Known Issues

This page lists important information about issues that apply to OL Connect 2023.2.

Unicode Variation Selectors issue

The Designer and Merge engine can crash when a document or input data contains a Unicode Variation Selector. A variation selector is a special Unicode character in the range of U+FE00 - U+FE0F that indicates which variant of the previous character should be used.
The issue has so far only occurred on Windows 11 systems and will be fixed in a later release.

Font names containing 'undefined' characters

In PDF output, font names may contain 'undefined' characters when a Weaver engine has failed to choose the correct encoding for font names.
This issue will be fixed in a later version.

ODBC drivers do not all work with OL Connect

ODBC drivers do not all work with Java applications.
Since OL Connect is a Java application, it is strongly recommended you use JDBC instead.

Incorrect colors in print preview

Colors are not displayed correctly in previews generated by the Advanced Print Wizard.

Concatenating PDF files is slower

As of OL Connect 2022.1, concatenating PDF files is significantly slower than in previous versions. This is visible in the Merge PDF Files and Send to Folder plugins with the Concatenate files option enabled, and when using the Pages.InsertFrom() functions of the AlambicEdit script API.
This is due to upgrading to the Adobe PDF Library version 18.0.3, which has improved the reliability of the PDF merging process at the expense of speed.

Account permission issues

If you install and run OL Connect Designer and Server under different user accounts (for example, install under User1 and run Designer as User2), account permission issues may occur.

It is recommended that you install and use OL Connect Designer and Server under the same user account.

Issues converting some images from PCL to PDF

Problems have been reported with the conversion of some images, from PCL files to PDF output.
In some, the image is replaced with a grey box. In others, the images convert, but with a vertical line added to the edge of the image.

This is due to an issue with a third party library which will be addressed in a future release.

Expressions not supported in HTML attributes

In sections, Handlebars expressions in HTML attributes are not supported.

Master Page not affected by style rules for <body>

In the output, content in Master Pages is affected by style rules targeting <html>, but not by style rules targeting the <body> element. This is because in the output, they are placed outside the <body> of the section to which they are applied. When editing a Master Page, style rules targeting the <body> element will work, because the Master Page is not currently applied to a section, but they will have no effect in the output.

JDBC connection issue

In OL Connect version 2022.2, the SQL Server driver has been updated to version 10.2.0.jre11. As opposed to preceding versions, this driver by default attempts to connect to a JDBC database with encryption enabled if the encrypt parameter is missing from the connection string. This might break existing JDBC connections, particularly those defined in scripts and in the Database Wizard's 'Advanced Mode'.

To instruct this driver to not use encryption, the ";encrypt=false" parameter needs to be present in the connection string.

Installer issues

The new 2022.1 installer has some minor issues that will be fixed in a subsequent release. The issues are:

  • After installation, the "recent files" list is cleared and the measurement units are reset from 'cm' to 'inch'.

  • When updating from earlier 2022.1.x versions the bundled MariaDB connection settings are reset.

Dynamic tables causing issues

In some specific circumstances the dynamic tables feature does not behave correctly. The following scenarios should be avoided to prevent subsequent issues with the template:

  • Using page-break-before:always on the top TR of a TBODY causes a problem and results in a pagination error

  • It is possible to specify conflicting attributes on a TR element:

    • page-break-before:always or page-break-after:always combined with data-repeat

    • page-break-after:always combined with page-break-before:avoid on the next sibling TR (or similar combinations)

These issues will be addressed in a later OL Connect release.

DataMapper: Automatic Date/Time does not work with certain negative UTC time zone offsets

The new "Automatic" date parsing option in the DataMapper cannot parse dates with negative UTC time zone offsets of non-zero minutes.

For example: 2021-03-01T10:00-03:00 will work, but 2021-03-01T10:00-03:30 will not.

Positive time zones with non-zero minutes (such as +10:30) are unaffected.

The negative time zone offsets affected are: UTC -02:30; -03:30; -04:30 and -09:30

This issue will be fixed in a later release. In the meantime, the workaround is to use “Custom” or “ISO8601” date parsing options in DataMapper.

CSS inlining colour values now converted to RGB

As of OL Connect 2021.2 when using the CSS inlining mode "Apply CSS properties on elements" for emails, all colour values are now converted to RGB, rather than to HEX.

