalent to the CSS overflow property.

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l Orphans: Specifies how to handle orphans within the tables (rows appearing alone at the end of a page if the table does not fit on the current one). Equivalent to the CSS orphans property. Spacing Tab For information about spacing see "Spacing" on page 788. l Padding group: Defines padding (spacing inside the element) in measure or percentage: l l l All sides: Check to set all padding to use the Top value. Equivalent to the CSS padding property. Top, Left, Bottom, Right: Set padding for each side.

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be a predefined CSS color name (CSS color names), a hexadecimal color code (HTML Hex Color), an RGB color value, for example rgb (216,255,170) or a CMYK color value, for example cmyk(15%, 0%, 33%, 0%). Equivalent to the CSS border-color property. Background Tab For information about backgrounds see "Background color and/or image" on page 775.

PAGE 1037

formatting" on page 745 and "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747. For information about specific properties and their options, see W3Schools CSS Reference. Note Using viewport based units (vw, vh, vmin, vmax) in Print sections is not recommended. This may cause differences between the preview in the Designer and the printed output. Cell Tab l l l Width: Set the width of the table in measure or percentage. Equivalent to the CSS width property.

PAGE 1038

l l l l Letter Spacing: Set the space between characters in a text in measure or percentage. Equivalent to the CSS letter-spacing property. Word Spacing: Set the space between each word in a text in measure or percentage. Equivalent to the CSS word-spacing property. Whitespace: Specify how to handle white spaces inside of an element. Equivalent to the CSS white-space property. See CSS White-Space for details.

PAGE 1039

l Top, Left, Bottom, Right: Each group defines the following properties: l l l Width: Specify the thickness of the border. Equivalent to the CSS border-width property. Style: Specify the style of the border such as solid, dashed or dotted. Equivalent to the CSS border-style property. Color: Specify the color of the border: select a named color (defined in the "Colors Properties" on page 961) from the drop-down, or click the colored square to open the Color Picker dialog ("Color Picker" on page 960).

PAGE 1040

Translation String Options dialog The Translation String Options dialog sets the options for a translation entry. To open it, double-click a translation entry or click the Add Empty String button on the Translations pane. For information about template translation, see "Translating templates" on page 936. l String: l l l Source: This is the text that will be presented to the translator, and that will be replaced with a translation when OL Connect generates output from the template. It is case-sensitive.

PAGE 1041

l Instructions for the translator: l Comment: Enter a comment that helps the translator translate the Source text correctly, for example when the Source text contains "Data placeholders in translation entries" on page 940 or "HTML tags in translation entries" on page 941. Keyboard shortcuts This topic gives an overview of keyboard shortcuts that can be used in the Designer. Although some of the keyboard shortcuts are the same, this isn't a complete list of Windows keyboard shortcuts.

PAGE 1042

Key combination Function Ctrl + C or: Ctrl + Insert Copy Ctrl + F Find Ctrl + I Properties Ctrl + N New Ctrl + O Open file Ctrl + P Print Ctrl + R Show/hide rulers Ctrl + S Save file Ctrl + V or: Shift + Insert Paste Ctrl + X or: Shift + Delete Cut Ctrl + W Close file Ctrl + Y or: Ctrl + Shift + Z Redo Ctrl + Z Undo Ctrl + Alt + ; Lock guides Ctrl + Shif + R Clear preview cache Page 1042

PAGE 1043

Key combination Function Ctrl + Shift + S Save all Ctrl + Shift + W Close all Ctrl + Shift + ; Snap to guides Ctrl + ; Show guides Ctrl + ' Show/hide virtual stationery Ctrl + \ Highlight Master Page items Ctrl + F5 Revert Ctrl + F10 Save as Ctrl + F11 "Send COTG Test" on page 1020 Ctrl + F12 "Send to Workflow dialog" on page 1023 Ctrl + Shift + F12 Package Workspace The following key combinations activate a function in the Workspace.

PAGE 1044

Key combination Function or: Alt + Page Up Ctrl + A Select all Ctrl + Shift + E Switch to Editor Ctrl + F Find (opens the Find and Replace dialog: "Find/Replace Dialog" on page 966) Ctrl + F6 Next editor (when there is more than one file open in the Workspace) Ctrl + Shift + F6 Previous editor (when there is more than one file open in the Workspace) Shift + F10 or: Ctrl + Shift + F10 Open context menu Design and Preview tab In addition to the keyboard shortcuts for menu items and the Workspace

PAGE 1045

Key combination Function Ctrl + M Open Box formatting dialog Ctrl + T Open Text formatting dialog Ctrl + U Underline ( (works on a text selection) Ctrl + + or: Ctrl + Shift + + or: Ctrl + = or: Ctrl + Shift + = Zoom in Tip You can also use the mouse's scroll wheel in combination with the Ctrl button to gradually zoom in or out.

PAGE 1046

Key combination Function Ctrl + space Content assist (auto-complete) Ctrl + A Select all Ctrl + D Duplicate line Ctrl + F Find Ctrl + I Indent (Tab) Ctrl + J l l Script Editor: Add a line break. Other editors: Incremental find; start typing a search string directly after pressing this key combination. Ctrl + K Find next Ctrl + L Go to line; a prompt opens to enter a line number.

PAGE 1047

Key combination Function F2 Rename Alt + Enter Open Properties dialog Delete Delete Data Model pane You can use the following keys to browse records in the Data Model pane: l Page Up: next record l Page Down: previous record l Home: first record l End: last record. Menus The following menu items are shown in the Designer menu. For a list of keyboard shortcuts, see "Keyboard shortcuts" on page 1041. File Menu l l l New...

PAGE 1048

l l l l l l l l l Close: Closes the currently active template or data mapping configuration. If the file needs to be saved, the appropriate Save dialog will open. Close All: Closes any open data mapping configuration or template. If any of the files needs to be saved, the Save Resources dialog opens. Close Others: Closes all files except the one that is currently active in the workspace. Save: Saves the current file to its current location on disk.

PAGE 1049

l Properties: Opens the "File Properties dialog" on page 965. l Print: Opens the "Print options" on page 1190 dialog. l Print Presets: Selecting this option allows you to create or modify Print Presets, which can be saved and used in print runs thereafter. l l l l l l l Job Creation Presets: Opens the"Job Creation Presets Wizard" on page 1170 dialog. Output Creation Presets: Opens the "Output Creation Presets Wizard" on page 1186 dialog.

PAGE 1050

l Fonts...: opens the "Font Manager" on page 967. See "Fonts" on page 783. l Locale...: Opens the Locale Settings dialog. See "Locale" on page 787. l Color Settings...: Opens the Color Settings dialog. See "Colors" on page 779. Insert Menu l l Image: Inserts an image using a resource that is local to the template, a resource on disk or a URL. See "Images" on page 727. Text: l l Wrap in span: Wraps selected text in a element.

PAGE 1051

l l l l Dashes and Spaces: Use the list to insert special dashes, such as an em-dash, and spaces, such as non-breaking spaces or an en-space. (The HTML code inserted for the dash or space is visible on the Source tab of the workspace.) Arrows: Use the list to insert directional arrows (in one of four directions). Geometric Shapes: Use the list to insert a special geometric shape, such as circles, triangles and squares.

PAGE 1052

l Structural Elements: l Div...: Opens a dialog to add a
element; see "Boxes" on page 696 l Span...: Opens a dialog to add a element; see "Boxes" on page 696 l Article...: Opens a dialog to add an
element l Section...: Opens a dialog to add a
element (the HTML element, not a section in a context). l Header...: Opens a dialog to add a
element. l Footer...: Opens a dialog to add a
element. l Nav...: Opens a dialog to add a
element.

PAGE 1053

l l l l Checkbox Field...: Opens a dialog to add a Checkbox; see "Checkbox" on page 723. Radio Button...: Opens a dialog to add a Radio Button; see "Radio Button" on page 724. Select Field...: Opens a dialog to add a Select (drop-down); see "Select" on page 724. l Button...: Opens a dialog to add a Button; see "Button" on page 724. l Help text: Opens a dialog to insert a paragraph (
) for help text. COTG Form Elements (see "COTG Elements" on page 709). l l l l l l Signature...

PAGE 1054

l l l l l l Document ID: Opens a dialog to add a Document ID element, see "Document ID" on page 712. Fields Table: Opens a dialog to add a Fields Table element, see "Fields Table" on page 712. Form Wizard: Opens the Form Wizard to add a form to a Web context; see "Forms" on page 716 Validation Wizard: Opens the Validation Settings dialog to change the validation settings on the currently selecting tools; see "Changing a Form's validation method" on page 720.

PAGE 1055

l l Paragraph Format: Displays a list of generic element types that can be used for a text element. Selecting one of them converts the element where the cursor is located into the appropriate element (for example
for Paragraph,
for Heading 3, etc). Float l l l l l l l l l l l l l Right: Floats the current element to the right. This is equivalent to setting the CSS float property to right. None: Removes any float style applied to the currently selected element.

PAGE 1056

l l Edit...: Opens the properties for the currently selected hyperlink; see "Hyperlink and mailto link" on page 725. Remove: Removes the currently selected hyperlink. The text or element that was the hyperlink is not removed. Context Menu l Add: l l l l l l l l l l l Print Context: Adds a new Print context to the template if one does not exist. HTML Email Context: Adds a new Email context to the template if one does not exist.

PAGE 1057

l l l l l l l Go to: Lists the sections in the currently selected context. Open one by clicking it. Properties...: Opens the appropriate section properties: Email , Print or Web. See "Section properties dialogs" on page 1016. Includes...: Opens the "Includes dialog" on page 972. Finishing... (Print Sections only): Opens the Finishing tab in the "Print section properties" on page 1018. Sheet Configuration... (Print Sections Only): Opens the "Sheet Configuration dialog" on page 1025.

PAGE 1058

l l l l Virtual Stationery: Enables or disables the visibility of the PDF Background image set in the Media. Highlight Master Page Items: Enables or disables a yellow border around Master Page items in a section. Object Resizing: Enables or disables the ability to resize
elements on the page. See "Editing preferences" on page 857 for more fine-tuned control. Shared Content Editing: Enables or disables the ability to edit shared content in locations where it is used. See "Snippets" on page 741.

PAGE 1059

l Contact Support: Opens the Objectif Lune Contact Page in the default system web browser. l About PlanetPress Connect Designer: Displays the software's About dialog. l Welcome Screen: Re-opens the Welcome Screen. Panes Panes are windows containing user interface elements (such as information or properties), which can be docked and undocked, moved around and merged together through tabbed panes.

PAGE 1060

l l l l l l l l l l l Allow Resizing: Allows columns in a table to be resized directly within the Workspace in Design mode. Alternate text: The "Alt" text used when hovering over the image in a browser. Also used for accessibility. Cellspacing: Defines the cellspacing attribute of the table which controls the spacing between cells in the table. Cellpadding: Defines the cellpadding attribute of the table which controls the padding inside each cell of the table.

PAGE 1061

l Rows in the header or footer of a Dynamic Table have the following options: l All: The row will appear on all pages. l Before page break: The row will appear on all pages except the last. l After page break: The row will appear on all pages except the first. l At end of table: The row will only appear on the last page. This setting corresponds to the data-show-row attribute (see "A Dynamic Table's dataattributes" on page 838). l l l l Source: The location of the image file.

PAGE 1062

Note When no unit is added to a geometry value, the default unit will be added to the value; see "Print preferences" on page 870. Page These attributes appear when selecting the Page node in the Outline Pane. l Master Page: Which of the "Master Pages" on page 506 to use for the template. Data Model pane The Data Model Pane displays a Data Model used to help design the template, along with (optional) data.

