PRODUCTS.XML

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The following table is an overview of the attributes available in the Products.xml file in the order that they were introduced, similar to a change history. To easily check for new changes, compare your Products.xml to the <SetupWizard>\Source\4all.EN\products_demo.zip using the free WinMerge utility.

For CHUNK and layout related attributes see Layout properties

lightbulb_onAn example of a live PRODUCTS.XML from our Pixpedia client can be seen here

See also: example product with price calculation

compatible

all Publisher versions below this value are outdated, i.e. the current Products.xml (automatically downloaded) is too new and cannot be used.

precision = 1 decimal

You an use compatible or ExpireDate to force an update. If you set compatible to 3.1, and put the changed Products.xml into your DataPackURL (LiveUpdate) folder, then the next regular download of the products.xml will cause Publisher versions below 3.1 to become outdated, forcing the user to a software update.

However, this is the brutal way. Usually the AutoUpdateDays value from the SetupWizard should be set around 3 days, causing a gradual update process within your user base.

sign_warningMake sure to also update the version number in the index.php file inside your DataPackURL (LiveUpdate) folder. Example:

 case "publisher_setup.exe":
   { $version = "3.1.1";  $title = "Publisher Update";  break; }

DocCreatedBelowVersion

Example: <DocCreatedBelowVersion version="3.1.2">Dear Customer, this DTP file was created with an outdated version "[version]" of the Publisher. Please be aware that old bugs may appear if you order this product, and we cannot take responsibility for this.</DocCreatedBelowVersion>

ExpireDate

date when the Products.xml becomes invalid. If the user does not perform automatic updates, or if you have no newer products.xml to download, then he should invoke a complete software update (a warning will be shown at start, if no internet connection exists, otherwise automatic update)

active

See Product Migration...

BaseUrl

starting URL for shop communication

sign_warningDataPackURL, LoginFormURL, GotoShopURL, BaseURL and ShopEntryURL can all use SSL. If one of these URLs has a https:// prefix, then you must add libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll to your SetupWizard source folder.

If you don't want SSL for upload, but the shop needs SSL, then define the BaseURL with http:// and add the full URL to the ShopEntryURL, using https://

sign_warningCAREFUL: If you are using a HTTP to HTTPS rewrite rule on your webserver, and BaseURL in your products.xml uses http://, then each photobook page will be uploaded twice, once for the http request, and again for the https redirect. Make sure your BaseURL also uses https:// to avoid this.

DataPackURL

where to update this file and all products from, download program updates

Description

HTML, may include marketing messages and special price table

FoldWidth

similar to the bleed, used to display helper lines in the Publisher

InactiveMsg

error message when opening dtp file for inactive product

ImageFile

always provide images for all features in a group; all must have same size! (a good size is 60x60)

LayoutFile

per product

LogoFile

shown in Publisher toolbar top right (max size 200 x 40)

SkinFile

if left empty, then first .vsf file in branding is used

StatusMsg

replaces %PROD_STATUSMSG% in wzProduct.htm (wizard page #2)

LongName

displayed in ungrouped product list of product wizard dialog, on page validation button below page thumbs and in most messages

sign_warningif you don't use product groups, product LongNames must be unique!

replaces %PROD_LONGNAME% and %PRODUCT% in wz*.htm files of product wizard dialog

ShortName

displayed in grouped product tree; shown in order summary

replaces %PROD_SHORTNAME% in wz*.htm files of product wizard dialog

Example: if group title is Hardcover Photobook, then Shortname represents the sizes like 14,8 cm x 21,0 cm (A5 portrait)

sign_warningif you don't use product groups, product LongNames must be unique!

SubShopID

primary key for this file and for Publisher installation, used also to tag DTP files (example: diron.DE)

TemplateFile

per product. if chunk should have no templates selectable, then pages in chunk must be locked (designer)

Items in TemplateFile are filtered according to the currently selected chunk in the project.

ToolbarBGImage

should be about 1800 x 200, if you don't want it to tile

ThumbsBGImage

should be square and small, so it can be tiled

VersionDate

last update of this file

WizardHeight

min value is 480

WizardWidth

min value is 640

ToolbarBGImage

sign_warningLimitation: if set, then we loose XP/VISTA menu and button selection style! (blue gradient)

Also displayed on right panels

EasyMode

Easy features (override default features). Used to change the UI for the whole application, or a single product.

For a list of possible values see <SetupWizard>\Source\4all.EN\actions.txt

ExpertMode

Expert features (override default features). These are only shown when the user selects Expert Mode. Used to change the UI for the whole application, or a single product.

