Editions and ads

Build 1501 on 14/Nov/2017  This topic last edited on: 24/Oct/2016, at 14:37

With Fred4 you can import the ad stack information generated by dummying applications such as Beacon, Managing Editor and others. Such information is usually generated as an ASCII file, in a format that is specific to the ads dummying system used. The import process generates 'dummy images', i.e. placeholders for ads in the relevant table in the database (all in the same folder, specified as one of the options of the import procedure) and places these dummies in the assigned pages and positions.

It is possible to import ad layout multiple times to the same edition, and also to redo the import at any time.

As soon as the ads graphics are imported in the system, the ads pages are ready to be updated and printed. If an ad is already present in the GN4 database - either because it was already used or because its graphic was processed before the import - no new entry is created during the import process, the image frame refers to the already existing ad.

Ads are always placed on separate, dedicated layers, so it's possible to re-import them dynamically without affecting people working on the editorial portion of the pages. After ad layouts have been imported they are normal database objects: page layers and dummy images. All the functionality that applies to editorial images and layers apply to ads, such as searches, displays, browsing, editing, etc.

Note that the ad import process is manual. An operator must select the appropriate function in Fred4 and - at a minimum - confirm the default import parameters, or eventually modify them. As part of the process it is possible to change the assignment of ad pages to edition pages. Any user that can import ads can change the assignment. It is not currently possible to create rules for automatic matching, besides the default one: same page number, same section name and same zone name.

As part of the ad import process Fred4 can generate rules around imported ads. This function is optional, and the distance between ads and rules, and the weight of the rules is user-configurable.

Dummy images created by the ad import process have a name that usually is the URN of the ad, and a description that is generated from data found in the ad layout file, usually an ad description or the name of the advertiser or both. This data can be displayed when selecting an ad.

All formats are supported via custom scripts.

Click to expandDefining position

The ads layout import needs for each ad its absolute position from the pages' top left corner and its absolute width and height.

In some ads layout files such information are not directly available, often because ads widths are specified in number of columns (Layout 8000) or because the coordinates are not relative to the top-left corner of the page, or because they do not use margins etc..

To convert these 'relative' data into the absolute coordinates the ads import must know the geometry of the pages: width, height, number of columns, margins, etc.

Three different geometries can be chosen for the conversion during ad import: the edition pages geometry, ad pages geometry, default geometry:

•Edition pages geometry is the geometry of the pages in the GN4 database, as seen in Fred4 and Fred4. This option should be used when the measures in the ads layout are relative to the edition pages, e.g. the ads width is specified as a number of edition pages columns.

•Ad pages geometry is the geometry specified in the ads layout file. Some ads layout files do not specify only the ads placement, but also other data like the geometry of the pages (Layout 8000, Plan Linker). The option to use this geometry instead of the edition pages one should be used when the ads dummying system uses a geometry different than the editorial one, e.g. the number of columns of the advertisement grid is different than the editorial one.

•Default geometry is an 'ad hoc' geometry edited directly as part of the import parameters. It should be used when the ads dummying system uses a geometry different than the editorial one (e.g. the number of columns of the advertisement grid is different than the editorial one) and the ads layout files do not contain geometry data.