User Guide Version: 2018.
User Guide Version 2018.1 Last Revision: 2019-12-20 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. 1994-2019. 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.
Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 Welcome to PrintShop Mail Connect 2018.
No switch for case sensitivity in Dynamic Printer Rules editor Limit of 100MB of image files within a single job Print Output: Booklet Impositioning changes introduced in 2018.1 Installation Paths with Multi-Byte Characters Switching Languages GoDaddy Certificates MySQL Compatibility Available Printer Models Colour Model in Stylesheets Image Preview in Designer VIPP Output Uninstalling Important Note: Stop any active Anti-Virus software before uninstalling Connect.
Email context Email templates Email header settings Email attachments Content elements Element types Editing HTML Attributes Inserting an element Selecting an element Deleting an element Styling and formatting an element Barcode Boxes Business graphics Date Hyperlink and mailto link Images Table Text and special characters Snippets Adding a snippet to the Resources Adding a snippet to a section Creating a snippet JSON Snippets Styling and formatting Local formatting versus style sheets Layout properties Sty
Fonts Locale Spacing Personalizing Content Variable data Conditional content Dynamic images Snippets Scripts Loading data Variable Data Formatting variable data Showing content conditionally Conditional Print sections Dynamic Images Preferences COTG Servers preferences Clean-up Service preferences Database Connection preferences Datamapper preferences Editing preferences Email Preferences Emmet Preferences Language Setting Preferences Logging Setting Preferences Print Preferences Saving Preferences Scheduli
Loading content using a server's API Control Scripts The script flow: when scripts run Selectors in Connect Designer User Interface Dialogs Keyboard shortcuts Menus Panes Toolbars Welcome Screen Print Options Job Creation Presets Output Creation Settings Page breakdown Codabar Settings 343 345 359 360 365 367 427 433 442 458 463 464 540 550 568 575 Code 128 Settings 578 Code 39 Settings 580 Data Matrix Settings 583 EAN-128 Settings 586 EAN-13 Settings 589 EAN-8 Settings 592 Interleaved 2 of 5
Examples Examples Examples Examples Examples Examples Examples Example Example Example Example Example Examples Creating a table of contents Example Examples Examples Examples Examples Replace elements with a snippet Replace elements with a set of snippets Example Example Creating a Date object from a string Control Script API Examples Generating output Print output Email output Optimizing a template Scripts Images Generating Print output Saving Printing options in Print Presets Connect Printing options tha
Adding print output models to the Print Wizard Splitting printing into more than one file Print output variables Generating Email output Email output settings in the Email context and sections Using an ESP with PrintShop Mail Connect Print Manager Print Manager Introduction Video Print Manager usage Print Manager Interface Menu options Printers pane Printer Queue pane Job Queue pane Messages pane Job History pane Printer Capabilities pane Printer Status pane Print Manager Preferences Overview Connect 2018.
Connect 2018.1.1 Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1 General Enhancements Dynamic Print Control for PostScript printers Improved Business Graphics Connect 2018.1 Designer Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1 Output Enhancements/Fixes Connect 1.8 Print Manager Enhancements/Fixes Known Issues Overview Connect 2018.1.4 Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1.3 Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1.2 Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1.1 Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.
Connect 2018.1 Designer Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1 Output Enhancements/Fixes Connect 1.8 Print Manager Enhancements/Fixes Known Issues Overview Connect 2018.1.1 Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1 General Enhancements Dynamic Print Control for PostScript printers Improved Business Graphics Connect 2018.1 Designer Enhancements/Fixes Connect 2018.1 Output Enhancements/Fixes Connect 1.8 Print Manager Enhancements/Fixes Known Issues Overview Connect 2018.
Connect 1.6.1 Output Enhancements and Fixes Known Issues Overview Connect 1.5 Designer Enhancements and Fixes Connect 1.5 Output Enhancements and Fixes Connect 1.5 General Enhancements and Fixes Known Issues Overview 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.
Welcome to PrintShop Mail Connect 2018.1 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. PrintShop Mail Connect is a tool designed to optimize customer communications. It is designed to improve the creation, distribution, interaction and maintenance of your communications.
Setup And Configuration This chapter describes the PrintShop Mail Connect installation and the different considerations that are important in regards to the installation and use of PrintShop Mail Connect. l "System and Hardware Considerations" below l "Installation and Activation" on page 32 l "Known Issues" on page 81 l "Engine configuration" on page 25 System and Hardware Considerations There are a variety of considerations to be aware of.
Directories and folders Main installation folder All Connect applications are installed under an arbitrarily selectable main folder. We will refer to it as the "Installation Target" hereafter. The installation target will hold the executables and files and sub-folders required for the operation of the whole product suite. All these files and folders are static after installation. It depends upon the company virus protection strategy, if such files and folders are to be monitored or not.
