Pro v3.10/4.10. Meadows Publishing Solutions. New to DesignMerge. for Adobe InDesign

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Arlene Burke
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Meadows Publishing Solutions New to DesignMerge for Adobe InDesign Pro v3.10/4.10 This document provides information about the 3.10/4.10 version of DesignMerge Pro for Adobe InDesign CS3/CS4.

1 Meadows Publishing Solutions New to DesignMerge for Adobe InDesign Pro v3.10/4.10 This document provides information about the 3.10/4.10 version of DesignMerge Pro for Adobe InDesign CS3/CS4. DesignMerge Pro is a suite of Plug-Ins that provide sophisticated mail-merge, variable data printing, and document assembly features. For installation instructions, please see the DesignMerge Installation document which is available in PDF format with the DesignMerge installer. For information regarding the operation of DesignMerge and its bundled modules, please see the DesignMerge Tutorial Manual, also available in PDF format in the

2 DesignMerge v3.10/v4.10 New Features Available in DesignMerge v3.10/v4.10 NEW: MPS GroupPicture module & GroupPicture Link Type The MPS GroupPicture module lets you save groups (page items that have been grouped together) as templates, and allows DesignMerge to merge these into GroupPicture Variable Links in a document. For more details and an example of a job that uses variable GroupPictures, please see Tutorial #4, the Business Cards tutorial, which is available in the DesignMerge Tutorial Manual in your NEW: Consecutive Numbering Utility & Keyword Variable Link The Consecutive Numbering utility provides the ability to generate a delimited text file database that consists of a single field containing consecutive numbers. The Consecutive Number Keyword Variable Link may be placed in a document to merge consecutive numbers that are generated on-the-fly while merging variable data records into a document. For more details about these two Consecutive Numbering features, please see Tutorial #5, the Tips & Tricks tutorial, which is available in the DesignMerge Tutorial Manual in your NEW: Preflight Report The Preflight Report test merge session may be used to determine the status of all the external files that will be imported by variable picture links and variable article links in a document. For more details and an example of a job that uses the Preflight Report feature, please see Tutorial #1, the Form Letter (Basics) tutorial, which is available in the DesignMerge Tutorial Manual in your NEW: Sequence Page Items feature The Sequence Page Items feature provides the ability to assign consecutive sequence numbers quickly and easily. For more details and an example of a job that uses the Sequence Page Items feature, please see Tutorial #4, the Business Cards tutorial, which is available in the DesignMerge Tutorial Manual in your 2

3 NEW: Import MPS Tags utility & MPS Tags Support Use this utility to import an MPS Tagged Text file, which is a plain text file that includes InDesign typographical information in an MPS Tags format. Additionally, the MPS Tagged Text file may include MPS Tags that represent DesignMerge Text Links. To import the MPS Tagged Text file without converting the MPS Tags, press the Option key when selecting this command. For more details about MPS Tags, please see the MPS Tags Specification, which is available online at NEW: Optional Scripting module now available This optional module provides the ability to automate various DesignMerge functions by running scripts. Macintosh versions support AppleScripts and JavaScripts; Windows versions support JavaScripts and Visual Basic scripts. For more information about this module, please contact Meadows Publishing Solutions. NEW: Optional Print Automation module This optional module is available for use with the Scripting module to provide the ability to automate producing DesignMerge print output. For more information about this module, please contact Meadows Publishing Solutions. NEW: Ability for Link Rules to launch external scripts Adds ability for Link Rules to launch an external script. Macintosh versions support AppleScripts and JavaScripts; Windows versions support JavaScripts and Visual Basic scripts. Please note that this Action requires the use of the Meadows Scripting Module. If the Scripting Module has not been installed, a Launch External Script Link Rule Action will not be performed by a merge session. For more information about this module, please contact Meadows Publishing Solutions. NEW: Support for variables on a document s master pages Adds ability to process variables on master pages. This allows you to use DesignMerge Variable Links, Link Rules, and Box Rules on master pages. DesignMerge will process the variable master page content as individually distinct content for each sequence of records that is merged into the document. NEW: Support for Text Links embedded in Articles in multi-up jobs Enhances the ability to merge Text Links that are embedded in Articles assigned to Text Boxes in Single-Up documents, adding support for merging embedded Text Links in Articles in Multiple-Up documents. 3

