Connect supports a number of different types of print outputs. These include:
- AFP
- IPDS (spool file created by Connect, with printer control available through the Print Manager)
- PCL
- 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.
The Print context is the folder in the Designer that can contain one or more 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).
The Print context can also be added to Email output as a PDF attachment; see Generating Email output.
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.
When a Print template is created or when a Print context is added to an existing template the Print context folder is created along with other folders and files that are specific to a Print context (see Creating a Print template with a Wizard, Adding a context and Print context).
Only one Print section is created at the start, but you can add as many Print sections as you need; see Print sections.
Pages
Unlike emails
The minimum number of pages can be set via the Print section properties; see Print section properties.
Although generally the same content elements can be used in all three contexts (see Content elements), the specific characteristics of pages make it possible to use special elements, such as page numbers; see Page numbers .
See Pages for an overview of settings and elements that are specific for pages.
Headers, footers, tear-offs and repeated elements (Master page)
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 on each first page, or only on pages in between the first and the last page, or only on the last page. Examples are a different header on the first page, and a tear-off slip that should show up on the last page.
This is what Master Pages are used for. Master Pages can only be used in the Print context.
See Master Pages for an explanation of how to fill them and how to apply them to different pages.
Stationery (Media)
When the output of a Print context is meant to be printed on paper that already has graphical and text elements on it (called stationery, or preprinted sheets), you can add a copy of this media, in the form of a PDF file, to the Media folder.
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.
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. To open the Preview tab, click it at the bottom of the Workspace or select View > Preview View on the menu.
The Media will not be printed, unless this is specifically requested through the printer settings in the Print Wizard; see Generating Print output.
See Media for further explanation about how to add Media and how to apply them to different pages.
Copy Fit
Copy Fit is a feature to automatically adjust the font size of text to make it fit the available space. It could be used for the name of a person on a greeting card, for instance, or for the name of a product on a shelf talker. This feature is only available with Box and Div elements in Print sections.
For more information about this feature see Copy Fit.