Defining a rule

You can define rules that specify conditions for markup. You can also define rules to set media and finishing options, or to extract data.

Before you define a rule, make sure you have defined each custom rule, document property, and conditional trigger that you want to use as conditions in the rule.

To define a rule:

Click Ricoh ⇒ Manage Rules.
Click the icon.
Rules are shown alphabetically by name.
Tip: Tip: In a markup dialog, you can define a rule by clicking the icon and edit a rule by clicking the icon.
Type a Name for the rule. You can use alphanumeric characters, periods, underscores, spaces, and special characters (such as @, #, $, or %).
Optional: Type a Description.
Specify whether RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat should apply the rule when any or all of its conditions are met.
Specify the first condition.
1. Click the down arrow for the Not set drop-down list.
2. Click the + icon next to Predefined Rule, Custom Rule, Trigger, Job Property, Document Property, or Statistic and select the item you want for the first part of the condition.
  
  If a choice (such as custom rules, conditional triggers, or document properties) does not have any items, the choice is grayed out.
  
  Note: To display all items with a word in their names, type the word and press the down arrow key on your keyboard. You can also type the word and click the down arrow for the drop-down list.
3. Select a mathematical symbol, such as = (equals) or ≠ (does not equal), to compare the two parts of the condition.
4. Specify the second part of the condition:
  - For a rule, select True or False.
  - For a conditional trigger, verify that the condition has the value you want. If not, select a new conditional trigger.
  - For a job property, document property, or statistic, type a value. You can also select any job property, document property, or statistic.
For a rule with multiple conditions, click the icon and specify the next condition.
Repeat this step until you have defined all the conditions in the rule.
Click OK to create the rule and add it to the Rules Manager.

Examples

Rule with one condition: a pre-defined rule: To place markup on the first front page of each document, define a rule with a pre-defined rule as its only condition: First Front Only = True

Three rules that each have one condition: a document property

A job contains sales statements for members at three different levels based on sales performance: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. You want to identify each membership level.

In RICOH ProcessDirector, define a document property: doc.member.level.
In RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat, define three rules:
- Gold Level
  doc.member.level = GOLD
- Silver Level
  doc.member.level = SILVER
- Bronze Level
  doc.member.level = BRONZE

Rule with multiple conditions

A job contains sales statements for members at three different levels based on sales performance: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. You want to print a reward coupon on the first page of each statement for Gold and Silver members. This example uses three rules defined in the previous examples:

First Front Only
Gold Level
Silver Level

First, define a Top Sales rule with two conditions, which you apply when any condition is met:

Gold Level = True
Silver Level = True

Next, define a Top Sales — First Front rule with two conditions, which you apply when all conditions are met.

First Front Only = True
Top Sales = True

Finally, select the Add Image option. Apply settings by clicking Pages/documents based on conditions and selecting the Top Sales — First Front rule. Specify the path to the image.

Rule with one condition: a job property

To print VOID: DO NOT MAIL on each page of a test job:

Define a Test Job rule with a job property as its only condition: Job.TestJob = Yes
Select the Add Text option. Apply settings by clicking Pages/documents based on conditions and selecting the Test Job rule. Select Text as the Content Type and type VOID: DO NOT MAIL for the value.

Rule with a condition that uses dynamic data

When a statement has different addresses for billing and shipping, you want to print Order sent to shipping address on the statement:

Define two document properties: doc.shipping.address and doc.billing.address.
Define a Sent to Shipping Address rule with this condition: doc.shipping.address ≠ doc.billing.address
Select the Add Text option. Apply settings by clicking Pages/documents based on conditions and selecting the Sent to Shipping Address rule. Select Text as the Content Type and type Order shipped to shipping address for the value.

RICOH ProcessDirector™ for AIX

Defining a rule

Related information: