Link QuarkXPress® documents to any database

Features

• Links text or picture information to any external database

• Easily handles special stratifications, such as quantity pricing
• Utilizes a simple, menu-driven, intuitive user-interface
• Works with comma, tab, or custom delimited text files
• Connects directly to most ODBC database systems
• Supports any size database and hundreds of fields per record
• Ability to tag entire tables in one step using the Table Tagger™ feature
• Utilizes built-in batch processing features — perfect for larger publications
• Available for Mac or Windows

For more than 15 years, AutoPrice has been the premier data publishing, price updating, and reporting software package, utilized by hundreds of major catalogers around the world. AutoPrice connects QuarkXPress® documents to virtually any external database, and provides a powerful toolset for updating prices, descriptive copy, pictures, and other information in catalogs, price lists, retail flyers, and financial documents.

The product works by assigning “placeholders” to text or picture information in a QuarkXPress document. Each placeholder is associated with a key value, such as a product number (SKU). When a document update is initiated by the user, the AutoPrice software queries the database, retrieves the requested data, and updates the document. Updates to the document are lightning fast, and can be initiated at any time.

AutoPrice provides a number of advanced features for error checking and reporting and also includes a batch processing mode that lets you update hundreds of documents at one time. It can also be purchased with an optional ODBC Module which permits direct queries to any SQL-compliant database. The AutoPrice Exporter Pro™ module will export QuarkXPress content that is compatible with most database systems.

AutoPrice Options

• Exporter Pro: Export text and picture content from your QuarkXPress documents into a delimited file format that can be imported into any web or e-commerce database
• ODBC Module: Connect directly to most ODBC-compliant database systems
• PDF Exporter: Create PDF files of each page in your QuarkXPress document. Provides support for embedded document and web links
• AppleScript Module: Provides a special AppleEvent dictionary that can be used to control AutoPrice and other Meadows products

Industry-Specific Applications

• Catalogers: Import last minute price changes, update descriptive copy, import pictures, or produce different price versions of a catalog. Automate the process of customized catalog page layout. Produce PDF versions of your catalog pages with embedded links
• Retailers: Create updated and versioned flyers, coupons, and POP material
• Financial Institutions: Produce updated fund statements and fact sheets, customized prospectuses, and other financial documents

Additional Functionality

Included with the AutoPrice package:

GroupPicture™
The GroupPicture module gives you the power to save complete “groups” of QuarkXPress elements (text boxes, picture boxes, lines, etc.) in special files which behave just like pictures — they can be archived, databased, and imported exactly like any other supported graphic format.  The difference is that when you import a GroupPicture file, you get the original, native QuarkXPress elements perfectly positioned on your page and ready to be edited and styled. GroupPicture is great for archiving “product blocks” that can be used to create spin-off catalogs, and is the perfect complement to practically any image database software or automatic page building system.

Batch Processing
In catalog production, it is common to save each page or spread of a catalog as a separate document. In order to update the entire catalog, it is necessary
to process all of the pages that comprise the publication. The Batch Processing feature streamlines this process, by allowing you to process hundreds of documents at one time. A report is also generated that summarizes all of the updates and errors for the entire session.

Table Tagger™
The Table Tagger feature allows the user to assign AutoPrice placeholders to
an entire tab-separated table or price chart with one click. The user simply selects all of the elements of the table, and then identifies the table column to be tagged. With a single click, AutoPrice will scan the selected table and tag each and every price. This unique feature saves hours of valuable production time.

Tags Filter
A special import filter that permits AutoPrice placeholder information to be defined in ASCII text files which, when imported, will automatically create new AutoPrice placeholders in the QuarkXPress document. This tool is great for automated document production systems.
Tags Display Module
Display the location of all AutoPrice software placeholders in any document and help ensure that placeholders are not accidentally deleted. The Tag Display module is a free component that can be installed on any workstation not running the AutoPrice XTensions software.

Translation Tables
When importing data from mainframe business systems and the like, it is often necessary to translate characters into the appropriate Macintosh or Windows character position. AutoPrice includes several useful pre-built translation tables, and also provides a way for users to create their own custom tables.

Current QuarkXPress compatibility:
Mac: QXP 6, 7, 8; Win: 6