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Section Types Overview

APM templates support three section types, each designed for different layout patterns:
  • Static: Sequential elements for headers, footers, and totals
  • Table: Columnar layout for line items and tabular data
  • Repeated: Simple lists for repeating text or values

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Section Properties

All sections share these common properties:
PropertyTypeRequiredDescription
NamestringYesUnique section identifier
TypestringYesSection type: "Static", "Table", or "Repeated"
DataSourcestringConditionalData collection path (required for Table and Repeated)
OrderintNoPrint order (ascending, default based on array position)
AlignstringNoDefault alignment for all elements: "Left", "Center", "Right"
FormatstringNoDefault text format for all elements
ElementsarrayYesArray of template elements

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Inheritance

  • Section-level Align and Format are inherited by all elements
  • Elements can override section defaults with their own properties
  • If section properties are null, elements use template defaults

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Static Sections

Static sections render elements sequentially in the order they appear. No data iteration occurs.

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Use Cases

  • Document headers with store/company info
  • Totals and summary information
  • Static footer text
  • Separator lines and spacers

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Properties

  • DataSource: Not used (ignored if present)
  • Elements reference top-level data model properties

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Example: Header Section

{
  "Name": "Header",
  "Type": "Static",
  "Order": 1,
  "Align": "Center",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "StaticValue": "APPSIEL CLOUD POS",
      "Format": "Bold Size2"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Store.Name",
      "Format": "Bold"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Store.Address"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Store.Phone"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Line"
    }
  ]
}

​
Example: Totals Section

{
  "Name": "Totals",
  "Type": "Static",
  "Order": 3,
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Line"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Label": "Subtotal: ",
      "Source": "Sale.Subtotal",
      "Align": "Right"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Label": "Tax: ",
      "Source": "Sale.Tax",
      "Align": "Right"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Label": "TOTAL: ",
      "Source": "Sale.Total",
      "Format": "Bold Large",
      "Align": "Right"
    }
  ]
}

​
Example: Barcode Section

{
  "Name": "Invoice Barcode",
  "Type": "Static",
  "Order": 5,
  "Align": "Center",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Barcode",
      "Source": "Sale.InvoiceNumber",
      "Height": 50
    }
  ]
}

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Table Sections

Table sections render data collections in columnar format with optional headers.

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Use Cases

  • Line items in sales receipts
  • Product lists with prices
  • Transaction details
  • Any tabular data with multiple columns

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Properties

  • DataSource: Required - path to data collection (e.g., "Sale.Items")
  • Elements define columns with WidthPercentage
  • Column widths should sum to 100%

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Element Requirements

Each element in a Table section must specify:
  • WidthPercentage: Column width as percentage of paper width
  • Source: Property name from each item in the collection
  • Optional HeaderLabel: Column header text
  • Optional HeaderAlign: Header alignment
  • Optional HeaderFormat: Header formatting

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Example: Sales Items Table

{
  "Name": "Items",
  "Type": "Table",
  "Order": 2,
  "DataSource": "Sale.Items",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Quantity",
      "WidthPercentage": 15,
      "HeaderLabel": "Qty",
      "HeaderAlign": "Left",
      "HeaderFormat": "Bold"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "ProductName",
      "WidthPercentage": 50,
      "HeaderLabel": "Product",
      "HeaderFormat": "Bold"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Price",
      "WidthPercentage": 15,
      "Align": "Right",
      "HeaderLabel": "Price",
      "HeaderAlign": "Right",
      "HeaderFormat": "Bold"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Total",
      "WidthPercentage": 20,
      "Align": "Right",
      "HeaderLabel": "Total",
      "HeaderAlign": "Right",
      "HeaderFormat": "Bold"
    }
  ]
}

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Example: Three-Column Layout

{
  "Name": "Product List",
  "Type": "Table",
  "DataSource": "Sale.Items",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "ProductName",
      "WidthPercentage": 60,
      "HeaderLabel": "Description"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Quantity",
      "WidthPercentage": 20,
      "Align": "Center",
      "HeaderLabel": "Qty",
      "HeaderAlign": "Center"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "Total",
      "WidthPercentage": 20,
      "Align": "Right",
      "HeaderLabel": "Amount",
      "HeaderAlign": "Right"
    }
  ]
}

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Table Rendering

When a Table section is rendered:
  1. Headers are printed first (if HeaderLabel is specified)
  2. Each item in the DataSource collection is iterated
  3. For each item, columns are rendered side-by-side
  4. Text is truncated or wrapped based on WidthPercentage and printer width

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Repeated Sections

Repeated sections iterate over simple value collections (typically arrays of strings).

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Use Cases

  • Footer messages or disclaimers
  • Multiple lines of promotional text
  • List of payment methods
  • Terms and conditions lines

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Properties

  • DataSource: Required - path to simple value array (e.g., "Footer")
  • Elements typically use Source: "." to reference current item

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Special Source Value

In Repeated sections, use "." as the Source to reference the current item value directly: 
"Source": "."
This tells the renderer to use the primitive value (string, number) from the array. 
{
  "Name": "Footer Messages",
  "Type": "Repeated",
  "Order": 4,
  "DataSource": "Footer",
  "Align": "Center",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "."
    }
  ]
}
Data Model: 
{
  "Footer": [
    "Thank you for your purchase!",
    "Visit us at www.example.com",
    "Follow us on social media"
  ]
}
Output: 
     Thank you for your purchase!
       Visit us at www.example.com
       Follow us on social media

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Example: Multiple Elements per Item

{
  "Name": "Legal Text",
  "Type": "Repeated",
  "DataSource": "LegalLines",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": ".",
      "Format": "FontB",
      "Align": "Left"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Line"
    }
  ]
}
This prints each legal line followed by a separator.

