Ch. 020 Template Info Page

Breakdown of Configuration Options

The Template Info page allows you to identify and apply global preferences to the template that you just created.

The Template Info window opens to display the name of the template that is currently open. After making any changes to the settings in the Template Info page, don't forget to click "Save Changes".

*Please note that this chapter discusses the options in the Template Info area that pertain to both the Form-Based and Interactive templates. Items that are exclusive to the Interactive version are discussed in Chapter 20a.

General Options

• Name - The name of the template.
• Description - Some text describing the purpose of this template, or anything you like.
• Document Code - Not editable. This is a unique code created just for this template and is used to reference the template on the server and in the address bar of browsers.
• Document Password - Not editable. Password used by the server for accessing this template.
• Category - This drop-down menu organizes templates based on the selection that you assign from the drop-down list. On the main Templates screen, you can then filter which category of templates is shown. To learn more about creating categories, see Ch. 026 Administration for Users and Categories.
• Identifying Field - Making a selection from this drop-down will add the contents of the selected field to the Identifier column that shows in the order listing in your Pressero account. The Identifying Field must always be a user-provided text field, never an image field, a purely scripted field, or a database field. Please note that if a product also allows the user to rename their job, then the identifying field text will be used to rename the production file instead of the text the user enters on the product page in the rename job field.
• Imposition - This drop-down menu allows you to select pre-defined schemes. When this template is ordered, the production file will contain the template set in this imposition scheme, imposed for your press sheet and ready to plate. To learn more about configuring imposition schemes, see Ch. 023 Imposition.
• Owned By - Select a user from this drop-down menu to assign the template to that user. This is particularly helpful if you have users that are set to the lowest level of permissions and therefore are only able to see and modify templates that have been assigned to them. To learn more about managing account users, see Ch. 026 Administration for Users and Categories.
• Template Created - The date the template was first created.
• Template Modified - The date the template was last modified.
• View Advanced Options
  • Output File Type - Use this menu to select which format you would like this template's production file to be: PDF or XPS. Unless you are absolutely certain you need XPS we highly recommend leaving this set to PDF.

Preview

• Bleed - This setting identifies the bleed margin for the document. Enter the measurement for the bleed in the units you have selected from the Define Units drop-down menu at the top right of the tab. In the screenshot above, the Define Units menu had been set to Inches, so the bleed for this template will be 1/4 inch on each side of the document.
• Max VDP Records - Limits the number of records that may be previewed when using VDP or Sequencing. Min = 1, Max = 1000.
• Preview Watermark Text -If you enter text in this optional box, it will display as a large block of translucent text over the product image while your client customizes the template. This helps to protect your assets from misuse or theft.
• Initial Zoom - Select the initial size you would like the template to display to your customer. This option is only available with standard Forms templates. (Interactive Designer templates use a default zoom setting instead; to learn more about this, please proceed to the next chapter.) Your client will still be able to change the preview size; this setting simply sets the size at which the preview will first display. There are two options:
  • Initial Preview Size: Select the size from the drop-down choices of: Small, Standard, Large, and X-Large or XX-large
  • Initial Zoom: Select from the drop-down of Fit all, Fit Height, Fit Width, 100-400% for Interactive Designer templates.
  • Click and type a numeric value (pixel width) into the text area of the drop-down area instead. When you use this option your customer will be able to select from the standard sizes noted above or select the custom numeric value you added
• Disable anti-alias on preview images - by disabling you will improve the performance of the rendering of the preview images.

Default Session Lifetime

This section allows you to change how long a session related to this particular template is stored before being automatically purged. Completed sessions and incomplete sessions have a different number of days. The default amount will be displayed and if you wish to change from that amount for this particular template simply click "Override default session lifetime" Edit the number of days each type of session needs and click Save.

• Complete session lifetime: 50 days
• Incomplete session lifetime: 60 days
• Override default session lifetime

Caution: Increasing the amount of time will increase the amount of storage used. This could result in additional fees to your subscription.

Canvas Effect

When using a Canvas Effect and customizing a template, how the Canvas Effect will be shown when customizing the template is different depending on if the template is a Forms or an Interactive Designer template. On a Forms template, the Canvas Effect will be shown on the preview after clicking Update Preview when customizing the template. On an Interactive Designer template, the Canvas Effect will not be shown until you click Finished Editing and the preview or proof window is displayed.

• Type - Three types of canvas effects are currently supported, Mirror, Solid Color and Wrap.
  
