Numbering and Custom Objects

Commonly used and automatically placed marks can be activated on the Marks Palette. The Numbering and custom objects feature can be used to add special marks, numberings, texts and other objects and also to modify their placement and appearance. Unlike marks activated on the Marks Palette, these custom objects are not limited by a set (or automatically calculated) imposition margin. Note: Barcodes can only be used with VDP extension.

It is possible to add and edit these objects in a mode which is activated by the "Edit numberings and objects" button on the Marks Palette, using the icon on the Main Toolbar or in menu Edit. The appearance of the horizontal Info Palette will change to allow you to work in this mode.

Numbers can be added to a sheet. These numbers can be used for example to number tickets or as page numbers. It is also possible to add more objects and set their size, color and placement in detail. These objects can be moved to on subsequent sheets or groups, so they can be used for example as collation marks. You can also add an unlimited amount of custom PDF files (or images) which can contain any mark, strip, background etc.

Objects can be added using a button with an object symbol, using the edit menu or context menu. The added object will be highlighted by a red rectangle on the sheet; it will be selected and can be modified. You can change the type of the selected object by clicking a button with a symbol of a different object. If an object is selected (and neither Shift nor Ctrl is pressed), its type will be changed by clicking the symbol, if no object is selected or Shift or Ctrl is pressed, a new one is added. You can also use small context menu of the buttons.

A tool used to save selected objects for further use is located under the objects buttons. Simply type the name of the object used for further identification into the field and press the save symbol. The object will be saved together with all its settings. Later it can be selected anytime from the dropdown list and added to the sheet. It can be removed from the list by the trash bin button. One or more objects can be saved under one item in this list; similar list on the Marks Palette saves settings of all marks and objects used in the imposition.

List of objects on the top left part of the palette will be activated after placing an object on the sheet. Objects can be selected and edited using this list or directly on the work area (by pressing Shift or Ctrl, or by using a rectangular selection, multiple objects can be selected). You can deselect objects by clicking on the work area outside the object, using a keyboard shortcut, or by right-clicking on the object list. It is possible to remove objects from impositions by clicking the trash bin button. Object editing mode can be closed by clicking the OK button on the palette or by clicking the "Edit numberings and objects" button again. If there are multiple objects in the imposition and some are below pages for imposition (they have Background option active) and others not, the objects bellow pages and above pages are separated by ---Pages--- label for better orientation in the list. The objects with a lower number are below others (the number is the order of placement on the sheet). If two or more objects are selected, only basic properties common to all objects can be changed, it is possible to duplicate, copy, move and save selected objects (as one item in the list Saved objects) for later use.

Objects can be assigned either to sheet, to trimbox of the sheet or to positions. If an object is assigned to positions, it can be assigned either to all or only selected ones. To select positions you can use the "Select positions" button. After activating this button positions for object placement can be selected, SHIFT can be used to add more positions to the selection and CTRL to add or remove positions from the selection. Note: strips and side-lay marks can only be assigned to sheets.

The button is used to activate the rotation of the object when the orientation of the sheet is changed: by default, the location of the object does not change when the sheet orientation is changed. However, it is possible to set the object to be rotated together with the sheet, both the object itself and its location, i.e. the alignment and distance settings. If the object is assigned to the sheet or trim, a menu for setting the rotation direction of the object is displayed when the button is pressed. The direction of rotation is displayed on this button in this case. If the sheet is manually rotated to the right or left, this direction is respected (the direction set when rotation is activated is ignored). If the rotation is without specifying the direction – on the Sheet size palette with the orientation buttons or if the sheet size is automatic and the orientation is changed due to the page size change, the rotation direction of the object is determined by the setting when this rotation is activated. If the object is assigned to a position, it rotates with the position and the rotation direction is not set (the direction of rotation does not play a role here, since the position has a clearly defined orientation – the top of the position). Note: the same position is guaranteed only if the object is assigned to the sheet; if it is assigned to trim or positions, the location also depends on the dimensions of the trim or positions (of course only if their dimensions or number change). If this rotation is active (the button is pressed) and the object is assigned to a position, all object settings apply to the unrotated position assigned to the object (alignment, distance, size, rotation of the object) – because the object can be assigned to multiple positions and each position can be rotated differently (the object setting is the same for all positions, however the object rotation depends on the position rotation).