Database 1 Depending on the components installed, a database instance is created in a folder called "connect.database" under the Windows system temp folder. The temp folder is accessible via the standardized system variable %TMP%. Usually, folders holding temporary files and folders should be excluded from a virus protection, because this influences the overall performance of the whole system at all.
l character-set-server = utf8 , collation-server = utf8_unicode_ci , default-characterset=utf8 : These indicate database support for UTF-8/Unicode. Installing / Updating Connect Using an existing local MySQL instance If MySQL Server is already present and you wish to use it, the following should be taken into consideration: l l l l The minimum supported MySQL version is 5.1.31. The MySQL account must have access to all permissions using the GRANT Command, including creating databases.
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 database connections to any but the supplied MySQL database. Note Since PrintShop Mail Connect version 1.6 the minimum required version of the MS SQL Server is SQL Server 2012.
When modifying Connect l l If local MySQL is removed from an installation, the DB Configuration page will offer additionally the Microsoft SQL Server db type with respective default values. If local MySQL is added to an installation, the usual MySQL Configuration page with default values will be displayed. 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.
Warning If a Connect 1.5 user wants to use Microsoft SQL instead of MySQL for the Connect Server, there are several points to be taken care of: l l IF there should possibly be available some foreign MySQL instance, which could be used intermediately, then this should be selected during the setup. This ensures, that no stuff gets installed. Otherwise the supplied MySQL needs to be installed and the switch to Microsoft SQL needs to be done as outlined above.
Environment considerations Terminal Server/Service Support PrintShop Mail Connect does not support Terminal Server (or Terminal Service) environment as possible under Windows 2000, 2003 and 2008. This is to say, if Terminal Service is installed on the server where PrintShop Mail Connect is located, unexpected behaviours may occur and will not be supported by Objectif Lune Inc.. Furthermore, using PrintShop Mail Connect in a Terminal Service environment is an infringement of our End-User License Agreement.
Remote Desktop Support Tests have demonstrated that PrintShop Mail Connect can be used through Remote Desktop. It is however possible that certain combination of OS could cause issues. If problems are encountered, please contact OL Support and we will investigate. PrintShop Mail Connect 1.3 and later have been certified under Remote Desktop. 32-bit or 64-bit Operating Systems? PrintShop Mail Connect is a 64-bit software and can only be installed on 64-bit operating systems.
been tested and tuned, which is reflected in the respective .ini entries and the used command line switches. A collection of valuable settings has been elaborated and found its entry in PrintShop Mail Connect “good switches list” (called the “whitelist”).
PrintShop Mail Connect on a non-English operating system. These are due to encoding issues and will be addressed in a later release. 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.
and/or emails, per minute) for Subscription licence, or 1000ppm for Perpetual licence. Additional Performance Packs increase this quota. The number of engines that are allowed to operate in parallel to create the same type of output are referred to as speed units. PrintShop Mail Connect provides 1 speed unit (with both licence types). It is important to note that only output operations are limited by this quota. l The Weaver engine always requires a speed unit to run.
1. Select Window > Preferences... from the menu; under Scheduling, select Scheduling Merge engine. 2. Set Local engines launched to a number appropriate for your system. 3. Initially, you can set Parallel engines per job to the same number as the Local engines launched, for both medium and large jobs (see "Job size limits" below, below). 4. Always set Maximum concurrent engines per type to the same number as the Local engines launched, for both medium and large jobs. 5. Click OK or Apply.
l Under Scheduling - Merge engine you can set the number of Parellel engines per job for medium and large jobs. Example Testing may reveal that jobs between 50 and 250 records benefit from running with 2 Merge engines, but that running those jobs with more Merge engines doesn't result in higher output speeds or even takes a bit longer. In this case, the maximum number of records in a small job should be set to 50; the minimum number of records in a large job could be set to 250.
With no Performance Pack, PrintShop Mail Connect's Weaver engine can generate output at 250 ppm (pages, or emails) per minute) for Subscription licence, or 1000ppm for Perpetual licence. Additional Performance Packs increase this quota. If your print jobs are not running at the licensed speed, there may be several ways to improve the performance, as described below. Note however that it is not guaranteed that the licensed speed can be achieved with any job.
l l l l l Use efficient selectors. Using very precise selectors in scripts will be much faster than using a text selector, especially on large documents. See "Use an ID as selector" on page 336. Optimize your scripts. Custom scripts with non-optimized loops and unnecessary DOM manipulations can slow down Content Creation. Use the Designer's test facilities to find out which scripts can be improved (see "Testing scripts" on page 332 and "Optimizing scripts" on page 336). Only run the necessary scripts.
l l l Use a high-performance, low-latency hard drive. Connect benefits from fast I/O. Preferably use a Solid State Drive (SSD) or similar for storage. Use at least 8+ GB High-Quality RAM. Check memory usage while the Print command is being executed to see if you need more than the minimum of 8GB. Assuming that the Designer and the Connect database need 1GB each, that each Merge engine needs 1GB and the Weaver engine needs 1GB as well, you can roughly estimate how much memory is needed.
