Combine pages

Unlike in the Multilayout manager where entire layout files are combined to create a new file, there is also the possibility to combine single pages from layouts. Click the button Combine pages :

With this dialog you can combine parts and regions from independent layouts and create a new layout with them.

First of all you need to specify the folder with the source layouts. Click the button "Browse" and select the folder you need in the file dialog:

The "main" page in the left frame is the currently open page.

To display all folders contained in this directory, activate the check box Search in subfolders, then click the button "Update" :

All subfolders contained in the selected directory are displayed. You can open and close the folders by double clicking them:

The dialog offers you some functions to control and specify the layout in the menu or via these icons:

The Combine pages field on the left shows the pages and regions structure of your current layout.

If the main page contains one or more regions, then this page is shown as parent node with child nodes - its regions.

If there are several main pages, they are all on the same level of the tree.

You can import any page or region from any layout to your current layout. Select the proper page or region in the Available layouts field. Press the button or simply drag and drop this element into the current layout tree on the left.

Note: If there is text displayed after the title of the main page, this means that this page has an expression to be checked before the generation of the PDF output:

All added pages are placed on the main pages layer of the layout tree by default. They also lose the status of a specific page or region, they are always imported as main pages. In the title of the imported page or region the name of the file this element was imported from and its original status in the parent file are visible.

Example:

As you can see above, the element was imported from the file named "Copy of regions3". In the parent file this element was an odd region, one from the odd or even regions.

After you have imported a page or region you should change its kind into the one needed in the current layout.

Select the element you want to change, and select the required kind in context menu of this element. The kind can be also changed using the "Change page kind" button or the menu Page -> Change page kind:

The imported page with the new kind can now be moved to the proper place of the current layout tree. Select the page you want to move and then drag and drop it to the place of the tree you need.

You can export the entire current layout or only the pages and/or regions you need. Select the page or pages (regions) you want to export and press the "Export" button. This will open the Save dialog where you can specify the name for your exported file.

You can delete pages and regions from the current layout by selecting the page you want to remove and pressing the "Delete" button or choose the menu Page -> Delete layouts.

Changing the page kind is only limited by the function range of the currently used Renderer (e.g. FOP does not support "last" pages).

The pages you combine appear on your working sheet as separate tabs and can now be modified according to your requirements and saved as parts of a new layout.