AdforceX™ Version 2.5 has been released with new exciting features.
We are excited to announce the release of version 2.5 of AdforceX. This version introduces some major new capabilities that you and our AdforceX sites have asked for, as well as other additions and enhancements that make the application even easier to use.
Some highlights:
Arrangements
AdforceX 2.5 introduces the Arrangements editor in the runsheet. Arrangements are collections of runsheet columns and their formats, arbitrarily arranged as well as including sorts and filters. You can use arrangements to quickly switch between multiple runsheet views that dynamically change the order, formatting and functionality of the runsheet.
Furthermore, arrangements now include not just sets of columns and their attributes, but the selected sort and filter for the view. Therefore, when a user selects a saved arrangement, not only are the columns restored, but the saved sort and filter are applied. These changes allow users to very rapidly sequence between any arrangement they want in parallel with workflow. For instance, an initial arrangement might only show requests while another might show only unplaced advertising. The options are unlimited. And with the introduction of this new mechanism comes the concept of the Default Arrangement. When an arrangement is flagged as the default, it is applied to all new issues and to all prior version issues saved before Arrangements were introduced. Of course, a user can always change the arrangement in a new issue once created, so this concept is only important during creation and opening (of prior version issues).
On top of this, the mechanism also provides standard column sets for All Properties, User Default Properties, Flagged Properties, Measurements, Numbers, Strings and Table information. This, in turn, allows quick focus on ad attributes that may require editing and/or tweaking. The new functions are available from the top-left of the runsheet header.
Request Pages
AdforceX 2.5 introduces a radical change to the request page logic. Previously, a user could only specify a single page as a request. But that mechanism ruled out any other possibilities, such as, for instance, saying “I want this to appear in the last half of the book”, or “this goes on the back page or inside back page” or “this can go between pages 10 and 20.” AdforceX 2.5 adds additional mechanisms for the Request Page field for an ad, allowing a comprehensive specification of an ad’s request that can include page ranges, special tags (only left pages, or the back page, or inside front cover), as well as multiple page requests (for example: any page before page 10, or the centerfold, or the last third of the book).
Request page options can be selected from the drop-down list in the Request Page field in the runsheet or in the Attributes tab of the Edit Ad dialog. Selecting an option from the list inserts a corresponding meta tag. The meta tags can also be included in the ad import file from the front end system. Selecting a value from this list inserts the appropriate tag or delimiter in the corresponding field.
The mechanism is fully integrated with both the conflicts mechanism and auto-placement. Unless Page Requests are turned off in the Conflicts Manager, AdforceX will disallow placements that don’t honor a request. As usual, if the conflict is turned off, a user can place ads irrespective of any specific request.
Optimized Search Folder Link Preferences
AdforceX customers with multiple publications and deep, complex nested folder structures that store the ad assets for each issue are not able to employ the Smart Links method for linking each ad to its asset file path, and instead use the Search Folders method. This method used a “brute force” iteration over each directory contents to find the correct file path for each ad, resulting in unacceptably long ad import times. AdforceX 2.5 incorporates a new and optimized search folder strategy to eliminate this problem.
AdforceX 2.5 employs a new minimally directed approach, no longer performing full recursive searches on links if an existing link is already valid. And, most important, the link mechanism now runs on a separate thread, so while the search is active the user can go about their normal business in the application. When using Search Folder Linking, AdforceX determines where your image files are located by comparing the information found in an ad’s File Name Field against file names found in each search folder using the extensions specified in Link Preferences. If located, searching ends, else it continues until all folders have been searched or a match found. And if a Directory Name Field is specified, searching for a linked file will begin at that directory level, wherever it is located in the overall search folder hierarchy.
User-Definable Conflict Rules
Requested by many AdforceX users who have migrated from our ALS products, AdforceX 2.5 introduces a new, comprehensive Conflict Rules manager for issues. You can now set up and selectively apply ad placement conflict rules to any issue. The Conflict Rules panel allows users to create, edit and save custom conflict rules, allowing users to control the placement of ads. For example, a conflict rule can be created to prevent competitive ads from being placed on the same page or spread, or to prevent two full-page ads on the same spread, or to control placement of house ads. Conflict rules can prevent ads from being placed in a conflicting manner by dragging and dropping them from the runsheet, by selecting Place All in the runsheet header, or via auto placement using Layouts. Conflict rules will also inform a user when an ad about to be manually placed violates a conflict rule.
Pagination Manager
Based on the original tool that was introduced in our ALS and AdForce products, the Pagination Manager in AdforceX 2.5 allows you to calculate page count requirements based on a number of user-specified factors, including minimum editorial hole, minimum pages, open pages and preferred target ad percentage. Since some publications determine the number of pages in an issue by applying formulas to the actual ad linage booked for that issue, the Pagination Manager in AdforceX 2.5 can determine the number of pages needed to reach the desired ad percentage for the issue by using its pagination calculator, and can also apply stored Issue Configurations to the result.
Plus lots of other improvements and enhancements. Existing users, be sure to check out the What’s New in AdforceX 2.5 available under the AdforceX Help menu.