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Example: Formatted List

{
  "Name": "Promotions",
  "Type": "Repeated",
  "DataSource": "Promotions",
  "Align": "Center",
  "Format": "Bold",
  "Elements": [
    {
      "Type": "Line"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "StaticValue": "*** SPECIAL OFFER ***",
      "Format": "Bold Large"
    },
    {
      "Type": "Text",
      "Source": "."
    }
  ]
}

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Section Ordering

The Order property controls the sequence in which sections print: 
[
  { "Name": "Header", "Order": 1 },
  { "Name": "Items", "Order": 2 },
  { "Name": "Totals", "Order": 3 },
  { "Name": "Footer", "Order": 4 },
  { "Name": "QR Code", "Order": 5 }
]

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Best Practices

  • Use increments of 10 (10, 20, 30) to allow inserting sections later
  • Lower numbers print first
  • If Order is omitted, sections print in array order

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Section-Level Formatting

Apply common formatting at the section level to reduce repetition: 
{
  "Name": "Header",
  "Type": "Static",
  "Align": "Center",
  "Format": "Bold",
  "Elements": [
    { "Type": "Text", "StaticValue": "STORE NAME" },
    { "Type": "Text", "Source": "Store.Address" },
    { "Type": "Text", "Source": "Store.Phone", "Format": "" }
  ]
}
In this example:
  • All elements inherit Align: "Center" and Format: "Bold"
  • The phone number overrides with empty format to remove bold

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Complete Multi-Section Example

{
  "DocumentType": "ticket_venta",
  "Name": "Complete Sales Receipt",
  "Sections": [
    {
      "Name": "Header",
      "Type": "Static",
      "Order": 1,
      "Align": "Center",
      "Elements": [
        { "Type": "Text", "StaticValue": "APPSIEL CLOUD POS", "Format": "Bold Size2" },
        { "Type": "Text", "Source": "Store.Address" },
        { "Type": "Line" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Name": "Transaction Info",
      "Type": "Static",
      "Order": 2,
      "Elements": [
        { "Type": "Text", "Label": "Date: ", "Source": "Sale.Date" },
        { "Type": "Text", "Label": "Invoice: ", "Source": "Sale.Number" },
        { "Type": "Line" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Name": "Items",
      "Type": "Table",
      "Order": 3,
      "DataSource": "Sale.Items",
      "Elements": [
        { 
          "Type": "Text",
          "Source": "Quantity", 
          "WidthPercentage": 15,
          "HeaderLabel": "Qty"
        },
        { 
          "Type": "Text",
          "Source": "ProductName", 
          "WidthPercentage": 55,
          "HeaderLabel": "Product"
        },
        { 
          "Type": "Text",
          "Source": "Total", 
          "WidthPercentage": 30,
          "Align": "Right",
          "HeaderLabel": "Total",
          "HeaderAlign": "Right"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Name": "Totals",
      "Type": "Static",
      "Order": 4,
      "Elements": [
        { "Type": "Line" },
        { "Type": "Text", "Label": "TOTAL: ", "Source": "Sale.Total", "Format": "Bold Large", "Align": "Right" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Name": "Footer",
      "Type": "Repeated",
      "Order": 5,
      "DataSource": "Footer",
      "Align": "Center",
      "Elements": [
        { "Type": "Text", "Source": "." }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Name": "QR",
      "Type": "Static",
      "Order": 6,
      "Align": "Center",
      "Elements": [
        { "Type": "QR", "Source": "Sale.InvoiceUrl", "Size": 4 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

​
Common Patterns

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Pattern: Header + Items + Totals

[
  { "Name": "Header", "Type": "Static", "Order": 1 },
  { "Name": "Items", "Type": "Table", "Order": 2, "DataSource": "Sale.Items" },
  { "Name": "Totals", "Type": "Static", "Order": 3 }
]

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Pattern: Repeating Groups with Separator

{
  "Name": "Messages",
  "Type": "Repeated",
  "DataSource": "Messages",
  "Elements": [
    { "Type": "Line" },
    { "Type": "Text", "Source": "." }
  ]
}

​
Pattern: Centered Static Content

{
  "Name": "Footer",
  "Type": "Static",
  "Align": "Center",
  "Elements": [
    { "Type": "Text", "StaticValue": "Thank you!" },
    { "Type": "QR", "Source": "FeedbackUrl", "Size": 3 }
  ]
}

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Troubleshooting

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Table columns don’t align

  • Verify WidthPercentage values sum to 100%
  • Check for very long text that may overflow columns
  • Test with actual printer to confirm character limits

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Repeated section not printing

  • Verify DataSource path exists in data model
  • Ensure data is an array
  • Check that Source: "." is used for simple values

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Section appears in wrong order

  • Check Order property values
  • Ensure all sections have explicit Order values
  • Remember lower numbers print first

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See Also

Template Structure

Complete JSON structure reference

Element Types

Text, Barcode, QR, Image, and Line elements

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