l 8GB RAM (16GB Recommended) l Disk Space: At least 10GB (20GB recommended) Note For tips and tricks on performance, see Performance Considerations. Installation and Activation This topic provides detailed information about the installation and activation of PrintShop Mail Connect 2018.1. Note A PDF version of this guide is available for use in offline installations. Click here to download it. Where to obtain the installers The installers for PrintShop Mail Connect 2018.
l Migrating to a new computer Installation - "How to" guides For information on how to conduct the installation itself, chose from the following topics: l Installation l Silent Installation l Installation on machines without Internet access Activation For information on licensing, please see Activating your license. Installation prerequisites l l l l Make sure your system meets the System requirements. PrintShop Mail Connect Version 2018.
The following links contain the details as to when and where Windows Administrator rights are required: l Connect Installation: Connect Installation l Activating Connect: Activating a License Permissions for PrintShop Mail Connect Designer PrintShop Mail Connect Designer does not require any special permissions to run besides that of a regular program. It does not require administrative rights and only needs permission to read/write in any folder where Templates are located.
3. Now copy the PrintShop Mail Connect installer to the offline machine and start the installation as normal Windows certificate validation - Certificate Revocation List retrieval should be switched off For your security Objectif Lune digitally signs all relevant files with our own name and certificate. The integrity of these files is checked at various times by different, context related, methods. One of these checks, done during the installation process, uses the Windows certificate validation check. .
l If on a DVD, either insert the DVD and initiate the installation from there or copy the contents to a folder (keeping the folder structure) Navigate to the PrintShop Mail_Connect_Setup_x64.exe or and double-click on it. After a short while the Setup Wizard will appear as a guide through the installation steps. Note PrintShop Mail Connect requires prior installation of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Please refer to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.
this documentation) could be used instead, for the same purposes. The external database could reside on the same computer or on a separate server. If you wish to make use of an external database, please make sure the MySQL Product option is not selected. Warning If you chose not to install the supplied MySQL database, and instead opt to use a pre-existing external database, then you must ensure that your external database is accessible to Connect, yourself. Objectif Lune Inc.
l Source repository location: Displays the path where the installation files are located. This can be a local drive, installation media, or a network path. Selection Confirmation The next page confirms the installation selections made. Click Next to start the installation itself. End User License Agreement The next page displays the End User License Agreement, which needs to be read and accepted before clicking Next.
If the password is subsequently forgotten, then the MySQL product must be uninstalled and its database deleted from disk before attempting to reinstall. l l Confirm MySQL user 'root' Password: Re-enter to confirm the password. Both passwords must match for installation to continue. TCP/IP Port Number: The port on which MySQL will expect, and respond to, requests. A check is run to confirm whether the specified TCP\IP Port Number is available on the local machine.
Click “Yes” to install or open the Product Update Manager where the frequency with which the updates can be checked and a proxy server (if required) can be specified. Note: if the Product Update Manager was already installed by another Objectif Lune 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.
Installer. The required properties file has the following attributes: l Comment Lines, starting with # (e.g. # The options to configure an external database) l Key = Value pairs (e.g. install.product.0 = Connect Designer) For supported keys, please refer to the next paragraph. Note install.properties file notation must follow commons configuration rules. Please refer to Properties files for more details. Required and optional properties Required properties depend on the specified product.
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. Product selection (optional) By default, if nothing is entered for the products to be installed (install.product.
server.master.username = server.master.password = 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.
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.
Repository selection The Connect installation process requires a repository from which the installer copies (locally) or downloads (online installation) all selected Connect products. In Silent Installer mode, the installation process looks for the property product.repository in the install.properties file and then proceeds with the following steps: 1. If the property exists, and its value contains an existing file location with a repository, the installer will attempt to install from that repository. 2.
l en-US (English, US) l de-DE (German, Germany) l fr-FR (French, France) l ja-JP (Japanese, Japan) l zh-CN (Chinese, China) l zh-HK (Chinese, Hongkong) l zh-MO (Chinese, Macau) l zh-TW (Chinese, Taiwan) l it-IT (Italian, Italy) l pt-BR (Portuguese, Brazil) l es-419 (Spanish, Latin America) Locale selection by defining user.language and user.country If both user.language and user.country are defined in the install.
1. If the System Locale is in the list of supported Locales, it will be selected. 2. Otherwise, if there is an entry in the list of supported Locales, which matches the System language, it will be selected (e.g. on a fr-CA system, fr-FR is selected). 3. As last resort, the first Locale in the preinstall.ini is selected (usually that should be enUS). Getting the exit code of a silent installation If getting the exit code of a silent installation is desirable, use the following procedure. 1.
