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  - How to write the layout
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Version 4.10.0
Search manual

- Main page
- Introduction
- Hello, world!
- Basics
  - How to write the layout
  - Structure of the data file and the layout rules
  - Outputting objects
  - Grid
  - Areas on the page (PositioningArea)
  - File organization
  - Hyphenation / language settings
  - Using fonts
  - Text formats
  - Text formatting
  - Colors
- Programming
- Image inclusion
- Tables
- Advanced topics
  - Bookmarks
  - Creation of XML structures
  - Print output / crop marks
  - Using CSS with the speedata Publisher
  - Groups (virtual objects)
  - Virtual pages
  - Rotation of contents
  - Sorting data
  - Wrap around images
  - Page types
  - Starting the Publisher via the Hotfolder
  - Lua-Filter / pre-processing
  - Schema validation
  - Quality assurance and PDF comparison
  - Troubleshooting / Debugging
  - Server mode (REST API)
  - Control of the layout when calling the Publisher
  - Create and use images with MetaPost
- Cookbook
  - Thumb index
  - Embed multipage PDF files
  - Layout optimization using groups
  - Imitate bulleted lists
  - Automatically generated directories
  - Create table of contents in one go
  - Page numbers: Page x of y
- Installation instructions
- File name in the Publisher
- speedata Publisher defaults
- Running the speedata publisher on the command line
- How to configure the speedata publisher
- Lenghts and units
- XPath- and Layoutfunctions
- Internal variables
- Associate XML editor with schema
  - Visual Studio Code
  - OxygenXML
- Changelog
- Glossary
- Compatibility with other software
- Command reference
  - A
  - Action
  - AddSearchpath
  - AtPageCreation
  - AtPageShipout
  - AttachFile
  - Attribute
  - B
  - Barcode
  - Bold
  - BoldItalic
  - Bookmark
  - Box
  - Br
  - Case
  - Circle
  - ClearPage
  - Color
  - Column
  - Columns
  - Compatibility
  - Contents
  - Copy-of
  - DefineColor
  - DefineColorprofile
  - DefineFontalias
  - DefineFontfamily
  - DefineGraphic
  - DefineMatter
  - DefineTextformat
  - Element
  - Fallback
  - Fontface
  - ForAll
  - Frame
  - Grid
  - Group
  - Groupcontents
  - HSpace
  - Hyphenation
  - I
  - Image
  - Include
  - Initial
  - InsertPages
  - Italic
  - Layout
  - Li
  - LoadDataset
  - LoadFontfile
  - Loop
  - Makeindex
  - Margin
  - Mark
  - Message
  - NewPage
  - NextFrame
  - NextRow
  - NoBreak
  - Ol
  - Options
  - Otherwise
  - Output
  - Overlay
  - Pageformat
  - Pagetype
  - Paragraph
  - PDFOptions
  - PlaceObject
  - Position
  - PositioningArea
  - PositioningFrame
  - ProcessNode
  - Record
  - Regular
  - Rule
  - SaveDataset
  - SavePages
  - SetGrid
  - SetVariable
  - SortSequence
  - Stylesheet
  - Span
  - Sub
  - Sup
  - Switch
  - Table
  - TableNewPage
  - Tablefoot
  - Tablehead
  - Tablerule
  - Td
  - Text
  - Textblock
  - Tr
  - Trace
  - Transformation
  - U
  - Ul
  - Until
  - URL
  - Value
  - VSpace
  - While

- Dieses Handbuch auf Deutsch

# Lua-Filter / pre-processing

Sometimes you may want to convert the data into another format or check for correctness before the actual PDF creation. For this purpose there is the possibility (since version 3.1.9) to execute a Lua script before the actual publishing run. Lua is a simple but powerful programming language that is intended to be built into other programs as a scripting language.

Three use cases can be found in examples repository.

## Calling the Lua script

The filter is started either via the command line

    sp --filter myfile.lua

or via the configuration file, which must contain the following entry

    filter=myfile.lua

The specified Lua script will be executed before the PDF file generation starts. It must be within the publisher search path. Therefore the main application of this pre-processing is the transformation of data into a format suitable for the speedata Publisher. This way CSV or Excel files can be converted to XML and then the PDF generation can be started. It is also possible to validate data.

The application options are described below, and at the very end there is another overview of the built-in functions and methods.

## Validate input data

There are several ways to validate RELAX NG files. Beside a variant to validate the schema directly in the XML editor (see the corresponding section in the manual) there is the possibility to use an external program for this. One of these is Jing. It is delivered with the Publisher.

