Variable Data Processing (VDP)
NOTE: This feature may not be included in your license pack.
This procedure is only for a Variable Data Product, a special kind of Customizable Product which is designed for variable data processing (VDP) and typically used to personalize publications. The following are examples of VDP:
•50 names to create 50 sets of business cards
•150 addresses to print fashion posters that point customers to the nearest outlet
•500 letters with a name and address for a direct marketing campaign
Variable Data Products use the Forms or Expert workspace. See “Forms Tab” for more information. In addition, when you save a Variable Data Product, a variable data template (Excel spreadsheet) is created which the shopper can use to enter the variable data. This variable data file is subsequently uploaded and the data are merged with the product.
In the following sections you create a Variable Data Product and then simulate an order to retrieve the variable data template and generate a series of documents with merged variable data.
NOTE: You cannot use Variable Actions in a Variable Data Product.
Insert variable data fields for a Variable Data Product
•STEP 1: Create a Variable Data Product
1 Create a new Variable Data Product as explained in “Creating Products”.
NOTE: The Variable Data Product type is only available if you have the required license pack.
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You can use templates based on all base types except Unbound Flat - Variable Size. For bound products you must define a fixed number of pages. Pages will not be added if the variable content does not fit the available space.
2 On the first page of the wizard you need to select how the shopper will be able to choose a quantity. In the Miscellaneous panel, choose one of the following options from the Quantity drop-down list:
•Specified in the Excel file: The shopper uploads an Excel file that includes a column for the quantity of each row (column header label is ASF_Quantity). The quantity can be different for each row.
•Specified in the product page: The shopper specifies, on the product page, a quantity for each row in the uploaded Excel file. The quantity is the same for all rows.
•One copy per record: One unit is produced for each row in the Excel file. This option can be used for direct mail merging of names and addresses.
3 Select the check-box Add “ASF_EXCLUDE” field to the Excel file to add an additional column with heading ASF_EXLCUDE to the Excel file so rows can be excluded from processing, for example if you only want to process some of the rows in a large master file. See “Downloading/uploading the variable data file”.
4 Continue with the wizard and save the new product.
A Variable Data Product is indicated with the following icon in the list of products:
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•STEP 2: Edit this product in the Online Editor.
1 Create the form fields for your variable data document as explained in “Insert variables (fields) in a forms document”. Alternatively, save an existing document with form fields and upload this document when creating the Variable Data Product. See “Package Output”.
Special care is required when creating the form fields because the field names are used to create the variable data template (Excel file) which is made available for downloading by the shopper.
2 Select the variable in the list and click the pencil icon to open the Variable Settings.
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3 In the General tab of the Variable Settings dialog, make sure the Name does not contain any spaces or forbidden characters.
NOTE: Do not use spaces or the following forbidden characters for the Name of the variable: / \ : * " < > |
4 For Type, you can select any of the available options (Short Text, Long Text, Formatted Text, Image, Date, etc.) except Divider.
5 Make sure the Push changes to datasource check box remains selected.
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6 Click Close to close the Variables Settings dialog.
7 Do this for all the form field variables in the document.
8 In the Assign Variables panel, you can fine-tune how the variable data will be displayed. For example you can apply copyfitting, however, remember that additional pages will never be created to accommodate overflowing content.
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9 Save the document.
StoreFront now saves a variable data template that the shopper can use to supply variable data.
10 Add the product to your store and go to the storefront to check the variable data template.
Downloading/uploading the variable data file
The variable data template (Excel spreadsheet), which is automatically created when you save your Variable Data Product, can only be downloaded from the storefront. In the following procedure you will simulate how a shopper orders a Variable Data Product to retrieve the data template file, enter some variable data in the spreadsheet, and check the results.
1 On the storefront of the store where you added the Variable Data Product, simulate an order for this product.
2 On the Place Order page, you have two options for downloading the variable data template (Excel file):
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Click the Excel data template Download link under Templates to download the file directly.
OR
Click the Upload Data & Start Editing button and subsequently the Excel data template Download link.
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An Excel file with the name of the product is saved to your Downloads folder.
