# Phoenix Connect App Documentation

The Phoenix Connect app makes the latest planning and imposition advances of Phoenix version 7.0 easily accessible and available for integrating with existing, cross-vendor systems across all print applications.

There are two types of data that need to be specified for the App. First, the Element Fields are editable by clicking on the app itself in the flow and opening the Properties panel. This is where you can configure how Phoenix should create and operate on the project. The other section is the Connection Fields, where you can define exactly what you do and don't want to output from Phoenix. See the available fields and their descriptions below.

# Element Fields

Property	Description
Phoenix project ID	Optional ID to use for the Phoenix project during plan and export; If not defined a unique ID will be generated automatically based on Prefix of incoming Switch job. This ID is also used as the file/folder name for output data
Host	Location of Phoenix instance this configurator will be connecting to: Local or Remote. For Remote case you will need to specify the hostname of the computer Phoenix is running on. For more information, see the table below.

Property	Description
Hostname	Hostname or IP address of Phoenix this Configurator is connecting to. If not specified the Configurator will assume Phoenix is running on the same computer as Switch.
File input mode	Whether to upload jobs from input folder to Phoenix in Upload mode or have Phoenix access the files in the input folder directly via network share in Network share mode
File input mode > Input share path	The full path of the input folder as it is accessed from the remote machine where Phoenix is running. For example, if the input folder is a network share, this property should define the full network share path to this input folder so Phoenix can access the files.


Port	TCP Port number Phoenix Switch Connector is listening on. The default port used by Phoenix is 8022.
Presses	Optional list of presses in Phoenix to include during Planning. When no presses are specified, all presses in your Presses library are used. To query the current Presses library in Phoenix use the Select many from library option.
Sheets	Whether to use all available sheets for the given product stocks and presses during planning or limit sheets used to a specific list.
Sheets > Selected	List of selected sheets to restrict planning to. Each sheet name must have the following format: STOCK_NAME/GRADE_NAME/SHEET_NAME For example, "PVC/224 gsm/501 x 365mm Long"
Rolls	Whether to use all available rolls for the given product stocks and presses during planning or limit rolls used to a specific list.
Rolls > Selected	List of selected rolls to restrict planning to. Each roll name must have the following format: STOCK_NAME/GRADE_NAME/ROLL_NAME For example, "PVC/224 gsm/700mm"
Templates	Optional list of templates in Phoenix Templates library to include during Planning when your ganging profile includes the Templates strategy. When no templates are selected, all templates in your library are used. To query the current Templates library in Phoenix use the Select many from library option.
Imposition AI profile	Optional Imposition AI profile to use during planning. When not specified the 'Default' profile is used.
Stop plan after N minutes	Number of minutes to let the Plan tool find optimal layouts for the current set of orders. Note: Switch has a limit on the time allowed during processing. You may need to increase this limit in the Switch User preferences to allow Plan to run for longer time periods.
Concurrency timeout	Maximum number of minutes to attempt to connect o Phoenix when maximum number of allowed concurrent requests has been reached. Value must be 1 or greater.
Input mode	Input mode to use for this configurator. In "Direct" mode, incoming artwork files are collected until a trigger condition is reached at which point Plan is started. In "CSV Import" mode a single CSV file with all product order information is expected and will start Plan immediately. In "Phoenix Job" mode a single Phoenix job file (PHX) is imported. You have the option to run plan or directly export the job through the outgoing connections. NOTE: If "Phoenix Job" mode is being used with Phoenix running remotely (Host -> Remote), then Phoenix 6.1.1 or above is required. When running locally, any version at or above Phoenix 6.0 will work.

