Saving the uImage Template

Once the uImage template is ready, it can be exported to different destinations and used by different applications. For example, you may continue editing this template on other desktop machines, or generate the personalized files using an XMPie VDP tool (uPlan, uCreate Print or uProduce).

To achieve the Photoshop personalization effect, the uImage template may require additional components that vary depending on your specific effect. These components may include one or more of the following:

• uImage Assets: recipient-specific graphic files, intended to replace the image tags in your template.

  Note that uImage assets are specific to each uImage template. Do not confuse them with the campaign assets, which may be shared by different Documents

• Action: a Photoshop action to be played back during production.

  This action may include brushes or styles.

• Script: a JavaScript file to be run during production.

• Fonts: the fonts used by the text layers in your template.

Once your template is ready, save it as a document package, which can be easily moved between different XMPie applications. The template is packed along with all components required to achieve the uImage effect (fonts, assets etc.), as well as additional information such as Copy Fitting settings and uImage tag names. When the document package (*.dpkg file) is moved between applications, for example: from uImage to uCreate Print or uProduce, all components are instantly available and installed in their proper locations. Furthermore, since the package provides information on the template’s tags, it is much easier to work with separated letters and Image fonts applications.

Saving a uImage Template as Document Package (DPKG)

The basic uImage packing workflow consists of two main procedures:

1. Exporting a uImage Template as a Document Package.

2. Using the document package in an XMPie VDP tool:

   • In uPlan or uCreate Print: define a uImage content object that uses this uImage template to generate personalized images.
     See Generating Personalized Images in uPlan.

   • In uProduce: upload the uImage template and generate personalized images.
     See Uploading a uImage Template (or Package) to uProduce.

When you produce the document that uses the uploaded uImage template, uImage processing is performed seamlessly.

You may continue working with the uploaded document package, for example:

• Continue to edit the uImage document package in Photoshop.

  See Importing a uImage Document Package into Photoshop.

• Download the uImage document package to other desktop machines.

  See Downloading a uImage Document Package from uProduce.

Exporting a uImage Template as a Document Package

To save a uImage template along with its associated files (fonts, assets etc.), export it as XMPie document package (DPKG):

1. Open the uImage template you wish to export.

2. From the menu, choose File > Automate > Export XMPie DPKG.

   If you have not saved the latest changes to your template, you are prompted to do so now. Save your changes in order to proceed.

   The Export XMPie DPKG window is displayed.

3. Select the folder to which the document package will be exported from the Save in drop-down list.

   By default, this is the folder containing the uImage template.

   Note that the Save as type list is automatically set to XMPie Document Package (*.dpkg).

4. Click Save.

   The Export XMPie uImage Document Package window is displayed.

5. The document package automatically includes the uImage template and its fonts. In addition, you may set the following packing options: 

