Control of the layout – speedata Publisher
Description: If you want to control the behavior of the speedata Publisher without changing any of the files (data.xml or layout.xml), you can do this in two different ways. …

Version 5.9.2

# Control of the layout

If you want to control the behavior of the speedata Publisher without changing any of the files (`data.xml` or `layout.xml`), you can do this in two different ways. An example is a PDF that is to be output in different page formats (portrait and landscape) or that you provide a print PDF (with bleed) and an online PDF (with smaller images).

## Control via variables

The idea here is to set variables to a certain value before calling them. This is done in the configuration file or on the command line. Example is the following layout (excerpt):

    <Layout xmlns="urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en"
      xmlns:sd="urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en">

       <Options bleed="0mm" cutmarks="no" />
       <Switch>
          <Case test="sd:variable-exists('output')">
             <Switch>
                <Case test="$output = 'print'">
                   <Options bleed="3mm" cutmarks="yes" />
                </Case>
             </Switch>
          </Case>
       </Switch>
       ...
    </Layout>

With

    sp --var output=print

the variable `output` is set to the value `print`. In the configuration file, the entry looks like this:

    vars=output=print

Both specifications cause the second command `<Options>` to be executed and create bleed and crop marks.

## Control via `--mode`

As an alternative to control via variables, it is also possible to control via the mode. The layout above would look like this:

    <Layout xmlns="urn:speedata.de:2009/publisher/en"
      xmlns:sd="urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en">

       <Options bleed="0mm" cutmarks="no" />
       <Switch>
          <Case test="sd:mode('print')">
             <Options bleed="3mm" cutmarks="yes" />
          </Case>
       </Switch>
       ....
    </Layout>

On the command line, the Publisher is started like this:

    sp --mode print

The specification in the configuration file is:

    mode=online

The names of the mode can be chosen freely, but should not contain spaces or commas.

Several modes can be specified separated by commas:

    sp --mode a,b,c

activates these three modes.

The internal variable `_mode` also has a comma-separated list of modes, just as specified on the command line.

    <PlaceObject>
        <Textblock>
            <Paragraph>
                <Value select="$_mode"></Value>
            </Paragraph>
        </Textblock>
    </PlaceObject>

outputs `a,b,c` for example. The order of the modes in this variable does not have to be in the order in which they were specified when the Publisher was started.

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