For a list of possible values see <SetupWizard>\Source\4all.EN\actions.txt

HiddenMode

Excluded features. These features are invisible to the user in the whole application, or in a selected product only.

For a list of possible values see <SetupWizard>\Source\4all.EN\actions.txt

Examples:

    <EasyMode></EasyMode>

    <ExpertMode>aGradient,aTexture</ExpertMode>

    <HiddenMode>aGroup,aUnGroup,aExpertMode</HiddenMode>
 

selected

Default item in PRODUCT, FEATURE and OPTION nodes

Example: <PRODUCT Selected="1"> selects the default product in the product wizard

Rebates

Price = TotalPrice * Rebate.Price, if user orders at least Rebate.Amount.
lightbulb_ononly relevant in the 3P OpenCart shop after Products.xml import.

FormatWidth, FormatHeight

Width and height of the product, used for product filtering.
lightbulb_ononly relevant in the 3P OpenCart shop after Products.xml import.

BasePageCount

required for every chunk

FoldFile

fold image per product. will be tiled along horizontal or vertical page fold

if no image is defined, you will see a line or box, depending on the foldwidth in the layout_xx.dtp (Publisher design mode)

PinchImageFileLeft, PinchImageFileRight

image used to visually represent the pinch (spine joint). The image will be painted Distance mm left or right of the spine. Example:

<PinchImageFileLeft Distance="0.3cm">images\pinch.png</PinchImageFileLeft>

<PinchImageFileRight Distance="0.3cm">images\pinch.png</PinchImageFileRight>

lightbulb_onSee Dynamic Spine & Paper Pricing for a layout example.

Validator

Section to turn on/off document & page validations and resulting warnings:

  <Validator>

    <ImageOutOfBounds>none</ImageOutOfBounds>

    <ImageBorderInBleed>warn</ImageBorderInBleed>

    <TextOutOfBleeds>warn</TextOutOfBleeds>

    <ImageUnfilled>warn</ImageUnfilled>

    <FeatureUnavailable>messagebox</FeatureUnavailable>

    <SpineWidthChanged>error</SpineWidthChanged>

    <ImageQuality>warn</ImageQuality>

    <ImageQualityPosition>toolbar</ImageQualityPosition>

    <TextObj2Short>error</TextObj2Short>

    <PageIsBlank>none</PageIsBlank>

  </Validator>

 

ImageOutOfBounds: Image passes over border of page. Values: none (default), warn

ImageBorderInBleed: Image border lies between bleed and page border. Values: none, warn (default)
sign_warningWarning: If you set this to none, then the user may get unwanted white spacing between images and the page border. This is due to the arbitrary cutting line, which can lie anywhere between the dotted bleed line and the maximum page border.

TextOutOfBleeds: Text is outside of the bleed or page border. Values: none, warn (default; validator warns), error (validator prevents upload)

ImageUnfilled: Image placeholder is empty. Values: none, info (validator shows info), warn (default), error (validator prevents upload)

FeatureUnavailable:   If a feature becomes obsolete, and a user uploads an old product with this feature, there is a warning in the validator. This warning can now be elevated by a popup messagebox. See <Messages> section for an additional specialized message.

SpineWidthChanged: possible values: error (default), messagebox. Only used if <PaperThickness> is set.
Adds an error note in the cover, or message box prior to validator, if pages are added or deleted, asking user to review cover page. The error note added to the cover page must be deleted by the user, otherwise the validator cannot continue.
See also Dynamic Spine & Paper Pricing

ImageQuality: Warns in the validator, if Image quality is lower than page DPI. Values: none, warn

ImageQualityPosition: Where the quality warning symbol is placed in the design view. Values: image, toolbar

TextObj2Short: Warns if text does not fit into placeholder. Values: none, error, warn, info

PageIsBlank: Values: none, warn

PlaceHolderFillColor

color shown inside image placeholders (default $FFEAD5 = #D5EAFF)

PlaceHolderImage

image shown inside image placeholders; must be WMF or EMF vector format

PlaceHolderTextVisible

1 = show (default), 0 = hide

StickyNoteColor

section PublisherUI; background color of stick note (default = #FFFF88)

DPI

Upload DPI for each product (default = 304); overrides same attribute in <UPLOAD> section

DefaultEmptyPageNr

source="[layout, template]"; default is layout

number of page inside templates or layout, which will be autom. applied to any blank new page

AllowPageNumbers

allow page numbers in chunk: node missing means default=0 for cover, 1 for content chunks

action available in expert mode only

DocCreatedBelowVersion

if you enter a message here, it will be shown if a document was created with an old Publisher.

