JactivePRESS

8/6/2019 JactivePRESS

1/10

User Guide

for version 1.0

www.j-activepress.com


2/10

Contents

1. Getting Started

2. Building a Document

3. Connecting and Applying Data

4. Printing

5. Sample Documents

6. License


3/10

1. Getting Started

Install the Software

J-activePRESS is programmed in Java, which means it can be run on a variety of operatingsystems, including Windows, Linux and Solaris. The Java Runtime Environment 6 (JRE 6), or

later, must be installed on your system. If you dont 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) .

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.

Page (single unit or label)containing Elements (text)

Layout specifies how thePages fit onto the Paper

Xmargin__

Xgap__

Ymargin |

Ygap |

Pages across Paper=2Pages down Paper=2


4/10

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.

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 thealignment. 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 smallheight or width (0.1mm). Then set the stroke thickness to the required line thickness.

Click and drag

the center

square to

move Elements.

Click and drag

the bottom-right

square to

resize Elements.


5/10


6/10

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 ofPrint will bring up the Java Print Dialog - this enables you to

change other print attributes:

General Tab

Print Service: Dont 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 youcan also specify if you want it collated (For example: 123123 or 112233).

Print Range: Leave this set to AllPage 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.


7/10

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-pdfUbuntu 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.


8/10

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.


9/10

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 selectJBarcode_numeric39

as the font. Begin and end the barcode data

with *.

For example: **


10/10

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 Murraywww.j-activepress.com