ex Directory
Powerful text import filter with major enhancements to XPress Tags
ex Directory is a powerful text import filter supporting the full QuarkXPress Tag language plus several major enhancements for importing anchored picture and text boxes.
Text can be imported with links to pictures and automatically placed; even if the pictures are wider than the defined column (i.e. by multi-column ads). The XTension is especially useful for the production of telephone and address books and yellow pages as well as for automatic pagination of classified ads and data-driven document layout and more.
This XTension can be used in combination with ex VerticalSpace and ex BoxImport for additional helpful features. Features can be added through customizing.
Sample document of an Adpage created with ex Directory XTension. The yellow boxes here are placeholders for pictures which are missing while import:
Additional tags
- Numerical value as parameter can be provided with all XPress admissible measures.
- The standard point will be used by length measures, if there is no measure specified.
Tags for anchored picture boxes
<&pb (width, height, text adjustment, border width, border color, border tone value, border style, backround color, backround tone value, textflow, picture placement, picture callibrationX, picture calibrationY, picture offset, picture angle, picture inclination, picture path)>
The &pb parameters have following meaning:
width
width of the picture frame ( 1 pt till 3456 pt, default 72 pt)
height
height of the picture frame ( 1 pt till 3456 pt, default 72 pt).
text adjustment
adjustment to text-baseline ( A or a to topline, B or b to baseline, default is B)
border width
width of frame border ( 0 pt to 504 pt, default 0 pt )
border color
color of frame border ( name in quotation marks or key C, M, Y, K, W, like in XPress tags, default is K for black)
border tone value
tonevalue frame border (percent value between 0% and 100%, default 100%)
border style
style of frame border as index between 1 ( default ) and number of available types
background color
color of backround ( name in quotation marks or key C, M, Y, K, W like in XPress tags, default K for black )
background tone value
tone value of backround (percentvalue between 0% and 100%, default 100%)
textflow
flowdistance of text on all pages ( between -288 pt and 288 pt, default 0 pt )
picture placement
C or c for center, F or f for fitting, A or a for fitting with keeping the aspect ratio, M or m for no specific placement ( default )
picture calibrationX
change the original picturewidth ( between 10% and 1000%, default 100%)
picture calibrationY
change the original pictureheight ( between 10% and 1000%, default 100% )
picture offsetX
horizontal picture offset of the left frameside ( default 0 pt )
picture offsetY
vertical pictureoffset of the upper frameside ( default 0 pt )
picture angle
( between -360 and 360, default 0
picture inclination
( between -75 and 75, default 0 )
picture path
picturename including the path ( searching in the chosen specification of the default, if there is no path given )
Tags for anchored text boxes
<&tb( width, height, text adjustment, border width, border color, border tone value, border style, backround color, backround tone value, textflow, columns, columns distance, text distance, baselineshift, min. baseline, vert. adjustment, max. paragraph distance)>...
...text which should run in frames...<&te>
The &tb parameters have following meaning:
width
width of the text box ( 1 pt till 3456 pt, default 72 pt)
height
height of the text box (( 1 pt till 3456 pt, default 72 pt). The parameter "0" fits the text box to the amount of imported text.
text adjustment
adjustment to text-baseline ( A or a to topline, B or b to baseline, default is B)
border width
width of frame border ( 0 pt to 504 pt, default 0 pt )
border color
color of frame border ( name in quotation marks or key C, M, Y, K, W, like in XPress tags, default is K for black)
border tone value
tonevalue frame border (percent value between 0% and 100%, default 100%)
border style
style of frame border as index between 1 ( default ) and number of available types
background color
color of backround ( name in quotation marks or key C, M, Y, K, W like in XPress tags, default K for black )
background tone value
tone value of backround (percentvalue between 0% and 100%, default 100%)
textflow
flowdistance of text on all pages ( between -288 pt and 288 pt, default 0 pt )
columns
Number of columns (between 1 and 30). Default value is 1.
distance between columns
values between 3 pt and 288 pt. Default is 3 pt.
distance of text to border
Values between 0 and 288 pt. Default is 0 pt. Parameters in brackets: Each distance can be used separately. Distance above, Distance left, Distance right, Distance below.
base line shift
Shift of first base line. Values between 0 and 648 pt, default is 0 pt.
baseline
placement of first base line. Values: C or c for capital letters, A or a for capital letters + accent bearing letters
vertical alignment
vertical alignment of text. T or t for above, B or b for below, C or c for centred, J or j for full height. Default is T.
distance of paragraphs
Maximum distance between paragraphs if vertical alignment is J or j. Values between 0pt and 1080 pt, default is 0 pt.
tag for picture headline
<&hb(textline, backround screen)>
With this tag the text for a headline become stored, which is given to the next following anchoredframe. As front attribute for the line, the on this position actuall attributes were used. The linewidth is resulting from the width of the following anchoredframe.
The &hb parameters have following meaning:
textline
text for headline in quotation marks
backround screen
tonevalue of the backround of the headline ( if not given, default 18% )