7.4

A variable content document is one that can dynamically change its content and appearance based on the data it receives at
runtime.
About Document Elements
While Objects are generally placed in the Workspace Area (on your page), Elements are a broader term that include con-
ditions, variables, functions and metadata fields. Here is a list of all the elements available in PlanetPress Design.
Sample Data Files
ASample Data file is a file that, while it follows the same structure as the one you will use when actually processing your doc-
ument, only contains part of the actual data. It is used to create your document while having an example of the data file, and
can even be fake, computer-generated data in some cases. For more information about data, please see the chapter on "Data
in PlanetPress Design" (page 83).
Document
A Document is generally described as any number of pages that are destined for one recipient. For example, a document can
be an invoice (or multiple invoices)sent to a client, a receipt or a report on one particular department. In a PlanetPress Design
document, the term Document is the element that includes all the pages of your document and controls the global document
properties. For more information about documents, see the chapter on "Setting Up a Document" (page 105).
Styles
Styles are basically specific font configurations can be applied to an object in any of your document's pages. You need at least
one style in your document, but can have multiple styles applied to different objects. The styles contain properties that control
the font type, size, color, spacing, etc. For more information about styles, see the chapter on "Fonts and Styles" (page 29).
Conditions
Conditions can be applied to objects to make them appear or not, and can also be used within objects as PlanetPress Talk Bool-
ean variables to display one value or another. For more information about conditions, see the chapter on "Conditions" (page
187).
Metadata Fields
Metadata is generally defined as data about data, and in the PlanetPress Suite world is more precisely information about your
document that is not part of your sample data file. Metadata includes things like page counts, page size properties, etc. It is
divided in multiple levels including the Job, Group, Document, Data Page and Page levels, and can contain properties and
fields at any of those levels. Metadata fields are user-defined strings that can be added at different levels of your metadata.
For more information on Metadata and Metadata fields, please see Working with Metadata.
Global Variables
Global variables are variables that can be shared between pages and datapages within your document. Global variables will
not change unless you change them using a PlanetPress Talk definition. For more information on global variable, see Global
Variables.
Global Functions
Global functions are PlanetPress Talk functions that are available from any page or datapage within your document. Global
functions cannot be changed during runtime so they are static. Functions can accept multiple parameters and return different
types of variables. For more information on global functions, see "Create a Global Condition" (page 190).
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