# Direct Input Mode

Property	Description
Plan every N files	The total number of incoming job files needed before starting a plan; a value of 0 means this option is disabled
Plan after N minutes	Start planning current set of products N minutes after first product arrived regardless of whether required number of products has been reached; a value of 0 means this option is disabled
Plan on condition	Plan is started whenever this condition is true even if the required number of products have not arrived. This condition is re-evaluated for each new job in the context of that job. A value of None means this option is disabled.
Plan identifier	A string value evaluated in the context of each incoming job that determines which jobs belong together. If not set, all incoming jobs are handled together. If set, plans will include only jobs with the same Plan Identifier and the Plan N Files property will also count only other jobs with matching Plan Identifier values. A value of None means this option is disabled.
Product name	Name of the product in Phoenix
Product stock	Stock material of product. Stock can be entered manually, by variable/script, or by selecting a stock in the current Stock Library in Phoenix. When plans include products with different stocks, Phoenix will ensure products are placed on sheets with matching stocks and that products with different stocks are not mixed in the same layout.
Stock grade	Optional grade of product stock. When not defined, the first grade for the given stock is used.
Grain direction	Grain direction requirement of this product
Quantity	Number of orders needed to be fulfilled for this product
Minimum overruns (%)	Minimum overrun percentage allowed above or below ordered amount. When not specified, minimum overrun defaults to 0%. Percent sign (%) is optional and negative percentages are allowed (e.g. -10%)
Maximum overruns (%)	Maximum overrun percentage allowed above ordered amount. When not specified, maximum overrun defaults to 100%. Percent sign (%) is optional and only positive values are allowed.
Product type	Type of product to create: Flat, Tiled, Bound, or Folded.

Property	Description
Die design	Type of die design used to define the die line shape of product. Default is Line Type Mappings where artwork spot colors and/or PDf layers specified in Phoenix define the various die line types.

Property	Description
Die design > Name	Full path of die design in the Die Designs Library including folders and design name separated by forward slash ('/').

Property	Description
Die design > CAD file	CAD file containing 1-up die of product when 'CAD' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > CAD design name	Optional name of 1-up CAD design in CAD file when 'CAD' dieshape type is selected. If not speficied the first 1-up die defined in the CAD file is used.

Property	Description
Die design > Cut ink	Spot color name in the PDF to use for product cut lines. This field is required when 'Artwork Inks' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Crease ink	Optional spot color name in the PDF to use for product crease lines when 'Artwork Inks' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Bleed ink	Optional spot color name in the PDF to use for product bleed mask when 'Artwork Inks' dieshape type is selected.

Property	Description
Die design > Cut layer	Layer name in the PDF to use for product cut lines. This field is required when 'Artwork Layers' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Crease layer	Optional layer name in the PDF to use for product crease lines when 'Artwork Layers' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Bleed layer	Optional layer name in the PDF to use for product bleed mask when 'Artwork Layers' dieshape type is selected.


Autosnap	Artwork to product dieshape autosnap mode; used when product dieshape type is CAD or Custom Size

Property	Description
Autosnap > Front autosnap ink	Spot color name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning artwork to product die on the front side of the product when 'Autosnap with Ink' autosnap mode is selected.
Autosnap > Back autosnap ink	Spot color name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning artwork to product die on the back side of the product when 'Autosnap with Ink' autosnap mode is selected.

Property	Description
Autosnap > Front autosnap layer	Layer name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning to product die on the front side of the product when 'Autosnap with Layer' mode is selected.
Autosnap > Back Autosnap Layer	Layer name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning to product die on the back side of the product when 'Autosnap with Layer' mode is selected.


Multi-page file handling	This option affects how multi-page artwork files are interpreted in direct mode. If "One product per file" is selected, a single product is always created for each artwork file regardless of the number of pages. If "One product per page" is selected, one single-sided product is created for each page in the artwork file. If "One double-sided product every two pages" is selected, a product will be created for every two pages with the first page used as the front artwork and the second page used as the back artwork of the product. If the artwork file has an odd number of pages, the last page will create a single-sided product. For example, if a 5 page PDF file comes in, this option will create 2 double-sided products and 1 single-sided product. Pages 1 and 2 will be used as the front and back of the first product respectively and pages 3 and 4 used as the front and back of the second product. Page 5 will be used as the front of the final single-sided product.
Multi-page file handling > Front to back	Action to perform to copy or mirror artwork on the front side of the flat product to the back side.
Shape handling	Shape handling mode to use when finding closed path shapes from the dielines in the artwork. 'Multiple' mode will create a new product for each closed path shape detected in the artwork.
Product templates	Requires Phoenix 6.0 or higher. Optional list of templates to restrict this product to when ganging with templates from the Templates library. When unset, all available templates that this product shape matches will be attempted during ganging. To query the current Templates library in Phoenix use the Select many from library option.
Colors	Page colors for front side of flat products or all pages of bound and folded products.
Back colors	Page back colors for back side of flat products.

