IV. Message system
109
Developer handbook DATAformXTension © 1992-2004 www.gassenhuber.de
IV. Message system
DATAformXTension contains functions for the implementation of a message system between
the database and QuarkXPress. QuarkXPress may therefore be more closely linked to the
database.
Advantage of the message system
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The steps “Export command + click in QuarkXPress window + import or update com-
mand” may be replaced with a single click. QuarkXPress remains in the background and
displays the result.
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Box calculations may run in the background; QuarkXPress may also run in the background.
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With a single click all boxes of the current QuarkXPress document can be imported back
into the database etc.
Application example
Three examples that are possible with DATAformXTension:
The user clicks on the button “place in QuarkXPress” in his database: One or more article
modules appear automatically on the QuarkXPress page. QuarkXPress remains in the
background and displays the picture, the text box or several new pages with text and pic-
tures.
A database needs the exact box heights of text boxes for layout calculation. It sends the
text with DATAformTags with the message to QuarkXPress and receives back a new text
with DATAformTags with the adjusted text boxes.
The user clicks on the button “re-update” in the database: The article or articles are
exported from the QuarkXPress document as text with DATAformTags and the records
in the database will be updated.
All three examples are implemented in the DATAform database. You may also try these exam-
ples in the demo version of the DATAform database and therefore get an idea of what is possi-
ble with regard to your requirements.
These functions turn QuarkXPress into a kind of QuarkXPress server to which tasks may be
sent and from which you receive answers back.
How it works
If the server is active, the DATAformXTension monitors the input folder Eingang for an
incoming message file, processes the data, deletes the file and creates an answer file for the
database in the folder Ausgang/Benutzer.
The database itself after having sent the message waits for the answer file from QuarkXPress in
the folder Ausgang/Benutzer, reads the file and erases it.
The folders are created automatically by DATAformXTension when starting QuarkXPress:
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