The options that define object display possibilities follow – on the front, on the back or on both sides. There is also an option to show objects on all sheets, only on the first or last sheet or only on the first or last sheet of a group. You can also use the "On the sheets" option, which will display two fields. The first one is used to input the number of sheet where the object will be displayed for the first time, and the second one is used to set the number of sheets, after which it will be displayed again (the step can be empty). For objects assigned to a position, the "By page number" option allows display only if there is a specified page at this position (if a step is given, also the page numbers after adding the step). The button with the printer symbol allows you to set the object as unprintable (if it is in state ). As mentioned above, certain combination of objects, their properties, and "Show on" settings are not possible. This applies, for example, to numbering with a defined end value (or to objects linked to a data file) – these cannot be set to appear on only one sheet, as it would not be possible to display all items up to the end. In such cases, the settings are automatically corrected.

The "Aligned to" control feature is used to set where the distance in X and Y fields are measured from. Selecting the left column states X as a distance between the left margin of the sheet (or position) and the left side of the object. For the middle column it is the distance between the center of the sheet (position) and the center of the object and for the right column X is the distance between the right margin of the sheet (position) and the right side of the object. The same applies to the rows and the Y value, ascender and descender are counted in the distance for text and numbers. Negative values (for left and right columns or top and bottom rows) indicate the direction outwards from the sheet or position, which means that objects can be placed out of the position they are tied with. Object placement can be adjusted either by setting the values in the X and Y fields or by dragging on the working area. Exceptions are the first two types of the strip mark – they are always aligned to the middle and their distance from sheet margins can be set which affects the strip length as well. If the object is assigned to a position and the imposition type is booklet, a button  is displayed, allowing the opposite horizontal alignment (if it is on the right on the odd side, the object will be on the left on the even side and vice versa – the function is active when the button is pressed: ).

Objects can be moved after activating the button (next to Distance label) either on a subsequent sheet or on the next group (signature). This way objects can be used to mark signatures for book working (collation marks). Only in the case of multiple impositions: the shift of objects between individual impositions can be linked. If a variable shift is set for an object in the first (left) imposition, it is possible to select “Link to previous” in the next (right) imposition. The following dialogue will display all objects from previous (left) impositions, which have a variable shift set. Selecting an object from this list will use all parameters of the object in the current imposition. This link affects all parameters: if the object in the previous (left) imposition is changed (e.g. shifted) this change will also affect all linked objects. This link only works from left to right – If a linked object in the second or further imposition is edited, the link is canceled and the changes will not be transferred. Only variable shift will remain linked. Objects will be linked automatically if there is an object with a variable shift in the current imposition and another imposition is added (by clicking the + on the "More impositions" navigation panel) – the imposition including its objects will be copied and the objects with variable shift are linked. It is also possible to copy single objects using the context-menu – when multiple impositions are used the “Copy to imposition” option is available. If an object already has a variable shift set and there is another imposition on the right, option “Copy to imposition and link movement” will be available.

Other Info Palette items vary by object type: it can show width, height, length or it is not displayed at all. For rectangular objects it is possible to set the size according to position or sheet. This way you can create for example a frame around the position. For line objects you can use the option "Depends on trim" and the length of the line will change according to the size of the position or sheet.

The following controls are again different according to object type. They can be used to set color, overprint and line properties of the object (according to the type of the object you can also display only the fill, line or none of these). The option "White margin" adds a white outline to the object to make it easily noticeable on a dark background. The color can be black, registration (in all colors 100%), it can be set by CMYK values or "none" can be selected which is used, if the object is to have only fill or only line. You can also use spot colors (Pantone for example). For objects with a line and a fill, the option Behind fill is available (the line will be below the fill, i.e. just outside the fill of the object).

