Picture of MegaEdit Document Templates for Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips

MegaEdit Document Templates for Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips

Infigo can now generate Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips from your own MegaEdit templates. You design each document in Invent for InDesign, export it as a MEX package, and upload it against the matching document type in Infigo Settings. This replaces the previous static PDF documents with dynamic, data-driven ones and you are no longer reliant on the Infigo team to make these changes for you.

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Tutorial Video Transcript

0:00 MegaEdit document templates for job tickets, invoices and packing slips. In this video, we'll build a document template for your job tickets, invoices and packing slips, using Invent for InDesign, then set it up in the admin.
0:16 Start in InDesign with the Invent plugin installed and lay the document out the way you want it to print. Put each label in its own text frame with a separate empty frame beside it to hold the value.
0:28 Now, for each piece of order information you want to show, add a variable and use the placeholder button to choose the placeholder it represents, such as the order number, the order date or the product name.
0:40 If you're not sure which placeholder to use, there's a built-in reference in the admin. Open it from the template file section of the settings page using toggle placeholder list.
0:50 It lists every placeholder with a short description, split into two tabs, order used by invoices and packing slips and job used by job tickets.
0:59 Choose the placeholder that matches the document you're building. Next, map each field to its variable. Select the value frame, open text options, set the map type to variable and choose the variable it should display.
1:12 This is the most important step to get right. A field must be mapped entirely to a single variable. Don't type a placeholder alongside other text in the same frame or it won't be filled in.
1:23 Keep each label and its value in separate frames. Work through the whole document this way, with every label in its own frame and every value field mapped to its own variable.
1:34 The variable's panel shows the full set you've mapped. When the layout is ready, export it from Invent as a MEX package ready to upload.
1:43 Now switch to the admin. Go to Configuration, then Product and Editor settings and open the Settings page there. Find the Template Files section, turn on use MEX templates for template files and save the page before uploading anything, saving first make sure your uploads are kept.
2:00 With the setting turned on, an upload field appears for each document type, job ticket, invoice and packing slip. Choose your MEX package for the document type you're setting up and upload it.
2:11 The import runs automatically and the page refreshes when it's finished. Once uploaded, the template shows its file name. With options to download the package, view the product it created or delete it, to replace a template later simply upload a new MEX package in its place.
2:29 From now on these documents are built automatically for every order, open an order in shared print operations and the downloads panel gives you the job ticket, invoice and packing slip, each generated on demand from your template with that order's live details.
2:45 And here's the finished job ticket. The template has been filled in automatically with the orders information, the order in job numbers, the date, the delivery address, the product and the quantity, all pulled straight from the live order.
2:59 That's document templates set up and working, from design in Invent, through to a finished document on a real order.

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MegaEdit Document Templates for Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips

Summary

Infigo can now generate Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips from MegaEdit templates that you design and upload yourself. Each template is created in Invent for InDesign, exported as a MEX package, and uploaded against its document type in Infigo Settings, where dynamic placeholders fill in each order's details automatically. This replaces the previous approach of uploading a static PDF file for each document, or having to rely on the Infigo team to create and upload these templates for you. You get dynamic, data-driven documents instead, and the static PDF option stays available as a fallback.

Problem

Previously, Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips were generated from static PDF files uploaded in the admin, which limited how the documents could be laid out. In addition, the Infigo team often had to get directly involved in the creation and maintenance of these documents. Print teams needed a modern, maintainable way to control the design of this order paperwork and keep it populated automatically with live order data.

Environment

  • Infigo administration, with access to Configuration > Product and Editor Settings > Infigo Settings.

  • Invent plugin for InDesign (version 2.8.5 or later), used to design each template and export it as a MEX package.

Configuration

This guide shows how to switch your Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips over to your own MegaEdit templates. First you design each document in Invent for InDesign - laying out static labels and mapping each dynamic field to a placeholder variable - then you export it as a MEX package, enable the feature and upload a template for each document type in Infigo Settings. Finally you can generate a document for a real order and check it.

Step 1: Install the Invent plugin for InDesign

Templates are built in Adobe InDesign using the Invent plugin. Install Invent for InDesign (version 2.8.5 or later) before you start - this is what lets you add Infigo's dynamic variables to a layout and export it as a MEX package. This step is done on your computer, not in the Infigo admin.

invent_initial_layout.png

Step 2: Build your document layout in InDesign

In InDesign, lay out the document (Job Ticket, Invoice or Packing Slip) exactly as you want it to print. Put each static label - 'Order Number:', 'Ship To:', 'Product:' and so on - in its own text frame, and add a separate empty text frame next to each one to hold the value. Keeping labels and value fields in separate frames matters for the next steps.

invent_initial_layout.png

Step 3: Create the variables you need

In the Infigo Invent panel, use Add Variable (or, on a selected field, 'Link to new variable') to create a variable for each piece of order data. Give it a name with the me_ prefix and use the Placeholder button to pick the placeholder it represents - for example me_OrderId, me_OrderedDate or me_ProductName. Which placeholders are available depends on the document type (Invoices and Packing Slips use order-level placeholders; Job Tickets use order-line placeholders) - see 'Available dynamic placeholders' below, or the Toggle placeholder list reference on the Infigo Settings page.

invent_add_variable_placeholder.png

Step 4: Map each value field directly to its variable

Select an empty value frame, then in the Infigo Invent panel open Properties > Text Options, set the Mapped Type to 'Variable' and choose the variable it should show (for example me_ShippingAddress). IMPORTANT: the whole field must be mapped to a single variable. Do not type a variable inline alongside other text (such as putting 'Order Number: me_OrderId' in one frame) - placeholders entered that way will not resolve. Keep the static label in its own separate frame and map only the value frame. Repeat for every dynamic field; the Variables panel lists everything you have mapped.

invent_field_mapped_to_variable.png invent_template_variables.png

Step 5: Add image placeholders (Job Tickets)

To place artwork on a Job Ticket, add an Image-type variable (not a text variable) and map an image frame to it - use me_Page1 for the first artwork page of the order line (me_Page2, me_Page3 ... for later pages) or me_OrderLineImage_0 for the order line's cart thumbnail. Image placeholders apply to Job Tickets only.