PAGE 1063

: Import Data Model: Click to browse to a file that contains a Data Model. This may l be: l A Data Model file (*.OL-datamodel). l A JSON file (*.json; see the note below). l A Connect template (*.OL-template), data mapping configuration (*.OL-datamapper) or 'typed' JSON file (*.json; see the note below). The file's data model structure will be displayed in the Data Model pane without data. l : Export Data Model: Click to browse to a location to save the Data Model file.

PAGE 1064

l l l : Show the ExtraData field. Note that this field is not meant to be filled via an extraction. It is meant to be used in a Workflow configuration to add data to the Data Model; see "Adding fields and data via Workflow" on page 271. Collapse All: Collapse all fields on the record level, in all detail tables and in all groups. Minimize/Maximize: Click to minimize or maximize the pane. See Moving and Merging Panes.

PAGE 1065

Changing the Data Model By adding fields to a Data Model, setting their type and entering a (default) value, you may construct or modify a Data Model without having to create or open a data mapping configuration. This is especially useful when a solution does not require a data mapping configuration. It isn't possible to enter data in a Data Model directly, but you could add JSON data (see "Adding JSON sample data" on page 803). Modifying a Data Model can be done via the contextual menu.

PAGE 1066

l l Top: Move the field to the first place. l Up: Move the field one step up. l Down: Move the field one step down. l Bottom: Move the field to the last place. Copy: copy the field's contents to the clipboard. Preflight Results and Messages Messages pane The Messages pane is shared between the DataMapper and Designer modules and displays any warnings and errors from the data mapping configuration or template.

PAGE 1067

the script editor. The relevant line will be highlighted. See also: "Testing scripts" on page 887. Log Filter The log filter determines what kind of events are shown in the Messages Pane. l l Event Types group: l OK: Uncheck to hide OK-level entries. l Information: Uncheck to hide information-level entries. l Warning: Uncheck to hide any warnings. l Error: Uncheck to hide any critical errors. Limit visible events to: Enter the maximum number of events to show in the Messages Pane. Default is 50.

PAGE 1068

A minimized panel displays only as its icon wherever it was docked, generally on the left or right side, or the bottom. To restore a minimized or maximized panel: l Click the Restore button next to the panel's display icon. The restored panel will return to its original docked location. To temporarily display a minimized panel: l Click the panel's display icon. When another panel, menu or toolbar is clicked, the panel will be minimized again.

PAGE 1069

l Delete Element: Click to delete the element from the outline view. This also removes it in the template itself for the current section. Resources pane The Resources pane displays the resources that affect the template and its output. Tip Images, fonts, stylesheets and snippets can be dragged or copied and pasted into the Resources pane to add them to your template.

PAGE 1070

Contextual menu l l l l New Master Page: Click to create a new Master Page and open its properties. Rename: Click to open the resource's Rename. This is the same as pressing the F2 key while the resource is selected. Delete: Click to delete the resource. This is the same as pressing the Delete key while the resource is selected. Properties: Click to open the Master Page properties; see "Master Pages" on page 506 for more information. l Copy: Click to copy the selected Master Page to the clipboard.

PAGE 1071

l l l l l l Rename: Click to open the resource's Rename. This is the same as pressing the F2 key while the resource is selected. Delete: Click to delete the resource. This is the same as pressing the Delete key while the resource is selected. Properties...: Click to open the appropriate section properties: Email, Print or Web. See "Section properties dialogs" on page 1016. Includes...: Click to open the "Includes dialog" on page 972. Finishing...

PAGE 1072

Currently supported font types: otf, woff, ttf, svg. Fonts must be set to installable to be useable in the output. See "Fonts" on page 783. JavaScripts JavaScripts are scripted programs that can run on Web output when added to the page header. See "Using JavaScript" on page 566 for more information. JavaScript files that are linked to (i.e. included in) a section show a chain icon. Contextual menu l l l l l l New Javascript: Click to create a new JavaScript resource.

PAGE 1073

Style sheets that are linked to (i.e. included in) a section show a chain icon. See "Applying a style sheet to a section" on page 755. Contextual menu l l l New Stylesheet: Click to create a new Stylesheet resource. Adding a new stylesheet will automatically include it in the currently active section. New Remote Stylesheet: Click to add a Remote Stylesheet resource. See "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 747 for more information.

PAGE 1074

Note Partial .scss files cannot be compiled. l l l l New Folder: Click to create a new folder to organize resources more easily. Rename: Click to open the resource's Rename. This is the same as pressing the F2 key while the resource is selected. Download Resource (remote style sheets only): Select to download the Remote Stylesheet (see "Using a remote style sheet" on page 749) and add the downloaded copy to the Stylesheets folder.

PAGE 1075

Translations A PO file holds translated texts for the template in one language. Each PO file has an entry by which OL Connect recognizes the target language. PO files can be stored in the Translations folder. See "Translating templates" on page 936 and "Importing translations (.po)" on page 943 for more information. Contextual menu l New Translation: l l l l l l PO files...: Select a PO file to import it into the template. Remote PO file: Enter the URL Click to add a remote PO file.

PAGE 1076

Note The scripts in each of the main folders - Control, Standard and Post Pagination - are executed top-to-bottom. They can be dragged up or down in the pane to change their order of execution. For example, content-loading scripts (snippets with variable data, for instance) must come before scripts that replace data within loaded contents.

PAGE 1077

l New: Displays a drop-down that shows the following options: l l Control Script: A Control Script affects the output of a template per record as a whole, instead of parts of the content. See "Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405. Standard Script: Adds a new empty standard script. Double-clicking the new script opens the script editor, where you can write code (see "Writing your own scripts" on page 877).

PAGE 1078

l Collapse All: Collapses all the folders, hiding the scripts inside of them. Scripts Pane filter To quickly find a certain script or piece of code, type a search text in the filter field located below the buttons in the Scripts pane. The Scripts Pane will then only display scripts of which the name, selector or content matches the search text. This is case insensitive. Scripts Pane column l l Name: The name added to better identify the script.

PAGE 1079

l Properties (Script folders only): edit the name and execution scope of the folder. See "Execution scope" on page 885. Styles pane The Styles pane shows which CSS style rules apply to the currently selected element. A link next to a style rule will open the file where that particular style is defined. This can be either a CSS file or the source file of a section if local formatting was used (see "Styling and formatting" on page 745).

PAGE 1080

l l l l Export: Exports the translation entries to a POT file (see "Exporting and importing translation files" on page 943). Highlight Tagged Elements: Turn highlighting on or off. Highlighting shows which HTML elements have the same text and are tagged for translation when you hover over a translation entry. Sync: Scans the template (all sections and snippets) for elements that are marked for translation and compares them to the list of translation entries.

PAGE 1081

Design tab The Design tab shows the template including all styles, text and images as well as the placeholders used for variable data. In this tab, the template's scripts are not executed and only placeholders are shown. Normally you would only edit a template in Design mode. The top of the Design tab contains an area with the following options and buttons: l l l l Breadcrumbs: Displays the element type where the cursor is located and any of its parent elements.

PAGE 1082

Tip You can also use the mouse's scroll wheel in combination with the Ctrl button to gradually zoom in or out. When a template is open, the workspace also shows a ruler and guides (see "Guides" on page 765). Preview tab The Preview tab shows the section as it will output with the current record (see "Loading data" on page 792), showing the personalized content (see "Personalizing content" on page 789).

PAGE 1083

l turns the formatting off l or turns the formatting back on. l forces the following HTML elements to be collapsed. l forces the following HTML elements to be expanded. Example This example shows how to turn pretty printing off for one specific HTML element: a Div element.
In a "pretty printed" paragraph
text is indented automatically on the Source tab.

PAGE 1084

l Proof Print: Opens the "Print options" on page 1190 dialog as a "Proof Print" which limits the number of records output. The options themselves are identical to the regular Print Output dialog. Output Send Email: Opens the Send Email dialog; see "Send (Test) Email" on page 1021. l l l l Send Test Email: Opens the Send Test Email dialog; see "Send (Test) Email" on page 1021. Preview HTML: Opens the current template's Preview in the system default browser. Useful for testing scripts and HTML output.

PAGE 1085

l Insert Select Field: Inserts a with the ID #email1) and removes its readonly attribute. query("#email1").

PAGE 1361

replaceWith(content) Replaces one HTML element or each element in a set of HTML elements. Returns the result set. content A query result. This can be an HTML string or a result set. Examples Replace elements with a snippet The following script loads a snippet and then replaces the elements matched by the script's selector with the snippet. var snippet = loadhtml('snippets/mysnippet.html'); results.

PAGE 1362

These functions are used by the Conditional Script Wizard, as you can see when you open a Conditional Script and click the Expand button; see "Showing content conditionally" on page 815. Example This script hides or shows the elements matched by the selector of the script (which are stored in the results object), depending on the value of the data field Country in the current record. if (record.fields["Country"] == "CANADA") { results.show(); } else { results.

PAGE 1363

Example This script loads a snippet into a variable and retrieves an element from the snippet using query () and text(). var mysnippet = loadhtml('snippets/text-root-wrapped.html'); var subject = query("#subject", mysnippet).text(); results.append("
" + subject + "
"); text(value) Replaces the text content of one HTML element or of each element in a result set with the supplied value.

PAGE 1364

width(value): void Sets the outer width of this element, including padding and borders, excluding margins. To include margins, call width(value, true). value Number. Give the width in pixels, but without the measurement unit (e.g. 400, not 400px). Examples This script adds 20 pixels to the width and height of an element. ar h = results.height(); v var w = results.width(); h = h + 20; w = w + 20; results.height( h ); results.

PAGE 1365

Example If the selector of a script is p.onlyCanada, and its scope is set to "Each matched element", the script will be repeated for all paragraphs that have the onlyCanada class; it can access only one paragraph at a time. The script could use this to manipulate each paragraph, e.g. hide or show it depending on the value of a data field Country in the current record: if (record.fields["Country"] == "CANADA") { this.show(); } else { this.

PAGE 1366

Functions The functions below can be called by the results object and by any other result set that is returned by a query, see "query()" on page 1319. Function Description "add()" on page 1368 Adds elements to the current HTML element. "addClass()" on page 1370 Adds the specified class to the current HTML element. Has no effect if the class is already present. "after()" on page 1371 Inserts content after the current HTML element.

PAGE 1367

Function Description "empty()" on page 1385 Removes the contents (child elements and inner HTML) from the current element. "find()" on page 1386 Performs a search for a text in the children of the current HTML element and returns a new result set with elements that surround the occurrences. "hasClass()" on page 1386 Returns true if the current HTML element has the specified class. "height()" on page 1387 Gets or sets the outer height of an element, including padding and borders.

PAGE 1368

Function Description page 1393 "prepend()" on page 1394 Inserts content at the beginning of an HTML element or of each element in a set of HTML elements. "prev()" on page 1397 Returns the previous sibling of the current HTML element. "remove()" on page 1398 Removes an HTML element or a set of HTML elements from the document. "removeAttr()" on page 1400 Removes the specified attribute from the current HTML element.

PAGE 1369

l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448). One element that matches the selector of a script that runs for "Each matched element" (see "this" on page 1364 and "Setting the scope of a script" on page 883). The elements returned by a query in the template (see "query()" on page 1319). add(content) The add() function adds HTML content to one or more HTML elements and returns the union of this result or result set and other content. content A query result.

PAGE 1370

Selector Matched element Matched element after script execution #chapters
{{chapters}}

Chapter 1

Lorem ipsum...

Chapter 2

Lorem ipsum...

Chapter 3

Lorem ipsum...

Chapter 4

Lorem ipsum...
addClass() Adds the specified class(es) to one ore more HTML elements, which can be: l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448).

PAGE 1371

Selector Matched element Matched element after script execution p
Hello world

Hello world
The following script adds two class names to a paragraph. results.addClass("foo bar"); Selector Matched element Matched element after script execution p
Hello world

Hello world
after() Inserts content after one or more HTML elements, which can be: l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448).