Property	Description
Die design	Type of die design used to define the die line shape of product. Default is Line Type Mappings where artwork spot colors and/or PDf layers specified in Phoenix define the various die line types.

Property	Description
Die design > Name	Full path of die design in the Die Designs Library including folders and design name separated by forward slash ('/').

Property	Description
Die design > CAD file	CAD file containing 1-up die of product when 'CAD' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > CAD design name	Optional name of 1-up CAD design in CAD file when 'CAD' dieshape type is selected. If not speficied the first 1-up die defined in the CAD file is used.

Property	Description
Die design > Cut ink	Spot color name in the PDF to use for product cut lines. This field is required when 'Artwork Inks' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Crease ink	Optional spot color name in the PDF to use for product crease lines when 'Artwork Inks' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Bleed ink	Optional spot color name in the PDF to use for product bleed mask when 'Artwork Inks' dieshape type is selected.

Property	Description
Die design > Cut layer	Layer name in the PDF to use for product cut lines. This field is required when 'Artwork Layers' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Crease layer	Optional layer name in the PDF to use for product crease lines when 'Artwork Layers' dieshape type is selected.
Die design > Bleed layer	Optional layer name in the PDF to use for product bleed mask when 'Artwork Layers' dieshape type is selected.


Autosnap	Artwork to product dieshape autosnap mode; used when product dieshape type is CAD or Custom Size

Property	Description
Autosnap > Front autosnap ink	Spot color name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning artwork to product die on the front side of the product when 'Autosnap with Ink' autosnap mode is selected.
Autosnap > Back autosnap ink	Spot color name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning artwork to product die on the back side of the product when 'Autosnap with Ink' autosnap mode is selected.

Property	Description
Autosnap > Front autosnap layer	Layer name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning to product die on the front side of the product when 'Autosnap with Layer' mode is selected.
Autosnap > Back Autosnap Layer	Layer name in the PDF to use as dieshape when aligning to product die on the back side of the product when 'Autosnap with Layer' mode is selected.


Shape handling	Shape handling mode to use when finding closed path shapes from the dielines in the artwork. 'Multiple' mode will create a new product for each closed path shape detected in the artwork.
Start corner	The corner of the artwork where the first tile is to be placed. This property plus tile order define the exact order tiles are to be placed.
Tile order	Tile placement order. This property plus start corner define the exact order tiles are to be placed.
Horizontal/Vertical tiling	Rule for splitting up artwork into tiles in the horizontal direction. Used to divide the artwork into multiple items to be produced separately.

Property	Description
Number of tiles	Number of tiles to create in the horizontal/vertical direction. Tiles are evenly spaced across the width of the artwork.
Uniform final size	When defining a fixed number of tiles, enabling this option ensures the final tile sizes are uniform in the horizontal/vertical direction regardless of gap or overlap settings. When not enabled, inner and edge tile sizes can differ because uniform tile sizes are then calculated before gap or overlap rules are applied.
Tiling method	Tiling method to use in horizontal/vertical direction in any: Gap or Overlap.

Property	Description
Tile width/height	Fixed width/height of tiles in horizontal/vertical direction.
Tile widths/heights	List of all tile widths/heights in the horizontal/vertical direction.
Tiling method > Gap	Gap distance between tiles in the horizontal direction. Extension - Amount of extra artwork content beyond the tile gap edge to extend in the horizontal direction. Extension direction - Rule defining which horizontal direction(s) the gap is extended for each tile.
Tiling method > Overlap	Distance beyond tile edge to extend the tile horizontally to create overlap. Overlap rule - Rule defining what horizontal edge(s) of tiles will overlap with neighboring tiles. No-image - Width of the section at the end of the overlap where no artwork content is allowed. This no image section can be used for example to create a glue strip area on the tile piece.


