You are here: Designer > Interface > Panes > Scripts pane
 

Scripts pane

The Scripts pane contains all of the scripts that are used to replace data in a template, or to modify its look. Scripts can be exported and imported via the buttons or through drag & drop between the Scripts pane and any location on the computer.

Scripts included on the Scripts pane are completely distinct from the JavaScript resources found in the Resources Pane (see Using JavaScript). Think of scripts as server-side in the sense that they are executed through the Connect modules (Server and Content Creation especially). Scripts have access to the whole PrintShop Mail Connect JavaScript API (see Designer Scripts API), such as the record object. JavaScript resources, on the other hand, are only executed after the content creation is done, generally in a browser.
The scripts in the Scripts pane are always executed top-to-bottom. They can be dragged up or down in the pane to change their order of execution. For example, content loading scripts (snippets with variable data, for instance) must come before scripts that replace data within that loaded contents.

Buttons

  • Import...: Click to open a standard Open dialog to import a script. The script must have the .OL-script extension.
  • Export...: Click to open a standard Save As dialog to save the currently selected scripts to disk. These scripts can be re-used in other templates. If more than one script is selected, they are all saved to a single file. If some scripts are inside folders, this folder structure is kept and will be restored when the scripts are imported.
  • New: Displays a drop-down that shows the following options:
    • Script: Adds a new empty basic script.
    • Text Script: The default script that is created when adding variable data to a template. See Variable Data.
    • Dynamic Image script: Provided that its selector refers to an image, this script dynamically changes the image for each record. See Dynamic Images.
    • Email scripts: Email scripts define the sender, recipients, subject etc. of the email that is sent, and the PDF password. See Email header settings.
    • Control script: A Control script affects the output of a template per record as a whole, instead of parts of the content. See Control Scripts and Control Script API.
    • Conditional Content Script: This script can conditionally show or hide any element in the template. See Showing content conditionally and Conditional script dialog.
    • Folder: Adds a folder in which scripts can be placed for easier management. See Script folders.
  • Collapse All: Collapses all the folders, hiding the scripts inside of them.

Scripts Pane column

  • Name: The name added to better identify the script.
  • Selector: Displays the initial text or selector that the script applies to.
Fields from the Data Model pane can be dragged directly into the Scripts pane to create a Text Script. Additionally, Text scripts can be dragged into any section to add the script's placeholder at the insert location. See Variable Data.

Contextual menu options

  • Duplicate: Click to create an exact copy of the script.
  • Delete: Click to delete the selected script. This does not delete any element or text in the template itself.
  • Rename: Click to open a dialog to rename the script. This is the same as changing the Name field in the Edit Script window, which can be opened by double-clicking the script.
  • Enable/Disable: Click to trigger the script to be enabled or disabled. Disabled scripts are greyed out and italic and will not be executed. See Enable/disable scripts
  • Import: load a script from a Scripts file (*.OL-script).
  • Export: save the script to a Scripts file (*.OL-script).
  • Properties (Script folders only): edit the name and execution scope of the folder. See Execution scope.