PAGE 1372

Matched element Matched element after script execution
Peter Parker

Peter Parker

Lorem ipsum
This script looks up an element with the ID #salesrep, sets its text color to red and inserts a paragraph after it. query("#salesrep").after("
Lorem ipsum
").

PAGE 1373

Matched element Matched element after script execution
Lorem dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
This script looks up an element with the ID #salesrep and inserts a string after it. The string is automatically enclosed in a span. query("#salesrep").

PAGE 1374

Examples This script appends a paragraph to the results (the set of HTML elements that match the selector of the script). results.append("
Peter Parker
"); Selector Matched element Matched element after script execution #box

Personal information

Personal information

Peter Parker

This script appends a string to the results (the HTML elements that match the selector of the script).

PAGE 1375

Selector Matched element Matched element after script execution
Personal information

Personal information

Personal information

Peter Parker

Personal information

Peter Parker

The following script appends a snippet to a Div element with the ID box. var a = loadhtml('snippets/snippet_name.html'); results.

PAGE 1376

Matched element Matched element after script execution

Personal information

Personal information

Peter Parker

Note: the way the functions append() and css() are used in this script is called 'chaining'. Chaining is optional; the same could be achieved by storing the result of the query in a variable: var box = query("#box"); box.append("
Peter Parker
"); box.

PAGE 1377

attr(attributeName, value) Sets the value of the specified attribute of one HTML element or of each element in a result set. attributeName String; the name of the attribute. value String; value for the attribute. Examples This script looks up an image in an element with the ID #calloutbox and sets its alternative text to a value from a data field. var altText = record.fields.FavHobby; query("#callout img").

PAGE 1378

String, HTML string or result set to insert after the elements. In case a plain text string is provided, it is automatically wrapped in a element to avoid orphan text nodes to appear in the element. Examples This script looks for an element with the ID salesrepand inserts a paragraph before that element. results.

PAGE 1379

Note: the way the functions before() and css() are used in this script is called 'chaining'. Chaining is optional; the same could be achieved by storing the result of the query in a variable: var salesrep = query("#salesrep"); salesrep.before("
Lorem ipsum
"); salesrep.css("color","red"); The following script searches the results for the string "ipsum" and puts "Lorem " before it. "Lorem " is automatically wrapped in a Span element. results.find("ipsum").

PAGE 1380

Examples This script retrieves the inner HTML of an element selected from a snippet. var snippet = loadhtml('snippets/snippet.html','#foobar').children (); results.append(snippet); The following script retrieves the inner HTML of the elements and then performs a find/replace. var snippet = loadhtml('snippets/snippet.html','#foobar').children (); snippet.find('@firstname@').text('foobar'); results.

PAGE 1381

// Create the number of rows based on the records in the detail table // We start at 1 so the boilerplate row is used too and there is no need to delete that row for(var r = 1; r < record.tables['detail'].length; r++) { results.parent().append(results.clone()); } // Iterate over the rows and populate them with the data from the accompanying data row query("#table_2 > tbody > tr").each(function(i) { this.find('@ItemNumber@').text( record.tables['detail'][i].fields ["ItemNumber"]); this.find('@ItemOrdered@').

PAGE 1382

the row). results.hide(); closest() This function gets the first parent element that matches a selector, by testing the element itself and traversing up through its ancestors in the DOM tree. (In HTML, a parent is an element that contains another element.) The function can be used for: l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448).

PAGE 1383

This code gets the closest 'parent' row for each element that matches the selector of the script (collected in the results object): results.closest("tr"); The rows could be colored red within the same statement: results.closest("tr").css('background-color','red'); css() Gets the value of a style property of one HTML element, or sets one or more CSS properties of one or more HTML elements.

PAGE 1384

css(styleName, value) Function to set a CSS property of one HTML element or of each element in a result set. propertyName String; the name of the CSS property. value String; value for the CSS property or a map of property-value pairs to set. Examples This script looks up an element with the ID #calloutbox and sets its text color to red. query("#callout p").

PAGE 1385

l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448). One element that matches the selector of a script that runs for "Each matched element" (see "this" on page 1364 and "Setting the scope of a script" on page 883). The elements returned by a query in the template (see "query()" on page 1319). properties Array; map of property-value pairs to set.

PAGE 1386

Selector Paragraph before script execution Paragraph after script execution dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
find() find(textToFind) Performs a deep search for textToFind in the children of each element, and returns a new result set with elements that surround the occurrences. textToFind A String that contains the search text.

PAGE 1387

Example This script checks if the first of the results (the set of elements matching the selector of the script) has the class 'green'. If so, it colors the text of all the elements in the results green. if (results.hasClass('green')) { results.css('color', 'green'); } height() Gets or sets the outer height, including padding and borders, of an HTML element, or of the first element in a result set (see "results" on page 1448), i.e.

PAGE 1388

The following script does the same, but in this case, margins are included. ar h = results.height(true); v var w = results.width(true); h = h + 20; w = w + 20; results.height( h, true); results.width( w, true); hide() Hides one or more HTML elements, which can be: l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448).

PAGE 1389

l l l The first element in a set of elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448). One element that matches the selector of a script that runs for "Each matched element" (see "this" on page 1364 and "Setting the scope of a script" on page 883). The first element in a set of elements returned by a query in the template (see "query()" on page 1319). html(value) Replaces the inner HTML of an HTML element or of each element in a result set with the supplied value.

PAGE 1390

This function can only be used in a Post Pagination Script ; see "Post Pagination Script API" on page 1443. For an example see: "Creating a Table Of Contents" on page 931. next() next() returns the next sibling of an HTML element, which can be: l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448). One element that matches the selector of a script that runs for "Each matched element" (see "this" on page 1364 and "Setting the scope of a script" on page 883).

PAGE 1391

Example Assume that there are three consecutive paragraphs in a Box and that the second of those paragraphs has an ID that matches the selector of this script. The paragraph is stored in the results object (see "results" on page 1448). The following script changes the font-weight of the next paragraph - the third paragraph in the Box - to bold. results.next().css("font-weight", "bold"); If the elements in results don't have siblings, this line of code will have no effect. It also won't result in an error.

PAGE 1392

Examples var $box = query("#mybox"); while ( ! $box.overflows()) { //do something } A slightly shorter version: while ( ! query("#mybox").overflows()) { //do something } The following script selects three boxes that all have the class box (selector: .box). It loops over them, inserting as many products from an array as possible into the box. In fact, it inserts one too many and removes the last one before moving on to the next box.

PAGE 1393

Example Creating a table of contents The following script creates a table of contents for all level 1 headings (
elements) with the class title in one section. var toc = '
'; query('h1.title').each(function() {toc += '
' + this.text() + ' ' + this.pageref() + '
'; }); toc += '
'; results.after(toc); The first line creates a variable for the table of contents, which will be a list (a
element with the ID toc).

PAGE 1394

l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448). One element that matches the selector of a script that runs for "Each matched element" (see "this" on page 1364 and "Setting the scope of a script" on page 883). The elements returned by a query in the template (see "query()" on page 1319). In HTML, a parent is an element that contains another element. To get an ancestor that matches a particular selector, use closest() (see "closest()" on page 1382).

PAGE 1395

HTML string, string or HTML string to insert after the matched elements. In case a plain text string is provided, it is automatically wrapped in a element to avoid orphan text nodes to appear in the element. Examples This script inserts a heading as the first element in an element that has the ID #box. results.

PAGE 1396

Selector Matched element Matched element after script execution

Peter Parker

Peter Parker

Personal information

Peter Parker

This script prepends a snippet that contains the text "
Personal information
". var a = loadhtml('snippets/snippet.html'); results.

PAGE 1397

query("#box").prepend("
Personal information
").css ("color","red"); Matched element Matched element after script execution

Peter Parker

Personal information

Peter Parker

Note: the way the functions prepend() and css() are used in this script is called 'chaining'. Chaining is optional; the same could be achieved by storing the result of the query in a variable: var box = query("#box"); box.

PAGE 1398

What if there are no siblings? If you call prev() or next() on a collection of elements (either "results" on page 1448 or the result set of "query()" on page 1319), the function will return a collection of siblings. If none of the elements has a previous or next sibling, the collection will be empty. Actions performed on an empty collection will simply have no effect.

PAGE 1399

results.remove(); Selector Paragraph before script execution Paragraph after script execution span
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.

Lorem ipsum amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
The selector of the following sample script is tbody. Before this script runs, the table body consists of a single placeholder row with three cells. After running the script, it contains thirty rows.

PAGE 1400

removeAttr() Removes the specified HTML attribute from an element or from each element in a set of elements. To add or change an attribute, use attr() (see "attr()" on page 1376). removeAttr(attributeName) attributeName String; the name of the attribute. Examples This script looks up an email field in a form (which is an with the ID #email1) and removes its readonly attribute. query("#email1").

PAGE 1401

replaceWith(content) Replaces one HTML element or each element in a set of HTML elements. Returns the result set. content A query result. This can be an HTML string or a result set. Examples Replace elements with a snippet The following script loads a snippet and then replaces the elements matched by the script's selector with the snippet. var snippet = loadhtml('snippets/mysnippet.html'); results.

PAGE 1402

These functions are used by the Conditional Script Wizard, as you can see when you open a Conditional Script and click the Expand button; see "Showing content conditionally" on page 815. Example This script hides or shows the elements matched by the selector of the script (which are stored in the results object), depending on the value of the data field Country in the current record. if (record.fields["Country"] == "CANADA") { results.show(); } else { results.

PAGE 1403

Example This script loads a snippet into a variable and retrieves an element from the snippet using query () and text(). var mysnippet = loadhtml('snippets/text-root-wrapped.html'); var subject = query("#subject", mysnippet).text(); results.append("
" + subject + "
"); text(value) Replaces the text content of one HTML element or of each element in a result set with the supplied value.

PAGE 1404

width(value): void Sets the outer width of this element, including padding and borders, excluding margins. To include margins, call width(value, true). value Number. Give the width in pixels, but without the measurement unit (e.g. 400, not 400px). Examples This script adds 20 pixels to the width and height of an element. ar h = results.height(); v var w = results.width(); h = h + 20; w = w + 20; results.height( h ); results.

PAGE 1405

Note that calling the translate() function may be unnecessary if a script adds text to an element that has the data-translate attribute; see "Tagging text that is inserted by a script" on page 940. In that case, any existing translation will be applied automatically. translate(message, context) The translate() function gets the translation of a source text with an (optional) context. It returns the message as-is if no translation is found. message String containing the message (the source text).

PAGE 1406

Object Usage channel (see "Channel" on page 1439) The channel for which output is generated. This is registered in the merge object: merge.channel.Note that the channel doesn't change when the output consists of different contexts. When generating email, for example, the channel is EMAIL, even when merging the Print context to attach it to the email. "context" on page 1445 Object that contains one context and its sections. It is accessed through the template object: merge.template.contexts.

PAGE 1407

automation This object (of the type: Automation) encapsulates the properties of the PlanetPress Workflow process that triggered the current operation. Note This object is only available in a Web context. Note The automation object available in DataMapper scripts is not of the same type. It has different properties. Properties The following table lists the properties of the Automation object.

PAGE 1408

Example Assume that a Workflow process can be triggered when an XML file appears in a certain folder. The XML file contains data that you want to show on a web page. Add a Set Job Infos and Variables Task to the Workflow process (see Set Job Infos and Variables in the Workflow Online Help) .

PAGE 1409

Field Type Description type "ContextType" on page 1440 The context type: PRINT, EMAIL or WEB. Function Description "query (selector)" on page 1446 Runs a query across all sections in the Print context. This function is only available in Post Pagination Scripts, which are only applied to the Print context. See "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929.

