By default, AccurioPro VDP processes every record in your data source during a merge operation. However, there are many situations where you may want to process only selected records – for example, when creating proof copies, reprinting a small group of records, or testing a new template.

SELECTING RECORD RANGES TO PROCESS

AccurioPro VDP provides three convenient methods for specifying which records should be processed:

• Enter a record range manually.
• Import a record range from an external text file.
• Generate a record range automatically by filtering your data.

This article describes each of these methods.

Opening the Merge Dialog

Record ranges are entered from the main Merge Dialog. You can open this dialog using any of the following methods:

1. Click the Merge... button on the main AccurioPro VDP floating panel.
2. Open the floating panel flyout menu and choose Merge....
3. Select Merge... from the main AccurioPro menu.

Any of these methods will display the main Merge Dialog.

Manually Entering a Record Range

In the upper portion of the Merge Dialog is the Records section.

By default, the record selection dropdown is set to All, indicating that every record in the data source will be processed.

To process only selected records, enter the desired record range into the adjacent edit field.

A continuous range of records is specified using a hyphen (-), while individual records or multiple ranges are separated by commas. For example:

This example processes:

• Records 1 through 50
• Record 73
• Record 150

You may combine as many individual records and ranges as required.

Importing a Record Range

If you already have a text file containing a record range, you can import it directly into the Merge Dialog instead of typing it manually.

The text file should contain a record range string using the same format described above, for example:

1-50,73,150

To import a record range:

1. Click the dropdown menu next to the record range edit field.
2. Choose Import...
   
3. Select the text file containing the record range.

The contents of the file are automatically loaded into the record range field.

CREATING A FILTERED RECORD RANGE

In many situations you may not know the record numbers in advance. Instead, you may want AccurioPro VDP to automatically identify records that match specific criteria.

For example, suppose your data source contains a field named Proof Record, and every proof record contains the value Yes.

Rather than manually identifying those records, AccurioPro VDP can generate the record range automatically.

To create a filtered record range:

1. Click the flyout menu next to the record range field.
2. Choose Edit....
   
3. The Edit Record Range dialog will appear.

This dialog provides a larger editing area and includes filtering options for generating record ranges automatically. You can also import an existing record range by using the Import Record Range... button.

For filtered record ranges, start by entering the desired search criteria near the top of the dialog, then click Apply. For example:

This criteria will search the Proof Record field (Variable Link) for any record that contains the value Yes in that field.

Clicking Apply searches the data source and generates a record range containing every matching record.

In this example, the search returned the following Proof records:

Once you have verified the generated record range, click OK to return to the Merge Dialog.

RUNNING THE MERGE

After specifying the desired record range, continue the merge process as you normally would.

Simply select the desired Merge Action from the Merge Dialog and complete the operation. Only the selected records will be processed.

TRAINING VIDEO

A training video demonstrating record range processing is also available.

Click here to view the training video.

SUMMARY

AccurioPro VDP provides several flexible ways to process only selected records from your data source:

• Manually enter record numbers or ranges.
• Import a previously saved record range.
• Automatically generate a record range by filtering your data.

These options make it easy to create proofs, reprint selected records, test templates, or process only a specific subset of your database without modifying the original data source.