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Quick start guide: creating and editing templates in axesFlip Designer

Janne Brönner
  • Updated

1. Start axesFlip Designer

Start the application to begin creating or editing templates. For detailed information on how to start axesFlip Designer, refer to Starting axesFlip Designer.

Overview of the user interface

For more information about the individual user interface elements, refer to the linked articles below:
  1. Menu
  2. Task pane "Node Library"
  3. Template view
  4. Task pane "Node Properties"
  5. Task pane "Node Result"
  6. Document view
  7. Task pane "Shape Properties"
Screenshot: axesFlip Designer with highlighted and numbered areas. At the top: 1 Menu. From left to right: 2 Node Library task pane, 3 template view with open template, 4 Node Properties task pane, 5 Node result task pane, 5 Document view with open PDF, 7 Shape Properties task pane.

2. Open or create a template

Create a new template or open an existing one to start working in axesFlip Designer.

Tip: Download sample templates

To help you get started quickly, we provide ready‑to‑use templates for sample documents, ideal for learning and experimentation.

Open and explore the templates and documents in axesFlip Designer and run your first remediations with axesFlip.

Download axesFlip samples (.zip file)

Open an existing template

  1. Click the Open Template button Screenshot: Open Template button in the Menu.
  2. Select a axesFlip Template Archive (.flip file).
  3. The template is loaded and appears in the Template view on the left.

Create a new template

  1. Click the New Template button Screenshot: New Template button in the Menu to create a new axesFlip template.
  2. The Template view on the left will be empty.

Tip: Work with multiple windows

You can run axesFlipDesigner.exe multiple times to open additional instances of axesFlip Designer. This allows you to work on multiple templates simultaneously and copy and paste selected nodes between them.

3. Add and configure nodes

Build your template by adding nodes, defining their behavior and connecting them into a graph.

Understand nodes

A node is a modular unit of functionality:

  • It can take inputs, perform a process, and produce outputs.
  • Nodes are connected to form a graph or flow, representing the logic and structure of the template.
  • Each node has input ports on the left and output ports on the right. 

You can connect nodes using these ports to define the flow of your template. Depending on the flow type, ports may appear as circles with green connections or squares with blue connections. For more details, refer to the article Connect nodes: Execution Flow and Data Flow.

Screenshot: Section of a graph with five connected nodes. Some are connected with blue lines, some with green lines.

Add nodes

Add nodes to the template to define processing steps:

  1. Drag a node from the Node Library task pane and 
  2. drop it into the Template View. 

To select shapes in your document and use them as inputs for other nodes, start by adding the Select Shapes node.

Configure node properties

Configure the settings of each node to control its behavior and output:

  1. Click a node to select it.
  2. Edit its properties in the Node Properties task pane. To write expressions, refer to the articles on the axesFlip Expression Language.

For detailed information, refer to the articles dedicated to individual nodes in the axesFlip Nodes section.

Tip: shortcut to node documentation

Select a node in axesFlip Designer and press the F1 key to instantly open the documentation page for that node type in your browser.

Delete nodes

Remove nodes that are no longer needed:

  1. Select a node in the Template View.
  2. Press the Delete key.

Connect nodes

Please read Connect nodes: Execution Flow and Data Flow to understand the two different flow types (Execution Flow and Data Flow) and learn how to connect nodes.

4. Check node results

Use the following steps to check the results of a node:

  1. Select a node in the template view.
  2. The Node Result task pane shows the node’s output, based on the currently open PDF. The corresponding elements are highlighted in blue in the document view, with arrows indicating the order in which they are output. This helps you verify whether the node’s output is correct.
  3. Click elements in the result tree within the Node Result task pane to highlight them with a red frame in the Document view, making it easier to inspect and validate the results.

For detailed info, refer to the articles dedicated to individual nodes in the axesFlip Nodes section.

5. Define a start node

To run a template on a PDF, you must define a start node:

  1. Hold the Ctrl key and right-click the node you want to set as the start node. Alternatively select the node, open Edit in the menu and choose Set Start Node.
  2. It will be highlighted with a red border.
  3. The start node must be part of the Execution Flow—ideally positioned as the first node—and all other nodes must connect to it, either directly or indirectly.

6. Save your template

To save your template:

  1. Click the Save Template button Screenshot: Save Template button in the Menu.
  2. Enter a name for the new axesFlip Template Archive (.flip file), then click Save.

7. Preview the PDF result

Use the following steps to preview the PDF result:

  1. Click the Preview in PDF Viewer button Screenshot: Preview in PDF Viewer button with arrow on the right side in the menu to open the PDF in your default PDF viewer, or click the arrow next to it to select a different application.
  2. This runs your template on the currently open PDF.
  3. Review the result in the selected application and adjust your template if needed.

If your PDF documents vary in structure, it is best to test several PDF documents with different variations.