PAGE 1410

Functions and fields Field Type "html()" on page 1434 "margins" on page 1463 Description Gets or sets the HTML of the body element. Margins Allows to set the header and footer of a Master Page, using a Measurement string, for example: "2in" (this sets a margin to two inches). html() In a Control Script, the html() function of a section or Master Page can be used to get the initial contents of its , and modify them.

PAGE 1411

The following script loads a snippet based on the value of a field, and then replaces the content of a Print section with the snippet using html(). var mySection = merge.context.sections["Section 1"]; var promoTxt = loadhtml('snippets/promo-' + record.fields['City'] + '.html'); mySection.html(promoTxt); margins The margins object is used to set a Print section or Master Page's margins in a Control Script (see "Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405).

PAGE 1412

Setting the header and footer of a Master Page var masterA = merge.template.masterpages["Master page A"]; masterA.margins.header = "2in"; masterA.margins.footer = "2in"; media The media object can be used to specify, enable and position a stationery's front and back in a Control Script (see "Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405). Note that Media are only used in Print sections (see "Media" on page 510).

PAGE 1413

front, back The front and back fields of the Stationery object are used to set the front and the back of a Media (see "media" on the previous page). Both front and back have the following fields. Field Type Description enabled boolean When enabled, the stationery will be included in the output (Print sections only). url String Specifies the image to use as virtual stationery. For a file named My_Media.pdf, stored inside the template resources, the url would be images/My_Media.pdf.

PAGE 1414

contexts and sections. For more information about Control Scripts, see "Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405. Some of the objects are also useful in Post Pagination Scripts; see "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929 and "Post Pagination Script API" on page 1443. For sample scripts, follow the links to the respective objects. Field Type Description channel "Channel" on page 1439 The final output channel: EMAIL, PRINT or WEB.

PAGE 1415

Field Type Description EN"]). In Post Pagination Scripts, only Print sections are available. "template" on page 1436 Template This object contains the template and all of its contexts. It can be used to find out which contexts are available in the template, using merge.template.contexts (see "context" on page 1445) and to manipulate the sections in those contexts (see "section" on page 1454). resource() The resource() function returns information about an image resource.

PAGE 1416

The returned object is of the type ImageInfo. It has the following fields: Field Type Description height float The height of the current page (in points). page Number Current page number (counting from 1) within the resource. pages Number The total number of pages in the resource. permissions "Permissions" below PDF only. Allows to verify if a PDF is passwordprotected or has restrictions for printing.

PAGE 1417

Note If a PDF that does not allow content copying, Connect cannot handle the PDF at all and we cannot determine the permissions. In that case hasPassword will be true (even if the password is not set) and printingAllowedwill be unknown. Field Type Description hasPassword Boolean Will be true if the resource is a password protected PDF. printingAllowed String Will be either "highres" (full permissions), "lowres", "none", or "unknown". Example The following script logs the permissions for a PDF.

PAGE 1418

sections in different contexts have the same name, it is safer to use merge.template.contexts.ContextType.sections["section name"]. Fields Field Type Description "background" on page 1426 Background Print sections only. Used to set a PDF background on a Print section. See "Control Script: Setting a Print section's background" on page 922 and "BackgroundResource" on page 1438. enabled Boolean Enables or disables this section for output (see "Examples" on page 1423).

PAGE 1419

Field Type Description enabled by default. It is possible to enable different or multiple sections to control which sections will be attached to the email. l l For Email channel requests, the requested section is enabled by default. It is possible to output another section by disabling the requested section and enabling another section. For Print channel requests on the Print context all sections are enabled by default.

PAGE 1420

Field Type Description minPages Number Minimum number of pages in the section. The default is 1. name String Used to get or set the name of the section. Note that section names must be unique and that sections cannot have an integer as its name. The name should always include alphanumeric characters. To rename email attachments, use the field part. ownerPassword String Print sections only. Used to set the owner password for a PDF attachment.

PAGE 1421

Field Type Description password String Print sections only. Used to set the user password and owner password for a PDF attachment to the same value. See "Control Script: Securing PDF attachments" on page 927.* restartPageNumber Boolean Print sections only. Enables or disables a restart of the page numbering. When generating Print output this can be used to let page numbering continue over multiple sections.

PAGE 1422

Note When a Control Script changes the size of a section, it should also change the size of the linked Media; this is not done automatically. While the output may still look good, a size mismatch can cause an issue if a script or another component assumes that the media size matches the section size. In case of a size mismatch a preflight will show a warning (see "Doing a Preflight" on page 889). Functions Note For cloned sections, functions are not available.

PAGE 1423

Examples Conditionally skipping or printing Print sections This script disables all Print sections and then re-enables one of them, depending on a value in the current record. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; printSections['Section EN'].enabled = false; printSections['Section FR'].enabled = false; if(record.fields.Language === 'FR'){ printSections['Section FR'].enabled = true; } else { printSections['Section EN'].

PAGE 1424

l l l Print section 3 + 4 as attachment with continued page numbers Print section 6 as separate attachment (also see "Parts: splitting and renaming email attachments" on page 919) Web sections A and B as separate attachment if (channel == Channel.EMAIL) { // only when generating Email output if (merge.context.type == ContextType.PRINT) { merge.context.sections['Section 1'].enabled = false; merge.context.sections['Section 2'].enabled = false; merge.context.sections['Section 3'].enabled = true; merge.

PAGE 1425

Positioning the background of a Print section These scripts both set the background of a Print section to the same PDF, but they position it differently. Using abolute positioning var activeSection = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 1']; activeSection.background.source = BackgroundResource.RESOURCE_PDF; activeSection.background.position = MediaPosition.ABSOLUTE; activeSection.background.left = "10mm"; activeSection.background.top = "10mm"; activeSection.background.url = "images/somepage.

PAGE 1426

Cloning a section based on data and assign a background PDF This script clones a section based on data fields. It disables the source section first and then calls the addPolicy() function. addPolicy()clones the section, renames it and sets a PDF from the resources as its background. It explicitly enables the clone and then adds it to the Print context. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections["Policy"].enabled = false; if(record.fields.

PAGE 1427

Fields Field Type Description allPages Boolean Show all pages from the PDF. end Number The end page of the PDF to use as a background for the section. left Measurement The left offset of the PDF background (only when absolute positioning is selected). position "MediaPosition" on page 1442 Set the position of the PDF background (Absolute, centered, fit to media). rotation Number Set the rotation of the PDF background to 0, 90, 180 or -90 degrees.

PAGE 1428

Field Type Description start Number The start page of the PDF to use as a background for the section. top Measurement The top offset of the PDF background (only when absolute positioning is selected). url String The location of the PDF to use as a background for the section. Three different forms of URLs are supported: l l l A relative path to an image resource; this always starts with "images/". For a file named background.

PAGE 1429

var activeSection = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 1']; activeSection.background.source = BackgroundResource.RESOURCE_PDF; activeSection.background.url = "images/somepage.pdf"; activeSection.background.position = MediaPosition.ABSOLUTE; activeSection.background.left = "10mm"; activeSection.background.top = "10mm"; You could replace the last three lines of the previous script by the following line to scale the Print section background to Media size: activeSection.background.

PAGE 1430

Field Type Description set to true, the margins of the section switch alternately, so that pages are printed as if in a magazine or book. mediaRotation Number Rotates the Media (to be more accurate: the Virtual Stationery images specified for this Media) by 0, 90, 180, or -90 degrees. omitEmptyBacksid e Boolean (Only with duplex printing.) Resets a page to Simplex if it has an empty back side. This may reduce volume printing costs.

PAGE 1431

section.sheetConfig.facingPages = true; section.sheetConfig.mediaRotation = 0; Position The positions property of the sheetConfig object (see "sheetConfig" on page 1429) can be used to repeat the sheet configuration after a certain number of pages, or to retrieve and modify settings for sheets in different positions. Available positions are: l single: The only sheet in a section. l first: The first sheet in the section. l middle: All after the first sheet and before the last sheet in a section.

PAGE 1432

Field Type Description of sheets in this position. masterFront String Specifies the Master Page to use on the front of sheets in this position. media String Specifies the Media to use with sheets in this position. repeat Number Repeat the sheet configuration every n number of pages. This is useful e.g. when documents can be so long that they cannot fit in one envelope.

PAGE 1433

clone() This function returns a copy of one HTML element or of a set of HTML elements, which can be: l l l The elements that match the selector of a script (see "results" on page 1448). One element that matches the selector of a script that runs for "Each matched element" (see "this" on page 1364 and "Setting the scope of a script" on page 883). The elements returned by a query in the template (see "query()" on page 1319). See also: "Dynamically adding sections (cloning)" on page 924.

PAGE 1434

["ItemTotal"]); this.find('@ItemDesc@').text( record.tables['detail'][i].fields ["ItemDesc"]); this.find('@nr@').text(i); }); The following script clones and populates a boilerplate row. Once completed you will need to hide the boilerplate row. for(var i = 0; i < record.tables['detail'].length; i++) { var row = results.clone(); //Clone our boilerplate row row.find('@ItemNumber@').text( record.tables['detail'][i].fields ["ItemNumber"]); row.find('@ItemOrdered@').text( record.tables['detail'][i].

PAGE 1435

html(value) Replaces the contents of the of a section or Master Page with the supplied value. This function is only available in Control Scripts. See also: "section" on page 1454 and "masterpage" on page 1409. value A String that may contain HTML tags. Examples The following script uses html() to retrieve the contents of a section and add a paragraph to it. var foo = merge.context.sections["Section 1"].html(); foo += "
hello world
"; merge.context.sections["Section 1"].

PAGE 1436

template The template object represents the template with all its contexts and sections. It is used frequently in Control Scripts (see "Control Scripts" on page 913 and "Control Script API" on page 1405) but it can also be used in Standard Scripts. It is retrieved via the merge object: merge.template (see "merge" on page 1465). Which contexts are available in the template can be queried using merge.template.contexts.

PAGE 1437

Example The following Control Script retrieves two Print sections. Then, depending on a value in the current record, it enables one section or the other, so that only one of the two sections appears in the output. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; printSections['Section EN'].enabled = false; printSections['Section FR'].enabled = false; if(record.fields.Language === 'FR'){ printSections['Section FR'].enabled = true; } else { printSections['Section EN'].

PAGE 1438

Field Type Description description String Description of the document file String File name of the document keywords String Semicolon-separated list of keywords modified Date Date and time on which the document was last saved Example This script stores a default property (author) and a custom property in variables. var author = merge.template.properties.author; var myProperty = merge.template.customProperties.

PAGE 1439

Example The following script sets the background for a section called 'Policy' to RESOURCE_PDF and specifies a path for it, using a data value: // Enable the section background and specify that the PDF should be read // from a resource file rather than using a PDF DataMapper background merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Policy'].background.source = BackgroundResource.RESOURCE_PDF; // Specify the path var resourceUrl = 'images/policy-' + record.fields.policy + '.pdf'; merge.template.contexts.PRINT.

PAGE 1440

Value Description THUMBNAIL The merge request is for generating a template preview. Example The following Control Script selects different sections for Print output and for Email with the Print context attached to it. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; if(merge.channel === Channel.EMAIL){ printSections['Section 1'].enabled = false; printSections['Section 2'].enabled = true; } if(merge.channel === Channel.PRINT){ printSections['Section 1'].

PAGE 1441

Example This script retrieves two Print sections. Then, depending on a value in the current record, it enables one section or the other, so that only one of the two sections appears in the output. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; printSections['Section EN'].enabled = false; printSections['Section FR'].enabled = false; if(record.fields.Language === 'FR'){ printSections['Section FR'].enabled = true; } else { printSections['Section EN'].

PAGE 1442

const image = merge.template.images.find(image => image.name == 'dog.jpg'); if (image) { results.after(``); } MediaPosition In a Control Script, the position is an enumeration for the position of background resources for a Print section. It is retrieved and set via background.position. Field Description ABSOLUTE Places the PDF at a specific location on the page. Set the background's top (background.top) and left (background.