Issues running Connect on Hyper-V 9.0

Some customers have reported difficulties running OL Connect on Hyper-V version 9.0. In some instances OL Connect cannot install and in others the OL Connect Server service sometime stops with a signature error.
To resolve these issue we recommend downgrading to Hyper-V version 8.0 where these issues are not reported.

Minor font changes

As of Connect 2021.1 we no longer round fonts to pixel size. This can lead to tiny differences in the output (of 1-2 pixels) when compared to earlier versions.

Changed Omit Master Page Back behaviour

In versions of Connect prior to 2020.2, if a page had no content except for a linked DataMapper background, then Connect would consider it an "empty" page when determining whether or not to "Omit Master Page Back in case of an empty back page" (available as an option in the sheet configuration of a section). This has now been fixed in Connect 2020.2, and such pages are no longer considered empty.

This could impact on the output from existing templates.

Print Wizard Preview showing some Landscape mode jobs in Portrait mode

Print jobs featuring associated Connect Output Presets which have Imposition options set to Landscape will not Preview in Landscape, but rather in Portrait mode. The printout is unaffected, however.

Issues associating PDF files with Connect

Under certain circumstances, Connect Setups prior to 2019.2 would fail when attempting to add the "Enhance with Connect" association with PDF files. This would then cause the setup to appear to fail.

Whilst this issue has been fixed in the Connect 2019.2 installer, if a user had previously experienced the issue and temporarily worked around it to complete the installation, then the Connect installer will fail on upgrade or uninstallation.

To get around this, a manual uninstall is required, or a modification to registry entries.

Issues when loading some Workflow plugins for the first time

Under some circumstances, certain of the new Workflow plugins introduced with Connect 2019.2 will fail to load correctly when run for the first time. Instead of opening the plugin dialog as expected, the plugin hangs and displays a message that it is "Loading UI .... ". This is due to an issue with a third party library which will be addressed in a future release.

To get around the problem, please close and reopen the plugin. The problem only occurs on the initial opening, and should work fine thereafter.

The license update introduced in OL Connect 2019.1 does not cater for existing AFP input licenses

AFP Input is an add on option for OL Connect licenses. Unfortunately, the update to the 2019.1 version of the OL Connect license does not cater for existing AFP input licenses.

If you have an existing AFP input license we ask that you contact your local Customer Care team after the initial license update is complete and have them add the AFP input option back into your license. (See

The Connect Print Manager is a standalone Connect tool that is used in production sites to manage print jobs. It can be installed and run on standalone machines without a Connect license.

The Update Client for Connect 2019.1 looks for a Connect license as part of the update process, but it will not find one on standalone Connect Print Manager installations. As a result the Update Client will not recognize that there is a Connect update available to the Print Manager machine.

In order to update Connect Print Manager to version 2019.1 you will need to download the Connect 2019.1 installer outside of the Update Client. The Connect 2019.1 installer can be downloaded from the Web Activation Manager site. Or you could ask your local Administration for the installer, as it would likely already have been downloaded for installation by the document designers.

Page break changes in 2019.1

Improved page breaking in Connect 2019.1 might impact upon some existing templates.
It is recommended that you check page breaking in existing jobs, where page breaks at a specific location are a known criteria.

Minor differences in AFP and IPDS output introduced in 2019.1

Connect 2019.1 now defaults to "Scale to Fit" for both IPDS and AFP output.
Please note that this may have an impact when printing pre-existing Connect jobs (made in Connect versions predating 2019.1) on older printer models that do not support "Scale to Fit".

Issue with image placement in 2019.1 when using some customized AFP and IPDS Printer Definitions

An issue with image placement in Connect 2019.1 AFP and IPDS output was discovered just prior to the release. The issue is specific to AFP and IPDS 600 DPI Printer Definitions that are not set to "Scale to Fit".

As "Scale to Fit" is now switched on by default in all standard Connect 2019.1 AFP and IPDS Printer Definitions, none of those should encounter the issue.

This issue will be fixed in a subsequent patch release.

Issue after erroneous or incomplete update or re-installation

If one or more products (the OL Connect Designer, Connect Server, Software Activation, Print Manager, or Server Configuration Tool) or engines exit within a second of starting, this may be caused by a recent erroneous or incomplete uninstall before a reinstall or upgrade to a newer version of OL Connect.

This may be solved by deleting the %UserProfile%\Connect\.eclipse directory.

