Print Presets
Print Presets are files that contain settings for a print job and printer.
All of OL Connect's print job and printer options are also available in the Advanced Printer Wizard, which appears when you select File > Print or Proof Print in the menu and then click the Advanced button, but the wizard cannot save your settings.
Print Preset types
There are two types of Print Presets: Job Presets and Output Presets. The settings in each are used in a different phase of the print process.
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A Job Preset is used by the OL Connect Server after a template and data have been merged. Based on the settings in a Job Preset the server can filter, sort, and group the print content items, add meta data and make finishing settings.
The resulting print job is then handed to the Weaver engine for output creation (see also: Connect: a peek under the hood). This engine generates the final print output file, or files. -
The settings in an Output Preset define the destination and all the appropriate print options and printer settings.
How to use Print Presets
Print Presets are not bound to a particular template. They can be used with different Print templates, as long as the data contains the required information.
Job Presets and Output Presets can also be used in different combinations, although not randomly:
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Groups of documents, such as invoices for a specific customer, can be printed separately. This requires that the documents are grouped in advance. In other words, the Separation settings in the Output Preset and the Grouping settings in the Job Preset must match. (See also:Splitting printing into more than one file.)
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Conditions and output file names in an Output Preset can only make use of those meta data tags that have actually been added to the print job via the Include meta data setting in the Job Preset.
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The finishing options selected in the Job Preset should match the capabilities of the printer selected in the Output Preset.
To apply Print Presets in the Designer, select File > Print or Proof Print and then select an Output Preset and (optional) Job Preset in the Print dialog. It will be indicated if the current data doesn't contain the fields required by the selected Job Preset.
In OL Connect Workflow there are special plugins that work with Print Presets; for more information see Print processes with OL Connect tasks.
In order to use Print Presets in a print process they must be sent to Workflow in advance; see Sending files to Workflow.
Creating, opening and saving Print Presets
To create a Print Preset from the Welcome screen that appears after startup, choose New at the left, then Presets at the right.
Tip: Click the 
Home icon at the top right to reopen the Welcome screen.
Alternatively, select File > New from the menu and expand the Presets folder.
Then select the type of print preset that you want to create.
To open a Print Preset, select File > Open and browse to the Print Preset.
Or, find the preset using Windows File Explorer and double-click it or press Enter.
Where Print Presets are stored
You can save Print Presets anywhere you want.
As of version 2023.1 Print Presets are no longer automatically stored in OL Connect's workspace folder: C:\Users\[UserName]\Connect\workspace\configurations.
Where [username] is replaced by the appropriate Windows user name.
When it opens, the Designer checks for Print Presets in this folder and suggests to move them to the user's Documents\OL Connect\Print Presets folder. You can select a different folder or decide not to have the Presets moved.
Tip: Actually, the path may not begin with 'C:\Users', as this is language-dependent. On a French system, for example, it would be 'C:\Utilisateurs'.
Type %userprofile% in a Windows File Explorer and press Enter to open the actual current user's home directory.
Job Presets
A Job Preset (or Job Creation Preset) is a file that contains settings for the creation of a print job. It is used after a template has been merged with data, but before the actual print output file is produced. Merging a template with data results in a set of print content items. Based on the settings in a Job Preset, the OL Connect server can take a number of actions on a set of print content items. The actions are described below.
In addition, runtime parameters can be defined in a Job Preset. Filled with a value at runtime, these can be used for comparisons against conditions within the job creation, or in external sorting programs.
Select File > New > Presets > Job Creation to create a new Job Preset with the Job Preset wizard.
Note: The job creation options are also available in the Advanced Printer Wizard, which appears when you select File > Print (or Proof Print) and click the Advanced button. However, the Advanced Printer Wizard cannot save your settings to file for re-use.
Tip: When a Print template is merged with data by a process in Workflow, the resulting print content items are saved in the OL Connect database. These items can be retrieved later on (using the Retrieve Items task in the Workflow) so that they can be re-used and combined in new print runs. This is called batching and commingling. (See also: Batching and commingling.)
Filter and sort
The conditions are evaluated per record and can be based upon such diverse criteria as the value of data fields, the value of runtime parameters (see Runtime Parameter Options), the binding options used in a source document, or its size.
Note that the overriding finishing options, which can also be defined in a Job Preset, are not taken into account while filtering. First, the source documents are filtered. Any overriding finishing options are applied at a later stage.
The remaining items can be sorted, either by the OL Connect Server, based on data fields, or by some external sorting software (see Sorting options).
Tip: External sorting benefits considerably from runtime parameters, defined in the Job Preset (see Runtime Parameter Options).
Grouping
While creating a print job, the OL Connect Server can group Print content items into Jobs, Job Segments and Document Sets (see Grouping options).
This allows to organize content in a certain way, for instance, to gather all foreign mail pieces into one job segment, or to commingle multiple sets of Print content items in one job.
The existence of groups in a print job also allows the Weaver engine, in the next phase of the print process, to separate the output accordingly into different (spool) files (see Separation).
It is always possible to separate the output on the document level, i.e. output individual documents as separate print files.
In order to split the output on other levels, however, the Print content items must be grouped first.
Include meta data
Meta data can be added to a print job at the Job, Job Segment, Document, Document Set and Page level (see Meta Data options).
In the next phase of the print process these meta data tags can be used in output file names and in various conditions.
