i'm having trouble Output X copies of each record

[kcoleglobalprinting.com]

I have a data file with a "Copies" field. This specifies how many of each record will be needed. The values range from 2 to 6, and I want to avoid opening my data file and duplicating records.

 

I have been looking around the forums and it seems the easiest way to do this is a OnRecordStart rule with the following:

 

FusionPro.Composition.repeatRecordCount = Field("Copies");

However, when I compose my document I still only get one copy of each record.

 

Any suggestions?

[esmith]

In the Composition Setting dialog under the Input tab, do you by chance have the "Ignore Record Repeat during Composition" box checked?

[kcoleglobalprinting.com]

I actually don't have that option on the input tab.

[Dan Korn]

I actually don't have that option on the input tab.

What version of FusionPro are you using? The record repeat functionality was added in FusionPro 6.0.

[kcoleglobalprinting.com]

Version 5.8... That explains everything.

 

Any alternative ways to do this in 5.8?

[Dan Korn]

Any alternative ways to do this in 5.8?

This is the old way of doing it:

http://forums.printable.com/showthread.php?t=36

But there are a lot of caveats and pitfalls with that solution, especially on Mac. I highly recommend upgrading to FusionPro 6 or newer if you need reliable repeat record functionality.

[kcoleglobalprinting.com]

what kind of file path is needed for Windows? Will this only work on a MAC?

 

I changed the field name and file paths where it said EDIT HERE and it has an error when validating "File Operation Open Failed" at line 28

if (of.open("create") == false)

 

My rule is below

 

// OnJobStart rule to repeat records

var RepeatFieldName = "Copies";  // EDIT THIS
var FieldDelimiter = "\t";  // EDIT THIS ("\t" for tab-delimited "," for comma)

var orginputfilename = FusionPro.Composition.inputFileName;

// For composition, the original name is set,
// and the new name must be specified as an HFS path on Mac.
// EDIT THIS
var newfilename = "P/D26762_AAN/VD/tempout.txt";

if (FusionPro.inValidation)
{
  // For composition, both names must be specified as POSIX paths on Mac.
  // EDIT THIS
  orginputfilename = "P/D26762_AAN/VD/AwardCertificates.csv";
  // EDIT THIS
  newfilename = "P/D26762_AAN/VD/tempout.txt";
}

// DO NOT EDIT BELOW THIS LINE
var sf = new ExternalDataFileEx(orginputfilename, FieldDelimiter);
if (!sf.valid)
  throw("Unable to open ExternalDataFile: " + orginputfilename);
var of = new File(newfilename);
//of.remove();
if (of.open("create") == false)
  throw("Could not create output file.");
of.close();
if (of.open("write") == false)
  throw("Could not write output file.");
for (var i=0;i<sf.fieldCount;i++)
{
  if (i)
    of.write(FieldDelimiter);
  of.write(sf.GetFieldValue(0, i));
}
of.write("\r\n");
var NewInputTotalRecords = 0;
for (var i = 0 ; i <= sf.recordCount; i++)
{
 var startval = 1;
 var repeatcount = Int(sf.GetFieldValue(i, RepeatFieldName));
 for(var j = 0; j < repeatcount; j++)
 {
   NewInputTotalRecords++;
   for(var k = 0; k < sf.fieldCount; k++)
   {
       if (k)
         of.write(FieldDelimiter);
       switch(sf.GetFieldValue(0, k))
       {
         case RepeatFieldName:
            of.write(startval+j);
            break;
         default:
            of.write(sf.GetFieldValue(i, k));
       }
   }
   of.write("\r\n");
 }
}
of.close();
FusionPro.Composition.inputFileName = newfilename;
var message = orginputfilename + "\n" + sf.recordCount + " records\n\n";
message += FusionPro.Composition.inputFileName + "\n" +  
NewInputTotalRecords + " records";
Print(message);
return message;

[Dan Korn]

what kind of file path is needed for Windows? Will this only work on a MAC?

It will work on Windows, but you need a valid Windows path, that is, something that you can type into the Windows Start -> Run box and open.

 

I think the problem is that your path needs to start with a drive letter and a colon. So instead of this:

var newfilename = "P/D26762_AAN/VD/tempout.txt";

You probably want this:

var newfilename = "P[color=Green][b]:[/b][/color]/D26762_AAN/VD/tempout.txt";

Assuming you have mapped the "P" drive.

 

But like I said, this is a hard rule to get working, which is why we came up with the much easier way of doing this in FusionPro 6.0.

[kcoleglobalprinting.com]

That worked! Thanks for your help Dan.