Backend database might require periodic maintenance

Databases maintain a variety of statistics in order to optimize performance. When high levels of inserts and/or deletions occur, the statistical data keeping can struggle to keep up. Over a period of prolonged and intensive processing this can result in a degradation in performance, with the whole database slowing down as it struggles to clean itself up.

In Connect terms the effect can be felt as the Data Mapper and/or Job Creation progressively slowing down.

To cure this issue, it is recommended that you periodically run manual maintenance on the backend database.

If using MySQL, the following script should be run in a query window:

set @a=null,@c=null,@b=concat("show tables where",
ifnull(concat(" `Tables_in_",database(),"` like '",@c,"' and"),''),
" (@a:=concat_ws(',',@a,`Tables_in_",database(),"`))");

Prepare `bd` from @b;
EXECUTE `bd`;
DEALLOCATE PREPARE `bd`;

set @a:=concat('optimize table ',@a);
PREPARE `sql` FROM @a;
EXECUTE `sql`;
DEALLOCATE PREPARE `sql`;

set @a=null,@b=null,@c=null;

If using Microsoft SQL Server run the following command in a query window:

sp_updatestats

Windows 10 Search service impacting Connect

The Windows 10 Search service runs as a background task, indexing files and folders. It has been noted that this background task is sometimes preventing files being added to the Connect temporary files folder when large amounts of files are being output and copied.

If this is an issue for you, we suggest disabling Search Indexing on the C:\Users\<username>\Connect folder.

This issue will be fixed in a later release.

Job Presets: External Sorting change introduced in 2018.2

Versions prior to 2018.2 did not correctly save the line end characters for external sort configurations in Job Presets, which meant the job could not be externally sorted. This issue has been fixed in version 2018.2. However, Job Presets created with an earlier version may still have the wrong line end character for external sorting. To fix this, open the Job Preset in the new version, reset the line end setting in the sorting options and then save the preset.

Engine Preferences: Backward Compatibility Issues introduced in 2018.2

  • Prior to version 2018.2 Connect allowed a mixture of internal and external engines. As of OL Connect 2018.2 this is no longer allowed.

    When upgrading to OL Connect 2018.2 from such installations, the pre-existing settings will not only no longer apply, but can cause scheduling preference conflicts for the Merge and Weaver engines.

    To fix this, any pre-existing Connect installation that was running a mixture of internal and external Merge and Weaver Engines must first restore their scheduling preferences to the default values. This can be done by clicking on the Restore Defaults button in the Scheduling pages of the Server Preference or the Designer Preference dialogs.
  • The Designer's scheduling settings are only updated correctly for the user actually performing the update.

Business Graphics: Backward Compatibility Issues introduced in 2018.1

As a consequence of changes in both the user interface and the underlying technology, Business Graphics made with a version prior to OL Connect 2018.1 may not display correctly when opened in version 2023.2.

The currently known backward compatibility issues are listed here:

All charts

  • Legend position: The position of the legend is not converted. It defaults to 'left' in a converted chart.
  • Rows are series/Columns are series: Only one type of data structure for detail tables is supported in the new version: the one that corresponds to the former Columns are series setting (with which charts display one series per record, one bar/point per data field). After conversion to 2018.1, charts that used the Rows are series setting will be displayed as if the Columns are series setting were used. Pie charts will thus only show data from the first record in the detail table. If the number of records in the detail table remains consistent, then the charts can be corrected by modifying the data mapping configuration (see Preparing a data table. Otherwise the data needs to be transposed via script.
  • NOTE: Expanded custom chart scripts cannot be converted.

Pie charts

  • Default colors: The default colors (used when no pie chart colors are specified) have changed.

Line and Bar charts

  • Legend label: In previous versions, the name for a values series (needed for the legend) could only be taken from a field outside the detail table. The value of the selected field would be used. Setting a different label required expanding the chart script. After conversion, the name of the field is used instead of the value. Setting a different label can now be done in the Edit Chart Script dialog (see Selecting data for a Business Graphic.

Known Font issues

The following font(s) are known to have issues in OL Connect 2023.2:

  • Benton Sans CFF font

Minor differences in PCL, AFP and IPDS output introduced in 2018.1

Minor differences in PCL output introduced in 2018.1

The browser component (Mozilla Gecko) used in the WYSIWYG editor of the Designer was updated for Connect 2018.1. This allows use of new CSS properties, such as flexbox.

