8.8

Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in
the Process area.
Data Splitters
Splitter action tasks are used to single data files into multiple data files. You can use such
tasks, for example, to split files that contain statements for multiple clients into smaller files that
each contain a single client statement. Each statement can then be printed and sent by snail
mail, or even emailed directly from PlanetPress Workflow, to each individual client.
Splitters initiate a recurring cycle that stops only when the original file has been completely
processed. When a given splitter creates a file, it hands it down to the task that follows, and all
the tasks on the same branch are performed until the output task. Then the splitter task creates
yet another file that is again handed down to the next task, and so forth until the cycle ends
(when there is no more data in the original file).
If the process merges the split data with a document, the splitter must not alter the structure of
the data file. In other words, each split file must have the same structure as the original files,
otherwise the PlanetPress Design documents to which they will be sent will not be able to
extract the data correctly and the merging process will fail.
Warning
Splitters do not modify the metadata that is currently active within your process. This
means that, if you are intending to use metadata along with a process using splitters, you
can either use the "Metadata Sequencer" on page528 instead of a splitter, or (re)create
the metadata after the splitter.
About Using Emulations with Splitters
When an emulation is used with a splitter action task, the job file is emulated, cut to pieces and
de-emulated. Most times, the emulation/de-emulation process is completely transparent.
However, in some cases, there may be minute differences.
When using the ASCII or Channel Skip emulation, if there are missing line feed characters
(when lines end with a single carriage return in ASCII, or when lines start with a No line feed
channel in Channel Skip), the output data will be different from the input data, but the change
will not be significant.
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