Sample batch file @echo off preinstall.exe if errorlevel 10 goto err_installer if errorlevel 2 goto err_unknown if errorlevel 1 goto err_preinstall echo Success goto:eof :err_installer echo "Installer error - see OL_Install_.log" goto:eof :err_unknown echo "Unknown preinstall error - see preinstall_err.log" goto:eof :err_preinstall echo "Preinstall error - see preinstall_err.
l Open the Start Menu l Click on All Programs, then Objectif Lune, then PrintShop Mail Connect l Open the PrintShop Mail Connect Designer [version] shortcut. l If the application has never been activated before or if the activation (either a trial or full license) has expired, the Software Activation dialog should automatically appear.
l l 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. Even if a license file has been Loaded, it will not be installed if this dialog is Cancelled before the Install License button was clicked. Note The Software Activation dialog can also be reached through a shortcut located in All Programs > Objectif Lune > PrintShop Mail Connect and is named Connect Software Activation.
Note Activating the PrintShop Mail Connect license requires the user to have local Windows Administration rights. l l l l l l Using a user profile that has local Windows Administration rights, open the Start Menu Click on All Programs, then Objectif Lune, then PrintShop Mail Connect, then PrintShop Mail Connect Designer [version] folder. Run the “PrintShop Mail Connect Software Activation” tool. Click the Load License File button, and browse for the .
l Network Considerations l Database Considerations l Environment Considerations l Installation Pre-Requisites l Antivirus Exclusions Downloading and Installing the Software In order to migrate to a new workstation, the software must already be installed on the new workstation. Follow the Installation and Activation Guide to download and install the newest version of PrintShop Mail Connect on the new workstation.
l l l OL Connect Print Manager Configuration files (.OL-ipdsprinter) C:\Users\ [UserName]\Connect\workspace\configurations\PrinterConfig 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] needs to be replaced with your own Windows username.
Capture l l l l l l Download the latest version of the Anoto PenDirector. Before installing the PenDirector, make sure the pen’s docking station isn’t plugged into the server. Then install the PenDirector. Stop the Messenger 8 service on old and new server from the Workflow menu bar > Tools > Service Console > Messenger > right-click and select Stop. Import the following files and folders from the old server into their equivalent location on the new server: C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Work
l l Stop the OLConnect_Server service from Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > OLConnect_Server > Stop Configure the Merge and Weaver Engines scheduling preferences as in the previous installation l l l l Configure the Merge and Weaver engines preferences under Scheduling (see "Engine configuration" on page 29) Configure any other options for the Clean-up Service Configure the minimum (Xms) and maximum (Xmx) memory utilization for the Server, Merge and Weaver engines as previously or be
l Click on Scheduling and type in the location of the new Master server l Start the OLConnect_ServerExtension service Transferring Software Licenses Once all the above resources have been transferred over to the new server, it is recommended to thoroughly test the new system with sample files under normal production load to identify points of improvement and make sure the output match the user’s expectation.
Uninstalling PrintShop Mail 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. Preferences The Preferences dialog is used to modify the general software preferences. Changes made in this dialog affect the software globally, not individual templates and data mapping configurations.
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.
systems. The values below define when the specified targets are to be set as being ready for deletion, not when they are actually deleted. The actual deletion occurs only as per the cron job scheduling; or when PrintShop Mail Connect is started (if Run at application start up is selected); or when the Run Now button is pressed. 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.
l Database Clean-up Service: l Allow database clean-up service: Select this checkbox to enable the database Clean-up settings, and enable the actual clean-up. l Threads to use for database deletions: The number of Threads to be used in the clean-up. PrintShop Mail Connect is a multi-threaded application, and the clean-up is likewise. Tip The default number of threads is considered the best compromise for running both clean-up and production jobs simultaneously.
still be in use, it is recommended that all Minimum time retention values should always be set to at least the length of your longest job. Preferably with some extra time added, for good measure. For example, if your longest job takes 45 to 50 minutes to run, then set the retention time to 55 minutes (or 1 hour) to ensure that all the database objects created during job processing survive for the duration of the job.
l l l Run Now: This will run the clean-up service immediately. 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.
Note Moving from one vendor database to another will reset all screen selections to defaults, regardless of what may have been previously selected. l Database URL: This is a read-only summation of the current database connection settings. Tip If the Test Connection button shows that the database cannot be successfully connected to using the selected settings, then the contents of this field could be used to try to connect to the database outside of PrintShop Mail Connect.
l l Password: Enter the password associated with selected username. l Confirm password: Re-enter the user password. Advanced Connection Settings selections: l Maximum concurrent threads: This option sets the maximum database threads. The maximum setting is determined by the specific capabilities of the machine Connect is installed upon (CPU speed and the amount of cores being the major determinants). Tip Leaving this value set to the default maximum should be the best option in most circumstances.
l Apply: When a database connection is confirmed as correct this button becomes active, and is used to actually apply the database swap. The Database Connection Preferences also provides you with buttons to : 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.
l l Date Language : Set the date language for a date value (ex: If English is selected, the term May will be identified as the month of May). Treat empty as 0 : A numerical empty value is treated as a 0 value. The Datamapper 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.
l l l l l l l l Resizable Table: This color highlights tables for which the option Allow resizing has been checked when adding the table; see "Table" on page 229. Forms: This color highlights forms; see Forms. Shared Content: This color highlights shared content, such as shared snippets; see "Snippets" on page 235. Guides: This is the color for rulers that can help position content correctly; see "Guides" on page 255.