PAGE 1443

Post Pagination Script API The table below lists the functions and objects that are only available in Post Pagination Scripts. Click through to the object to find a description and sample scripts. See "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929 for information about this kind of scripts, how to insert them and what you can do with them. Note Post Pagination Scripts only apply to the Print context. These functions and objects cannot be used with other contexts.

PAGE 1444

Object or function Usage "PaginationInfo" on page 1447 This object contains essential information about one element in order to create a table of contents (see "Creating a Table Of Contents" on page 931). results."info()" on page 1452 A call to results.info() returns pagination information (see "PaginationInfo" on page 1447) for the first element in the result set of a query (see "query(selector)" on page 1446).

PAGE 1445

Example This following code would add a property called 'myProperty' with the value 'myvalue': contentitem.properties.myProperty = 'myvalue'; You can replace 'myProperty' and 'myvalue' with whatever name and value best suits the use case. If the name of the property contains a space you'll need to put it between brackets and quotation marks: contentitem.properties['name with spaces'] = 'value'; If the value is a number you don't need to put it between quotation marks: contentitem.properties.

PAGE 1446

Field Type Description X']. type "ContextType" on page 1440 The context type: PRINT, EMAIL or WEB. Function Description "query (selector)" below Runs a query across all sections in the Print context. This function is only available in Post Pagination Scripts, which are only applied to the Print context. See "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929.

PAGE 1447

A String containing a CSS selector. See https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_selectors.asp for CSS selectors and combinations of CSS selectors. Example This script returns all level 1 headings in all sections of the Print context. var headings = merge.context.query("h1"); PaginationInfo The PaginationInfo object is returned by the info() function of the results object (see "info()" on page 1452 and "results" on the facing page).

PAGE 1448

Field Type Description "section" on page 1454 Section The section in which the element is located. This is always a Print section, since Post Pagination Scripts only operate on the Print context. sheetCount Number The number of sheets in the page bundle associated with the section in which the first element of the results is located. sheetNo Number The sheet number on which the first element of the results is located.

PAGE 1449

of the script to "Each matched element" and using the this object (see "this" on page 1364). Property Field Type Description length Number Number of elements in this result set. Equivalent to calling size (). Functions The functions below can be called by the results object and by any other result set that is returned by a query, see "query()" on page 1319. Function Description "add()" on page 1368 Adds elements to a set of HTML elements.

PAGE 1450

Function Description "children()" on page 1379 Returns the immediate children of an HTML element. "clone()" on page 1433 Returns a new result set containing a copy of each element in a set of HTML elements. "closest()" on page 1382 For each element in a set, this function gets the first parent element that matches a selector, by testing the element itself and traversing up through its ancestors in the DOM tree.

PAGE 1451

Function Description "html()" on page 1388 Replaces the inner HTML of the element or of each element in a set of HTML elements with the supplied value, or returns the HTML of the first element if no value is supplied. "info()" on the facing page Post Pagination Scripts only. Returns pagination information for the first element in this result set. is(selector) Returns true if at least one of the elements in a set of HTML elements matches the supplied CSS selector.

PAGE 1452

Function Description "removeAttr()" on page 1400 Removes the specified attribute from each element in this result set. "removeClass()" on page 1400 Removes the specified class from an element or from each element in a set of HTML elements. Has no effect if the class is not present. "replaceWith()" on page 1400 Replaces an HTML element or a set of HTML elements (with a snippet, for example). Returns the result set. "show()" on page 1401 Shows the HTML element or a set of HTML elements.

PAGE 1453

For an example see: "Creating a Table Of Contents" on page 931. overflows() The overflows() method returns a boolean value indicating whether an HTML element overflows its box boundaries. This function could for instance be used in a design where content needs to flow separately from the main text flow, or where a new, full-page, multi-column box should be inserted when the current one overflows. Note that when called in a Standard script, this method runs before the pagination of Print output.

PAGE 1454

var products = ["Appetizer","Beans","Beef","Lettuce","Sprouts","Coconut","Juice"," Soup","Coriander","Cheese","Pasta","Sugar","Vinegar","Bread"]; var i = 0; results.each( function() { // Add elements to the box until it overflows. while ( ! this.overflows() && i < products.length ) { this.append("
" + products[i] + "
"); i++; } // Go one step back unless we processed all items in our array. if( i < products.length ) { query("p:last-child", this).

PAGE 1455

Field Type Description Script: Setting a Print section's background" on page 922 and "BackgroundResource" on page 1438. enabled Boolean Enables or disables this section for output (see "Examples" on page 1460). Note that even if a Print section is disabled, the part and restartPageNumber fields are still effective to define the parts division and page numbering over multiple sections when applicable.

PAGE 1456

Field Type Description section by disabling the requested section and enabling another section. l For Print channel requests on the Print context all sections are enabled by default. It is possible to enable different or multiple sections to control which sections will be outputted. headers String DEPRECATED. Use the addHeader() function instead. Email sections only. Used to set custom email headers. height String Print sections only. The height of the section using a Measurement string.

PAGE 1457

Field Type Description name. The name should always include alphanumeric characters. To rename email attachments, use the field part. ownerPassword String Print sections only. Used to set the owner password for a PDF attachment.* Setting only the owner password creates a secured PDF that can be freely viewed, but cannot be manipulated unless the owner password is provided.

PAGE 1458

Field Type Description restartPageNumber Boolean Print sections only. Enables or disables a restart of the page numbering. When generating Print output this can be used to let page numbering continue over multiple sections. The default value is false, meaning that each section will start with page 1 (to emulate behavior of previous versions). "sheetConfig" on page 1429 SheetConfig Print sections only.

PAGE 1459

mismatch can cause an issue if a script or another component assumes that the media size matches the section size. In case of a size mismatch a preflight will show a warning (see "Doing a Preflight" on page 889). Functions Note For cloned sections, functions are not available. Function Description "clone()" on page 1433 Clone this section. See "Dynamically adding sections (cloning)" on page 924. addAfter() Add a cloned section after this section.

PAGE 1460

Examples Conditionally skipping or printing Print sections This script disables all Print sections and then re-enables one of them, depending on a value in the current record. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; printSections['Section EN'].enabled = false; printSections['Section FR'].enabled = false; if(record.fields.Language === 'FR'){ printSections['Section FR'].enabled = true; } else { printSections['Section EN'].

PAGE 1461

l l l Print section 3 + 4 as attachment with continued page numbers Print section 6 as separate attachment (also see "Parts: splitting and renaming email attachments" on page 919) Web sections A and B as separate attachment if (channel == Channel.EMAIL) { // only when generating Email output if (merge.context.type == ContextType.PRINT) { merge.context.sections['Section 1'].enabled = false; merge.context.sections['Section 2'].enabled = false; merge.context.sections['Section 3'].enabled = true; merge.

PAGE 1462

Positioning the background of a Print section These scripts both set the background of a Print section to the same PDF, but they position it differently. Using abolute positioning var activeSection = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections['Section 1']; activeSection.background.source = BackgroundResource.RESOURCE_PDF; activeSection.background.position = MediaPosition.ABSOLUTE; activeSection.background.left = "10mm"; activeSection.background.top = "10mm"; activeSection.background.url = "images/somepage.

PAGE 1463

Cloning a section based on data and assign a background PDF This script clones a section based on data fields. It disables the source section first and then calls the addPolicy() function. addPolicy()clones the section, renames it and sets a PDF from the resources as its background. It explicitly enables the clone and then adds it to the Print context. var printSections = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections; merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections["Policy"].enabled = false; if(record.fields.

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Field Type Description footer header String These fields allow to set the header and footer of a Master Page, using a Measurement string. Examples Setting the margins of a Print section var sectionA = merge.template.contexts.PRINT.sections["Section A"]; sectionA.margins.top = "2in"; sectionA.margins.left = "2in"; sectionA.margins.right = "2in"; sectionA.margins.bottom = "2in"; Setting the header and footer of a Master Page var masterA = merge.template.masterpages["Master page A"]; masterA.margins.

PAGE 1465

Pagination The Pagination object that is accessed via the section object (see "section" on page 1454) contains the total page count, sheet count and start/end page numbers for a single section. These properties are read-only and are only available in Post Pagination Scripts (see "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929). For the total page and sheet count of all Print sections together use the merge object's "Pagination" on page 1467 (see also: "merge" below).

PAGE 1466

Field Type Description channel "Channel" on page 1439 The final output channel: EMAIL, PRINT or WEB. The channel doesn't change when the output consists of different contexts. When generating an email, for example, the channel is EMAIL, even when merging the Print context to attach it to the email. "context" on page 1445 Context The context rendered by this merge run.

PAGE 1467

Field Type Description available in the template, using merge.template.contexts (see "context" on page 1445) and to manipulate the sections in those contexts (see "section" on page 1454). Pagination The Pagination object that is accessed via the merge object (see "merge" on page 1465) contains the total page count and sheet count of the entire Print context after pagination. These properties are read-only and are only available in Post Pagination Scripts (see "Post Pagination Scripts" on page 929).

PAGE 1468

Generating output When merged with a record set, the templates made in the Designer can generate three types of output: Print, Email and Web. You can print and send email from the Designer, but if you want to do this in an automated process, or if you want to produce web pages that are not attached to an email, you need to build Workflow processes with OL Connect tasks. For more information, see: "Workflow processes in OL Connect projects" on page 179.

PAGE 1469

Fax output It is possible to generate Fax output from PlanetPress Connect through a Print output job creating PDF/VT output, with some additional Workflow steps. See "Generating Fax output" on page 1496 for details. Email output The Email context outputs HTML email with embedded formatting to an email client through the use of an email server. The HTML generated by this context is meant to be compatible with as many clients and as many devices as possible.

PAGE 1470

To learn how to attach other files, see "Email attachments" on page 538. Web output The Web context outputs an HTML web page that contains the HTML text and all the resources necessary to display it. Web output can be generated in two different ways: it can be attached to an Email template when generating Email output (see above), or it can be generated using Workflow; see "Generating Web output" on page 1509.

PAGE 1471

To generate Print output, select File from the menu and choose Print or Proof Print. Note Print uses the Print Service of the Connect Server. The default Connect Server and (if it is secured) an authenticated user must be configured in the Preferences (see "Connect Servers preferences" on page 873). If these settings have not been applied, the Enter Credentials dialog is launched to allow selection of Server credentials.

PAGE 1472

Saving Printing options in Print Presets Selecting File > Print Presets allows you to create or modify printing Presets (which contain all the printing options), which can be saved for re-use in later print runs. This can be particularly handy when creating special print runs, that need to be run periodically.

PAGE 1473

either a Job Creation Preset or an Output Creation Preset. They are made in and saved with the template. These settings are: l l l l Duplex printing. Duplex printing has to be enabled for a Print section, in order to print that section on both sides of the paper. The same applies to Mixplex printing. See "Enabling double-sided printing (Duplex, Mixplex)" on page 496. Finishing. The Print context , as well as each of the Print sections, can have its own Finishing settings.

PAGE 1474

Print using standard print output settings When using either the File > Print... or the File > Proof Print... option, the Print Configuration dialog appears. This dialog allows you to print the template using Default printer settings, or the Last Used printer settings or by using previously created Printing Presets. To learn how to create Printing Presets please see Job Creation Presets and Output Creation Presets.

PAGE 1475

l l Apply filtering and sorting to record selection checkbox: Check o filter and/or sort records. Selecting this will open both the "Data filtering options" on page 1174 and "Sorting options" on page 1179 pages. Copies Group : l l Copies: Enter the number of output copies you want. Collate: When printing multiple copies you can check this checkbox to have the record copies printed together. For example in a three record job the records would print out as 1-1-2-2-3-3, rather than 1-2-3-1-2-3.

