Configuration files
The following are some of the settings defined in Config files:
- Fonts. Fonts must be explicitly defined in a form's associated config file to be used in Design. Merge must be able to extract font metrics (character widths) from the font files, which are listed in the PRT. It also contains specifics for embedding fonts in PDF files. As well, it is possible to specify which fonts will be treated as always available on the particular output device or in PDF, and which must be downloaded or embedded into the document.
- Page sizes. Specifics of the available page sizes (Letter, Legal, A4, custom, etc.) and the margins for the unprintable area, which are specific to the printer, and cannot be changed. This information enables Merge to accurately position the output on a printed page.
- Printer paper handling options. These include duplex printing, input trays, output trays, and paper types. For direct PCL and Postscript printer drivers, these options allow wider control over paper handling than normal Windows printing.
- Checkbox and radio button options. Specifics for checkbox and radio button size and appearance.
- Individual or combined output files. Specifics that determine whether multiple data sets create individual output files or a single combined file.
Several default configuration files are shipped with DocOrigin and can be found in the DO/Config folder. These files are distinguished by a file name that includes the prefix Default- , such as Default-PDF.prt and Default-PCL5Color.prt. These files are locked (read-only) when installed. They may be used as a template for creating custom configs for an organization's requirements. Any changes must be saved under a different file name in the User/Config folder. This ensures that the original, unaltered configuration files can always be used for testing or troubleshooting. Do not give your custom files a Default- prefix.
More Dynamic Configuration
Settings put in these output configuration files are expected to apply across the board for all forms that reference them as their output configuration. That's great about 99% of the time, but there are some times when the value(s) supplied in the output configuration file should be overridden. The primary example of this is barcode settings. While you can specify one standard setting in the output configuration file, such as showing the text associated with the barcode or not, perhaps some forms, or even just some instances of that barcode type on a form, need to go against the standard and have a different setting. This can be done dynamically in the script inside the form. See domObj.setTag for how to do that.
