Design & Print - problem: catalog with some special pages

[sinus]

At the moment I have a problem and cannot find a good solution.

I have 400 images.
I want create a catalog with the "Design & Print"-tool, of course with a dynamic template.

Each image should be printed on 1 page, with filename and description, page-numbers.
This gives 400 pages and is no problem, IMatch solves this great.

Now the problem:
5 images from this 400 images should have 2 images on 1 page, the normal image and a detail image.

Say, page 1-150 is normal, 1 image per page.
Page 151 should have 2 images.
Page 152-220 again normal.
Pages 221, 307, 365 and 387 again 2 images per page.

The final result would be a catalog, each page 1 image, except these 5 pages with 2 image per page each.

Does anybody has a good solution for this? Until now I came on no clever idea.

[Mario]

Sounds like you are printing 2 groups of files. One group prints on page layout A (image, file name, etc.) and the files in the other group print on page layout B.
Do you mean something like this:




I assigned the files into two categories:

PRINT
|-A
|-B

A contains all files for layout A, and B the other files.

In my dynamic template I then created two pages. I use the group index variable for the Hidden property of the page:

{Print.Group.Index|is:1,0,1}

for page A, and

{Print.Group.Index|is:1,1,0}

for page B. This way page A is printed for the first group, and page B is printed for the second group.
This allows me to use different page layouts for any number of groups, even when there are multiple pages in each group.

Note: This only works when you also have a group header page defined. It can be empty and always hidden, but having a group header ensures that the Print.Group.Index variable has the right value before the first group page is printed.

I have attached my layout below.








[attachment deleted by admin]

[ubacher]

Tried this. Assigned files to categories PRINT.A and PRINT.B
All files show with layout A.

If I drop the category PRINT onto the template I get first all of A then all of B. Not what sinus wants.
(Sinus's desire is, as far as I can tell, the same as I had presented here: to select different page layouts based on some
criteria associated with a file.)

[sinus]

Note: This only works when you also have a group header page defined. It can be empty and always hidden, but having a group header ensures that the Print.Group.Index variable has the right value before the first group page is printed.

I have attached my layout below.

Super, Mario, I will check this. I tried with some variables without success, but maybe your remark above is the solution.
Thanks a lot for your great answer, and even with an real example.image, Great!

I will give here my feedback later, because I am not at my IMatch-computer.

[Mario]

If I drop the category PRINT onto the template I get first all of A then all of B.

Of course. That's how group changes work. If you need a different layout somewhere in the 'middle', use 3 groups. Or more.

And, gosh, there may be even some cases which cannot be handled by an automated system and which require some good manual work. With a DTP package, for example.

[sinus]

I have attached my layout below.

Hi Mario,
I could now try this with my laptop, with your template, thanks specialy for this.

Works great! Thanks a lot!

Great, my problem is solved, your variable was the right thing. 

[Mario]

Prima!

[sinus]

Prima!

Yep, I am also happy, that it works that fine. I am a big fan of variables, as you know. 

@ubacher
sorry, I did not realise your post.
If I add 4 group-layouts, I do simply add the following variables in the hidden-field, the first line in the first layout, the second in the second and so on.
Of course you could also add more layouts.

{Print.Group.Index|is:1,0,1}
{Print.Group.Index|is:2,0,1}
{Print.Group.Index|is:3,0,1}
{Print.Group.Index|is:4,0,1}

The index-number represents the category. The 1 is the first cat and so on.
Hence you can create some cats, depending on the layouts.
It works really great.