In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Set Scale Factor dynamically is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to set a scale factor (User Unit) depending on a character string in the file name. The scale factor e.g. 1:10; 1:5; 1:4; 1:2 that is applied to the Print Item depends on the user's input.
2. General
The Fixup Set Scale Factor Dynamically can be used to set a scale factor for the Print Item and thus to enlarge the file by the respective factor. The scale factor used depends on the character string entered in the file name.
You can find this Fixup on the Data Preparation of an Article, Job, or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- activating the option Page in the area Category,
- activating the option Apply or Scale in the area Action,
- activating the option Scale Factor in the area Property.
3. Description
This Fixup allows you to set a scaling factor dynamically. When the user enters a search pattern – 1_10, for example – the system searches for this character string in the file name and automatically assigns the scaling factor 1:10. Users can decide for what patterns to search in the file name.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirement must be met.
- The file name contains the character string entered in Search Pattern [3].
Figure 1: The dialog for the Fixup Set Scale Factor dynamically
To set the scale factor depending on a string in the file name, refer to the following functions:
- Templates [1] – settings selected in the dialog can be saved as a template and applied to other Articles/Print Items, as well as used within Fixup Chains and in the Operations Apply Fixups and Check Print Item and Apply Fixups.
- Operators [2] – use the dropdown menu to select where the entered search pattern can be found in the file name of the Print Item. The following options are available:
- Starts with the file name starts with the entered search pattern.
- Ends with the file name ends with the entered search pattern.
- Contains the file name contains the entered search pattern.
- Equals the file name is equal to the entered search pattern.
- Set to this sets the scale factor to the selected value, independently of a character string in the file name.
- Search Pattern [3] – enter the character sequence to be found in the file name, which allows the correct scale factor to be set. In Figure 1, the search pattern 1_10 was entered. This means that all files containing 1_10 in their file name are assigned the scale factor 1:10.
- Result [5] – enter the page scale factor which should be assigned for the respective search pattern. The following options are available:
- 1:1 the file retains its original size, no scale factor is assigned if the entry Multiply by existing scale factor is selected in the option Dealing with existing Scale Factor [4].
- 1:2 the effective size of the page is doubled if the entry Multiply with existing scale factor is selected in the option Dealing with existing Scale Factor [4].
- 1:4 the effective size of the page is quadrupled if the entry Multiply with existing scale factor is selected in the option Dealing with existing Scale Factor [4].
- 1:5 the effective size of the page is increased fivefold if the entry Multiply with existing Scale Factor is selected in the option Dealing with existing scale factor [4].
- 1:10 the effective size of the page is increased tenfold if the entry Multiply with existing Scale Factor is selected in the option Dealing with existing scale factor [4].
- Add [6] – click on the + symbol to add another line. This allows you to search for further search patterns and the associated scale factor. Click on the – symbol to remove the line again.
- Dealing with existing Scale Factor [4] – use the drop-down menu to select a method for dealing with an existing scale factor. The following options are available:
- Use existing Scale Factor – the existing scale factor is favored and used instead of the new scale factor.
- Override existing Scale Factor – the existing scale factor is overridden by the new one.
- Multiply by existing Scale Factor – the existing and new scale factors are multiplied and applied to the Print Item.
Which Scale Factor is used?
If the Print Item has a scale factor, it will be displayed in the Print Item detail view in the Dimensions / Scale Factor entry in the tab Document Information.
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample_Set Scale Factor dynamically_1_10.pdf". The file is 500 x 500 mm in size and has no scaling factor. The effective size after scaling should be 5000 x 5000 mm.
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Set Scale Factor dynamically_1_10_End.pdf" is created. Here, a scaling factor of 1:10 was applied dynamically. The values from Figure 1 were used for this.
Figure 2: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file in which the scale factor was dynamically set
Article update: Workflow 1.20.1 – 04/2025