4 NEW: Support for threaded text DesignMerge has been enhanced to retain the flow of text between text frames that have been connected by a thread, even when the threaded frames are on different pages/spreads in the document and regardless of whether the threaded frames contain variable or fixed text. Includes new Position options for a Picture Variable Link Adds the following entries: Size to Fill, Size Height to Fill, Size Width to Fill, and Fit Box to Picture. Also the Center, Size to Fit entry is now named Size to Fit, the Center, Distort to Fit entry is now named Distort to Fit, and the Use Box Params entry is now named Keep Box Settings. A description of each of these Position options is available in Tutorial #1 (Part 1), the Form Letter (Basics) tutorial. Includes enhancement in CopyFit to fit type on a path Besides fitting text in a box, this new version of CopyFit can also fit text on an open or closed path of any shape, and you can tag a path with CopyFit settings. Includes enhancement in CopyFit to fit text in table cells CopyFit can now also be used to fit text inside the cells of a table. MPS DM PPML and Creo VPS Driver modules are now standard The MPS DM PPML and Creo VPS Driver modules no longer require separate Activation Codes. Instead, these two modules are now activated automatically when the DesignMerge module is activated. MPS menu in the InDesign menu bar The new MPS menu, located to the right of the DesignMerge menu in the InDesign menu bar, provides easy access to information about Meadows Publishing Solutions and to menus for the MPS GroupPicture, MPS Bar Code modules and DesignMerge Image modules, if these are installed on your system. Additionally, the MPS menu provides commands to assign/edit and remove a DesignMerge Image Link, which is a new feature in this version of DesignMerge. Note: If DesignMerge is not installed, then the MPS menu is located to the right of the Window menu. Display Record Usage utility Use the Display Record Usage utility to display information about your DesignMerge installation and a summary of your installation s usage of records. To use this utility, open the DesignMerge menu and select Utilities Database Display Record Usage. 4

5 Tags Converter utility Use the Tags Converter utility to convert DesignMerge Text Links to MPS Tagged Text, or to convert MPS Tagged Text to DesignMerge Text Links. This utility is helpful to preserve DesignMerge Text Links when a document must be converted to a format that does not support DesignMerge Text Links (for example, the Adobe InDesign Interchange format). To use this utility, open the DesignMerge menu and select Utilities Link Convert Tagged Text to Placeholders or Convert Placeholders to Tagged Text. Always use Document DDF preference Adds the Always use Document DDF preference to your DesignMerge preferences. When this preference is enabled (checked), DesignMerge will use the version of a document s DDF that has been stored inside your document file. When this preference is turned off (unchecked, the default setting), DesignMerge will use the version of the document s DDF that is stored on your system. To access this new preference, open the DesignMerge menu and select Preferences. Import DDF from Document utility This utility provides the ability to import a DDF from a document that is not open in InDesign. Importing a DDF from a document will not remove any DDFs that already exist on your system. The imported DDF will be added to the current set of DDFs on your system. If a document is open in an active window when you import a DDF, the imported DDF will be assigned as that document s Current DDF. To use this utility, open the DesignMerge menu and select Utilities Database Import DDF from Document. Removed VDP Converter option from the PostScript Driver To improve performance of the DesignMerge PostScript Print Driver, the VDP Converter option has been removed from the PostScript Driver window. Enhanced performance of PPML and Creo VPS Drivers The file zipping performance of the DesignMerge PPML and Creo VPS Print Drivers has been improved. Adds DesignMerge Image Link Type Adds new DesignMerge Image Variable Link Type in preparation for future DesignMerge Image module. 5

6 Tips The notes below provide helpful information to use this version of DesignMerge: Notes About Transparency DesignMerge PostScript Driver The ability to apply transparency in PostScript output that does not cache images is supported by this version of the DesignMerge PostScript Print Driver. Since images are not cached, use the Page Sets per Job option to avoid creating excessively large output files. For additional tips on using the PostScript Driver, please see the PostScript Driver manual, which is available in PDF format in your DesignMerge PPML Driver and Creo VPS Drivers Since the PPML and the Creo VPS formats require printing variable and fixed content separately for optimal performance, any transparency that involves an interaction of fixed and variable objects will not be retained in the printed output. When a document uses a transparency that involves this type of interaction, use the PostScript Driver to emit non-caching output. Notes about Links Text Links When the text insertion cursor is positioned immediately preceding or following a Text Link, the DesignMerge palette may not indicate whether the text insertion cursor is inside or outside the Link. To unlink any text that you enter immediately following or preceding a Text Link, select the text that you wish to convert to fixed content, and then open the DesignMerge menu and select Utilities Link Clear Selection Range. Locked Text Links The underscore that marks a locked Text Link remains green in this version. Variable Articles (variable text files) Before merging, confirm your InDesign options for placing a text file are set appropriately for the job you are about to run (for example, to remove or preserve formatting). For more information about these options, please see InDesign documentation. 6

7 Additionally, please note that DesignMerge will not apply Style Sheets that are assigned via a Link Rule to an Article Box Link (a Text Box that has an Article Link assigned to it). Instead, use an Article Text Link (Text that has an Article Link assigned to it) and assign the Link Rule to apply Style Sheets to that Article Text Link; DesignMerge will apply Style Sheets that are assigned via a Link Rule to Article Text Links. Hide Visual Indicators for Picture Links, Box Links, and Box Rules A menu command to Show/Hide Visual Indicators (the non-printing indicators on frames that have been assigned Variable Links and Rules, described in Tutorial #1) is not available in InDesign. Instead, these Visual Indicators are shown when you use the InDesign menu command to Show Frame Edges and are hidden when you use the InDesign menu command to Hide Frame Edges. 7

MPS PDF Driver. DesignMerge Pro

MPS PDF Driver. DesignMerge Pro DesignMerge Pro MPS PDF Driver This manual describes the use of the Meadows PDF Driver for Adobe InDesign with the DesignMerge software from Meadows Publishing Solutions. This Print Driver produces output