However this update could lead to increased output file sizes for some PCL jobs. However this update could lead to increased output file sizes for some PCL, AFP and IPDS jobs. This is generally not a cause for concern, however there might be some associated increase in processing times, as well as some minor differences in the output. For example, table line widths and font spacings might differ slightly (particularly for SMALL CAPS text), which could lead to slightly different word-wrapping in some circumstances.

Windows Server 2016 issue

As of OL Connect 2018.1 Connect is officially supported under Windows Server 2016.

Please note, however, that the Update Client application might be blocked by the enhanced security settings in Windows Server 2016.

To fix this, add http://updates.ca.objectiflune.com to the list of trusted web sites on that machine, or lower the internet access rules.

Limit of 100MB of image files within a single job

The browser component (Mozilla Gecko) used in the WYSIWYG editor of the Designer was updated for Connect 2018.1. This allows use of new CSS properties, such as flexbox.

However this update also introduced a limit of 100MBs for image files included within a single job. The limit is set at 100MB deliberately, as this allows most jobs to run faster. However, if a job requires more than 100MBs of image files, then the Connect image cache size can be increased to cater for such.

Please contact OL Support for instructions on how to modify the image memory cache value, if needed.

Print Output: Booklet Impositioning changes introduced in 2018.1

When Booklet Impositioning is enabled, all pages within a document need to be changed to duplex prior to Impositioning . The method for duplexing jobs has been changed to now always combine existing pages into the front and backsides of sheets, rather than adding empty backsides to any simplex pages.

The result is that now every document in the job becomes a booklet without any empty pages between the first page and the last page.

With some exceptions. Booklet Impositionings that require a multiple of 4 pages (Saddle binding and Perfect binding) will still get empty pages added, when needed.

Memory usage in clustered environments

If Database Petitioning is not selected, then OL Connect can fill the database faster than the Clean-up service can clear it (the ratio is approximately 3:1), in high speed clustered environments. Therefore if the system needs to run for some time under a considerable load, a larger database should be used to prevent production from being interrupted. Or set the clean-up service to use Database Partitioning.

We also recommend only the Master Server performing the database clean-up, or the local Server Extension if the database is not installed with the Master, to maximize performance. For all Designers, Server and Server Extensions except one, set the clean-up of the database entities to run every 100 months and disable the clean-up for any Designer which also has a Server or Server Extension on that machine.
Note that if the Designer is a stand-alone then it is not connected to the central database for clean-up purposes.

The Database Petitioning option can be found in the Clean-up Service preferences.

Issues with Microsoft Edge browser

The Microsoft Edge browser fails to display web pages when the Workflow's CORS option (in the HTTP Server Input 2 section) is set to "*". This issue will be resolved in a future release.

Installation paths with multi-byte characters

When installing the Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) or Japanese versions of Connect, if the user specifies an alternative installation path containing multi-byte/wide-char characters it can break some of the links to the Connect-related shortcuts in the Start Menu and cause an error to appear at the end of the installer. The workaround for the moment is to use the default installation path. The problem will be addressed in a later release.

Switching languages

Changing the language using the Window > Preferences > Language Setting menu option does not currently change all of the strings in the application to the selected language. This is a known issue and will be fixed in a later release.

In the meantime we offer the following workaround for anyone who needs to change the language:

  1. Go to the .ini files for the Designer and Server Config:
    • C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Connect Designer\Designer.ini
    • C:\Program Files\Objectif Lune\OL Connect\Connect Server Configuration\ServerConfig.ini
  2. Change the language parameter to the required one under Duser.language=en | es | de | fr | it | ja | ko | pt | tw | zh

Only one of the above language tags should be selected. Once saved, Connect will appear in the selected language at next start-up.

GoDaddy certificates

When installing Connect offline, dialogs allow installing the GoDaddy certificates. Most users should use the default settings and click Next. In some cases, however, this may not work correctly. For this reason those users should activate Place all certificates in the following store and then select the Trusted Root Certification Authorities as the target certificate store.

MySQL Compatibility

The minimum supported MySQL version is MySQL 5.6.

PostScript print presets

The print presets for PostScript were changed from Version 1.1 onwards meaning that some presets created in Version 1.0 or 1.0.1 may no longer work.

Any PostScript print preset from Version 1.0 that contains the following will not work in Version 2023.2: *.all[0].*

Any preset containing this code will need to be recreated in Version 2023.2.

Available Printer Models

Note that only the single Printer Model (Generic PDF) will appear on the Advanced page of the Print Wizard by default.

