Position Template

Position Template

Position templates are Job Templates that specify placeholder positions for images. Images imported into the job will automatically be placed into these placeholder positions. The placeholders can dictate different attributes for how the images should be included such as scaling, crop, etc

Delta Automation XML has two ways to use Position Templates:

PositionTemplateName accesses Position Templates that already exist in the Ergosoft RIP installation and applies them to images in an XML job. If you have a limited set of different Job Layouts, you might want to consider setting them up in the JobComposer and then simply calling the correct one using the PositionTemplateName tag.

PositionTemplate lets you create a Position Template on the fly directly within the XML code. This makes it more flexible as you can adjust any parameters and settings on the fly and more portable as no original Position Template needs to be present in the installation as all instructions are already in the XML. The created Position Template then exists only for this Job, so it is not saved in the JobComposer and needs to be specified anew for each job.

Regardless of which mode you choose, when you include a Position Template in an XML job, any images loaded in the job will be placed into the available placeholders in the order that they appear in the XML file. So the first image that appears in the XML file goes into the first placeholder, and so on.


Position Template Name

With <PositionTemplateName>, you can call a predefined Position Template that is already configured in the ErgoSoft RIP Installation. If you want to use a Position Template this way, first make sure it is properly set up and saved in the JobComposer under Tools > Position Templates. Once set up, you can call the Position Template by entering its name inside the <PositionTemplateName> tag, but make sure the name matches exactly, capitalization and spaces matter.

Also note that the Position Template Element needs to be placed inside the Job Element and before any Image Elements. Since Automation builds Jobs from top to bottom, Position Templates used at the end of a job will not influence any images loaded before.

Format: < PositionTemplateName></PostionTemplateName>

Example for Position Template Name
Quote
<HotFile>    
     <Job Name="Example 1">        
                 <PositionTemplateName>Example 1</PositionTemplateName>
        <Image FileName="C:\Images\Example1.tif"> </Image>
    </Job>
</HotFile>                                                                                                                   


Custom Position Template

The <PositionTemplate> tag lets you define a Position Template directly within XML and applies it to the images within the Job. Templates to use in this way Element do not need to be created and saved in the JobComposer Interface of the ErgoSoft RIP beforehand as all parameters are defined in XML. Note that the Position Template Element needs to be placed within the Job Element and before any Image Elements.

Since Delta Automation builds Jobs from top to bottom, Position Templates used at the end of a job will not influence any images loaded before.

The fill order in a Position Template defined via XML is controlled by the order in which the placeholders appear in the XML file. Each <Item> tag represents one placeholder, with the first <Item> appearing in the XML code being filled first and so on. To change the order, simply cut & paste the <Item> tag into the desired position in the file.

When using custom Position Templates, you may still put together your template visually using the JobComposer. When you are done, simply save your Position Template and go to the Folder you saved it to (Default is C:\Users\Public\Documents\EsRip\16\Data\Template\PositionTemplates). Open the XML file for the Position Template you created and simply copy/paste the code for the Position Template from there (Leave out the XML version descriptor in the first line though). As the syntax is the same, the code will work just the same in your XML file.

Format: <PositionTemplate></PostionTemplate>

Parameter

Description

Possible Values

<PageWidthMm>

Specifies the width of the page for the PositionTemplate

Values in mm, e.g. 1600

<PageHeightMm>

Specifies the height of the page for the PositionTemplate

Values in mm, e.g. 1600

<Item>

Encloses parameter section for an Individual Position Placeholder.

Contains Other parameters, such as <Attributes>

<Attributes>

<FitAttributes>

Encloses parameters section attributes regarding how to fit imported images into the placeholder.

Parameters, such as <WidthMm>

<WidthMm>

Specifies the width of the position placeholder

Values in mm, e.g. 800

<HeightMm>

Specifies the height of the position placeholder.

Values in mm, e.g. 800

<FitWidth>

Sets wether the imported image should be scaled to fit the width of the placeholder. The parameter <KeepProportion> dictates if the image is scaled in proportion of if it will be distorted.

0= No scaling, image is imported in position in original size

1= Scaling, Image is scaled to fit the width of the placeholder.

<FitHeight>

Sets whether the imported image should be scaled to fit the height of the placeholder. The parameter <KeepProportion> dictates if the image is scaled in proportion of if it will be distorted.

0= No scaling, image is imported in position in original size

1= Scaling, Image is scaled to fit the height of the placeholder.

<KeepProportion>

Only Available if both <FitWidth> and <FitHeight> are active. Sets whether the original proportion of the imported image should be kept when scaling the image by either height or width.

0= Don’t keep proportion, Image will be scaled to height and width of placeholder

1= Keep proportion, image will be scaled to the largest size that still fits in height and width.

<ForceMode>

Only Available if <KeepProportion> active. Sets how to scale images to import them into the placeholder.

0= Will only scale down if image is larger than the placeholder. Smaller images will be left at original size.

1= Will always scale to the largest possible size, will scale up if image is smaller than placeholder.

2= Will scale to best matching size and crop any excess.

<PosMode>

Sets the alignment of the imported image within the placeholder.

0= Upper left

1= Upper Center

2= Upper Right

3= Center Left

4= Centered

5= Center Right

6=Lower Left

7= Lower Middle

8= Lower Right

<RotateMode>

Sets if and how an imported image should be rotated in the placeholder

0= Never Rotate

1= 90°

2= 180°

3= 270°

4= Landscape (Longer Side Horizontal)

5= Portrait (Longer Side Vertical)

6= Best Fit

<Mirror>

Sets if the imported Image should be mirrored.

0= Not mirrored

1= Mirrored

<FitPos>

Sets the position of the placeholder on the page by specifying horizontal and vertical distance of the top left corner of the placeholder from the left and top edge of the page. Scpecified in mm.

Mm values, separated by a space e.g. <FitPos>150 100 </FitPos> to position the placeholder 150mm from the left and 100mm from the top.

<Margin>

Sets Image Margins that are applied to the imported image. Margins go clockwise from left, top, right, down

Mm values, separated by a space e.g. <Margin> 10 20 30 40 </Margin> to set margins to 10mm left, 20mm top, 30mm right, 40mm down.



Example for Custom Position Template
Quote
<HotFile>    
 <Job Name="PositionTemplate Example">            
<PositionTemplate Version="1">
  <PageWidthMm>1999.996000</PageWidthMm>
  <PageHeightMm>0.000000</PageHeightMm>
  <Item>
    <Attributes><FitAttributes>
  <WidthMm>259.842000</WidthMm>
  <HeightMm>389.805333</HeightMm>
  <FitWidth>1</FitWidth>
  <FitHeight>1</FitHeight>
  <KeepProportion>1</KeepProportion>
  <ForceMode>0</ForceMode>
  <PosMode>4</PosMode>
  <RotateMode>1</RotateMode>
  <Mirror>0</Mirror>
</FitAttributes></Attributes>
    <FitPos>3.556000 3.556000</FitPos>
    <Margin>0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000</Margin>
  </Item>
</PositionTemplate> 
        <Image FileName="C:\Images\Example1.tif"> </Image>
     </Job>
</HotFile>                                                                                                         



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