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.
l l l l l Use authentication: Check if a user name and password are needed to send emails through the host. Start TLS: Enabled if authentication is checked. Sends emails through Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is sometimes referred to as SSL. 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.
Note Emmet is a plugin. All options listed below are Emmet's default options. They are not specifically adjusted for Connect. Common Emmet preferences l l l l Expand abbreviations by Tab key: Check to enable the Expand Abbreviation function. ... in files with extension: Enter a comma-separated list of all file extensions in which expand abbreviation will work. Upgrade web editors: This Emmet option doesn't affect how Emmet works in Connect Designer.
l l l Remove: Remove the currently selected abbreviation. Import: Click to open a browse dialog to import an XML file containing exported abbreviations. The imported abbreviations are added to the current list. Export: Click to open a Save as dialog to export all the abbreviations in an XML file that can be shared and re-imported. l Preview box: Shows what the selected abbreviation is expanded to. l Restore Defaults: clear all custom abbreviations.
l l l l Import: Click to open a browse dialog to import an XML file containing exported snippets. The imported snippets are added to the current list. Export: Click to open a Save as dialog to export all the snippets in an XML file that can be shared and re-imported. Preview box: Shows what the selected snippet is expanded to. To temporarily disable a snippet, uncheck the checkbox next to the name of the snippet in the list.
Language Setting Preferences l l Display language: Select a language from the drop-down list to be used as the language of the User Interface (after the software is restarted). Default Locale: The default locale sets the locale for new templates. By default this is the system's locale. The locale can be changed per template; see "Locale" on page 276. l Select System Locale to use the operating system's locale settings. l Select Explicit Locale to choose a static locale from the drop-down list.
l l Size-based logs: By combining the maximize individual file size, plus the amount of files to retain, this effectively allows a hard disk usage space limitation on the logging process. l l l Number of days to retain logs: This value only impacts upon historic (closed) logs. Chose between 1 and 99,999 days. The default value is set to 10 days for a new installation and 99,999 days on existing installations (to preserve backward compatibility).
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 552 and "Adding print output models to the Print Wizard" on page 713.
"Guides" on page 255). With this option checked, dragging a guide from a horizontal ruler inserts a vertical guide. The Print Preferences also provides you with buttons to : l l l Test Print Server URL. This button is only available for the General Print Preferences. It tests the Print Server URL settings made within that Preferences page. Restore Defaults. This option restores the preferences to Defaults. This applies to the current Preferences page only, but not other Preferences.
l 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. Backup files have the same name as the original file with two underscores and a progressive number (without leading zeros) at the end: originalname__1.OL-template, originalname__ 2.OL-template, etc. The Save Preferences also provides you with buttons to : l l Restore Defaults.
Scheduling - Weaver engine This preference page determines the number of engines launched, as well as their speed, when generating Print Output of any type. For a detailed description of all options, see Weaver Engine Scheduling. The Scheduling 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.
Connect: a peek under the hood Connect consists of visible and invisible parts. The visible part is of course the Designer, that you use to create templates and print presets. The invisible parts process the Connect job to provide the actual output. This topic introduces you to those parts. Here's a simplified, graphical representation of the architecture of PrintShop Mail Connect. The Connect database The Connect database is the database back-end used by Connect itself when processing jobs.
A clean-up of the database is performed at regular intervals in accordance with the settings (see "Clean-up Service preferences" on page 302). The File Store Connect has its own File Store which it uses for transient files. The Clean-up service takes care of removing obsolete files when those files are not marked as permanent (see "Clean-up Service preferences" on page 302). The engines Datamapper engine. A Datamapper engine extracts data from a data file.
Each Merge engine and each Weaver engine needs at least one speed unit. However, since the number of engines is configurable, and since small, medium and large jobs may run concurrently, the number of engines in use may not match the number of available speed units. When there are more speed units than there are engines in use, the Connect server distributes the speed units and the maximum output speed to the engines proportionally.
increase in processing times, as well as some minor differences in the output. For example, table line widths and font spacings might differ slightly (particularly for SMALL CAPS text), which could lead to slightly different word-wrapping in some circumstances. Windows Server 2016 issue As of PrintShop Mail Connect 2018.1 Connect is officially supported under Windows Server 2016. Please note, however, that the Objectif Lune Inc.