For all objects, with exception of crosses, rotation can be set – by 90° with the buttons or with the button  by any angle (except for side-lay marks and strip). The object can also be rotated arbitrarily using the mouse on the work-area (with the exceptions noted). Note: the dimensions of the object refer to the unrotated object.

Further options (if they are displayed) are specific for certain objects:

Numbering allows you to choose a font and its size and rotate the number on the front of the sheet by 180°. It is also possible to select the "Start" of the numbering (the first used number) and the "End" of it. The number is increased by "Increment" value in each step, but you can set it to be the same on the front and on the back. It is possible to set the number of repeating of each number (if the same front/back is activated, back is not counted to this number). If "End" is checked, numbering ends by reaching this value. If there are not enough pages for imposition to reach this number, the pages will be repeated until the "End" value is reached. For example to print tickets all you need is a PDF with only one side, which will be repeated for all tickets (of course, for two-sided tickets you need two pages – front and back). If the "End" is not checked, no pages will be added and only pages for imposition are numbered (this can be used to add page numbers). The next field can be used to add "zero" digits so that the resulting value has a set amount of total digits and also to add characters before or after the number. You can show menu for repeat mode using the last button. It is possible to use two modes for page repeating if there are not enough pages to reach the end number. In this case only last page can be repeated or after the last page is used, the first page will be re-used and then all other pages will be followed again (the imposition will start from begin again). If you use multiple impositions and auto assignment to more impositions, this setting is common to all impositions.

The next option is to add a text on the sheet. Of course, the font and size of the text can be set, together whether it is supposed to be rotated by 180° on the back. You can add multiple symbols to the text in the field (in square brackets, selected from the drop-down list, but they can also be entered manually). Symbols and the text can be combined in any way and the symbols can be removed from the text if necessary. This type of object can therefore be used to create your own sheet description as well as labels for imported images. Using the button Properties you can enter text in multiple lines and you can also set its properties. If you use Variable data Printing Extension references to individual data fields from the data file can be used. If a reference to data is used in the text, you can also set the repetition of the value and whether the same value is used on the back.

The PDF option is used to add any PDF file (or image) containing a custom object (or image) or anything else. The object can be rotated by 180° or mirrored on the back side. The page number in the PDF can also be set (must be 1 for image file formats). For Variable Data Printing Extension only: a data file field can also be used as a name of the file and page number. If a reference to data is used, you can also set the repetition of the value (PDF or page) and whether the same is used on the back.

There are two pre-made side-lay marks and it is also possible to use a custom PDF with your own mark. The rotation options are the same with the previous object.

Strip to adjust and verify color balance can also be customized or you can use your own. The standard options are CMYK rectangles which can be supplemented by other colors that are present on the sheet, only spot colors or spot and black. The built-in strip is aligned to the center of the sheet with its longer dimension.

There are three kinds of the cross mark. Rectangle, line and ellipse objects do not have other options.

Barcodes can only be used with VDP extension.

Context menu of the object (right-click in the custom object edit mode) also allows other manipulations with objects: objects can be placed to the top (above pages for imposition) or to the bottom (below pages for imposition) based on the checkbox "Background" on the Info Palette, but you can also use the menu to change the relative order of the objects (moving them up or down). This menu can also be used to duplicate and copy selected object or paste it to the imposition. You can also add a new object (at the cursor position), delete the object or invoke the edit menu.

You can also show actual coordinates of the selected object using context menu. Coordinates of the left top edge of the object are displayed on the left side. The actual distance (including move of the objects) is displayed on the right side but only if it is activated move object with sheet or signature. The Search largest/shortest/incorrect option is only available in the edition with VDP extension and is active for text, number, PDF object or barcode. This makes it possible to find potentially problematic objects with missing or too long data. The appearance of this palette varies depending on the type of object and the properties found. The item Go to object is displayed only if the selected object is not visible (it is outside the displayed area or is not displayed on the current sheet) and adjust the view or current sheet so that the object is visible.