Translating Inspire Logic to PSL

Layouts are the easy part of an Inspire migration. The logic is where the work is. An Inspire Designer WFD workflow carries data processing and scripting that decides what each record gets, and that logic has to come across intact. This article covers how to translate it into Jetletter PSL Page Builder at the concept level, so your team knows where each kind of rule belongs.

Write the rules in plain language first

Inspire and PSL are different tools with different ways of expressing logic. Copying scripts line by line rarely works and makes the new job harder to maintain. Instead, write each rule in plain language first. "Customers in Nevada with a balance over the threshold get the past-due page and the Nevada disclosure." Then build that rule with the PSL tool that fits it.

If you completed a WFD inventory, you already have this list. If not, build it now. Every rule on the list becomes a test case later.

Variables and calculations

Most jobs compute something, such as a total, a due date, an age, a tier or a greeting built from name parts. In PSL you handle these through the four "bridges to PSL," which let operators reach the underlying PSL language without being programmers. When the drag-and-drop tools aren't enough, the PSL language itself is open to you, with no JavaScript required.

Keep calculations close to the data they depend on and name them clearly. A variable called PastDueAmount is easier to test than one called v7. If a calculation is used on several pages, define it once and reuse it.

Conditional content and page selection

This is usually the largest group of rules.

Page and version selection. The PSL Condition Manager picks which pages a record gets using compound statements. A commingled job with several clients or versions can run in one stream, each record pulling its own page set, even if those versions ran as separate workflows before.
Value statements. For smaller decisions, such as which salutation, signature or offer text to use, value statements set a field's content based on the data. Build them so every case has a defined result, including missing data.
Default cases. Inspire jobs often have an implied "everything else" path. Make it explicit in PSL. Records that fall through a condition should land on a known page, not a blank one.

Test each condition with records built to hit it. One record per branch, plus the edge cases from your inventory.

Content libraries and DCM

Many Inspire jobs pull from libraries of reusable paragraphs, disclosures, offers and images. In PSL, that role goes to Dynamic Content Management (DCM). DCM controls what content goes on a page based on data or manual selection.

Before you load content into DCM, clean it up. Retire disclosures nobody uses, merge near-duplicate paragraphs and give each item a clear name. A smaller library is easier to proof and easier for the next operator to understand.

For variable images, decide whether images will be selected by rule inside PSL or generated ahead of time. Personalized images built from data are often better produced as a separate step and merged by file name. See our variable images services.

Formatting and typesetting

PSL gives you control of typesetting, colors and almost any other element, manually or based on data. Bring over the formatting rules from your inventory: date formats, currency, phone masks, capitalization, line breaks in addresses and copyfitting for long names.

Address blocks deserve special attention. The PSL Address Box applies USPS address formatting automatically and places the IMb correctly. Use it in place of rebuilding address logic by hand.

Tables and charts

Statements, invoices and benefit summaries need tables that grow and shrink with the data. PSL Page Builder produces tables, charts and graphs from data or calculated values, with varying content, page counts and white space. Charts are built natively, without importing from Excel. Rebuild these from the data rules, not the old picture. Confirm how a table breaks across pages and what repeats on continuation pages, since that's where differences hide.

When to move data preparation upstream

Some Inspire logic is really data preparation: joins, lookups, deduplication, householding, sorting, history calculations and reshaping one-to-many data. That work is often easier to build, test and maintain in SQL Server or PowerShell before the merge.

Move logic upstream when:

It needs data from more than one source or a database lookup
Several jobs share the same rule
It's easier to verify in a query than on a proof
The result is useful outside the print file, such as in reports or SQL-to-press automation

Keep logic in PSL when it's about the page: which page prints, which paragraph shows, how a value is formatted. A clean, flat input file plus page-level rules in PSL is a pattern that's easy for operators to support.

Prove it before you trust it

Every translated rule needs a test. Run the same input through Inspire and PSL and compare record by record. Our parallel run testing guide covers how.

How MhetaData helps

Logic translation is the core of our Inspire to PSL conversion service. We document the rules, rebuild them in PSL and move data preparation into SQL Server or PowerShell where it belongs. Call (800) 625-0369.

Quadient and Inspire are trademarks of their respective owner.

Translating Inspire Job Logic into PSL Page Builder