The way GN4 imports plans from the third party systems (MediaPlanner, PCS, etc.) is very simple. The edition is created in GN4 with all the pages (editorial, advertising, classified) and every page is given at least two layers: editorial and advertising.

The ads are planned in whatever planning system (MeadiaPlanner, PCS, etc) and from that software a "plan file" is generated. This can be a manual operation or an automatic one (depending on the system). The file is dropped into a folder then a user in GN4 starts an operation of "Plan Import" which involves the selection of the plan file, the edition on which to import it and a number of other parameters (about rules, layers, on what pages to import the ads, etc). At this point, GN4 reads the plan file and creates place-holders for the ads on the page. The place-holders are for images and the images are either ROP ads or the single classified ads (as individual EPS/PDF). When the ad arrives in the system (in the expected folder and with the expected - URN - name), it replaces the place-holder on the page.

In regards to classified, a different approach is possible: the classified page is designed in Quark and saved as a single EPS/PDF, which is then sent to the editorial system. At this point, somebody puts it on a Fred page. However, this is not mandatory as Quark pages can be printed directly from Quark and not go anywhere close to GN4 - in our system we will have empty pages. We don't recommend this workflow as the archived edition will be missing some pages (classified) and we encourage all pages be printed/available in GN4.

With GN4 it is possible to set up a workflow to import an ad plan automatically.

See also

Importing plans from Beacon