To add additional printer models click on the settings button next to the Model selection entry box.

Note that the descriptions of some of the printers were updated in version 1.2 meaning that if you had version 1.n installed, you may find that the same printer style appears twice in the list, but with slightly different descriptions.



For example the following printer types are actually identical:

  • Generic PS LEVEL2 (DSC compliant)
  • Generic PS LEVEL2 (DSC)

External resources in Connect

There are certain limitations on how external resources can be used in Connect. For example if you want to link a file (e.g., CSS, image, JavaScript etc.) from a location on the network but you do not want to have a copy of the file saved with the template you need to do the following:

  1. The resource must be located where it can be accessed by all Servers/Slaves run as users. Failure to do this will cause the image to appear as a Red X in the output for all documents which were merged by engines which could not access the file. The job will terminate normally and the error will be logged.
  2. The file must be referenced via a UNC path e.g.,

    file://///w2k8r2envan/z%20images/Picture/Supported/JPG/AB004763.jpg

    • UNC paths are required because the services will be unable to access mapped network drives (Windows security feature).
    • The engine processing the job will look on the local file system for the direct file path leading to the “resource not found” issue mentioned above.

Caution: The Designer itself and Proof Print do not use processes that run as services and they may find local files with non-UNC paths which can lead to the false impression that the resources are correct.

Using Capture after installing Workflow 8

If OL Connect Workflow 8 is installed alongside PlanetPress Suite Workflow 7, Capture can no longer be used within Workflow 7. The plugins are now registered uniquely to Workflow 8 and the Messenger for Workflow 7 is taken offline. It is only possible to use Capture from OL Connect Workflow 8 thereafter.

Capturing spool files after installing Workflow 8

If OL Connect Workflow 8 is installed alongside PlanetPress Suite Workflow 7, the PlanetPress Suite 7 option to capture spool files from printer queues will no longer function. The solution is to use OL Connect Workflow 8 to capture spool files from printer queues.

Color Model in Style Sheets

The color model of colors defined in a style sheet can sometimes change after editing the style sheet. This is a known issue and will be addressed in a subsequent release.

Image preview in Designer

If in the Windows Internet settings (Connection Settings > LAN configuration) a proxy is enabled, but "Bypass proxy settings for local addresses" is not checked, the image preview service, conversion service and live preview tab in the Designer will not work and exhibit the following issues:

  • Images will be shown as 0 size boxes (no red 'X' is displayed).
  • Live preview does not progress, and when re-activated reports "browsers is busy".

To fix the issue you must check the "Bypass proxy settings for local addresses" option.

Merge/Weaver engines when printing

The print operation in the Designer will automatically detect whether the Merge\Weaver engines are available and display a message for the user to retry or cancel if not. Once the Merge/Weaver engine becomes available and the user presses retry the print operation will proceed as normal. This message can also occur in the following circumstances:

  • If the server is offline and you are not using Proof Print.
  • On some occasions before the Print Wizard opens.

REST Calls for Remote Services

The Server will accept REST calls for all remote services and will make commands wait indefinitely until the required engines become available. The Server will log when it is waiting for an engine and when it becomes available. Note that there is no way to cancel any commands other than stopping the Server.

Print Content and Email Content in OL Connect Workflow

In OL Connect Workflow’s Print Content and Email Content tasks, the option to Update Records from Metadata will only work for fields whose data type is set to String in the data model. Fields of other types will not be updated in the database and no error will be raised. This will be fixed in a later release.

Print Limitations when the Output Server is located on a different machine

The following limitation may occur when using the Print options from a Designer located on a different machine to the Output Server:

  • The file path for the prompt and directory output modes is evaluated on both the client AND server side. When printing to a network share it must be available to BOTH the Designer and Server for the job to terminate successfully.
  • The Windows printer must be installed on both the Server and Designer machines.
  • When printing via the Server from a remote Designer, the output file remains on the Server machine. This is remedied by selecting “Output Local” in the Output Creation configuration.

VIPP Output

Some templates set up with landscape orientation are being produced as portrait in VIPP. It can also sometimes be the case that text and images can be slightly displaced. These are known issues and will be addressed in a later release of Connect.

Magic Number changes when installing Docker

Installing Docker on a system where Connect has already been installed may impact Connect's licensing mechanism and require reactivation.

Note: Installing Connect after Docker has already been installed will not cause issues.