Colors	Page colors for front side of flat products or all pages of bound and folded products.
Back colors	Page back colors for back side of flat products.

Property	Description
Folding patterns	List of folding patterns to use for bound work.
Binding method	Binding method to use for bound work, either Perfect Bound or Saddle Stitch. If Saddle Stitch, select Pages per section - Number of pages per section (e.g. Smyth sewn) for multi-section bound work.
Binding edge	Page binding edge for bound work.
Jog edge	Jog edge for bound work. When set, this edge must be perpendicular to the binding edge. Setting jog to Bottom for left- or right-bound work results in 'Foot to Foot' page orientation.
Reading order	Reading order of pages in bound work. For Calendar, choose Self cover - Whether bound part includes a cover or not.
Spine trim	Spine trim amount in bound signatures.
Jog trim	Jog trim amount in bound signatures.
Face trim	Face trim amount in bound signatures.
Non-jog trim	Non-jog trim amount in bound signatures.
Lip type	Lip type for determining where lip gets added to bound signatures.
Lip	Lip amount to add to bound signatures.
N-up	Number of N-ups which can be a value of 1, 2, or 3 with 1 signifying normal non N-up repeated signatures. If N-up greater than 1, select the N-up gap - Gap spacing to apply between N-up repeat pages.
Creep	Type of creep to apply to bound signatures.

Property	Description
Method	Creep method to use for performing creep on bound signatures.
Calculation	Creep calculation mode to use to determine creep amount to apply.
Calculation PerPage or Total > Amount	Amount of creep to apply which can be total or per-page amount based on the calculation mode.

Property	Description
Method	Creep method to use for performing creep on bound signatures.
Calculation	Creep calculation mode to use to determine creep amount to apply.
Calculation PerPage or Total > Amount	Amount of creep to apply which can be total or per-page amount based on the calculation mode.

Property	Description
Method	Creep method to use for performing creep on bound signatures.
Calculation	Creep calculation mode to use to determine creep amount to apply.
Calculation PerPage or Total > Amount	Amount of creep to apply which can be total or per-page amount based on the calculation mode.

Property	Description
Transition	Percentage from the inner most signatures towards the spine when to change creep direction from inward to outward when using 'Custom' creep type.
Method	Creep method to use for performing creep on bound signatures.
Calculation	Creep calculation mode to use to determine creep amount to apply.
Calculation PerPage or Total > Amount	Amount of creep to apply which can be total or per-page amount based on the calculation mode.


Page bleed	Bleed margins of individual pages in bound and folded products
Colors	Page colors for front side of flat products or all pages of bound and folded products.

Property	Description
Folding patterns	List of folding patterns to use for bound work.
Page bleed	Bleed margins of individual pages in bound and folded products
Colors	Page colors for front side of flat products or all pages of bound and folded products.


Group name	Optional product group. When specified the Plan tool will group products with same group values together.
Due date	Optional product due date. When specified the Plan tool will group products with same due dates together.
Priority	Optional priority to assign to product from 1 to 10 with 1 being highest priority. If value of this property is set to "Default" then the default product priority in Phoenix product preferences is used.
Front marks	Optional list of marks from the Phoenix marks library to apply to the front side of this product.
Back marks	Optional list of marks from the Phoenix marks library to apply to the back side of this product.
Rotation	Type of rotation this product is allowed to use during planning.
Rotation > Allowed rotations	Allowed rotations as comma-delimited list. For example "0,90". When specified, allowed rotation overrides the default behavior of aligning product and sheet grain directions during planning, ensuring products are only placed in the defined allowed rotation(s).
Bleed type	Type of bleed mask to apply to this product's artwork. For "Margins" you can define different bleed margins for each side of the product. "Contour" creates a uniform offset path from the product shape. "None" will not apply a bleed mask.
Contour > Bleed	Bleed offset to generate from product die shape. If not specified of "Default" then default job bleed offset is used as defined in Preferences -> Job in Phoenix. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Bleed top	Bleed offset required on top edge of product. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Bleed bottom	Bleed offset required on bottom edge of product. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Bleed right	Bleed offset required on right edge of product. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Bleed left	Bleed offset required on left edge of product. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Spacing type	Product spacing type used when placing products in layouts during Plan.
Contour > Spacing	Uniform spacing offset to apply to product dieshape when 'Contour' spacing type is selected. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Spacing top	Spacing distance required on top edge of product when 'Margins' spacing type is selected. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Spacing bottom	Spacing distance required on bottom edge of product when 'Margins' spacing type is selected. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Spacing right	Spacing distance required on right edge of product when 'Margins' spacing type is selected. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Margins > Spacing left	Spacing distance required on left edge of product when 'Margins' spacing type is selected. Units may be specified (e.g. 3mm) and if omitted, Phoenix default units are assumed.
Offcut	Optional offcut margins to apply to the sides of product components.
Margins > Offcut top	Offcut amount to add to the top edge of product component.
Margins > Offcut bottom	Offcut amount to add to the bottom edge of product component.
Margins > Offcut right	Offcut amount to add to the right edge of product component.
Margins > Offcut left	Offcut amount to add to the left edge of product component.
Notes	Optional notes to attach to the product notes property.
Description	Optional description to attach to the product notes property.
Custom properties	Optional custom properties to apply to the product.