   Option	Description
   Template Type	Choose the type of personalized images that this document package will create: a general type (Regular), or specialized types (Image fonts and separated letters). Regular: a generic type of application. Any uImage template can be defined as a Regular template. Image Font: creates a personalized image that shows text using images. The alphabet is a set of images and each character is represented by a specific image. This specialized application makes it easy to create such effects, saving you the need to define how to separate the text to letters and map the letters to images. Separated Letters: creates a personalized image in which the personalized text is created using regular fonts. Each letter is placed in a separate text layer, so it can have a different design (a different location, size and color). This specialized application makes it easy to create such effects, saving you the need to define how to separate the text to letters.
   Template Settings	Define the settings that are specific to your template type: Regular, Image Fonts or Separated Letters.
   Regular	Specify the Copy Fitting settings, which change the text size so that long or short recipient values fit a given space in your template: Copy Fitting Mode: determine when to use Copy Fitting. By default, this feature is turned Off. You may choose to handle cases of Overflow, in which the text exceeds the boundaries of the text frame; Underflow, in which the text leaves extraneous blank spaces; or both Overflow and Underflow. If you have defined different settings per layer (as explained in Setting Manual Copy Fitting per Photoshop Text Layer), choose the Manual Mode. Copy Fitting Mode: if Copy Fitting is used, determine whether to handle text overflow and/or underflow using Horizontal Scaling, which either condenses or expands the text horizontally; or by changing the Font Size, to scale the font proportionally (both horizontally and vertically). For a detailed description of the Copy Fitting options, see Setting Copy Fitting for Text Layers.
   Image Font AND Separated Letters	Personalized Text: define the text to be personalized. This text is defined by either combining two tags, “First Name” and “Last Name”; or defining the expression of a single tag: First and Last Name (two tags): this commonly personalized text is available as a predefined option. The personalized text will be a combination of a recipient first and last name. If there are enough uImage tags to display all characters, the first name and last name are both displayed. Otherwise, only the first name is shown. If there are not enough uImage tags to display the first name, only initials are displayed, separated by periods (for example, "John Smith" will appear as "J.S."). When using this algorithm with Image fonts, the period image must be prepared in advance (see Mapping Letters to Image Fonts Images). The rules for calculating the values of these two tags are defined in uCreate Print (see Defining Personalized Text). Custom (single tag): allows the template users to define the personalized text with their own custom rule. For example, the designer may only use the first name as a variable, or choose a completely different logic to include the recipient Title, City, Club name etc. The rule for calculating the value of this tag is defined in uCreate Print (see Defining Personalized Text). Alignment: in case there are more uImage tags than letters in a specific recipient value, define how to place the letters in the available tags to align the text to the Center, Left (the default option), Right. For example, there may be ten tags as placeholders for the “First Name” text, while a specific recipient value may have only four letters: “Jane”. In this case, if you align the text to the center, the letters will be placed in the four middle tags, leaving three empty tags on each side. uImage tag Prefix: define the prefix of the uImage tag names. For example, if you named the layers “L1”, “L2” etc., enter the prefix “L”. Number of tags: define the number of tags in your template. Letter Images Folder (Image Font only): the folder containing the images for all the letters. This template-specific folder, with all of its contents, will be packed as a uImage Asset. For instructions on mapping letters to images, see Mapping Letters to Image Fonts Images.
   Pack Action or Script	Specify if a Photoshop action or an external script file should be played back on the uImage template during production. If this box is unchecked, the uImage template will be produced without running any Action or Script.
   Action	Select this option and then specify the Photoshop action to be played back during production: From the Set drop-down list, select an Actions folder and then set the Action drop-down list to the relevant Action. Note that if the selected Action includes brushes or styles, they are automatically exported as part of the document package.
   Script	Select this option and then specify the external script file to be run during production, by clicking Browse and specifying the path to the script File.
   Pass uImage Tag Values to Script	Determine whether the uImage tag values are to be passed to the script. For details on using tag values in scripts, see Using uImage Tags in Scripts. For optimization purposes, it is better not to use variables in the script.
   Pack Assets	uImage assets are recipient-specific graphic files, intended to replace the image tags in your template. The folder containing these images is known as the uImage Asset folder. If your template includes image tags, you must include the corresponding uImage assets in the document package. Check the Pack Assets box and then specify the uImage Asset folder, by entering the full path or clicking Browse... to point to the folder location. If your template has no image tags, leave this box unchecked.
   Include Optimization Information	Specify whether this template includes a Path that defines the variable area. If this template includes a path named uImageOptimize, this option is automatically checked. This Path is used only if the uImage call’s “Output Format” parameter includes the “Custom” option. Optimization path:  lists all valid (square) paths that can be used as an optimization path. Choose the relevant path from the list. If this template includes a path named uImageOptimize, it is the default value.
   Additional Information	Lists all uImage tags (tag name and icon - Text or Image) and Fonts detected in this template.

6. Click Export.

   The uImage document package is exported to the folder you specified in the Export XMPie DPKG window.

Mapping Letters to Image Fonts Images

To map letters to Image fonts images, use the following naming conventions for the letter images:

• Latin characters: for uppercase Latin letters and numbers, use the letter name as the file name. For example, "x.psd" represents “X”.

• Unicode characters and numbers: use the four digit unicode value of the character as its file name. For example, use "0078.psd" to represent the image for the lowercase “x”. Similarly, use "20AC.psd" for the Euro sign” €”.

• Unmapped characters: use "default.psd" to name the default image assigned to unmapped characters. This optional naming convention provides a visual method of detecting unmapped characters.

• Period:  if you wish to map a period (“.”) to an image, you can do so using the period’s unicode value, that is: 002E, which will result in the image name "002E.psd". When using Image font packages and setting the Personalized Text to the First and Last Name option for the setting, you must have an image that represents a period named "002E.psd".

• Space: as a rule, the space character is not mapped to an image (its position in the template is left empty). However, if you wish to map spaces to images in order to create a specific visual effect, you can do so using the space’s unicode value, that is: "0020.psd"

Importing a uImage Document Package into Photoshop

The Photoshop plugin enables you to import a uImage document package. The import option serves the following purposes:

• Distributing a uImage effect: you may create the uImage effect on one machine, and then use the Import option to reuse the same effect on other desktop machines.

• Modifying a uImage effect: you may import the uImage effect back into Photoshop, make the necessary changes, and then pack it once again as a document package to be exported back into uProduce.

To import a uImage document package into Photoshop:

1. In Photoshop, choose File > Automate > Import Photoshop DPKG…The Import XMPie DPKG window is displayed.

2. Browse to the DPKG file, select it and click Open.

   The Document Unpack Settings message is displayed.

3. Choose the folder into which the document package will be imported:

   • To import the document package to the default folder specified by the message, click Import.

   • To choose a different location for the document package, click Browse… 
     The Browse for Folder window is displayed, allowing you to specify an empty folder for the package contents.

     If the folder you choose is not empty, the Confirm Content Replace warning is displayed, notifying you that all existing files will be overwritten by the package contents.

     Choose one of the following options:

     • To choose a different folder, click Browse... and set the desired destination.

     • To import the document package into the specified folder and replace the existing content, click Overwrite.

     • To return to the Import XMPie DPKG window, click Cancel.

     Once you select a folder, the document package is imported and the Document Unpack Results message is displayed.

4. Click Open Folder.

   uImage opens the folder and automatically displays the PSD file.

   You can now continue to edit the uImage effect as needed.