Make sure to include a [version] token

ProductWizard

Controls for custom skinning of product wizard (overrides skin engine). Example:

    <ProductWizard>

      <WizardWidth>850</WizardWidth>

      <WizardHeight>750</WizardHeight>

      <ProductListColor>#F0F0F0</ProductListColor>

      <ProductListWidth>280</ProductListWidth>

      <ProductListFontSize>10</ProductListFontSize>

      <ProductSelectedColor>#D4E199</ProductSelectedColor>

      <FeaturesColor>#FFFFFF</FeaturesColor>

      <FeaturesBGColor>#F0F0F0</FeaturesBGColor>

      <LayoutBGColor>#FFFFFF</LayoutBGColor>

      <ProductDefaultLayout>templates</ProductDefaultLayout>  //empty, autofill

      <ColumnFeatureWidth>-1</ColumnFeatureWidth>  //-1: default width; 0: hide

      <ColumnOptionsWidth>-1</ColumnOptionsWidth>

      <ColumnSurChargeWidth>-1</ColumnSurChargeWidth>

    </ProductWizard>

clip0031

<ProductDefaultLayout> defines which layout option is preselected in the product wizard. The allowed values are:
empty, templates, autofill
 

ProductListWidth

default 230

ProductListFontSize

default 10

AllowDocsFrom

List of (foreign) SubShopIDs, from which documents can be opened and ordered with the current (installed) SubShopID.

sign_warningThe foreign SubShopID is preserved inside the document when changes are stored.
SecID is a security ID provided by 1STEIN.

VisibleFromDate
VisibleToDate
OrderByDate

See Product Migration...

PRODUCTGROUPS

if this is defined, products are grouped in the wizard. Set groupid="xy" in the <PRODUCT> attributes

ImageQualityHiResWarning

Message which appears if the image is so large, that it must be downsized considerably inside the photobook, leading to alias and color problems. Read more...

Threshold = quality value: 0..99 = poor, 100..150 = acceptable, over 150 = good, over 500 = may have alias

AIE

Automatic Image Enhancement just before upload: careful, TIME consuming (~25 sec/image). For conservative results we recommend algorithm #1.

algorithm #1: SmartFlash 20, SmartFix 60, NoiseReduction 150

algorithm #2: SmartFlash 20, AutoExposure 50, AutoColor 50, Saturation 20, NoiseReduction 150

To reduce time, turn off NoiseReduction (~ 15 sec/image), which is applied to the original full sized images. NoiseReduction reduces sharpness, but may solve downsize alias problems, if very large images are used in product.

Switches

<AIE type="batch">: manual enhancement by the user on all selected images. Allows the user to decide which images should be enhanced. A corresponding button Enhance will appear in the right button panel.
<AIE type="upload">: pre-upload enhancement of all pages. The printer should set this switch, if the color quality of his printing machine requires an automatic enhancement of all images on all pages. The Enhance button will be invisible in the user interface. Please do extensive tests on the algorithm settings before you switch to upload.

Example

    <AIE type="batch">

                  <SmartFlash enabled="1">20</SmartFlash>

                  <SmartFixColorHistoStretch enabled="1">60</SmartFixColorHistoStretch>

                  <SmartFixSaturation enabled="1">60</SmartFixSaturation>

                  <SmartFixShadowHighlights enabled="1">60</SmartFixShadowHighlights>

                  <AutoExposure enabled="1">50</AutoExposure>

                  <AutoColor enabled="1">50</AutoColor>

                  <Gamma enabled="0">0</Gamma>

                  <Saturation enabled="0">20</Saturation>

                  <NoiseReduction enabled="1" threshold="600">150</NoiseReduction>

    </AIE>

 

ICCProfile

Filename of .ICC color profile (RGB color mapping) which is applied to the whole page right before upload.

Filename is relative to C:\ProgramData\<publisher name>\Organizer\Resources\ColorProfiles1\

NoiseReduction

Example: <NoiseReduction enabled="1" threshold="600">150</NoiseReduction>

See also Automatic Image Enhancement

ProductDefaultLayout

In the product wizard, one of the three layouts can be preselected: empty, templates, autofill

PageUpPrice
PaperThickness

See example product fb0006 in <SetupWizard>Source\4all.EN\products_demo.xml

Both can be used inside <FEATURE> if you want to display an image, or inside <OPTION> if a dropdown is preferred.