Step 6: Export the template as a MEX package

When the layout and its mapped fields are ready, export it from Invent as a MEX package (a .mex file). You will upload this file against the matching document type in the Infigo admin in the following steps.

Step 7: Open Infigo Settings and find the Template Files section

In the Infigo admin, go to Configuration > Product and Editor Settings > Infigo Settings and scroll to the Template Files section, which is where you upload and manage the template files for job tickets, invoices and packing slips.

Step 8: Enable "Use MEX templates for template files" and save

Tick 'Use MEX templates for template files', then save the page before uploading any templates - enabling and saving first ensures your uploads are kept. Turning this on reveals a MEX upload field for each document type.

step3_enable_toggle.jpg

Step 9: Upload a MEX template for each document type

With the setting enabled, a MEX upload field appears for the Job Ticket, Invoice and Packing Slip. For each one, choose your MEX package and upload it; the import runs automatically and the page refreshes when it finishes. Once uploaded, the template shows its file name with Download MEX, View Product Details and Delete actions - use Delete or a fresh upload to replace it later.

step4_mex_uploads.jpg mex_uploaded_result.png

Step 10: Generate the document from a real order

Once a template is uploaded, Infigo produces that document for each order automatically. Open an order in Shared Print Operations and use the Downloads panel to get the Job Ticket, Invoice or Packing Slip - each is generated on demand from your MEX template with that order's live data.

order_downloads_spo.png

Step 11: Check the finished Job Ticket

Open the generated PDF and confirm your template has been populated with the order's details - order and job numbers, dates, addresses, product and quantity all filled in from the live order.

job_ticket_generated.png

Settings Added or Changed

  • Use MEX templates for template files (Infigo Settings > Template Files) — checkbox, off by default. When enabled, Job Tickets, Invoices and Packing Slips are generated from your uploaded MEX templates; when disabled (the default), the previously uploaded static PDF template files are used instead. Enable and save before uploading.

  • Job Ticket / Invoice / Packing Slip template file (Infigo Settings > Template Files) — an upload field for the MEX package used to generate each document type. Each can be downloaded or deleted after upload.

Verification

  • Place a test order for a product that produces these documents, open it in Shared Print Operations, and download the Job Ticket, Invoice or Packing Slip from the Downloads panel.

  • Confirm the generated document uses your uploaded template, with the order's details (order and job numbers, dates, addresses, product, quantity, etc) filled in automatically.

Good to know

  • Each dynamic field must be mapped to a single variable in Invent (Properties > Text Options > Mapped > Type: Variable). A field that mixes a variable with other text (for example "Order Number: me_OrderId" typed into one frame) will not resolve. Keep each static label and its value in separate frames, and map only the value frame.

  • Turning the setting off returns to your previously uploaded static PDF documents, so you can move back to them at any time.

  • A template uploaded at the platform level is automatically used by any storefront that hasn't uploaded its own, so you can set your documents up once and let storefronts inherit them.

  • Uploaded templates are managed only in this Template Files section. They don't appear as normal products in your catalogue, storefronts or integrations.

Available dynamic placeholders

In your template, name each variable with the me_ prefix followed by a placeholder name, and Infigo fills it with that order's data. Which placeholders are available depends on the document type. A few common examples are shown below; for the complete, always-current list, use the built-in placeholder list in the admin (next paragraph).

Find the full list in the admin

Navigate to the Placeholders page within Infigo admin. It has two tabs — Order (used by Invoices and Packing Slips) and Job (used by Job Tickets). Each lists every placeholder for that context with a short description, plus a search box.

placeholder_list_page.png

A few Order-tab examples (Invoices, Packing Slips)

  • me_OrderId — the order's Id

  • me_OrderedDate — date the order was placed

  • me_OrderTotal — order total

  • me_BillingAddress — full billing address

  • me_ShippingMethod — shipping method used

A few Job-tab examples (Job Tickets)

  • me_ProductName — name of the ordered product

  • me_Sku — product SKU

  • me_Quantity — quantity ordered

  • me_JobIdWithPrefix — job number with its type prefix

  • me_Attribute_<name> — a selected product attribute, e.g. me_Attribute_Lamination (specification and admin attributes follow the same pattern)

Images (Job Ticket only, created as Image-type variables in Invent)

  • me_Page1 — the first artwork page of the order line (me_Page2, me_Page3 ... for later pages)

  • me_OrderLineImage_0 — the order line's cart thumbnail

Alternate Search Terms

MEX document templates, upload job ticket template, invoice template MEX, packing slip template, Use MEX templates for template files, MegaEdit document templates, Invent for InDesign templates, Infigo Settings template files