ReproScripts VDP Variable data manager plugin for CorelDraw

This type of field allows you to substitute successively changing numbers in the text objects of the template.

Number field parameters:
• First number: the number from which the plugin will start the numbering
• Increment step: the change of the number at every cycle of the plugin work. The step can be either positive for increase, or negative for decrease of the number. Obviously, there is no sense in setting the zero value, since the number in this case will not change.
• Repeat the same number: how many times the same number will be repeated after its first appearance
• repeat cyclically: if the option is active, the number increase will not be infinite, but only the specified number of cycles and on the next step the value will be reset to the initial value. For example, if the first number is 1 and the increment is 1, then the sequence of numbers will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 without cyclic repetition, if 3 cycles are activated, the sequence will become 1, 2, 3 , 1, 2, 3, 1 ...
• add leading zeros: when the option is enabled, the number will be padded in front with zeros to the specified minumal length
• Text before/after the number: additional text that the plug will append to the calculated number before substitution into the template object

WATCH VIDEO: Import and use variable data from CSV files in CorelDraw

The plugin allows to load information from a CSV file and use them for substitution into text objects. CSV file is a simple text file that you can create by exporting a table from Excel (*.xslt) format, or from other applications. It is easy to form manually.

The structure of the CSV file is simple — it consists of strings, in each of which the columns are divided by the character ','

Example of a CSV file with three columns:
Column1-1, Column1-2, Column1-3
…

To be able to use a comma inside the columns themselves, sometimes they are enclosed in quotes:

Where the plugin looks for the CSV file

In general, the plugin in its work tries to place all the data next to the CorelDraw template file, which will be used to substitute the data. Therefore, a template file should be specified in the project and this file should already be saved on disk.

If no CSV files with data have been added to the project yet, but you need to click the button and select the desired file on the disk. The plugin will create a folder for the project's working materials, located next to the template file, and copy the data into it. You can import additional CSV files into the project by clicking the   button and select them from the list for each field individually.

You can also use the   button to open the folder on the disk where the data files are physically located — adding and deleting files via Explorer is also tracked by the plugin and displayed in the field parameters.

Managing the import of data from a CSV file

For each CSV file added to the project, you can set additional parameters that control its import. The options are available from the second tab of the field.

Text encoding — allows you to fix potential problems when importing files in encoding other than UTF-8. If during import the text is replaced by incomprehensible characters — specify the correct encoding in which the file is written. Or just save it in UTF-8 encoding before importing.

Column separation character — specifies which character to use when separating each row in the file into columns. This symbol may differ depending on the settings on your system, but you can always set any symbol that suits you. For most countries, the default character will be a comma.

Column quotes are used in some versions of CSV files to avoid column break issues. For example, if a comma is the column break character in your file, then in order to be able to use text with commas inside the column itself, it must be enclosed in quotation marks. If set to an empty value, the import will expect a file without quoted columns.

You can also set up ignoring empty lines, multiple spaces in a row, and not taking data from the first row or column if they are a header.

In this tab, you can see how the plugin imported and split the data into rows and columns and, if necessary, change the import settings to correct inaccuracies.

What the plugin takes from the CSV file

On each cycle of its work the plugin sequentially takes the next line from the file and splits it into columns, then forms data from them which will be inserted into the template.

In the settings of the field of the file there is a list that allows you to specify which columns to take from the string, how to process them, and in what order to put to form data ready for insertion.

Pressing the button in the field elements header you can add:
•   the data from the line: the whole line or just a column
•   arbitrary text
•   line break (= Enter)

The plugin forms the field following the list from top to bottom, you can dragged the field elements with the icon   to control their arrangement.

The elements list allows to form from each line of the CSV file a field ready for insertion. The plugin ignores the extra columns and lines, and if it does not find it, inserts an empty string instead (reporting this in the log about doing the work)

Repeating values

Below the list are the settings that allow you to control the repetition of data insertion. During normal operation, the plugin processes each line of the file once during each cycle of its work. If the "repeat" checkbox is checked, it will take the same line from the file the specified number of times, ultimately forming a repeating value.

From the drop-down list you can choose what to do if the data in the file has run out, but a new value is required for generation. By default, an empty value will be returned and substituted.