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.
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.
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. Uninstalling This topic provides some important information about uninstalling (removing) PrintShop Mail Connect2018.1. To uninstall PrintShop Mail Connect select the application from within the Add/Remove programs option under the Control Panel. This will start the PrintShop Mail Connect Setup Wizard in uninstall mode.
Uninstallation Wizard The uninstallation is done by running the PrintShop Mail Connect Setup Wizard in uninstall mode. The Wizard consists of the following pages: 1. PrintShop Mail Connect Setup: An information page, listing what will be uninstalled, and also warning about impacts upon running Applications and Services. 2. Data Management: A page that provides options for backing up or deleting Connect data.
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 17). All generated items (records, content items etc.) are stored in this database . Note Email content items are not stored in the Connect database.
The engines Datamapper engine. A Datamapper engine extracts data from a data file. This is an internal engine, for which there are no settings to make. Merge engine/s. A merge engine merges data with a template using the scripts in the template, in order to create (Print orEmail) content items. The number of merge engines is configurable (see Merge Engine Scheduling): it can be increased depending on the capacity of the machine that runs the solution (see "Performance Considerations" on page 28).
Connect File Types This article describes the different File Types that are related to PrintShop Mail Connect and its different modules. These are files that are generally transferable between machines, can be sent via email or other means. l l l l l l l .OL-template: A Designer Template file, including up to 3 contexts. Is linked to a data mapping configuration by default, but not necessarily. .
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.More advanced users may use native HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
1. Create a template Create a template, using one of the Template Wizards. See "Creating a template" on the facing page. 2. Fill the template Add text, images and other elements to the template and style them. See "Content elements" on page 162 and "Styling and formatting" on page 238. 3. Personalize the content Personalize the content using variable data. See "Personalizing Content" on page 278. 4. Generate output Adjust the settings, test the template and generate output: letters and emails.
"Snippets" on page 235. Snippets help share content between contexts, or insert content conditionally. "Styling and formatting" on page 238. Make your Designer templates look pretty and give them the same look and feel with style sheets. "Personalizing Content" on page 278. Personalize your customer communications using variable data. "Writing your own scripts" on page 323. Scripting can take personalization much further. Learn how to script via this topic. "Generating output" on page 706.
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. After creating a template you can add the other contexts (see "Contexts" on page 99), as well as extra sections (see "Sections" on page 101), to the template. It is, however, not possible to use a Template Wizard when adding a context or section to an existing template.
Opening a package file Templates can also be stored in a package file (see "Sharing a template" on the next page). To open a package file, switch the file type to Package files (*.OL-package) in the Open File dialog. When the package contains print presets, you will be asked if you want to import them into the proper repositories. Saving a template A Designer template file has the extension .OL-template.
1. Select the menu option Window > Preferences > Save. 2. Under Auto save, check the option Enable to activate the Auto Save function. 3. Change how often it saves the template by typing a number of minutes. Auto Backup Connect Designer can automatically create a backup file when you manually save a template. To configure Auto Backup: 1. Select the menu option Window > Preferences > Save. 2. Under Auto backup, check the option Enable to activate the Auto Backup function. 3.
To create a package file, select File > Package file, see "Package files" on the next page. The package file has the extension .OL-package and can be opened in the Designer (see "Opening a package file" on page 94). Exporting a template report A template report can be used for archiving purposes or to provide information about the template to people who do not have access to Connect. Such a report can be exported in PDF or XML format.
Generating output from the Designer Output can be generated directly from the Designer; see "Generating Print output" on page 709, and "Generating Email output" on page 724. To test a template first, select Context > Preflight. Preflights executes the template without actually producing output and it displays any issues once it's done (see also: "Testing scripts" on page 332). Package files The Package file dialog saves templates and print presets as a package file.
Internal resources Internal resources are files that are added to and saved with the template. To add images, fonts, style sheets, and snippets to your template, you can drag or copy/paste them into the Resources Pane. See also: "Images" on page 223, "Snippets" on page 235, "Styling templates with CSS files" on page 239 and "Fonts" on page 273. Resource files can also be dragged or copy/pasted out of the the application to save them on a local hard drive.
src="file:///c:/resources/images/signatures/johnsmith.gif"> or var json_variables = loadjson ("file:///d:/jsondata/variables.json");. The complete syntax is: file:///. If the host is "localhost", it can be omitted, as it is in the example, resulting in file:///. The empty string is interpreted as `the machine from which the URL is being interpreted'. Network paths are similar: results.loadhtml ("file://servername/sharename/folder/snippet.
