Shape properties overview

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Top/Left/Height/Width

Position of shape. The unit “cm” is appended by default. You can use other units like “mm” or “in” and they will be converted to “cm” automatically.

Don’t print

The shape will not be printed, i.e. a demo barcode

_img3 Don’t forget to click on “Lock Position and Content” for this shape, too!

Keep behind other shapes

The shape will always be behind other shapes

Keep in front of other shapes

The shape will always be before other shapes, i.e. a demo barcode

Position fixed

The user cannot move or delete the shape, but can change the content.

High-Res Substitution (deprecated)

_img3The OPI feature has meanwhile been replaced by crypted resource images, which are replaced shortly before upload.

3P is capable to have low-resolution images in the product layout, which are then replaced by high-resolution representations on the server. This feature is intended to allow for small-footprint downloadable products, still allowing for high quality printouts.

This feature is intended for design-mode only, i.e. only the product designer (NOT the consumer) can specify that for a certain image there is a high-resolution image on the server.

The feature is a page-level feature, i.e. as soon as a page contains a marked “low-res” image, the whole page (or if applicable the double-page) will be marked as a page to be rendered on the server. In consequence all images added by the consumer will be uploaded in full resolution .dtp format and the page(s) will be rendered on the server.

So the benefit of having a compact download (client) might be at the expense of having a larger uploads and also require additional processing time on the server. Therefore it is recommended to use the feature only if absolutely required.

Usage:

On the server-side the high-res representation of the image has to be available in a configurable directory with exactly the same file name as the low-res representation.

Since there is no way to provide low-res images to a consumer and to make sure that the consumer places those images in the correct frames, High-Res Replacement can only be used with fixed frames. This restriction is not implemented on the user interface for convenience reasons; therefore the designer has to make sure that all High-Res Replacement Frames are appropriately fixed.

High-Res Replacement frames nevertheless can be used in Templates. Together with the new ability to have content in a template, this can be a powerful feature, e.g. for calendars or predesigned books.

Limitations:

For technical reasons high-res replaced images are always “fit to frame” when replaced on the server. This means that any cropping areas, frames etc are lost when the image is replaced with its high-res replacement on the server side.
The only link between the server and the editor with respect to high-res/low-res images is the file name
There is no checking if the printed size or aspect ratio of the high res is the same as the low res, i.e. if the low res is 200x200 pixels square and placed to a square frame and the high res is 2000x1000 pixels, the high-res will be distorted into a square frame
The image is always “fit” in the frame, i.e. any cropping is lost, as well as e.g. frames
There is no checking that the high-res image has the same content as the low-res image. If the high-res shows a camel and the low res (with the same file name) shows a tiger, the consumer will see a tiger and get a camel!
Images encrypted with “level 2” must be available on your server in the folder C:\ProgramData\PubRender\Organizer\Resources, otherwise the Publisher can only use the thumb images.

Max Res

The designer is now able to specify a maximum Resolution for the images embedded in the dtp file using the “Max. Res” entry field. This may significantly reduce file size for dtp files as well as performance. As a draw back if the consumer drags an image to a small frame and then dramatically increases the frame size (i.e. reduces the effective resolution) he may receive a “Low Quality” warning. In this case he has to re-drag the image to the larger frame.

In Theory the max. Resolution can be set to anything, nevertheless there are the following considerations:

Setting it to a lower value (e.g. 150 pixels) will:

dramatically decrease upload sizes, especially for pages that are using High-Res Replacements
decrease stored file size on the consumers PC
slightly reduce memory consumption of the software
possibly reduce the quality of the printed image (esp. values < 150 pixels)
increase the probability that a customer may run into “Low Quality” warnings when sizing the image

 
Setting it to a higher value will have the exact opposite effect.

In general there is no “all purpose” type of setting, the default value of 1200 pixels is just a good compromise with excellent print quality for general photobook-type applications.

If a product has e.g. only locked frames, the resolution can be reduced to 300 (this is the default upload resolution), since the consumer cannot change the size of the images anyway.

Font locked

The user cannot change the font name of the Rich Text shape

Font size locked

The user cannot change the font size or attributes (i.e. bold, color, …)

Image must Be Filled

The image place holder must be filled before a user can order the product.

Lock Position and Content

Locks the selected shape so that it cannot be selected, changed or deleted by the user. Any design time elements (for example: pictures of a binding or a bar code) must have position and content locked. Otherwise the user can replace the content.

Unlock All Shapes

Undoes “Lock Position and Content” for all shapes on the current page. Use this button if you need to change the properties of a shape that cannot be selected. You cannot only unlock all shapes on a page, because it is not possible to select shapes that cannot be selected.

No Content

A shape will still be considered empty by the page wizard if this shape is on a page.

Publisher version older than 3.5 handled all locked shapes as “no content” shapes. This had the problem that the page wizard complained about pages that only had OPI images and no user content. Now only the shapes with the “no content” flag will be skipped when counting shapes on a page.

PlaceHolder Button

You can set a placeholder text for richtext shapes. This text will be shown if a richtext shape is empty. Possible values:

Default: Use built-in text
Custom: Set a custom text for the selected placeholder
Flow text: Set a custom text for the selected placeholder. The text will be repeated until the text fills the entire placeholder.
 

Note: for speed reasons the text will not be displayed more than 1000 times. If this is not enough, use a longer text or repeat it manually a couple of times.

 

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