The process of creating a section style template and section style group.
Accessing the Section Style Interface
Section style templates are created in the Admin area of CampaignDrive:
Clicking the Section Styles link opens up the Section Style Templates table. The table displays all the current section-style templates installed on the system and has a button link to create a new template:
Section style templates are managed like any other layout-based template.
- Compose opens the template for editing,
- Clone will create a copy of the template
- Delete will delete the template. Templates deleted here are removed from any section style group they are associated with.
Clicking the +Create a New Section Style Template button will open up a new template editor. The experience and interface are almost exactly the same as for any other template. The first form view will be Document Settings:
Document Name: Give the template a name - for section style templates, which appear as sets, it is often helpful to name them all the same but with a number to identify their slot count.
Description: Give the template a description
Default Font: Specify a default font (optional).
Total Item Slot Count: This field is unique to section-style templates. The number that goes here is the total # of unique data sets that this particular section style template will have. Example: If this layout is going to accommodate 3 different locations, then the slot count is 3. This field cannot be left blank.
Measurement Type: Measurement types are inches or millimeters - it is recommended that the measurement type be the same as it is for the main template the section style will be used on.
Expandable Content: This toggle is not used for Section Style templates.
Width and Height: Change the document width/height. The width and height of the section style template should match the size of the layout required on the main template. For example, if the address block at the bottom of a flyer is 6" x 2" then the section style template size will be 6" x 2".
Bleed: Not used for section style templates - should be left at "0".
Media: Not used for section style templates - should be left at "0".
OK: Saves your changes.
When the document settings have been applied, the Compose environment will appear and the section style template may be created.
Section Style Template Composition Options
Many of the styling options for section style templates are the same as any other layout template
For Image Layers, Admins can still:
- Determine the visibility of an image layer on the printed piece.
- Add an asset/photo and determine it's size and position
- Can apply sizing rules to support dynamically sized templates
- Content Lock, Enforce Print quality, and apply a Content Group or Content Database Image
- Allow the End User Options "Can Crop", "Can Upload and "Must Change"
For Text Layers, Admins can still:
- Add a text box and determine it's size and position
- Can apply sizing rules to support dynamically sized templates
- Can apply content lock and position lock
- Format text (alignment, font, font size, font color, line spacing, etc.)
- Add/edit tags (however, the destination section style type will determine what tags are allowed.)
- Allow end users the ability to style tags
Creating a Section Style Set
Determining Section Style Template Size
Typically, the section style template size will be determined by the area on a print template that is required to accommodate the variable items. The template layout below has a text box that will contain variable information (in this case, menu items).
The size of the text box here will determine the size of the section style template needed:
In this case, we want to build a section-style template that is 4.8" x 9.625".
Creating the First Section Style Template
Section style templates are built manually by adding text and image layers to complete the desired layout. For section styles that will contain a variable number of items, it is highly recommended to create the highest slot count template first and then clone the other templates.
Once the layout is finished, add the appropriate tags to manage the text and images. Make sure that the Index #s used for the tags match the slot count for the document.
It is also highly recommended that the naming for the section style template have a number in the name which corresponds to the slot count for that template. This is not necessary, but is extremely helpful for differentiation between templates:
Cloning the Rest of the Templates
For section style templates, the most efficient way to build the set is to clone from the first template since the content management is already done. Once the first template is created, click Clone next to that template. Open the new template, go into Document Settings to rename the template and change the slot count. Adjust the layout as needed. If the first template is built with the largest slot count, it is easy to remove the extra fields when new templates are created via cloning.
Creating a Section Style Group
Once the section style templates have been created, they can be compiled into a section style group. Section Style Groups are how templates can be connected to section style templates.
Clicking the Section Styles Groups link in the Admin area opens the Section Style Template Groups table. The table displays all the current section-style groups installed on the system and has a button link to create a new group:
The table details the information about each group and also has buttons to edit or delete a group. Clicking the +Create a Group button opens the interface to create a new group:
Group Name: Give the group a name. This isn't visible to the End User.
Group Type: Select "Item" or "Location". This determines how the system will present the section style UI to the End User and should match the type of tagging used in the templates. See the individual articles for Item and Location section styles for more information.
Section Styles: You can search for section style templates here.
Template List: Use the scrollbar to scroll through the list of all the section-style templates installed.
Selected Template: This is where templates selected for the group will appear.
Here is an example of a section style group:
Section Style Templates Organized in a Section Style Group
To select templates to add to the group, click the template in the list on the left and drag it into the box on the right. When all templates have been moved over, click Submit to create the group.
Now the group is ready to be applied to a print or digital template.