Tip If an Email context is going to be part of the template, it is recommended to start with an Email Template Wizard; see "Creating an Email template with a Wizard" on page 145. After creating a template, contexts can be added to it, but that can not be done with a wizard.
this way. Sections Sections are parts of one of the contexts in a template: Print or Email. They contain the main text flow for the contents. In each of the contexts there can be multiple sections. A Print context, for example, may consist of two sections: a covering letter and a policy. Adding a section To add a section to a context, right-click the context (Email or Print) on the Resources pane, and then click New section. The new section has the same settings as the first section in the same context.
Copying a section Copying a section, either within the same template or from another template, can only be done manually. You have to copy the source of the HTML file: 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 the previous page, above). 4.
Section properties Which properties apply to a section, depends on the context it is part of. See also: "Print sections" on page 115, "Email templates" on page 150, and Web pages. To change the properties for a section: l On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the folder of the respective context, right-click the name of the section, and then click one of the options.
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. Arranging sections Changing the order of the sections in a context can have an effect on how they are outputted; see: "Print sections" on page 115, "Email templates" on page 150 and Web pages.
Print Connect supports a number of different types of print outputs. These include: l l AFP IPDS (spool file created by Connect, with printer control available through the "Print Manager" on page 732) l PCL l PDF l PostScript (including the PPML, VIPP and VPS variants) With the Designer you can create one or more Print templates and merge the template with a data set to generate personal letters, invoices, policies, or any other type of letter you can think of.
next page. This happens automatically, based on the section's page size and margins; see "Page settings: size, margins and bleed" on page 124. Although generally the same content elements can be used in all three contexts (see "Content elements" on page 162), the specific characteristics of pages make it possible to use special elements, such as page numbers; see "Page numbers " on page 126. See "Pages" on page 123 for an overview of settings and elements that are specific for pages.
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 709. See "Media" on page 134 for further explanation about how to add Media and how to apply them to different pages. Copy Fit Copy Fit is a feature to scale text to the available space, the name of a person on a greeting card for example, or the name of a product on a shelf talker.
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. Print Template Wizards There are three Print Template wizards: one for a formal letter, one for a postcard and one for a Print template based on a PDF that you provide.
The Wizard opens the Print section, so that you can fill it with text and other elements; see "Content elements" on page 162. It already has two Positoned Boxes on it: one on the front, for text, and one on the back, for the address. See "Print context" on page 111 and "Print sections" on page 115 for more information about Print templates. Formal letter The Formal Letter Wizard first lets you select the page settings, see "Page settings: size, margins and bleed" on page 124.
l l l 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 131. 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. It is applied to all pages in the Print section, as can be seen in the Sheet Configuration dialog.
elements, like a reseller address, voucher codes and so on, can be added in front of it (see "Personalizing Content" on page 278 and "Variable Data" on page 288). 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.
Creating the Print context You can start creating a Print template with a Wizard (see "Creating a Print template with a Wizard" on page 107), or add the Print context to an existing template (see "Adding a context" on page 100). 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.
Initially, the (empty) master page that has been created with the Print context will be applied to all pages in the Print section, but more Master Pages can be added and applied to different pages. l l One Media is added to the template, as is visible on the Resources pane, in the Media folder. This folder can hold the company's stationery in the form of PDF files.
Note Your printer must support duplex for this option to work. Setting the binding style for the Print context The Print context , as well as each of the Print sections, can have its own Finishing settings. In printing, Finishing is the way pages are bound together after they have been printed. Which binding styles can be applied depends on the type of printer that you are using. To set the binding style of the Print context: 1.
Print sections Print templates (also called Print sections), are part of the Print context. They are meant to be printed directly to a printer or a printer stream/spool file, or to a PDF file (see "Generating Print output" on page 709). The Print context can also be added to Email output as a PDF attachment; see "Generating Email output" on page 724. 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.
Media can be applied to pages in a Print section, to make them appear as a background to those pages. This ensures that elements added to the Print context will correspond to their correct location on the preprinted media. Note 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.
The first Master Page (see "Master Pages" on page 131) and Media (see "Media" on page 134) will automatically be applied to all pages in the new section, but this can be changed, see "Applying a Master Page to a page in a Print section" on page 133 and "Applying Media to a page in a Print section" on page 138. 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.
Warning No backup files are maintained in 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. Arranging 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.
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. Use the arrow buttons to move the files that should be included to the list at the right. 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.
4. 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.
6. Select the PDF's 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.
1. On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the Print context and rightclick the Print section. 2. Click Finishing. 3. Choose a Binding style and, if applicable, the number of holes. To set the binding style of the Print context, see "Setting the binding style for the Print context" on page 114. 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.
printed pages. Empty means that there is no content and no master page on that side. To suppress the master page on emtpy back sides and single sheets, uncheck the option Same for all positions and check the option Omit Master Page Back in case of an empty back page. l l Check Tumble to duplex pages as in a calendar. Check Facing pages to have the side margins switched alternately, so that after printing and binding the pages, they look like in a magazine or book.
l l 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 next page. Detail tables can be used in all contexts, but transport lines are only useful in a Print context; see Detail Table.
example: 150mm). To change the default unit for measurement settings to centimeters or millimeters: on the menu, select Window > Preferences > Print > Measurements. Whitespace elements: using optional space at the end of the last page Print sections with conditional content and dynamic tables (see "Personalizing Content" on page 278) can have a variable amount of space at the bottom of the last page.