But you can also specify that if the data ends, you need to start again from the beginning of the data file. In this way, you can repeat all the lines from the CSV file or only a limited number of them. If you specify the need for cyclic repetition, the plugin will sequentially process and generate values ​​from the specified number of lines, and then return to the first line again.

For example, if there are 7 lines in the file, then without a cyclic repeat the plugin will take the lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 'empty', 'empty', ... if you specify the cyclic repetition of 3 rows, then the lines 1,2,3, 1,2,3,1 ... will be processed ...

This type of field allows you to quickly create small lists that are required for generating data. Larger lists are easier to load from a CSV file.

To add a new string, click the   sign and type in the requied value. You can drag items with the icon   to control their arrangement. This can be important, since the plugin handles the rows in the list sequentially from top to bottom.

The value of each line can be repeated several times — the exact repetition scheme is selected in the drop-down list below. You can configure the repetition of all lines of the list at once or individually for each line.

You can also choose what to do if all values ​​(including repeats) in the string list are exhausted. During normal operation, the plugin processes each string once during each cycle of its work. From the drop-down list you can choose what to do if the data in the file has run out, but a new value is required for generation. By default, an empty value will be returned and substituted.

But you can also specify that if the data ends, you need to start again from the beginning of the strings list. In this way, you can repeat all the lines from the list or only a limited number of them. If you specify the need for cyclic repetition, the plugin will sequentially process and generate values ​​from the specified number of lines, and then return to the first line again.

Generating variable data often requires the formation of random identifiers. The Variable data manager plugin allows you to predictably get random values of the most complex format.

Predictability

Predictability means the need to get a random value from one side, but on the other hand, its repeatability when the project is restarted. For example, if you want to print the print run or repeat exactly one part of it. To achive that the plugin generates and stores a list of random values for each field and does not change it when restarting, unless, of course, the field itself has been changed. This allows to get identical values when restarting the project for one reason or another, not at the expense of randomness.

In addition, it is often required that the list of variable identifiers used in the circulation be transferred to the customer in electronic form for further processing and control. The plugin allows to do this by creating a CSV file with a list of variable fields in the print run.

The value file is saved in the working folder of the project and can be deleted if desired. The plugin force the plugin to regenerate all random values.

Randomness

In the parameters window of the random field there is a list that allows to form its structure. In the simplest case, it is enough to specify one line and set the number of characters of each kind that will be used for the random identifier. Such parts can be several, with a different set of symbols. They can be divided among themselves by static text or line breaks. Parts can be dragged up and down the list using the   button, which will affect the final appearance of the identifier.

The plugin will alternately process all rows of the list (from top to bottom) and merge them into one final value. This approach allows you to generate identifiers of a very complex structure with an arbitrary set of numbers, letters, symbols, both static and variable.

In addition, you can check the box indicating the need to check the number for uniqueness ( only unique random values). This ensures the formation of a list without duplicate values. If the checkbox is disabled, duplicates may appear in the resulting file.

Repeating values

repeat each value checkbox allows to specify how many times the same value will be used when you substitute data in a template. You can also specify that you need to repeat only a few values cyclically ( repeat cyclically). In this case, the plugin will generate a list of the required length and reaching the end will return every time to the starting point.

Quantity of random values

After setting the random values field and specifying the parts it consists from, it will be added to the data list of the main form of the plugin. The information in the field's line will indicate the estimate of the number of possible unique random values for the given parameters. This is useful if the length of the variable identifier is set too short and there may not be enough unique values for the entire print run. In case of impossibility of formation of a unique value, the plugin will report this in the generation log when performing the work.

The numbering of tickets for various events has its own peculiarities, which are difficult to realize with the help of ordinary numbers. The plugin suggests using a special type field for this purpose, in which the data is organized in the form of a virtual scheme for allocating seats in the hall with zones, rows, seats.

In the field parameters there is a list that can be filled in sequentially by specifying in which zone how many rows and how many seats there are. For each row, you can also specify a price.

At the bottom right, the plugin displays information about how many unique values (= seats) are in the list. This value is convenient to use later when the project is started. In each cycle, the plugin will take each entry in turn and use in the template its zone, row and price.

Having formed the seats list once it can be used in various projects by copying the necessary field from the project to the project.

Import the list of seats

Often the layout of seats in the hall already exists in electronic form, for example in the form of an Excel table. Therefore, the plugin allows you to import it from the CSV format.