PAGE 1476

Print Preset types There are two types of Print Presets: "Job Creation Presets" on the next page and "Output Creation Presets" on page 1479. The settings in each are used in a different phase of the print process. l l A Job Creation Preset is used by the Connect Server after a template and data have been merged. Based on the settings in a Job Creation Preset the server can filter, sort, and group the print content items, add meta data and make finishing settings.

PAGE 1477

In Workflow there are special plugins that work with Print Presets; for more information see "Print processes with OL Connect tasks" on page 186. In order to use Print Presets in a print process they must be sent to Workflow in advance; see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454. Job Creation Presets A Job Creation Preset is a file that contains settings for the creation of a print job. It is used after a template has been merged with data, but before the actual print output file is produced.

PAGE 1478

Filter and sort While creating a print job, the Connect server can filter out certain print content items based on the conditions defined in a Job Creation Preset (see "Data filtering options" on page 1174). The conditions are evaluated per record and can be based upon such diverse criteria as the value of data fields, the value of runtime parameters (see "Runtime Parameter Options" on page 1172), the binding options used in a source document, or its size.

PAGE 1479

In the next phase of the print process these meta data tags can be used in output file names and in various conditions. If the output format is PDF/VT, the meta data will also be included in the print output itself. Note that these meta data tags can only be used by the engine that creates the final print output (see "Connect: a peek under the hood" on page 127). They are not available in a Workflow process and are not in any way related to a process's Metadata in Workflow.

PAGE 1480

Note The Output Creation options are also available in the Advanced Printer Wizard, which appears when you select File > Print (or Proof Print) and click the Advanced button. However, the Advanced Printer Wizard cannot save your settings to file for re-use. Printer model and output type An Output Creation Preset specifies the type of printer the output should be suitable for, and determines where that output should then be sent: to a folder, LPR queue or Windows printer (see "Print options" on page 1190).

PAGE 1481

Print virtual stationery The virtual stationery in a Print template (also called "Media" on page 510) is in fact an image that is normally only visible in the Designer in the background of the template to make designing a template easier. If indicated in the Output Creation Preset, the image will also be printed. The output can then be printed on plain paper instead of pre-printed paper. Printing virtual stationery is also very useful when producing PDF output for digital viewing.

PAGE 1482

Using document sets, job segments or jobs in the Separation settings requires that documents in the print job be grouped that way in advance, following the instructions in a Job Creation Preset (see "Grouping" on page 1478). Note Separating the output using Grouping on levels lower than the Job Segment is not possible when you use Imposition. With Booklet Imposition, however, the output can be separated on all levels.

PAGE 1483

to as Inserters or Folder-Inserters. If no HCF file is available for a particular inserter machine, adding OMR Marks and barcodes as Additional Content is an alternate way to drive an inserter (see "Additional content" on the previous page). Print using Advanced Printer Wizard The Advanced Printer Wizard allows you to select from any and all output settings. The Wizard can be used to generate once-off print runs (either entirely from scratch, or based upon selected pre-existing Presets).

PAGE 1484

How to add print output Models within the Print Wizard Here is how you can add print output Models to the Print Wizard from within the Print Wizard dialog itself. 1. Select File > Print... from the menu. The Print dialog will be launched. 2. Click on the Advanced button. The Print Wizard will be launched. 3. Click the settings button at the end of the Model selection list box. Select from one of the options: 1. Select Import Definition to add a customized Printer Definition.

PAGE 1485

Definition Dialog. How to add print output models from within the Designer Here is how to add print output Models from within the main Designer interface itself. 1. Select Window > Preferences... from the menu. Preference dialog is launched. 2. Select Print > Available Printers from the options. 3. In the Available Printers area, select the print output options to be added to the Print Wizard, then click OK.

PAGE 1486

Creating separate output files To make each document or groups of documents go into a separate file, a print job needs to be 'separated'. Separation is one of the options to set in an Output Creation Preset (see "Output Creation Presets" on page 1479). An Output Creation Preset also determines where the output will go.

PAGE 1487

Print output variables In Print output, File name variables can be used to create dynamic output file names, while Content variables can be used in additional content and in the Conditional field when selectively adding inserts in the "Inserter options" on page 1265. Note When using a variable in a condition, do not wrap it in ${ }. This notation is only necessary in the context of a text (like file names or additional page content).

PAGE 1488

only available when printing directly from Designer. ${template} ${template} is a shorthand for ${template.base}_ ${template.nr,0000}.${template.ext}. It expands to a name based on the template name. A four digit sequence number is added at the end of the base name. The file extension is determined by the selected output format. The 0000 in ${template.nr,0000} is a format pattern that takes care of formatting the number with at least four digits and leading zero's.

PAGE 1489

It is possible to format the number using a pattern and locale. See "Formatting date and number values " on page 1495, below. ${template.ext} The extension that corresponds to the chosen output format (in lower case). For example, for PDF output, ${template.ext} would be pdf, for PostScript output, ${template.ext} would return ps. Note that ${template.ext} does not include a leading dot. File ${file} ${file} is a shorthand for ${file.base}_ ${file.nr,0000}.${file.ext}.

PAGE 1490

It is possible to format the number using a pattern and locale. See "Formatting date and number values " on page 1495, below. ${file.pageCount} This variable was introduced for use in Printer Definitions for PostScript printers. As it entails page buffering and could easily lead to Out of Memory errors with big jobs, usage of this variable in an Output Preset or in the Print Wizard is discouraged; it should be regarded as deprecated. Job ${job} ${job} is a shorthand for ${job.base}_${job.nr,0000}.${job.

PAGE 1491

Content variables The variables listed below can be used in text, barcodes, and OMR and Image data in the "Additional Content" on page 1214 page, and in the Conditional field when selectively adding inserts in the "Inserter options" on page 1265. If the output is grouped and separated, Content variables on the separation level and above are also available as File name variables.

PAGE 1492

${page.nr} or ${page.sequence.document) Page number in the document. ${page.sequence.sheet} Page number on the sheet. ${page.sequence.set} Page number within the document set. ${page.sequence.segment} Page number within the job segment. ${page.sequence.job} Page number within the job. ${page.width} The page's width (in points). Sheet ${sheet.count.pages} Total number of pages on the sheet. ${sheet.duplex} True when printing on the sheet is duplex. ${sheet.

PAGE 1493

${sheet.simplex} True when printing on the sheet is simplex (onesided). ${sheet.width} The sheet's width (in points). Document Value of a meta data property of the document. ${document.metadata. propertyname} or ${document.metadata ['propertyname']} The propertyname must have been defined as a Tag Name on the Document Tags tab of the "Meta Data options" on page 1185 page in the Advanced Print Wizard or Job Creation Preset.

PAGE 1494

Note: this variable is only available if Separation based on Document Set has been selected on the "Separation options" on page 1280 page in the Advanced Print Wizard or Output Creation Preset. ${set.count.pages} Total number of pages in the document set. ${set.count.sheets} Total number of sheets in the document set. ${set.count.documents} Total number of documents in the document set. ${set.nr} or ${set.sequence.segment} Document set number within the job segment. ${set.sequence.

PAGE 1495

${segment.nr} or ${segment.sequence.job} Job segment number within the job. Formatting date and number values Date and number values can be formatted using an optional pattern and/or locale. Form Description Example Result ${expression} Do not format. ${system.time} July 4, 2009 12:30:55 PM ${expression,pattern} Apply pattern with system locale {system.

PAGE 1496

For patterns and pattern characters see "Date and time patterns" on page 1296 and "Number patterns" on page 1317. Generating Fax output It is possible to generate Fax output from PlanetPress Connect through the use of PDF/VT output. Here are the details on how to implement such a process. Required Components The following components are required in order to output to Fax: l A PlanetPress Image license which includes PlanetPress Fax.

PAGE 1497

l l The four regular OL Connect tasks to generate print output: o Execute Data Mapping o Create Print Content o Create Job using the above Job Preset. o Create Output using the above Output Preset. The task's Output Management must be set to be Through Workflow. The PlanetPress Fax connector task set to Passthrough (the first "Document" on the list).

PAGE 1498

Required components The following components are required in order to output to Image: l l l l A PlanetPress Imaging license. A Job Creation Preset adding the appropriate meta data fields (see "Job Creation Presets" on page 1477). An Output Creation Preset generating a PDF/VT file (see "Output Creation Presets" on page 1479). A PlanetPress Workflow process outputting to the PlanetPress Image task.

PAGE 1499

l l In the "Print options" on page 1190, a PDF type should be selected, such as Generic PDF. In the "PDF Options" on page 1195, the PDF Type should be set to PDF/VT PlanetPress Workflow process The following Workflow process will produce Image output: l The four regular Connect tasks to generate print output: l Execute Data Mapping l Create Print Content l Create Job using the above Job Creation Preset l Create Output using the above Output Creation Preset.

PAGE 1500

l The output of the Web context, as a self-contained HTML file. l Other files, an image or a PDF leaflet for example. Attaching the Print context and/or the Web context is one of the options in the "Send (Test) Email" on page 1021 dialog. These options are also available in the Create Email Content task in Workflow. For more information see "Email attachments" on page 538.

PAGE 1501

Preflight" on page 889). l l For Email output, PNG is the preferred image format. EPS, PDF, SVG and TIFF images in an Email section are automatically converted to PNG to ensure that they can be seen in the email client. Test and validate the output; see "Testing Email output" on the facing page. Email output settings in the Email context and sections The following settings for the Email context and Email sections have an impact on how the actual emails are sent.

PAGE 1502

l l If style sheets are used to style the email, the styles can be added either to the header of the email or to inline style properties as if local formatting was applied (this is also called "embedded CSS"). See "Email section properties" on page 1016. PDF attachments can be compressed to make the files smaller; see "Compressing PDF attachments" on page 527.

PAGE 1503

3. On the File menu, click Send Email or Send Test Email. In the dialog that appears you can, among other things, attach the Print context or the Web context to the email. See "Send (Test) Email" on page 1021 for a description of all the options. Finally, click OK. Note When you send a test email, the Email To Script will not be used; instead, the email will be sent to the address that you specify in the Send Test Email dialog. If you have a Litmus account, you can enter your Litmus test address.

PAGE 1504

When a script calls this function in Preview mode, the script that triggers it is marked with an error icon in the Scripts pane, and the given message is displayed in a hint. When generating output from the Designer, the Designer will log the error and display an error dialog with the given message. Content creation is aborted. When generating output from Workflow, the entire job fails.

PAGE 1505

Mandrillapp.com, a popular ESP, used to have a free account but now requires a paid MailChimp account. Luckily there are plenty of alternatives that provide free accounts (often capped to a max number of emails per month and sometimes having throttled output). PlanetPress Connect has been tested with: Mandrillap.com, SendGrid (easy user management), MailGun (nearly instant statistics) and MailJet (shows best performance on the free account).

PAGE 1506

rate tracking and assign tags/categories to messages. Assigning a tag/category allows you to view statistics per email type in the dashboard of the ESP. Note that each ESP has its own notation and instructions. In a Connect template, these custom headers can be added via the Email section properties (see "Meta information" on page 537). Alternatively custom headers may be added through a Control Script (see "Control Scripts" on page 913, "Control Script API" on page 1405 and "section" on page 1454).

PAGE 1507

MailGun Dashboard: https://mailgun.com/cp/stats Documentation: https://documentation.mailgun.com/api-sending.html#sending Add a name meta tag with the value X-Mailgun-Tag and set its content (for example: invoices). You can make this setting in the Email section properties (see "Meta information" on page 537). Alternatively you could write a Control Script, for example: merge.context.sections["Content"].

PAGE 1508

var section = merge.context.sections["Content"]; section.addHeader("X-SMTPAPI", JSON.stringify(headerObj)); Note The Mailgun tag allows you to view the stats per tag. Mailgun has a quick refresh and stats are available almost instantly. MailJet Dashboard: https://app.mailjet.com/dashboard Documentation: https://app.mailjet.