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 131. To insert a page number, select Insert > Special character > Markers on the menu, and then click one of the options to decide with what kind of page number the marker will be replaced: l l l l l l Page number: The current page number in the document.
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 template script. The script should make use of the pageRef() function. For an example, see "Creating a table of contents" on page 655.
to the total number of pages, too. 6. Close the dialog. Preventing widows and orphans Widows and orphans are lines at the beginning or at the end of a paragraph respectively, dangling at the bottom or at the top of a page, separated from the rest of the paragraph. By default, to prevent orphans and widows, lines are moved to the next page as soon as two lines get separated from the rest of the paragraph. The same applies to list items (in unordered, numbered and description lists).
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. Right-click the paragraph and select Paragraph... from the contextual menu. 2. After Widows and Orphans, type the minimum number of lines that should be kept together.
and paragraphs" on page 248): 1. Select the element (see "Selecting an element" on page 166). 2. On the Format menu select the respective element to open the Formatting dialog. 3. In the Breaks group, set the before or after property. l l Before: Sets whether a page break should occur before the element. This is equivalent to the page-break-before property in CSS; see CSS page-break-before property for an explanation of the available options.
Adding blank pages to a section How to add a blank page to a section is described in a how-to: Create blank page on field value. Master Pages In Print sections, there are often elements that need to be repeated across pages, like headers, footers and logos. In addition, some elements should appear only on specific pages, such as only the first page, or the last page, or only on pages in-between. Examples are a different header on the first page, and a tear-off slip that shows up on the last page.
l l Optionally, set the margin for the header and footer. See "Adding a header and footer" below. Click OK. Initially, the master page that has been created together with the Print context will be applied to all pages in the Print section. After adding more Master Pages, different Master Pages can be applied to different pages; see "Applying a Master Page to a page in a Print section" on the next page. Editing a Master Page Master Pages are edited just like sections, in the workspace.
1. First insert elements that form the header or footer, such as the company logo and address, on the Master Page; see "Editing a Master Page" on the previous page. 2. Next, define the margins for the header and footer. The margins for a header and footer are set in the Master Page properties. This does not change the content placement within the Master Page itself; in Master Pages, elements can go everywhere on the page.
4. Decide which Master Page should be linked to which sheet (position): click the downward pointing arrow after Master Page Front and select a Master Page. If Duplex is enabled, you can also select a Master Page for the back of the sheet and consequently, check Omit Master Page Back in case of an empty back page to omit the specified Master Page on the last backside of a section if that page is empty and to skip that page from the page count. 5. Optionally, decide which Media should be linked to each sheet.
The new Media is of course empty. You can specify two PDF files for the Media: one for the front, and, optionally, another for the back. Specifying and positioning Media Specifying a PDF for the front: the fast way To quickly select a PDF file for the front of a Media, drag the PDF file from the Windows Explorer to one of the Media. The Select Image dialog opens; select an image and check the option Save with template if you want to insert the image into the Images folder on the Resources pane.
(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).
7. Click Finish. 8. 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. 9. Finally, click OK.
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.
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. On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, expand the Print context, rightclick the print section and click Sheet configuration. 2.
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 (to be more accurate: the Virtual Stationery images specified for this Media) will be rotated accordingly in the entire section. Note l l Any Virtual Stationery settings made for the Media also influence how the Media is displayed in each section (see "Setting Media properties" on page 135).
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. Email template It is strongly recommended to start creating an Email template with a Wizard; see "Creating an Email template with a Wizard" on page 145. Also see "Designing an Email template" on the facing page for guidelines on the design.
Designing an Email template With the Designer you can design Email templates. It is strongly recommended to start creating an Email template with an Email Template Wizard, because it is challenging to design HTML email that looks good on all email clients, devices and screen sizes that customers use when they are reading their email.
Email templates: Slate and others The most obvious solution offered in the Designer is to use one of the templates provided with the Designer; see "Creating an Email template with a Wizard" on page 145. The layout of these templates has been tested and proven to look good in any email client, on any device and screen size. The Tables in these templates are nested (put inside another table) and they have no visible borders, so readers won't notice them.
To learn more about Emmet, please see their website: Emmet.io and the Emmet.io documentation: http://docs.emmet.io/. Preferences To change the way Emmet works in the Designer, select Window > Preferences, and in the Preferences dialog, select Emmet; see "Emmet Preferences" on page 314. Using CSS files with HTML email Email clients do not read CSS files and some even remove a
