Mail Merge Specification: Layout Requirements

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WORK IN PROGRESS

THIS PAGE IS WORK IN PROGRESS!

Formatting Options - Text

Various formatting options need to be available.
We will specify them at a later stage in detail, but they will include the following as a minimum:

Font-related

  • change of font sizes;
  • change of font;
  • change of font style (normal, bold, italic, underline);
  • change of font colour.

– all of those at any position in the document and not just per paragraph!

TODO

Paragraph-related

  • paragraphs;
  • text alignment of paragraphs (left, centre, right, justify);
  • indentation of paragraphs (from the left page margin).

TODO: We still need to establish whether Tab Stops (per paragraph) will be needed (not very likely).

TODO

Image-related

  • insertion of 1..n images (i.e. logo, scanned signature) at any place within the documents text flow;
  • alignment of images within a paragraph (left, centre, right);
  • precise positioning of images on a specified page using x and y co-ordinates (measurement preferably in cm, inch, pixels).

TODO

Page-related

  • insertion of single empty lines (i.e. CR+LF);
  • insertion of page breaks.

TODO

Overall

  • It must be possible to change the formatting immediately before or after a Placeholder!
  • It would be nice if formatting options for paragraphs could include some options for controlling the pagination (see MS Word’s Paragraph Dialog->Line and Page Breaks Tab). The most important option would be what is called Widow/Orphan Control in MS Word.

TODO: We still need to determine whether there will be a need for changing the formatting within a Placeholder.

TODO: We still need to determine whether there will be a need for changing the formatting based on the parameterisation of Parameterised Placeholders...

  • for the whole text that is put into the document instead of the Placeholder, and/or
  • for the text that follows after Placeholders [e.g. to allow Placeholders that only change aspects of formatting but don't insert text]).

TODO


Formatting Options - Page

Various formatting options need to be available. We will specify them at a later stage in detail, but they will include the following as a minimum:

  • page size (specification by name [e.g. 'Letter', 'A4', 'A5'] or through measurements [measurement preferably in cm, inch, pixels];
  • page margins (top, bottom, left, right);
  • page orientation [Portrait or Landscape]

TODO: We still need to determine whether there will be a need for having an option that would make the 'first page different' in terms of page margins and perhaps also page orientation. That option might be useful if a multi-page document is printed and the first page should be printed on paper that has items already pre-printed on it (e.g. a 'letterhead' or logo, or a footer line) and hence other margins should be applied than on all following pages, which will be printed on plain printer paper.

TODO