3 Go to your Downloads folder and open the Excel file.
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The spreadsheet contains 2 worksheets:
•Variables: This is the worksheet where the actual data must be entered. Do not change the first row of cells because these are the column headings that map the data to the variable names used in your document. However, you can change the order of the columns if you want. Each row in this sheet corresponds to a record of your variable data. A tool tip above each column heading displays the variable settings for that particular column: max. line length, mandatory, etc. Warnings are generated if these settings are not respected.
NOTE: The ASF_EXCLUDE value can be used to exclude a number of certain rows when parsing the VDP data. In the ASF_EXCLUDE column, enter ‘1’ to ignore the row, or leave empty or enter ‘0’ to process the row. See “Insert variable data fields for a Variable Data Product”.
•Help: This worksheet provides an overview of the variable settings and instructions for this particular product, including the maximum number of data rows (records) allowed.
4 Enter your variable data in the Variables worksheet and save the file.
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NOTE: If the Variable Data Product has Quantity set to Specified in the Excel file, you can specify the quantity for each record in the first column (ASF Quantity).
5 Go back to the Product Page and click the Upload Data & Start Editing button and subsequently the Choose File button.
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6 Browse to your variable data file (Excel file, both XLS and XLSX formats are supported) and upload it.
If your variable data includes images, upload a ZIP file containing those images either in the same folder as the spreadsheet or in a sub-folder specified in the spreadsheet.
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7 After validation, the product opens in the Online Editor.
NOTE: See “Troubleshooting the variable data upload” if the upload is not successful.
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The variable data records are displayed in the Uploaded Data panel of the Variables tab with the first record displayed in the Form Input panel.
8 Click the Previous and Next buttons to navigate up and down this list.
The variable data is displayed in the document and you can check for each record whether the layout is correct.
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9 If you have many records, you can select the Filter check box to see the records with the shortest and longest values for each field.
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Again, this is handy to check that text is not overflowing.
You can also set a custom value to filter on the specified number of digits, for example, to check phone numbers.
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10 You can edit and fine-tune the variable data as required in the Form Input panel.
11 Save the document to confirm your changes and proceed to the Shopping Cart Items page.
Any modified data is saved with the document.
12 On the Shopping Cart Items page, click the PDF Preview link to check how the variable data has been merged with the document.
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Your default PDF reader opens a PDF that contains the different instances of your variable data document.
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NOTE: For the sake of performance, the PDF preview does not contain all the instances of the merged document. The number of merged documents that can be previewed depends on the document in question.
13 On the Shopping Cart Items page, you can also re-open the document in the Online Editor to edit the document and/or the variable data.
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14 On the Shopping Cart Items page, you can also download the variable data Excel file for future reference.
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NOTE: The Excel file you download here is the one you edited and contains the variable data.
15 Click the Checkout button to proceed to checkout.
Troubleshooting the variable data upload
Special care is required when a shopper prepares the variable data file for merging data with a document. This file is based on the template he downloads on the Product page of a storefront. The file can only be used for the product it was initially created for.
When a shopper uploads the Excel file, StoreFront validates the file to ensure the variable data can be merged with the document. If the validation fails, a dialog is displayed with a link to your rejected variable data file. This file can be opened and the columns and cells that contain incorrect data are highlighted in red. Shoppers should be informed about the following recommendations:
Do not edit the header rows (row 1 on the Variables worksheet).Do not exceed the maximum number of records (data rows in the Excel file). The maximum number of records is specified on the Help worksheet in the Excel file you download.Do not exceed the maximum number of characters and other constraints which are displayed in the cell tool tips.Never leave a cell empty if the data is mandatory. How are VDP orders processed in Apogee Prepress?
•If a single copy is printed of every record:
•For unbound products either one single job containing all pages is created or multiple jobs are created. The latter happens if the order item exceeds 100 records.
•For bound self cover products a separate job with 1 part (Body) is created for every record.
•For bound separate cover product a separate job with 2 parts (Cover and Body) is created for every record.
•If multiple copies are printed of each record:
•For unbound products either multiple JDF Parts are combined in one job or multiple jobs are created. The latter happens if the order item exceeds 100 records.
•For bound self cover products a separate job with 1 part (Body) is created for every record.
•For bound separate cover products a separate job with 2 parts (Cover and Body) is created for every record.
•If a VDP job is split across multiple prepress orders, its descriptive name will indicate this, e.g. ‘VDP Direct Mailing [1-100 of 364]’ or ‘Summer Campaign [1 of 4]’.
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