Property mapping objects

A property mapping object defines the relationship between the headings in a preferences file and the document properties defined in the system. The property mapping is used by the ApplyPreferences step in a workflow to add or change values in the document properties file (DPF) for the job.

When you define a property mapping object, you map headings in the preferences file to properties in the document properties file. Then you specify one of these Usage values for that pair:

  • Identify document

    This pair is used to find which documents to update in the DPF.

    In the image below, the heading of Account number is mapped to the Member document property and the usage is set to Identify document. When the ApplyPreferences step runs, it reads the preferences file. For each row, it finds the value of the Account number, then searches the document properties file to find the entry that has the same value listed for the Member property.

  • Update property

    These pairs are used to update values in the document properties file. These properties might not have values in the document properties file initially.

    In the image below, the headings Email address and Output type are mapped to document properties with the same names. The Usage for both pairs is set to Update property. When the ApplyPreferences step locates the entry in the DPF whose Member property matches an Account number value, it updates the Email address and Output type properties in the DPF for that entry with the values in the corresponding row of the preferences file.

You must map at least two headings to document properties, one for each Usage type.

The values can be used by other steps in the workflow to group documents for common processing such as one set of documents to email and another set of documents to print.

The same property mapping object can be used by multiple workflows as long as the preferences files contain the same headings. The order of the headings can be different in each preferences file.