To import, you need to click the   button and specify a CSV file that contains information about the seats in the hall.

The plugin expects a specific file structure, so that you can use the data from it. The structure is quite simple and logical and is based on real data. The schema file in each row should contain information:

• zone: single column
• price: single column
• range of rows: mandatory, can be in two formats:
  a) in one column the starting row is indicated, in the other one the end row for the given range is indicated
  b) in one column, both the beginning and the end of the range of rows separated by a '-' symbol
• range of seats mandatory, can be in two formats:
  a) one column indicates the initial seat number, the other indicates the final number for this range
  b) in one column, both the beginning and the end of the range of seats separated by a '-' symbol

Individual parameters are configured in the import window. If the beginning and end of the range match, you can specify the same column number to load data from. After importing all the data will get into the table which be used by the plugin to pick up suitable values at each cycle of it work to insert into the template.

Repeating values

In some cases, it may be necessary to insert information about a specific place more than once in the template. There are two flags below which allow to repeat the same value a specified number of times. It is also possible to loop repeatedly when the plugin alternately inserts information about places from the list to the end of the list, and then returns to the first value and repeats everything again.

Price format

Designers often use non-standard decoration of price values on thickets. To expand the plugin's capabilities in this area at the bottom of the parameters window, you can specify the number of decimal places to round the price to, and use a separator which should be used between the main and fractional parts.

In actual practice, sometimes it is not enough to use a value from a single field for substitution. A combination of fields of different types may be required. To do this, the plugin provides a special type of field.

In the settings window, you can select previously defined fields, separate them with static text   or break the line  .

The plugin will successively process all elements of the list to form a single value, which will to be substituted into the template when generating data.

Elements can be dragged down the list using the button   in each of the lines. To duplicate any of them, you can click the button  

Each value can be further processed — the text case can be changed, extra spaces can be removed, or only a certain range of characters can be taken from the field.

Each value of the combined field can be repeated a certain number of times, and if the list ends, it can be started from the beginning. This can be controlled using two checkboxes below the list.

You can also add a list of colors to a project as well as a list of strings. They can be assigned to variable objects later. As a result, variable objects will change not only the data during generation, but also the fill or stroke color.

To add a value, click the   icon and type it in the list. To select the desired color, click on the square with the color — the standard CorelDraw dialog box will open.

You can drag items with the icon   to control their arrangement. This can be important, since the plugin handles the rows in the list sequentially from top to bottom.

The value of each color can be repeated several times — the exact repetition scheme is selected in the drop-down list at the bottom. You can configure the repetition of all colors in the list at once or individually for each.

You can also choose what to do if all the values ​​(including repetitions) of the color list are finished.

Variable text substitution is possible in the Artistic and Paragraph text shapes. After selecting a text object in the template, click on the   button. It's important to remember that when you insert variable data, the plugin saves all the text formatting options — font, size, alignment, color, etc. When you add a new object, the plugin will form a suitable name for the object, which, if necessary, can be changed to a more convenient one.

The most important parameter for the template shape is the the field the data from which will be inserted into it. In the drop-down list, specify the required value. If the list is empty then it will be necessary to create data fields as described earlier first. If the variable data source is not specified, then there will be an error message for the object and the plugin will not be able to start working until the problem is fixed.

In the parameters of a text object, there are two text boxes that allow to add extra text to values received from the assigned field. This can also be done in the field itself, but in some cases it is more convenient to do this at the object level. For example, if the same field is used for multiple shapes, some of which need to have different prefixed/postfixed values. In this case, it is sufficient to create one data field and slightly modify it at the object level by adding pre-/postfixes.

Additional text value processing

By clicking on the   button, you can set up additional parameters for processing the text value before inserting it into the object. The text can be divided into parts by the assigned symbol and only one of them can be taken. You can also add arbitrary static text at the beginning and end.

If the project contains a list of variable color swatches in the data, then in the text object parameters you can assign it for filling or stroke. In this case, when generating variable data, not only the text itself will change, but also its color in accordance with the data specified in the field.

Options for Artistic text

As an option for Artistic text shapes, you can specify random variations for each of its symbols. This allows to get an interesting effect of randomly distorted text in height, width or, even, the angle of rotation. The specified distortions are tied to the value of the field itself and are also saved when rerunning the circulation, providing a certain level of stability of this effect.

Options for Paragraph text

The only available option for substituting data in Paragraph text is to indicate the need to fit too long text lines into its borders. In real practice, this option is used very widely, since it can easily turn out that when you substitute text data, they will be too long for the selected boundaries. The plugin will adjust the font size so that it fits completely in the selected frame.

The plugin allows to add a variable barcode to the template. To do this, draw a rectangle in that place and the size that is needed. If you select a rectangle in the CorelDraw template, the   icon will appear in the header of the list of objects, allowing you to add the shape to the list.

When creating a variable barcode, the plugin takes into account only the size and location of the rectangle. Its color and other parameters do not affect the appearance of the codes. In barcode parameters, you must specify the field data from which it will be substituted into it and, if necessary, the text that will be added at the beginning and at the end of the generated value.

It is important to consider that many bar codes support a strictly limited set of characters, most often numbers and some symbols, and some barcodes also require a fixed length of the substitution value. Therefore, the fields with the data specified for the barcode must meet these requirements. Otherwise, during the data substitution process an error will be issued and the bar code will not be generated.

For any type of code, you can set the background color and the color of lines from which it consists and the orientation within the boundaries of the selected rectangle. The rotation value specified here allows you to specify the orientation of the code in the rectangle. If the rectangle has an angle, then the barcode will be rotated additionally to the same angle.

For bar codes that support text placement, you can specify parameters (for certain codes, not all values are available):
• font used for text output
• the font size in % of the height of the barcode
• whether the text is required to stretch to the full width or just align in the middle
• vertical shift of text in % of height: 0% - text from below 50% - text in the middle of 100% - text on top of the barcode

In addition, you can configure other parameters specific to different barcodes. You can find the table which contains the list of barcodes supported by the Variable data manager at the ReproScripts Barcodes plugin page.

QR code design

WATCH VIDEO: Variable designer QR codes with logo in CorelDraw

When selecting a QR code, you can specify the design in which the QR code will be generated. When you select a QR code, a preview window appears in which you can evaluate the appearance of the code when choosing a particular design. RS plugins come with several standard styles, but you can also develop your own styles using the RS Barcodes plugin. More information about changing the design of the QR code can be found in the description of the RS barcodes plugin.

Place for logo in QR code

The QR code allows you to set parameters in which you can select an empty area in which you can place a logo or other image. The plugin automatically calculates the space that can be safely highlighted in the barcode while maintaining its readability. The logo itself needs to be placed in the template approximately in the place where a free zone is expected and a transparent background for the generated barcode should be set.

Another task for working with the variable data that the CorelDraw Variable data manager plugin solves is batch import and substitution of images from the directory on the disk. To add a variable image to a template, you must select a rectangle, ellipse, or other vector object that will serve as a container. The   icon will appear in the header of the list of objects, which opens the window for editing the import settings for images.

You need to add images to the project by clicking on the button and selecting them in the explorer. The images will be copied to the project folder located next to the template file.

In order for the plugin to determine which image from the folder to take at each step of the work its name must match the value created by one of the data field. In the import settings window, you need to specify the field from which the plugin will pick up the name. For example, give numbers to all images as their names and create a field which generates this sequence in the project. Or, you can load image names into a field from a CSV file. At each step of its operation, the plugin will form the next value of the specified field (for example, the number or line from the file) and look for images with this name in the Images subfolder. How the value can be compared with the name can be specified using the parameter in the settings window — either the file name must completely coincide with the calculated value, or the calculated value should simply be contained in it.

The second option is convenient, because it allows to use any text in the names in addition to the required identifier. But it is important to avoid ambiguity in names. For example, for the value "1" files "File 1", "Image 12", "Picture 101", etc. are suitable. as one of the solutions, you can also use the extra text for fields before and after the calculated value. If you add "[" at the beginning and "]" at the end, for example, the plugin will look for files containing "[1]" in its name and can not confuse them with the names "Image [12]", "Picture [101] " etc.

Extensions of graphic files that the plugin should search in the folder are set in the plugin's settings, which are opened when the button with the gear   is clicked in the lower right corner of the form. By default, files with extensions jpg, jpeg, png, bmp, tif, tiff are searched.