PAGE 1509

merge.context.sections["Content"].addHeader("X-Mailjet-Campaign", "invoices"); Note Mailjet strips out their own mailheaders like X-Mailjet-Campaign. The results can only be verified via the respective campaign stats page in the Mailjet dashboard. There is no need to pre-create the campaign: adding it to the email header via a Control Script autogenerates the campaign. To view the campaign, login to Mailjet and choose: Campaigns > All. Generating Web output The Web context outputs one HTML web page.

PAGE 1510

Web output can be generated in two different ways: it can be attached to an Email template when generating Email output, or it can be generated using Workflow. Web output can be generated from the Designer when a data set is available. The data can be retrieved from a database or data file, or from a data mapping configuration.

PAGE 1511

Web output settings in the Web context and sections There are a few settings for the Web context and Web sections that have an impact on the actual web page that is generated. These settings are: l l Which Web section is the 'default'; see "Setting a default Web page for output" on page 553. When generating Web output, if there are multiple Web sections, only one of them can be merged with each record. The title, shortcut icon and meta tags appearing in the web page's header.

PAGE 1512

Note When you send a test email, the Email To Script will not be used; instead, the email will be sent to the address that you specify in the Send Test Email dialog. 5. Fill in the dialog and send the emails. Generating Web output from Workflow Generating Web output from Workflow requires you to send a template with a Web context to Workflow; see "Sending files to Workflow" on page 454.

PAGE 1513

When a script calls this function in Preview mode, the script that triggers it is marked with an error icon in the Scripts pane, and the given message is displayed in a hint. When generating output from the Designer, the Designer will log the error and display an error dialog with the given message. Content creation is aborted. When generating output from Workflow, the entire job fails.

PAGE 1514

l l Use a fast network and internet connection or avoid loading external or internet resources. Using images, JavaScript or CSS resources located on a slow network or on a slow internet connection will obviously lead to a loss of speed. While we do our best for caching, a document with 5,000 records which queries a page that takes 1 second to return a different image each time will, naturally, slow output generation down by up to 83 minutes. Make sure to use optimized graphic resources.

PAGE 1515

Step 2. Add the file that contains the collection of images to the template's Resources (see "Adding images" on page 729). Step 3. Display part of the collection file as an image in the template. l l Static images that are part of an image file can be displayed via Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). This technique is much used in web design. In this technique, the file that contains a collection of images is called an image sprite.

PAGE 1516

l In a template, see: "Runtime parameters" on page 466. l In a data mapping configuration, see: "Properties and runtime parameters" on page 228. l In a Job Creation Preset, see: Runtime Parameter Selection.

PAGE 1517

PlanetPress Connect Release Notes This chapter contains the current PlanetPress Connect 2021.2.x Release Notes, as well as the Release Notes from previous versions. l "OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2021.2.1" below Previous releases: l "OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2021.1" on page 1531 l "OL PlanetPress ConnectRelease Notes 2020.2.1" on page 1548 l "OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2020.1" on page 1570 l "OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2019.

PAGE 1518

2019.1 to first update their OL Connect License. A dialog box appears as part of the Connect upgrade process requesting you to do this. It is heavily recommended that you first update the OL Update Manager, as newer versions of the Update Manager can update your OL License to the required version, then install Connect 2021.2. For further details on how to upgrade the Update Client and update your Connect License see the Update Manager 1.3 - Upgrade Guide.

PAGE 1519

Connect and Workflow installation requires Administrator rights Please note that the PlanetPress Connect and PlanetPress Workflow installations can only be run by users who have Administrator rights. Connect Templates Used in Workflow For improved performance we recommend re-saving any Connect templates used in Workflow to the current version of Connect templates. Reduced Memory Version (not recommended for production) It is possible to install OL Connect on a machine with a minimum of 2 GB of RAM.

PAGE 1520

OL Connect 2021.2.1 Improvements Fixed LPR printing errors "Timeout errors" could sometimes be encountered when connecting to a remote printer from Connect server. The timeout values have now been optimized to fix this issue.

PAGE 1521

OL Connect 2021.2 Designer Improvements Sheet Configuration Repeats added Sheet configuration can now be repeated after a fixed number of sheets. For example when a script adds a number of paragraphs from a snippet based on the record index, the number of pages and sheets will increase when browsing through the records. (SHARED-82191) Retrieve a list of image resources Added an option to retrieve a list of image resources via user/control scripting.

PAGE 1522

Improved Drag and Drop support in data model fields It's now possible to drag scripts with simple class and/or ID selectors to the template, similar to how this was already possible for scripts with text based selectors. Dragging a data field from the data model to the scripts folder will create a script with a class based selector.

PAGE 1523

l l The execution scope of a script folder now properly inherits the execution scope of its parent folder. (SHARED-82026) Fixed errors that could be encountered when previewing a template from Designer (using the Preview HTML button) or when using a web page served by Workflow or Node-RED. (SHARED-82532) l l The Section properties dialog and the scripting API now both allow the width and height of a background image to be scaled independently.

PAGE 1524

OL Connect 2021.2 DataMapper Improvements Improved custom SQL dialog The interface for configure SQL queries has been improved for longer SQL queries. The interface now adapts based upon the display size and the length of the SQL query. (SHARED74633) Simplified Boolean Conditional tests A new "Is True" operator has been added to for Condition steps. This allows a condition to check a boolean value directly without having to first supply a second operand.

PAGE 1525

l Introduced new option to autorotate PDF data files. (SHARED-54915) l Fixed an issue with cancelling Refresh boundaries operations. (SHARED-76112) l l l Merging PDF pages using the AlambicEdit API in a script or through a Custom Plugin could lead to content being lost. This issue has now been resolved. (SHARED-76622) Fixed handling of radio button focus when clicking in the XML DataMapper input data panel. (SHARED-76855) Runtime Parameters have now been added to the PDF version of the Export Report.

PAGE 1526

OL Connect 2021.2 Output Improvements Improved password protected PDF output l l Fixed an issue with PDF output unnecessarily prompting for a password when viewed in some Android and iOS browsers and apps. (SHARED-82931) Fixed an issue that could lead to blank pages on some Acrobat Readers (iOS, Android and Chrome Extension). (SHARED-83034) General Output Improvements l Fixed and issue with PCL input conversion. (SHARED-81616) l Include the file currently open for flattening in debug log messages.

PAGE 1527

l l l l l The "Job Size/Page Count" and "Speed/Overall Speed" fields in the print summary in the "Connect Designer" logs are now being correctly reported. (SHARED-81385) A problem was fixed whereby image data from PNG files merged into a PDF were left uncompressed, increasing the file size. (SHARED-81804) Fixed issues with output presets edited in languages other than English. (SHARED-81843) Dynamic PPD printerdef and output presets were set to %%Title: ${template}.

PAGE 1528

Workflow 2021.2 Improvements Performance improvement to Retrieve item plugin A new new Optimized checkbox option has been added to the Retrieve Items plugin. When selected, the plugin will use an improved and more efficient version of the REST API. The checkbox can only be enabled for Entity Records and Record Set. Other Entity types retain the old functionality. (SHARED-74403) GUI improvements l Workflow interface descriptions made more descriptive and user friendly.

PAGE 1529

l Fixed an issue with the Send Email plugin, whereby the HTML email body would be generated as an attachment to the email rather than showing as the actual email body. (SHARED-82252) l l l l l An issue was fixed with TCP ports leaking if connection attempts from either Messenger or the Workflow LPR client were unsuccessful. (SHARED-82868) Create Print Content "out of memory" errors fixed. (SHARED-82485) Fixed a HTTP Server Input issue whereby a static resource type would not be interpreted properly.

PAGE 1530

OL Connect 2021.2 Improvements Security improvements l l Java Runtime Environment (JRE) used for Connect Send plugin and back-end database updated to current JRE 1.8.0-292. (SHARED-81937) Multi-line log messages converted to a single line, to preclude CRLF Injection exploits. (SHARED-74718) General OL Connect improvements l Improved backend database startup process across Connect applications, reducing issues with startup failures in containerized environments.

PAGE 1531

They can be found here. Previous Releases OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2021.1 License Update Required for Upgrade to OL Connect 2021.x From OL Connect 2019.1 onwards, only customers with a current OL Care subscription will be able to update Connect. Every Connect license now contains an end date that represents the last day of OL Care coverage for each customer.

PAGE 1532

Overview This document provides an overview of the new features and enhancements in PlanetPress Connect 2021.1 and PlanetPress Workflow 2021.1, as well as some important installation information. Installing OL Connect 2021.1 and Workflow 2021.1 l l PlanetPress Connect is released as a 64 Bit version only (with the exception of the Workflow, Fax, Search and Imaging modules).

PAGE 1533

OL Connect 2021.1 Enhancements OL Connect 2021.1.1 In the OL Connect 2021.1.0 partner preview it was discovered that dragging group data from the DataMapper into a template was sometimes throwing an error. This has been fixed in the 2021.1.1 patch release of Connect. (SHARED-82134) Security Improvements l For increased security the cookie, localstorage and indexedDB features have now been disabled for the internal browser used by the Designer and Merge Engines.

PAGE 1534

Added option to define a REST Server port that is HTTPS secured. (SHARED-74997) Installer Improvements l Both Connect and Workflow can now be installed when no internet access is available. (SHARED-79964) l The issue with slow responsiveness in Installer component selection has been fixed. (SHARED-76902) l On a Connect update/upgrade, the installer Welcome page now clearly displays both the currently installed version and the upgrade (update) version about to be installed.

PAGE 1535

Server Improvements l l l Fixed some index out of bounds exceptions that were appearing in the logs from time to time when engines are restarted. (SHARED-79522) When the "Enable server security" checkbox preference is changed and applied a dialog now appears warning that a restart of the Server is required.

PAGE 1536

OL Connect 2021.1 Designer Improvements Conditional Wizards The Designer conditional Wizard for elements and the Wizard for conditional print sections have been dramatically improved, allowing very complex rules to be created without any need for scripting. (SHARED-79806) COTG Nested Field Tables COTG Fields Tables now support nested (fields) tables.

PAGE 1537

Scripting Improvements l Added support for selecting runtime parameters in text scripts.

PAGE 1538

l Added support for creating conditional rules based on runtime parameters. (SHARED-78799) l Expand dynamic tables fetched with Loadhtml(). (SHARED-80263) l l l l The default insert method for new search-and-replace scripts is now "Text" instead of "Html", to improve performance. (SHARED-80376) Fixed syntax highlighting issue with the Script keyword 'let' . (SHARED-78644) We now generate an error if a script tries to move an element relative to itself (which Connect does not support).

PAGE 1539

l Runtime parameters can now be used to set template Locale. (SHARED-78787) l Added validation to JSON resource editors. (SHARED-79937) l New prompt added when dragging a field from a detail table to a location outside a detail table. (SHARED-80116) l Add support for copying contents of an extraction field into the clipboard. (SHARED-80164) l Can now set the Virtual Stationery of a media back to "None" by using the clear button.

PAGE 1540

OL Connect 2021.1 DataMapper Improvements Native JSON support The DataMapper now supports JSON as a native data type, with no conversion required. The power of JsonPath selectors helps you streamline the data extraction process, allowing you to handle huge record sizes effortlessly. This makes designing web-based solutions much more straightforward.

PAGE 1541

Streamline repetitive actions Added the ability to break out of a loop and move onto the next step when the desired condition has been met. (SHARED-79527) We have also made the Goto step optional inside Repeat loops. This allows you to loop through, for instance, JSON structures without having to move the data pointer, making the operation less error-prone and more efficient.

