User Guide

for version 1.0

www.j-activepress.com
Contents

1. Getting Started

2. Building a Document

3. Connecting and Applying Data

4. Printing

5. Sample Documents

6. License
1. Getting Started

Install the Software

J-activePRESS is programmed in Java, which means it can be run on a variety of operating

systems, including Windows, Linux and Solaris. The Java Runtime Environment 6 (JRE 6), or
later, must be installed on your system. If you don’t have JRE on your computer, or if you
have an earlier version, then you can download the latest JRE from www.java.com.

See www.j-activepress.com/install.html for install notes specific to your operating system.

J-activePRESS Documents

A J-activePRESS Document consists of one or more Pages. Pages are built up of Text, Picture
or Shape Elements. A Page Layout specifies where and how the Pages fit onto a piece of
Paper (imposition) .
Xmargin Xgap
__ __

Ymargin |

Ygap |

Pages across Paper=2

Page (single unit or label) Pages down Paper=2
containing Elements (text)

Layout specifies how the

Pages fit onto the Paper

A simple Document with no imposition (for example a 1up A4 letter) will have the Page size
equal to the Paper size, with 0mm margins, and one Page across and one down the Paper.

Page Layout

The Page Layout determines:

- The Page size (the final unit size - the size of an individual label for example)
- The Paper size (the size of the physical paper that will be printed)
- How the Page(s) fit on the Paper

Create a New Document

To create a new J-activePRESS Document select File>New. You can select either a Preset layout
or the default layout (which is a single A4 page on A4 paper). If you are not sure at this stage
what layout you require, then select default - you can change the layout style later using the
Page>Layout option.
2. Building a Document

Document Elements

Use the Insert menu or the relevent toolbar button to insert an Element:

Text Elements - Single or multilined text consisting of a single colour and font style.

Picture Elements - .jpg, .bmp, .gif or .png image files.

Shape Elements - Circles, lines, regtangles, or rectangles with rounded corners.

Select Elements by clicking on them. Selected Elements can be moved and resized by clicking
and dragging the small blue sqaures.

Click and drag Click and drag

the center the bottom-right
square to square to
move Elements. resize Elements.

Element>Properties (or Right-click>Properties) will open the Element Properties dialog. Here you
can change all attributes of an Element. For example: change the colour, font, text content,
or select an image file. Element size and position can also be entered directly as a
measurment in mm.

Use the Move options in the Element menu to move an Element behind (towards the
bottom) or in front of (towards the top) of other Elements.

Additional pages can be inserted into the Document by selecting Page>Add Page.

Text Elements

The frame size of a Text Element is arbitrary - it is simply used as a reference to set the
alignment. For example: right-aligned text will right-align to the right side of the frame.

Picture Elements

If the image file is located in the same directory as the Document (.jxp) file, then only the
filename (without a path) has to be specified. The Document and image files can then be
relocated without having to set new paths.

Shape Elements

Horizontal and vertical lines can made by specifying a rectangular shape with a very small
height or width (0.1mm). Then set the stroke thickness to the required line thickness.
3. Connecting and Applying Data

Connecting to a Data File

Documents can connect to Text Delimited data files. For example: comma delimted (.csv).
Excel spreadsheets can be converted to .csv by selecting Save in Excel and then selecting CSV
(Comma delimited) as a file type.

Use Data>Properties then Browse to select your data file. You can just enter a filename (without
a path) if the data is in the same directory as the Document (.jxp) file. If your data is not
comma delimted, then you can also select a different delimiter. For example: Tab or | (pipe).

Data>Connect or the Link toolbar button will connect the Document to your data. You can
then navigate through your data file using the data navigation and find Toolbar buttons:

Applying Variable Content

Data columns can be included in Text Elements, and can control variable Picture Elements.
For example: you may require a variable signature on a letter.

To enter variable content into a Text Element, insert the data column name surrounded by
<< and >>. For example: a salutation to a letter could be a Text Element containing:

Dear <<firstname>>,

Here firstname is the name of a column in your data. Note that the column name is not case
sensitive.

Variable Picture Elements are created by building a filename using a data column name
surrounded by << and >>. For example:

c:/signatures/<<Signatory>>.jpg

Could be entered as a filename to point to a directory containing image files for signatures.

If the image file is located in the same directory as the Document (.jxp) file, then you do not
have to specify a path. For example:

<<Signatory>>.jpg
4. Printing

Basic Printing

Select File>Print or press the print toolbar button . Select your printer as the Printer Driver.
If your Doucment is dynamic (linked to data), then select the range of records you want to
print. If the Document is static then select how many Pages (Print Pages) you want to send to
the printer*.

In most circumstances all that you will need to do now is press the Print button. There may
be a small delay the first time that you press Print (or Setup & Print) while the printer initializes.

* Print Pages indicates how many Pages are sent to the printer. Copies (see the next section) indicates how many
copies the printer will print. The best way to print multiple copies of a static document is to set Print Pages to the
number of Pages on a single piece of Paper, then set Copies to how many pieces of Paper you want printed.