Example: FeatureGroup(paper).Feature(papertype).Option(glossy).PageUpPrice is multiplied by number of content pages, if the user chooses glossy, which is thicker than matt.

As with Features, an Option can now also have an UpPrice, i.e. if the spiral binding is gold plated.

See also Dynamic Spine & Paper Pricing

DisplayName

Can be used in addition to Name in <Features> and <Options>, and Name can be used for a primary ID in order to find the feature in the backend. If DisplayName is missing or empty, then Name is displayed.

lightbulb_onIf neither <Name> or <DisplayName> are given, then the feature is used to show an additional informative product image by means of the <ImageFile> tag. The image is displayed in the options page of the product wizard and in the product description of the 3P OpenCart store. The feature itsself is not shown in the list of available product features of the store. If you set visible="0", then the image is only displayed in the store product description.

     <FEATUREGROUP>

        <Name>Hardcover</Name>

        <FEATURE selected="1" visible="1">

          <ImageFile>images\dx011_hard.jpg</ImageFile>

        </FEATURE>

      </FEATUREGROUP>

CustomLinks

As of version 4.0, the designer can add webpage links to the Help menu. Example:

  <CustomLinks>

      <Action Parent="Help1" URL="http://www.codedcolor.com/" Hint="CodedColor PhotoStudio" IconIndex="81" Target="external">

        Expert Image Editing...

      </Action>

      <Separator Parent="Help1"></Separator>

      <Action Parent="Help1" URL="http://www.3p-publisher.com/index.php/desktop-photo-book-album-gift-editor-software.html" 

        Hint="3P Publisher" IconIndex="87" Target="external">3P Publisher Homepage...

      </Action>

  </CustomLinks>
 

For IconIndex use one of the following icons:

clip0061

ResourceLinks

To allow the user to grab images from online image collection, you can add custom links to the Add Resource submenu. Example:

  <ResourceLinks

     UsageInfo="Click on the thumb until you get the full sized image. Right-click on the image (or selected text) and 

                select &quot;Copy&quot; from the popup menu. Then press the &quot;Add&quot; button.&lt;p&gt;Alternatively,

                some Webpages allow you to store the image onto your hard drive, so you can insert it into your photobook 

                or layer from there. If you're looking for cliparts and photo objects, you should choose PNGs with a

                transparent background."

    CopyRightInfo="Please read the copyright statement of the webpage or image owner. The following images may be used: 

                Public Domain, Creative Commons, Open Source, if it has a &quot;copyright-free&quot; tag or if you have the

                owner's written permission.&lt;p&gt;Few hobbyphotographers will mind if you use their image in a personal 

                photo book, if you don't publish or sell it. You should, however, always quote the source and photographer

                in your work.">

      <Link URL="http://images.google.com/images?q=[Search for:]&amp;tbs=isch:1,isz:l" Info="Google image search engine">

        Google</Link>

      <Link URL="https://www.bing.codemom/images/search?q=[Search for:]" Info="Bing image search engine">Bing</Link>

      <Separator></Separator>

      <Link URL="https://www.freepik.com/index.php?goto=2&amp;searchform=1&amp;k=[Search for:]" Info="Free BG textures">

        Freepik</Link>

      <Link URL="http://www.openclipart.org/search/?query=[Search for:]" Info="Large open source clipart archive">

        OpenClipart</Link>

      <Separator></Separator>

      <Link URL="http://www.quotemountain.com/fullsearch.php?searchtxt=[Search for:]&amp;matching=1" Info="Famous quotes">

        Quotations</Link>

  </ResourceLinks>

 

The [Search for:] text must be in the language of your publisher installation. The user is prompted to add the search value before the webpage is opened.

sign_warningResource Links are not available in the Online Designer. Opening an outside web page on your server poses a high security risk.

PageThumbnails

Adding this attribute in the <Upload> section will upload page thumbs in JPG format, which can be used for an online flip book. In 3P Opencart, the flip book can be launched by the customer from the shopping cart and the order history form. Example:

<PageThumbnails enabled="1" maxwidth="600" maxheight="600">JPG</PageThumbnails>

sign_warningThese thumbnails are also used in the preview panel of the export & upload dialog.

UserExportDPI

This attribute in the <Upload> section defines the resolution of the demo PDF, which the user can export in the Publisher and send to his friends or publish online. Make sure this value is not too high, as this could encourage a user to print the product on his own printer. If you don't want this feature at all, you can disable it through the actions.txt file.

 
Allowed values: 50 - 150. Default value: 100

 

 

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