  Mirror will copy and flip each of the sides and corners of the image placing the image around the edge of the canvas on the outside of your production file and to the Bleed Depth specified. See below for an example of this effect. 
• 
  
  
  Solid Color works the same as Mirror, except that it applies a solid color that you choose, around the edge of the canvas on the outside of your production file and to the Bleed Depth specified
  
  Wrap will stretch the image uploaded so that it is large enough to wrap around the sides of the canvas. Wrap will not be obvious when customizing the template, as there is not any visible marker that indicates the original template area.
  
  Note that if you are using an Interactive Designer template you can go to the Template Info tab and enable a Bleed amount. This will indicate the original area of the template with a gray dotted line when customizing the template, and allow you to see the wrapped area clearly added to the sides of your template.
  
  When using any of these settings, you will want to create your template to the size of the main area on the canvas. eDocBuilder will increase the size based on the depth you choose so that your production file will be larger than what the template started out being.

• Effect Depth - Based on the units you set in your account, enter the amount of depth you want to be created on the edges of the canvas. Example: Your template is 10 inches wide, you add a depth of 2 inches, the final production file will be 14 inches wide.

• Color - If you selected the Solid color effect, use the image picker to choose either a CMYK or RGB image. You may also indicate a spot color if desired.

• Spot Color - This allows you to provide your own spot color code.

Type - Template Type Options

This setting controls the format of your template. If you have a subscription that includes eDocBuilder's Interactive Designer and you would like this template to use an interactive format where the end user can adjust the template layout when editing then check "Interactive Designer." Otherwise, you can choose "Standard Forms client" where the template fields do not have any interactive properties.

Note: To learn about the other options that will appear when you select "Use with Interactive Designer," please proceed to the next chapter.

Standard Forms Client Options

Legacy Templates

Using legacy lines spacing in HTML tags - Templates created after release 3.7.9 use a line spacing method that has better accuracy. Templates created prior to this time will use the legacy line spacing to avoid unwanted changes to the existing templates. You may choose to remove this setting, but please note that you may need to adjust the current settings your template uses after doing so.

Image Assets URL

Always use this Asset URL - The intent of this feature is to provide a way for eDocBuilder users (or self-hosted customers that do not integrate via Pressero) to override the Assets sent by Pressero to eDocBuilder. It is assumed that the person setting this up is a developer who knows how to create a URL that returns data using JSON. Full details on how to use this feature can be found in this chapter: Ch. 020b. Override Pressero DAM with a custom Assets URL.

External CSS

External CSS - This feature allows subscribers to specify a custom .CSS file for eDocBuilder to customize templates. This applies to both types of templates – forms-based and interactive. This field must point to a file with a .CSS extension. Contact your salesperson or submit a ticket to Professional Services at support.aleyant.com to obtain pricing.

External CSS is included before custom CSS.

• In forms-based templates, custom CSS is specified via the “cssurl” query parameter.
• In interactive templates, custom CSS is specified via “addcss” and “altcss” query parameters.

Note: Subscribers can use the layoutURL parameter to point to an alternative layout HTML file, which in turn can contain anything including JS code. Future changes to the product may be incompatible with customer-provided CSS. Aleyant is not responsible for problems generated by the added stylesheet. 

Variable Data Fields

Disable assets coming from Pressero for VDP fields - If selected, the customer must upload a VDP file from their desktop when presented with a VDP upload prompt in the template. Any database asset files available will not be presented as an option.

Configuring Proofs and Previews

On both Form and Interactive templates, you have the option of offering a Proof PDF or a Preview PDF to your customers, so they can download them for their records, or to have stakeholders examine and sign off on them. This will be the high resolution production file, so It is advised to use a watermark on the template so that the pdf can't be used for printing purposes.

To find these options, look under Standard Options (Form templates) or Interactive Options (Interactive templates) for "Allow downloading Proof PDF" and "Allow downloading Preview PDF".

By checking the box, you can enable or disable either (or both) options as needed.

Preview PDF

The Preview PDF is exactly like the Proof PDF except for one difference: it crops the PDF based on the Bleed setting you configure on the same tab. Otherwise, it is the same as the Proof PDF. This will be the high resolution production file, so It is advised to use a watermark on the template so that the pdf can't be used for printing purposes. You can use the Preview Watermark Text field to add a watermark to the proof.

This option is offered because sometimes the default Proof version that shows the bleed area can confuse customers without a graphics industry background, resulting in extra back-and-forth communication if they mistake the bleed area for an error in the proof.

When using this option, you must set the Bleed option, found on the same tab.

If you are using a variable file upload or a sequencing script on your template, you can also set the maximum number of records to be included in the Preview PDF. You can set this in the Max VDP Records field.

Training Videos

• Templates Tab - Template Info