Printer Setup

Selecting Setup & Print instead of Print will bring up the Java Print Dialog - this enables you to
change other print attributes:

General Tab
Print Service: Don’t alter this. Select the printer as described in the previous section.
Properties: Disabled
Copies: Set this to the number of copies that you want to print. For a dynamic Document you
can also specify if you want it collated (For example: 123123 or 112233).
Print Range: Leave this set to All

Page Setup tab

Media: If the printer supports your paper size, then this will be set automatically. You can
set a different paper size here if you need to override the automatic setting.
Source: Set for your printer if required
Orientation: Will also be set automatically.
Margins: Shows the printable area (most printers cannot print right to the edge of the
paper). These are read-only values.

Appearance Tab
Sides: Set this if you require two sided (duplex) printing.
Colour, Quality & Attributes: Change these if required.

You printer may have other properties that are not displayed on the Java Print Dialog. For
example edge-to-edge printing can be turned off or on for some colour inkjet printers. If you
need to alter these you will need to set them as the default properties for your printer. In
Windows XP for example: Control Panel>Printers, then Right-click>Preferences.
Printing to PDF

It may be desirable to output your Document to a PDF rather than printing directly to a
printer. The PDF document can then be print elsewhere and with more control over the
printing. A later versions of J-activePRESS will have an Output to PDF option. To output a PDF
using version 1.0, install one of the many free (or commercial) PDF print drivers available.

For Windows BullZip PDF Printer is recommended. you can download it here:
www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php

If you are using Ubuntu, then you can install cups-pdf printer by opening shell and typing:
sudo apt-get install cups-pdf
Ubuntu will save the printed PDFs into the ~/PDF/ directory.

Printing Issues

Large Print Files: Documents with large picture Elements and many records may cause the
print file to grow very large and printing speed may slow as record count increases. Then it
is more efficient to split the print job. For example: print pages 1-100, then 101-200, 201-
300,…. The printing range will automatically increment. For example: after printing pages
1-100, the range setting will automatically increment to 101-200.

Paper size: If the Paper size of your Document is not supported by your printer, then the
nearest supported paper size will be used. This also applies to printing to PDF's.
5. Sample Documents

Sample Document Directory

Several sample Douments are contained in the INSTALL_PATH/samples directory.

Sample Labels 24up

This Document is address labels using

the Label 24up on A4 (Avery L7159)
Preset layout.

Sample Letter

This Document consists of an A4 Page

layout on A4 Paper, and is an example of
how a simple mail merged letter can be
created.

The signature and signatory are also

dynamic in this example. Press the
Connect to data button and scroll through
the data to view the Elements changing.
Sample Business Cards

This Document is static (it does not link to

a data file). The best way to print multiple pages
is to leave Print pages set to 8, press Setup & Print,
and set Copies to the number of sheets of Paper
that you want to print

To create cards with edge-edge colour, the

colour needs to overlap the boundary of the
card (this is called a bleed). J-activePRESS will
print a maximum of 3mm bleed (or less if the
gap between pages does not allow a 3mm bleed).

This layout is designed for perforated business

card stock. J-activePRESS 1.1 will include the option
of printing crop marks.

Sample Courier Labels

These are A5 landscape labels laid out 2up on

A4 paper. The Document also includes a static
code 39 barcode.

J-activePRESS 1.0 does not include a Barcode

Element type (wait for 1.1) but ships with a
Code 39 barcode font (numerical only).

To include a barcode in a document: create a

Text Element and select JBarcode_numeric39
as the font. Begin and end the barcode data
with *.

For example: *<<numberData>>*

6. License

J-activePRESS 1.0 is Copyright ©2011 Allan Murray ("The Software Publisher"). All rights reserved.
This End User License Agreement accompanies the J-activePRESS product ("Software") and also
covers any upgrades or updates of The Software.

1. USE OF THE SOFTWARE

The Basic-Free version of The Software product is free for personal use only and may NOT be
used by businesses or organisations. The purchase of a registration code is required for
commercial use.

2. COPYRIGHT
The Software is copyright of The Software Publisher. You may not copy, sell or redistribute the
Software. This Agreement does not grant you any intellectual property rights in The Software.

3. RESTRICTIONS
You agree not to modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise
attempt to discover the source code of The Software. You may not alter or modify the installer
program or create a new installer for The Software.

4. LIMITED WARRANTY
In no event will The Software Publisher be liable for indirect, special, incidental, tort, economic,
cover or consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use The Software,
including, without limitation, damages or costs relating to the loss of profits, business, goodwill,
data or computer programs, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. In no case shall
The Software Publisher be liable for money damages exceed the amount paid by you for the
Software out of which such claim arose. The Software Publisher limits liability, according to the
terms of this Agreement, to the extent permissible at law.

BY INSTALLING THIS SOFTWARE YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT

©2011 Allan Murray

www.j-activepress.com