HotFile XML Variable Naming Convention

HotFile XML Variable Naming Convention

The most common way to use Delta Automation XML is to build templates for the types of jobs you will be printing where the static parts are already defined and the dynamic parts that will be changed are defined as variables that can easily be identified and replaced by applications before placing the XML file into the HotFolder.

While users are of cours free to use their own naming according to their requirements. We recommend using the following naming convention for replaceable variables in your XML template files to ensure consistency and easy universal readability.

Variable (placeholder) name structure: %VAR<optional_index>_<type>_<name>% 

%VAR Designates the beginning of a replaceable variable. By enclosing placeholder variables with %VAR at the beginning and % at the end, it is easier to uniquely identify them by code and replace them during the job creation process.

<optional_index> stands for an optional integer number starting from 1 to distinguish possible multiple variables of the same type for different images. The number defines to which image the variable belongs. This allows you to have multiple instances of the variable inside a job that can be replaced individually. So if e.g. not all images should be scaled to the same size, you can use the index to apply different scaling to scaling variables for image tags.

Variables without an index are job or HotFile related variables, that do not belong to an image. 

<name> can be any name that shows the meaning of the field, except for RIP supplied lists. You are free to use your own designation here, e.g. <ScaleWidth> to designate the width scaling.

<type> designates the type of value that can be entered into the field, i.e. the input format. <type> can be one of the following: 

BOOL	Boolean value set as integers 0 or 1 for false and true respectively.
INT	Integer value in decimal form.
HEX	Integer value in hexadecimal form starting with “0x”. Often used for flags of bitfields.
FLOAT	Floating point value, using a dot as decimal separator.
STRING	Normal text filed.
GUID	Text field containing a GUID.

Examples for possible variables: 

%VAR_HEX_PRINTMODEON% 

%VAR_GUID_HOTFILEGUID% 

%VAR_NAMEREF_PRINTMARKS% 

 

%VAR1_STRING_IMGFILENAME% 

%VAR1_BOOL_IMGCENTER% 

%VAR1_FLOAT_IMGPERCENT% 

%VAR1_INT_IMGHEIGHTMM% 

%VAR2_STRING_IMGFILENAME% 

%VAR2_BOOL_IMGCENTER%