Certificates / Certificate Sets

Contrary to a List, a Certificate creates a page for each participant. Texts and pictures can be placed freely on the page. A certificate primarily serves to:

In addition, certificates can be used for:

Certificate layouts should first be created in the Certificates tab which opens the design tool to create different layouts for different purposes. 

Once you have a certificate setup, Certificate Sets define for which participants a certain certificate will be created. You can edit the settings of a Certificate Set by clicking on Settings after selecting the certificate set in the Output Window.

Certificate Sets serve to print sets of certificates. To print out single certificates, go to the Certificates tab in the Participants Window.

Certificate

The Certificate serves to design certificates or designs for labels and as background for lists.

The list on the left shows all certificates in your event file. After clicking one of them you can see a preview on the right side.

Page Settings

First, define the page size and choose between landscape and portrait orientation:

Preview

At any time you can render a real preview of the certificate for any bib number using this button:

Adding Elements

The menu on the right offers different types of elements that can be placed on the certificate:

Data Field

You can enter a Field or an Expression in a Data Filed to display specific participant data. The example below displays the participant's first name.

Firstname

Using an expression you could display static text with dynamic text.

"Gender Rank: "&[GenderRank]

Text 

The Text element can be used to display static text. Note, that you can not set Dynamic Formatting for text elements. Only Data Field elements can have Dynamic Formatting.

Image

The Image element can be used to display static images. When selecting this element, you will be given the option to select an image from the list of available images in your event file or from the available folders.

Data Dependent Image

The Data Dependent Image element can be used to display dynamic images using an Expression. The Expression should evaluate the name of the image, including the image extension (eg. .jpg).

For example, you can use the field Nation.Alpha2 in an expression to evaluate the name of each image file. The below would be evaluated to "flag_DE.jpg" assuming the participant was from Germany.

"flag_" & [Nation.Alpha2] & ".jpg"

Another example would be if you wanted to use a Control Function like an if() statement to determine what image to display. Here is one example

if([GenderRank] IN "1-3";"Winner.jpg";"Blank.jpg")

Shapes (Rectangle, Circle, and Line)

You can use the Rectangle, Circle, or Line options to display colored shapes. Using Dynamic Formatting, the colors can change dynamically for each participant.

Barcode/QR Code

You can encode any Field or Expression in one of the below format options.

  • Barcode 39
  • EAN 13
  • Barcode 128
  • QR Code

Element Setting Bar

Each element listed above has various settings. Not all available settings work for all elements. These settings are located at the top of the certificate window.

Top Row

The left text box is where you enter a field or expression for a given element. This is used for Data Field, Text, Image, and Data Dependent Image elements.

The two center drop-down lists pertain to team scores. This is discussed in more detail further down in this article.

The right text box labeled DF stands for Dynamic Formatting. Dynamic formatting can be used to change the formatting of an element dynamically. For example, you could change the text color depending on the participants finishing place.

if([GenderRank] IN "1-3";"C(#ffdb4d)";"C(#000000)")

Bottom Row

The bottom row of options has standard text formatting options like bold, italics, and unlined text. There are also options for text alignment within a text box, layering options, color, text outline, and element transparency.

Aligning Elements

After adding an element to the certificate you can position and scale it on the certificate with the mouse. Alternatively, you can use the cursor keys (see keyboard codes in the bottom left corner) or use the entry fields at the bottom of the screen to position and scale the element.

Select several elements at the same time by clicking and holding your mouse button and dragging the selection rectangle over the elements.

Alternatively, you can hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard and click one element after the other.

Then, these functions appear in the top left corner to align the elements:

Pages

Optionally, a certificate can include more than one page. Simply click on "2" in the toolbar on the right to access page 2. Once you have placed an element there, you can add a page 3 and so on.

Team Certificates

Certificates for teams work exactly the same as a normal certificate. Instead of the individual rank and time, you would show the team’s rank and time. If you would like to show also information on the other team members, you can simply enter the field/expression in the top left corner and then select the team score and the participant.

For example, to show the last name of the second participant of the team (according to team score 1), the system will use the field TS1.P2.Lastname. In the preview, you can see that selecting a team score/participant only helps you to set up your certificate, but internally the field name will be used.

Certificate Set

Certificate Sets will be created in the Output Window. A certificate set contains the Certificates for certain participants in a given order. The settings for a certificate set decide:

  • for which participant a certificate will be created
  • which certificate (layout) is used
  • how the certificates are ordered

For example: the certificates of the first three of each age group ordered by the age group name and the age group rank.

Select a certificate set in the Output Window and then click on Settings to access the following settings:

Certificate Layout
First, select the Certificate layout which should be used.

Then choose if you would like to create individual or team certificates. If you choose Team Certificate (1 per Participant), certificates will be created only for members of a team. If you select Team Certificate (1 per Team) a certificate will be printed only for the first member of each team.

For which Participant do you want to create certificates?
You can further limit for whom certificates will be printed. Oftentimes certificate sets are filtered by a rank, for example if you want to print certificates for only the best three. You can also enter a general filter.

Order of the Certificates
Determine in what order the certificates will be created.