In the Lua preprocessing there is a function that does the validation:

    runtime = require("runtime")
    runtime.validate_relaxng(‹xmlfile›, ‹schemafile›)

The function returns `false` and the error message in case of an error. Example:

    -- adjust the paths, of course
    runtime = require("runtime")
    ok, msg = runtime.validate_relaxng("layout.xml","../schema/layoutschema-en.rng")
    if not ok then
        print(msg)
        os.exit(-1)
    end

This is saved in a file, e.g. `valididate.lua` and then the publisher is called with

    sp --filter validate.lua

on. Before each run, the system checks whether the layout file corresponds to the schema and only then does processing continue.

| You can check not only the layout file for correctness, but also all other XML files. But for this you have to create your own RELAX NG schema. Instructions are available at https://speedata.github.io/relaxngtutorial-de/. Depending on the data file this is also quite easy. Especially if you get data from external sources again and again, you can be sure that the desired structure is kept.

## Executing a transformation

An XSLT transformation processes an XML file with an XSLT script and generates an output file. XSLT is a programming language designed for processing XML data. Often data from PIM systems or databases is not in the form that is optimal for the publisher. With XSLT you can process and modify such output data.

The program `saxon` (supplied with the speedata Publisher) can execute an XSLT script. The call is the following:

    runtime = require("runtime")
    runtime.run_saxon(‹XSL›, ‹source›, ‹outfile›, ‹parameter›)

The parameters have the form `keyword=value`. Only one parameter can be given, for more parameters use the named parameters based saxon call (see below).

    runtime = require("runtime")
    ok, msg = runtime.run_saxon("transformation.xsl", "sourcefile.xml", "data.xml")

    -- quit the publishing process if the transformation fails
    if not ok then
        print(msg)
        os.exit(-1)
    end

Alternatively, the call to Saxon can be done as follows:

    runtime = require("runtime")
    ok, msg = runtime.run_saxon({ key = value, key = value, ... }

Allowed key/value pairs are:

Key | Value
--- | ---
`source` | Source file (XML)
`stylesheet` | Stylesheet file (XSL)
`out` | Result
`initialtemplate` | Name of the template to be called
`params` | Table with the key/value pairs

Example:

    runtime = require("runtime")
    ok, msg = runtime.run_saxon({stylesheet = 'json2xml.xsl',
                                 out = 'data.xml',
                                 initialtemplate = 'main',
                                 params = { ["key"] = value }})

See also the example in examples repository.

## Creating XML files

You can also create the data file to be processed with the Lua script. For this purpose there is the function `encode_table()` in the module `xml`, which creates an XML file from a Lua table.

The script

    xml = require("xml")
    tbl = {
        ["_type"] = "element",
        ["_name"] = "data",
        {
           ["_type"] = "element",
           ["_name"] = "child",
           "Hello, world",
        }
    }

    ok, msg = xml.encode_table(tbl)
    if not ok then
        print(msg)
        os.exit(-1)
    end

generates the XML file

    <data><child>Hello, world</child></data>

which is available for the next publisher run. This is particularly useful if the data source is not in XML.

## Processing of Excel files

A common use case is that the data is to be read from Excel files for processing. For this purpose, the module `xlsx` contains the function `open()` which opens an existing file:

    xlsx = require("xlsx")
    spreadsheet, err = xlsx.open("myfile.xlsx")
    if not spreadsheet then
        print(err)
        os.exit(-1)
    end

The object `spreadsheet` contains the individual worksheets. The number of worksheets can be determined using the length operator and the individual worksheets can be determined using the index (1 is the first worksheet).

    numWorksheets = #spreadsheet
    ws = spreadsheet[1]

The object `ws` can be used to access the cell contents directly. To do this, it is called as a function and returns a character string. The first cell in the upper left corner has the coordinates 1,1, the first cell in the second row 1,2 and so on.

    cell1 = ws(1,1)
    cell2 = ws(1,2)

The name of the worksheet can be determined by the value `name`:

    name = ws.name

## Read CSV files

Similar to Excel files, CSV files can also be read in directly. However, the structure is simpler because there is only one “worksheet”.

    csv = require("csv")
    csvtab, msg = csv.decode("myfile.csv",{columns = {1,2,3}})
    if not csvtab then
        print(msg)
        os.exit(-1)
    end

The second parameter at `csv.decode()` is optional. In this example only columns 1, 2 and 3 are output. The result is a table of rows. Each row is in turn a table containing the individual values of the row.

The example repository shows how to create an XML file from the CSV file.

## Function reference

### `Runtime`

In this module all functions and settings are collected, which are of a more general nature.

`projectdir`

  A string containing the current project directory (the directory with the `layout.xml` or `publisher.cfg` file)

`variables`

  A table with all variables specified by `-v` on the command line or in the configuration file with `vars=…​`.