# CSV Input Mode

Property	Description
CSV import preset	CSV Import Preset to use while importing CSV file when 'CSV Import' input mode is used. If not specified default Phoenix CSV Import preset is used
Base folder path	Optional base folder path used to interpret relative file paths within the CSV file when 'CSV Import' input mode is used. If not specified, all paths are assumed to be full absolute paths.

# Phoenix Job Input Mode

Property	Description
Run plan	Whether or not to run the Plan tool on the input Phoenix job. Set to no for jobs that have already been laid out. This can be useful in cases where an existing job has been modified and needs to be output for printing, cutting, etc.

# Connection Fields

Property	Description
Data	Type of data to send to this connection: Copies of original Input Jobs or Output Files that are generated by Phoenix after the Plan tool creates a plan.

Property	Description
Include phoenix project	Whether to include a saved Phoenix project file (.phx) allowing you to open the generated project in Phoenix.
Include imposed PDF	Whether to generate an imposed PDF of the completed plan. Optionally select PDF Export Preset. Preset defaults to "Factory Default PDF Export" when not specified.
Include imposed JDF	Whether to generate an imposed JDF of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control export behavior and content of imposed JDFs. Defaults to "Factory Default JDF Export" when not specified.
Include PDF die layout	Whether to generate PDF die layouts of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control export behavior of PDF die layout. Defaults to "PDF Default Preset" when not specified.
Include CF2 die layout	Whether to generate a CF2 die layouts of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control export behavior of CF2 die layout
Include DXF die layout	Whether to generate DXF die layouts of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control export behavior of DXF die layout.
Include ZCC cutting layout	Whether to generate Zund Cut Center cutting layouts of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control export behavior of ZCC export.
Include PDF vector separation	Whether to generate PDF vector separation output for the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control export behavior of PDF vector separation export.
Include cover sheet	Whether to generate PDF cover sheets for all layouts in the completed plan Optionally specify preset used to control cover sheet export behavior.
Include tiling report	Whether to generate a tiling report of the completed plan when the plan involves tiled products. Specify preset used to control content of generated tiling report.
Include PDF report	Whether to generate a PDF report of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control content of generated PDF report; Defaults to "PDF Report Default Preset" when not specified.
Include XML report	Whether to generate a XML report of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control content of generated XML report; Defaults to "XML Report Default Preset" when not specified.
Include JSON report	Whether to generate a JSON report of the completed plan. Optionally specify preset used to control content of generated JSON report. Defaults to "JSON Report Default Preset" when not specified.
Collect files in jobfolder	On Yes, outgoing files are collected into a job folder and passed as a single job, otherwise files are passed along individually as separate jobs. Note: Absolute and relative path JDF output will ignore this option and always collect files into a job folder to ensure the generated "Content" sub-folder is kept together with the JDF file(s)
XML dataset name	Name of XML report dataset that gets attached to each output file or job folder