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General DataMapper Improvements l Improved DataMapper translations/localization. (SHARED-76798) l Speed improvements made for processing large transactional text data files. (SHARED80006) l l l Added helper function in JavaScript to update field values in records or to add new rows in detail tables. (SHARED-34191) Add support for copying contents of an extraction field into the clipboard. (SHARED-80164) You can now set different values in each copy of a record (specified through record.

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OL Connect 2021.1 Output Improvements Dynamic passwords for protected PDFs The password for opening/protecting output PDF files can now be set dynamically. (SHARED80537) General Output Improvements l l l l l The stability of the Output engine has been improved. Particularly when the engine is running with low memory. (SHARED-77203) The output engine is now more accepting of certain invalid CFF fonts (those containing hintmask without hstemvm/vstemvm).

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version will result in an error. Resolving those errors requires manual updating of these font mapping files. (SHARED-80568) This change only applies to Enhance configurations run from Connect. Print Output Improvements l l l l l l Fixed an issue with misleading warning messages for certain output presets when opening the production Print Wizard or Output Preset editor.

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Workflow 2021.1 Improvements Consolidate print processes The name of the LPD queue that receives a job is now stored in the LPD Input task as JobInfo 6, allowing you to build a single process that can handle jobs coming from multiple queues. This feature will help you cut down on the number of distinct processes required to handle all print queues. Bypass Content creation The Execute Data Mapping task can now Bypass Content creation to use an existing PDF as content, without requiring a template.

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General Workflow Improvements l l l Improved Workflow translations/localization. (SHARED-76783) The Fax Service plugin now works with PDF/VT files created by Connect as welll as legacy PlanetPress Suite .PTK forms.(SHARED-67742) Script reference to "https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.min.js" removed from NodeJS Server login page to avoid problems on secured networks without internet access. (SHARED-79298) l l l l The obsolete "Run from Desktop" option has been removed.

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l If the "Use Dynamic SQL" option is used in the Database Query plugin, then any value in the non-dynamic ODBC location string is ignored for plugin configuration validation. (SHARED-80700) l l l Improved Connect plugin performance when using server authentication. (SHARED-80834) Fixed issue with the NodeJS Server Input task not processing jobs if the action name was a superset of another action name declared previously.

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OL Connect Send Improvements Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services) support Version 1.8 of OLCS adds support for both Citrix and Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Services environments. (SHARED-71164/71167) Some of the changes made to allow this include: l The license check for user based licenses has been changed to distinguish between different users on the same machine/system. These are now separately counted.

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It is heavily recommended that you first update the OL Update Manager, as newer versions of the Update Manager can update your OL License to the required version, then install Connect 2020.2. For further details on how to upgrade the Update Client and update your Connect License see the Update Manager 1.3 - Upgrade Guide. If issues arise, or if you need to renew your OL Care subscription, please contact your local Customer Care group.

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Installing PlanetPress Connect 2020.2 and PlanetPress Workflow 2020.2 l l l PlanetPress Connect is released as a 64 Bit version only (with the exception of the Workflow, Fax, Search and Imaging modules). Full details on installing and licensing PlanetPress Connect and PlanetPress Workflow can be found in the online help, which can be accessed from the software and the installer. Note that both PlanetPress Connect and PlanetPress Workflow come with 30 day trial license by default.

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OL Connect 2020.2.1 Enhancements Fixed Connect 2020.2 Installation error An installer issue that prevented Connect 2020.2 from installing on Hyper-V (and some other virtual environments other than VMware) has been fixed. (SHARED-79958) Fixed Connect 2020.2 uninstallation error It was discovered that the Connect 2020.2 Designer would not fully clean up temporary folders when the Table Wizard was used.

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OL Connect 2020.2 Enhancements OL Connect Security Improvements As part of our ongoing effort to transition to the cloud, we are improving the security of our software. This is ongoing process, with improvements made to this release and more planned for upcoming releases. For this release, we have introduced role based authorization. Multiple users can now be setup, each with their own combination of roles.

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Connect Designer will now prompt for credentials to connect to Connect Server when printing, if they are not already set. Credentials will likewise need to be set manually in Connect Workflow. In this release, the authentication is still based on local users managed by OL Connect. Expect further improvements in later releases. Note The Workflow PDF to Bitmap plugin now requires Connect to produce an output. If Connect 2020.2 is not available, an error will be returned.

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l Multiple PlanetPress Connect dependencies updated. (SHARED-76431) l Improved support for encrypted email output (TLS/SSL). (SHARED-76460) General Improvements l l Cleaned up the error messages returned by Connect Server. Messages will no longer be duplicated, and they will not have exception class prefixes, such as "ApplicationException:". (SHARED-70963) Improved Server side error handling when a template fails to load.

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l l l l The 'Download Contents of Managed Directory' REST API endpoint of the File Store Service has been updated to correctly return a '404 Not Found' response when an invalid path is specified for the 'relPath' path parameter. (SHARED-77822) Added getManagedResult endpoint to allow the results of AllInOne and Output Creation to be retrieved as ManagedFiles.

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Installer Improvements l l l Add a feature to the silent installer of Connect to allow specifying a target folder other than the default folder, using "install.directory=xxx". (SHARED-75669) Silent installations can now specify connecting to a database with an encrypted connection, using "database.usessl". (SHARED-75671) Silent installations no longer need a connection to a database to complete.

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Connect 2020.2 Designer Improvements Improved Background Image options l l The Section Background functionality has been updated to support image types other than PDF. This includes .png, .jpg and .tiff (including multi-page TIFFs) files. This is also supported via the Control Script API.(SHARED-72730) In versions of Connect prior to 2020.

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l Auto suggestion improvements made for table properties in the JavaScript editor. (SHARED-70690) l Introduced prev() and next() functions to the "results" object in our scripting API. (SHARED-70764) l Fixed a problem with Find Previous in the script debugger. (SHARED-76737) l Fixed minor issues in the script folder properties dialog. (SHARED-76996) l l Added the ability to retrieve the size of a print section or medium in any script, and the ability to change the size in a control script.

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General Designer Improvements l l l l l l l l l l l l Inserting a Web Form Element > Button now has an option to add a new Button type in addition to the Submit and Reset options. (SHARED-75256) When the size of a print section is changed, you can now choose to "Update linked media" if the media is only used by that section. If it is not, then the option will not be available. (SHARED-65278) Holding shift while dragging boxes now drags the box in either horizontal or vertical directions.

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l l l l l Fixed an issue whereby inserting a Table or Dynamic Table into a snippet would not mark that snippet as changed. (SHARED-76875) Introduced a new preference to control the behaviour when dragging data fields to the main editor. By default, scripts now use a class selector. (SHARED-76934) Introduced "Send to Connect Server", which can be used to upload templates and configs to Connect Server.

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Connect 2020.2 DataMapper Improvements Improvements for PDF processing l Improved search algorithm in the data.find() method used by the Extract Step. (SHARED57386) l l Improved GoTo step search functionality. (SHARED-76494) Allow choice between the new improved search method or the old functionality (for backwards compatibility).

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Connect 2020.2 Output Improvements 2D Vector Barcode optimization 2D Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) barcodes now optimized. (SHARED-77579) This optimization includes these barcode types: l Aztec Code l DataMatrix l QR Code l Variations of the above, such as GS1 DataMatrix True Type font handling A major overhaul of TrueType font handling in the Connect output engine was conducted. This should help in reducing errors relating to both caching and parallel processing.

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PDF Output Improvements The PDF Output options have been substantially improved. This required a redesign of the PDF Options page, to provide all the new options on a single Wizard page. The various options have now been placed in logically distinct tabs. The improvements include the following: l New image optimization options added for down-sampling mono, greyscale, and color images. (SHARED-75219) This includes a new option to "Optimize for Fast Web View".

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l Added PDF Security options. (SHARED-75213/75216) The Security options mirror those available in Adobe PDF applications. l Improved support for processing digitally signed PDF/A-3 attachments. (SHARED77267/78255) You can now choose to Keep attachments and whether to retain PDF/A-3 extension schema metadata, in order to support production of digitally signed PDF/A-3 using that metadata.

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Print Output Improvements l Fixed issues with missing glyphs and space characters in some double-byte jobs. (SHARED-74531) l l l Placeholders for missing glyphs are now output as black, allowing output to remain monochrome. (SHARED-75513) Fixed issues with large double-byte font jobs. (SHARED-76730) The upper limit for the Separation by Count setting in the Separation Options Page has been increased to 10,000,000. (SHARED-77375) l Optimized line drawing commands to reduce size of AFPDS output.

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Workflow 2020.2 Improvements Thai Tax Invoice schema Added new Thai Tax Invoice schema to the PDF/A-3 Attachments task. (SHARED-78258) Workflow Capacity Improvement The LPD Input task has been enhanced. (SHARED-56608) Improvements include: l Allowing multiple queue names to be specified. l Support added for handling empty LPR queue names. l Allowing PDFs to be created from the input document (like the Winqueue Input task), if the input is PostScript format.

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General Workflow Improvements l l l l Connect resources from the Configuration Components treeview can now be dragged and dropped into a Workflow process, automatically adding the corresponding Connect plugin. (SHARED-70313) Custom Plugin categories created via imported PPKs will now be retained when the plugin toolbar is reset to default.

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l l DocuWare plugins: l Plugin now outputs document index data to jobfile as XML/JSON. (SHARED-77207) l Improved connection error messaging. (SHARED-76367) Custom plugins set as inputs can now be configured to respect the polling interval set on the process.

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OL Connect Send Improvements OLCS Cloud Support Cloud support added to OLCS. Customers will be able to have any number of users printing to their Cloud system through OLCS. OLCS jobs that are received by cloud licenses of Workflow are encrypted so that only cloud licensed Connect can process them. (SHARED-78158) Improved OLCS Printer Driver download and installation A new way of pre-configuring the installer has been introduced that simplifies the installation process.

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OL PlanetPress Connect Release Notes 2020.1 License Update Required for Upgrade to Connect 2020.x From OL Connect 2019.1 onwards, only customers with a current OL Care subscription will be able to update Connect. Every Connect license now contains an end date that represents the last day of OL Care coverage for each customer. Upgrades and updates of Connect will be freely available up until that end date, but will not be available thereafter, unless the OL Care period is extended.

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Backup before Upgrading It is recommended that you always backup your existing Connect preferences before upgrading to a new version. This will enable you to revert back to the previous version, in a worst case scenario in which the new version introduces issues with your existing production processes. Whilst the probability of such a worst case scenario is remote, it cannot hurt to take some simple precautions, just in case.

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GB of RAM and default to only using one internal Weaver and one internal merge engine on that system. The Server will also run using internal engines.

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OL Connect 2020.1 Enhancements MySQL update and improvements The database that comes bundled with OL Connect has been updated to the latest version of MySQL (8.0.18), along with the drivers used to connect to it. (SHARED-63665/74191) The new packaged database will only be installed with new installations. This is to avoid any chance of issues that might occur in migrating an existing database to the new version.

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Bypassing Content Creation Many OL Connect jobs require making simple changes to print-ready batches of documents: adding OMR marks, commingling jobs, postal sorting, and the like. For those types of jobs, no merging of any data is required and yet, after data mapping is done, you must still go through the Content Creation step before moving on to Job Creation. A new REST API method has now been introduced to allow you to create print content directly from paginated input: DataMiningRestService.

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Connect 2020.1 Designer Improvements Improved Table wizard and Nested Tables The 2020.1 release of OL Connect has a revamped Insert Detail Table wizard to help you build more sophisticated tables. (SHARED-56213) It simplifies the process of setting up dynamic tables that show complementary information based on nested detail data. In previous Connect releases you had to write complex scripts to achieve this. The new wizard lets you setup these tables from within the user interface of the application.

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that no master page is used. In 2019.2 you needed to pass either "null" or an empty string. (SHARED-74887) l Fixed an issue with scripting that could cause statements like query("