`finalizer`

  If a function is assigned to this variable, it will be called after PDF creation (callback). The function has no parameters and no return value.

      runtime = require("runtime")

      function finished()
          print("PDF is finished now.")
      end

      runtime.finalizer = finished

`options`

  Table with configuration values (see how to configure the speedata Publisher). Can be used for reading and writing the settings.

`validate_relaxng(‹xml file›, ‹schema file›)`

  This function validates the specified XML file with the RELAX NG (XML syntax) schema specified in the second parameter. The return is a boolean value that is true if the command was executed without errors. Otherwise a second return value (string) is returned, which contains the error message.

`run_saxon(‹XSL›, ‹source file›, ‹output file›, ‹parameter›)`

  This function calls the `saxon` program supplied with the Publisher. It expects three string arguments (the stylesheet, the input file and the output file) and an optional argument that is passed as a parameter to saxon. The return is a boolean value which is true if the command was executed without errors. Otherwise a second return value (string) is returned, which contains the error message. The parameter has the form `keyword=value`.

`run_saxon(‹table›)`

  This function calls the `saxon` program supplied with the Publisher. It expects the arguments as a table with the keys explained in the table below. The value of `params` is a table of key value pairs for parameters that are passed to saxon. The return is a boolean value which is true if the command was executed without errors. Otherwise a second return value (string) is returned, which contains the error message.

  Key | Value
  --- | ---
  `source` | Source file (XML)
  `stylesheet` | Stylesheet file (XSL)
  `out` | Result
  `initialtemplate` | Name of the template to be called
  `params` | Table with the key/value pairs

`execute(‹table with arguments›)`

  Runs a program and prints its output to the console. For example, to start the speedata Publisher itself, the following syntax works:

      runtime.execute({"sp","--runs","2"})

  If necessary, the first parameter (the program name) must be specified with absolute path of the program. Under Windows, forward slashes (/) also work as separators instead of backward slashes (\).

`find_file(‹filename or URL›)`

  Find the resource and return a full path on the local disk to access the resource. Returns nil or false and perhaps an error message if it can’t find the resource.

### `xml`

The XML module is used to crate or read XML files.

`xml.encode_table(‹table›,[filename])`

  Creates an XML file (`data.xml` or the optionally given filename) of the passed table. Return value 1 is a bool (success), value 2 is the error message if the first value is `false`. The table has the following structure:

      element = {
          ["_type"] = "element",
          ["_name"] = "element name"
          attribute1 = "value1",
          attribute2 = "value2",
          child1,
          child2,
          child3,
          ...
      }

  `child1`, `…​` are either strings, elements or comments. Comments have the following form:

      comment = {
               _type = "comment",
               _value = " This is a comment! "
         }

`decode_xml(filename›)`

  Reads an XML file and creates a table in the format from `encode_table`. Return value 1 is a bool (success), value 2 is the error message if the first value is `false` or the table if the first value is true.

### `CSV`

CSV files

`decode(‹filename›, ‹parameter›)`

  Reads a CSV file. The return value is a table or, in case of an error, `false` and an error message.

  The `parameters` are encoded in a table:

  `charset`

    If the CSV file is Latin-1 encoded, this value must be ISO-8859-1. Other encodings on request.

  `separator`

    Either a comma (default), a semicolon or the appropriate separator.

  `columns`

    A table containing the desired columns in their order. For example, `{3,2,1}` for the first three columns in reverse order.

### `xlsx`

Reads an Excel file.

`open(‹filename›)`

  Opens the specified file. The return value is a `spreadsheet` object or, in case of an error, `false` and an error message.

  The `spreadsheet` object contains the individual worksheets. The number of worksheets can be determined with the `#` operator. The individual worksheets can be accessed with the index operator `[]`, where the first worksheet has index 1.

  The individual worksheets can be used as functions with two parameters (see example above). The parameters are the x and y coordinates of the cell to be read, the first cell in the upper left corner has the coordinate 1,1. The dimensions of the content can be determined using the parameters `minrow`, `maxrow`, `mincol` and and `maxxcol`. The name is contained in the parameter `name`.

`string_to_date(‹string›)`

  Converts a number (encoded as a string) into a date. Returned is a table with the keys `day`, `month`, `year`, `hour`, `minute` and `second`. Example: `xlsx.string_to_date("43458")` results in

      {
        ["day"] = "24"
        ["month"] = "12"
        ["year"] = "2018"
        ["hour"] = "0"
        ["minute"] = "0"
        ["second"] = "0"
      }

### `http`

The HTTP library is described at https://github.com/cjoudrey/gluahttp.

- Starting the Publisher via the Hotfolder
- Schema validation