If the output format is PDF/VT, the meta data will also be included in the print output itself.
Note that these meta data tags can only be used by the engine that creates the final print output (see Connect: a peek under the hood). They are not available in a Workflow process and are not in any way related to a process's Metadata in Workflow.
If runtime parameters are defined in the Job Preset (see Runtime Parameter Options), their value can be used as meta data.
Override finishing options
The Print context and Print sections can have their own finishing options (see Print settings in the Print context and sections.) A template could be setup with a glue binding, for example.
When the printer doesn't support the chosen finishing options you could override the finishing options, and use staple binding, for instance.
More importantly, the Override finishing options option allows you to make dynamic finishing settings, and this not only on the Section level but also on the Document, Document Set and Job Segment level.
If runtime parameters are defined in the Job Preset, the passed information can be used in conditions (see Runtime Parameter Options).
Output Presets
An Output Preset (or Output Creation Preset) is a file that defines the printer model and output type, and all desired print options and printer settings. It is used by the Weaver engine (see Connect: a peek under the hood), which generates the final print output file (or files).
The input of the Weaver engine is a print job, assembled by the Connect Server.
Select File > New > Presets > Output Creation to create a new Output Preset with the Output Presets wizard.
Note: The Output Creation options are also available in the Advanced Printer Wizard, which appears when you select File > Print (or Proof Print) and click the Advanced button. However, the Advanced Printer Wizard cannot save your settings to file for re-use.
Printer model and output type
An Output Preset specifies the type of printer the output should be suitable for, and determines where that output should then be sent: to a folder, LPR queue or Windows printer (see Print options).
Printer definitions
A printer model and its capabilities for OL Connect are defined in a printer model definition file (.OL-printerdef). OL Connect comes with a number of such files. However, there are so many different printer models with their own settings and capabilities that it is simply impossible to provide definition files for all of them.
If there is no definition file for your PostScript printer you may create a customized printer definition file yourself using the PostScript Printer Definition (PPD) file provided by the printer manufacturer (see Dynamic PPD Options).
Other customized Printer Definitions can be obtained from Upland OL Support. They need to be tailor-made based on the information that you provide about both your printer and your specific needs.
Certain printer definition files will work with several types of printers (consecutive versions of a certain printer model, for example). Note that those printers may still have different capabilities.
When creating or selecting Print Presets, always consider the actual capabilities of your specific printer.
Mapping media types to printer trays
An Output Preset can map media types to printer trays (see the Printer settings dialog). This option is available for
Note: AFP and IPDS are only available in OL Connect Enterprise edition.
Print virtual stationery
The virtual stationery in a Print template (also called Media) is in fact an image that is normally only visible in the Designer in the background of the template to make designing a template easier.
If indicated in the Output Preset, the image will also be printed. The output can then be printed on plain paper instead of pre-printed paper. Printing virtual stationery is also very useful when producing PDF output for digital viewing.
Imposition
An Output Preset can tell a printer to print multiple pages on a single sheet (Simplex, or Duplex). This is called Imposition, also known as N-Up printing.
The two Imposition types are Cut & Stack and Stack by Column (see Imposition options).
With each Imposition type there is a wide range of options to control the exact layout of the output: the number of pages that go on one sheet, their order, the way they are stacked, the stack depth, the margins, markings, etc.
Note that when Imposition is used, the possibilities to separate the output (see Separation) and to add additional content (Additional content) are limited. Groups and meta data on lower levels than the Job Segment level (as defined in a Job Preset) are no longer available after the Imposition process.
Booklet Imposition
Booklet Imposition defines how to generate booklets in the output (see Booklet Options).
As printing booklets implies printing multiple pages on a single sheet, this is used in conjunction with some Imposition settings.
Separation
The print output can be split - 'separated' - into discrete portions. An Output Preset can either separate documents, document sets, job segments or jobs, or it can split the output between counts of sheets, documents, document sets or job segments. In addition the preset can tell the printer to add slip sheets and/or jog the output. See Separation options.
Using document sets, job segments or jobs in the Separation settings requires that documents in the print job be grouped that way in advance, following the instructions in a Job Preset (see Grouping).
Note: Separating the output using Grouping on levels lower than the Job Segment is not possible when you use Imposition.
With Booklet Imposition, however, the output can be separated on all levels.
Additional content
Via an Output Preset, content (Text, Images, Barcodes and OMR Marks) can be added to the output at the time of output creation. The additional content can be either static or variable (see Additional Content).
Additional content is particularly useful when you might need to drive custom processes on production machines using either Barcodes or OMR Marks, or if you need to add some last minute additions to the print job via text and/or images.
It helps to keep print production specific additions out of the templates, so templates don't have to be changed if production equipment or postal delivery requirements change.
In additional content you may use the meta data that was included during job creation (see Include meta data).
Note: When you combine Imposition with additional content, the content needs to be added to every page - not once per sheet - in order to have access to the meta data on all levels. If the option Output once per sheet is checked, only the meta data at the Job Segment level will be available.
Inserter marks
Inserter marks can be added to the print output in accordance with the settings in an Output Preset (see Inserter options). The available options are dependent on the selected High Capacity Feeder (HCF) model. These machines are also commonly referred to as Inserters or Folder-Inserters.
If no HCF file is available for a particular inserter machine, adding OMR Marks and barcodes as Additional Content is an alternate way to drive an inserter (see Additional content).