If the file is found, the plugin imports it and places it in the place reserved for it by the CorelDraw shape from the list. If the use the shape as a clip for the image checkbox is activated in the Clip tab, the image will be placed in the PowerClip. So you can, for example, import photos in a round frame.

The plugin does not require preliminary processing of image sizes making them the size of the frame object. The option in the settings allows to specify how the imported image will be scaled:

• Do not resize: place as is without scaling, aligned to the center of the frame
• Fit to the frame proportionally: both sides larger and smaller will fit within the frame, while at the same time an empty space may appear on the smaller side
• Fill the frame proportionally: both sides will proportionally fit within the frame, the larger side may go beyond the frame and be clipped
• Fill the frame non proportionally

The value of the rotation indicates the need to perform this operation at the specified angle before calculating the fill. This can be used if all the images in the folder are not oriented as required.

Imported images can be adjusted before placement in the template. For them, you can specify the percent change in brightness, contrast and saturation, as well as reduce the resolution to 300 dpi, if it appears after scaling higher. CorelDraw allows to adjust only the images of the RGB model, so it is necessary to convert the imported images to this model if adjustments are to be performed.

The Variable data manager plugin allows to specify the desired final color model for images. If it is different from the current one, or the image for adjustment reasons has been converted to RGB, the plugin can convert it to RGB, CMYK or Grayscale if necessary.

If the project contains a list of variable color swatches in the data, they can be assigned to a vector object for filling or stroke. In this case, when generating variable data, its color will change in accordance with the data specified in the field. This will allow you to create, for example, a changing background color for different variable data.

With the default settings, the plugin will create a CorelDraw file, with the correct number of pages in which the variable data is substituted.

• Place on master layer: all objects that do not change are transferred to the master layer, this allows to reduce the size of the output file and make it easier to work with it
• Remove from output file: in some cases it may be necessary to send to print the background separately from the variable data; if this option is selected, the plugin will move the constant part into a PDF file in the working folder of the project and only the variable part remains in the resulting CorelDraw document
• Duplicate on all records: in some cases it is desirable to have all the objects on each page, in the case of multi-page templates this is mandatory, as CorelDraw does not support multiple templates, such as InDesign for example. The plugin will build all pages of the resulting file from the variable and constant parts of the template

Additionally, you can specify whether to export the result to a PDF format or to translate all text objects into curves during the generation process 2. Since CorelDraw is not designed to work with files that contain too many pages, you can select to split the final file into fragments with a certain number of pages. In practice, for modern stations, it is not problematic to work with files up to 5000 pages, with a relatively simple template. However, everything depends on the specific features of the job and available computing resources.

To speed up both the generation process itself and the output of the print job, the plugin allows to create the files in PPML format. This is a special open standard developed for working with variable data and to date, supported by most modern digital presses. The speed of processing files in PPML format can be dozens, and in some cases hundreds of times, faster than the speed of generating and printing a file in CorelDraw format.

The plugin supports two modes of working with PPML - Graphics and Text In the graphical mode, the result is formed from a series of PDF files, in text format - only the template is in PDF format, the text data itself is written and sent to the press as PostScript.

The text mode is the fastest one. Generation and printing are performed in seconds even for tens of thousands of variable records. To use it, you must fulfill two conditions:

1. variable objects should be only text shapes (no barcodes and no images)
2. the font of the variable object must be Type 1

Type 1 is practically a font in PostScript format, easily implemented in PPML and recognizable on all professional printing machines.

By default, PPML is set to automatic mode, in which it tries always when possible to use text mode. Otherwise, the graphic mode is activated.

An additional parameter of the result in PPML mode is the length of the record. It allows to specify how many pages are treated by the printing machine as one set and grouped into one record. This allows to configure the printing of each entry from different tray. An example of using the length of a record is the printing carbonless forms which differs in characteristics for the upper, middle and lower layers of paper. To form one three-layer carbonless form with a variable number, you need to create a field with three repetitions (all the layers must be the same) and set the record length to 3 (this is the instruction for the press to treat three records in a row as one item).

Typically, PPML is formed simultaneously from a variable and a constant parts completly ready to be sent to the press. However, if you plan to print or send to the machine the background and variable data separately, you can specify the need to exclude the background from PPML ( remove template from the output file). PDF file with the background will still be saved in the project folder and available for useage.